Former SKA forward Andrei Kuzmenko is the main headliner of the Canucks’ training camp. It seems that the team plans to bet on him in the new season. Not surprising!

Vancouver won the race and is now waiting for the result

Last season, a graduate of CSKA, who played for SKA, finished second in the list of top scorers in the KHL regular season with 53 points. The fact that Kuzmenko at one time, for some reason, flew past the NHL draft, riveted the attention of several dozen overseas clubs to him. Such a potentially valuable hockey player, who finally matured to the NHL at the age of 26, should not be missed.

Andrey Kuzmenko / Photo: © KHL / Smirnov Ilya

His agent claimed that interest in Kuzmenko was from almost all teams. True or not, but very soon the list of favorite clubs decreased, and Kuzmenko chose Vancouver, a club with great prospects, but still small expectations. There, Kuzmenko could both become a star and not fall under a flurry of criticism if the start of an overseas career does not work out.

However, the real vision of the role of the Russian striker in the club became clear after the start of the training camp. It seems that Kuzmenko has already been identified as the leader of the team. There is no hiding from Vancouver’s high hopes.

Good sniper, weak defender

The Canucks have done a lot of transfer work this offseason. For example, they signed another Russian Ilya Mikheev, Boston forward Curtis Lazar and extended their top scorer JT Miller, finding eight million on him. But in the first training meetings, all the attention of the media was riveted on Kuzmenko, a forward with a one-year rookie contract.

Photo: © Personal archive of Andrey Kuzmenko

Journalists noticed not only his strengths in the form of a dangerous game in the position of a sniper, a skillful beating of defenders, and weaknesses – an uncertain defense game and interaction in this component with teammates. But they also drew attention to the fact that physically Kuzmenko is not yet 100 percent ready: often during the first match, he seemed to be out of breath, resting his hands on his knees, trying to catch his breath. His linemate Eliash Pettersson looked much fresher.

“If a guy is that good, he’ll take over this city”

It will not be a problem for Kuzmenko to improve his physical condition, it is much more important to get used to the North American site. But, according to the hockey player himself, small ice is more suitable for his style of play: having beaten an opponent in the corner one on one, it is much easier and faster to go to the goal.

Bruce Boudreau, the head coach of Vancouver, who led the team last year, also supports his main off-season rookie. Before his eyes, the star of Alexander Ovechkin, whom he sincerely admired, was rising in Washington. It is not surprising that in Kuzmenko he saw something similar to his former player.

Bruce Boudreau / Photo: © David S. Holloway / Contributor / Getty Images News / Gettyimages.ru

“I don’t want to compare, but Kuzmenko’s throw reminds me very much of Ovechkin’s throw from the left side,” Boudreau said, commenting on the game of the Russian newcomer.

That’s high expectations for you – an analogy with an NHL superstar on the first day of work. However, Boudreau was pleasantly impatient even before the Canucks signed Kuzmenko. According to the player’s agent, the coach took 6 hours to get to their face-to-face meeting. Therefore, in addition to the comparison with Ovechkin, Kuzmenko also received a lot of support:

“I said it the first day I saw him: if this guy is as good as they say he is, he will take over this city,” he said.

Kuzmenko can fall in love not only for hockey

Fame and reputation are ahead of Kuzmenko: no one knows yet how he will prove himself in the NHL, but everyone is already ready to forgive him for some rough edges in the game. All thanks to the bright personality of the hockey player, who is a pronounced extrovert. For Russian hockey players – a rather unusual feature.

A smile does not leave Kuzmenko’s face, he gave his first interview to the local press in confident basic English, starting it with a joke. Before that, he began to actively join the life of Vancouver – he went to a couple of football team matches, attended several concerts, rode a wakeboard on a local lake, and even received his first sponsor in the face of an automobile brand, which he began to advertise on social networks.

Photo: © Personal archive of Andrey Kuzmenko

In general, an open guy with a typical North American nature. In addition to confident hockey skills, the support of a coach and teammates, Kuzmenko has a real chance to become, if not the new Canucks legend at number 96, then at least a strong player on the first two lines and a reliable sniper who will finally lead Vancouver out of the crisis or at least just get him to the playoffs.