Kirill Kaprizov felt it every time he hopped over the boards. After signing an unprecedented 5-year, $45 million contract with the Wild last offseason, Kaprizov went a couple of weeks without finding the back of the net, and knew the fans were none too pleased with his lack of production.

“It started slow,” Kaprizov said through a translator this week. “Some people hated me in the beginning.”

Hated? Really?

“I think couple games, no?” he said in English. “I think people want to see me score goals.”

Though it’s fair to assume nobody actually hated him, it’s neither here nor there at this point. Not after Kaprizov put together the best individual season in franchise history, setting records in 2021-22 with 47 goals, 61 assists and 108 points.

He already is an NHL superstar at 25 years old. Just don’t tell him that.

“Maybe you think I’m superstar,” Kaprizov said in English. “I don’t think like that.”

Everyone else does, including general manager Bill Guerin, who has seen his fair share .

“He’s a superstar,” Guerin said. “I don’t know what his ceiling is.”

No one does. Because it’s so high.

From the moment Kaprizov finally scored his first goal of the season during a Nov. 2 win over the Ottawa Senators, he showed no signs of slowing down. He was a cheat code on the ice, using his incredible edges to create space out of nowhere and his laser beam of a shot to befuddle opposing goaltenders.

All the while Kaprizov showed a propensity to step up in the biggest moments. As coach Dean Evason noted many times this season, it’s not like Kaprizov was padding his stats in garbage time of a blowout win or loss.

“He’s unbelievable,” Evason said a couple of weeks ago during the first round of the playoffs. “It’d be nice to have 20 of them.”

If the Wild actually had 20 clones of Kirill Kaprizov, they would win the Stanley Cup running away. He’s that good.

Instead, the Wild are watching the rest of the playoffs from home after falling 4-2 to the St. Louis Blues in the first round.

“Very disappointing,” Kaprizov said through a translator. “You still don’t really believe that it’s over.”

It wasn’t for a lack of effort on Kaprizov’s part. He was outstanding throughout the first round, scoring seven goals in six games.

It was a much better output from Kaprizov compared to last playoffs when he struggled mightily in the first round against the Vegas Golden Knights That was on his mind heading into this playoff.

“It was something near the end of the season I was thinking about more,” Kaprizov said through a translator. “I definitely wanted to focus more. Just getting the right mindset to have a really good run and put my best foot forward. I definitely felt like I met the moment.”

No doubt about it. His most impressive performance of this playoffs came in Game 5 when he took over the game with a pair of goals before the Wild fell apart down the stretch.

“He tried putting this team on his back,” Guerin said. “He literally tried to put this team on his back and carry them, like, ‘You know what guys? I got it. Follow me.’ He’s become a big-time leader on our team.”

It wasn’t enough. No matter how hard he tried, Kaprizov couldn’t carry the Wild into the second round. Not by himself.

“We obviously need to improve,” Kaprizov said through a translator. “Each player can learn from their mistakes. We will definitely gain experience from this. Obviously we want to do better.”

There’s reason to believe the Wild will be better moving forward. Especially with Kaprizov leading the charge.

In the meantime, though, Kaprizov plans to head back to his native Russia this offseason. He’s excited to spend time with family and friends, do some traveling around the country and start preparing for next season.

As for the fans who supposedly hated him, Kaprizov is feeling the love now.

“They’ve been great,” Kaprizov said through a translator. “They’re the reasons I’m here. Just the other day we were at a team event at a restaurant and we had a bunch of people come over. Someone who spoke Russian came over to me and we had a chat .I love the fans. Any chance I get a chance to see them, I make sure I make time for them.”

It was a typical sled drill that a linebacker has probably done 500 times in his career.

Wait for the coach to snap the ball to charge the sled, lift the makeshift offensive player in the air for a couple seconds before shedding it to whatever side the coach signals, then charging and tackling the pop-up dummy 5 yards in the backfield.

Jerome Baker, who has led the Miami Dolphins in tackles three straight seasons, walked up to Channing Tindall and gave him a few pointers before the rookie’s turn arrived.

Tindall, a member of Georgia’s national championship team who the Dolphins are hoping can immediate impact as a third-round pick, nodded his head as if he understood. But when the ball was snapped, he clumsily went through the drill.

Baker quickly approached him with a review and some more pointers.

The veteran linebacker then jumped into the line and ran through the drill himself one more time with Tindall watching closely.

“He’s going to be a great player. He’s just got to, [like] any rookie, just try to soak in as much information as you can,” said Baker, who found himself in a similar position in 2018 as a third-round pick, learning from Kiko Alonso and Raekwon McMillan.

“[He needs to] remember you got to this point by playing football. It’s not that hard when you think about it. It’s still football like it was when we were younger,” Baker continued. “He’s got a lot of things to improve on but he definitely has potential.”

And it’s on the veterans like Baker to help bring out that potential by passing on wisdom and sharing their knowledge from past experiences.

At least it is for teams that have a good culture.

You’d assume every player takes this approach, but some aren’t willing to guide a young player they know is threatening their job stability.

Just as often as I’ve seen veterans like Baker lend a helping hand, I’ve also seen and have been told that some veterans leave rookies to fend for themselves.

Just look at the comments a well-established starting quarterback like Ryan Tannehill made the week after the Tennessee Titans selected Liberty quarterback Malik Willis in the third round last month.

“We’re competing against each other, we’re watching the same tape, we’re doing the same drills,” Tannehill told the Titans media. “I don’t think it’s my job to mentor him, but if he learns from me along the way, then that’s a great thing.”

While it’s technically the position coach and coordinator’s job to bring a young player along — teaching him about the scheme and playbook — it is classy for a veteran to show a young player the way.

Reggie Bush taught Lamar Miller, and all the other backs who once played behind him in Miami, how to train and take care of their bodies knowing that one day one of them would replace him as the Dolphins starter.

Legendary Dolphins linebacker Zach Thomas regularly gave pointers and tips to Channing Crowder. He also critiqued his practices and games to help the young linebacker’s progress.

Defensive backs like Will Allen, Brent Grimes and Bobby McCain taught the youngsters in their unit how to study film and break down a receiver’s tendencies.

This is critical for NFL teams to develop a healthy culture and maximize the potential of young players — which requires selfless veterans who are willing to lead.

Young Dolphins safeties Jevon Holland and Brandon Jones routinely praised Eric Rowe the past two years for what he taught them about playing the position — before and after they leapfrogged him on the depth chart.

Just imagine if Rowe kept all the insight and wisdom he gained over his seven-year career to himself.

Rowe did this despite knowing their emergence as a blossoming safety duo made him and his $4.5 million contract expendable. But the fact he’d rather be a good teammate might explain why he’s still around.

Selfless leaders are hard to find, which explains why general manager Chris Grier said he went out of his way to add a few to Miami’s roster this offseason like Terron Armstead.

The three-time Pro Bowl offensive lineman signed as a free agent stayed 30 minutes after Tuesday’s practice session to work with Liam Eichenberg and Robert Jones on their stance and technique.

Eichenberg and Jones are in their second seasons, so having a veteran like Armstead providing guidance could help them contend for starting spots this summer.

If Armstead helps them get better, the same way Baker is helping Tindall improve, the team will progress in a manner that should be everyone’s goal.

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