Player Discussion Evgeny Kuznetsov

[RandyHolt]

No love for Gartner huh? His skating was also impossibly effortless, better than Miller IMO.

He barely gets ANY love for being in the top 10 goal scoring of all time, so nope

I am pissed that someone beat his all star game speed time... since they moved the goal up, it was only a matter of time someone beat him, who forever should have an * next to their name.

 

[BobRouse]

He barely gets ANY love for being in the top 10 goal scoring of all time, so nope

I am pissed that someone beat his all star game speed time... since they moved the goal up, it was only a matter of time someone beat him, who forever should have an * next to their name.

No love for Gartner huh? His skating was also impossibly effortless, better than Miller IMO.

She never mentioned Gartner to my recollection. Again its her opinion but she was a great skater herself.

Miller was very powerful and could stop, start, accelerate with fury and was ultra strong on his skates and nearly impossible to knock off the puck. Wicked change of pace.

Gartner was fast as all else but I always thought Glenn Anderson was a better skater than him.

EDIT: Gartner had great straight line speed but I never thought he was agile or elusive like Kuznetsov is (or guys like Miller and Anderson were). He was the RGIII of hockey...all speed and little agility

CRINGEWORTHY ALERT: When Gartner would fly into the zone and circle the net I'd always cover my face when he did that move where he took one hand off his stick and used the other to shield opposing player away....it NEVER worked...the other guy would just fling Gartner and his puny upper body strength out of the way and take the puck.

 

[Calicaps]

She never mentioned Gartner to my recollection. Again its her opinion but she was a great skater herself.

Miller was very powerful and could stop, start, accelerate with fury and was ultra strong on his skates and nearly impossible to knock off the puck. Wicked change of pace.

Gartner was fast as all else but I always thought Glenn Anderson was a better skater than him.

EDIT: Gartner had great straight line speed but I never thought he was agile or elusive like Kuznetsov is (or guys like Miller and Anderson were). He was the RGIII of hockey...all speed and little agility

CRINGEWORTHY ALERT: When Gartner would fly into the zone and circle the net I'd always cover my face when he did that move where he took one hand off his stick and used the other to shield opposing player away....it NEVER worked...the other guy would just fling Gartner and his puny upper body strength out of the way and take the puck.

Fair points all. And yeah, Kuzy is much shiftier. Still, when talking about sheer acceleration, Gartner's 0 to 60 was near unmatched.

Points for the Anderson pull.

 

[BobRouse]

Fair points all. And yeah, Kuzy is much shiftier. Still, when talking about sheer acceleration, Gartner's 0 to 60 was near unmatched.

Points for the Anderson pull.

Kuznetsov jukes me out watching him. I sometimes think he is going one way and BAM! he does some silly physics contortion that seems unnatural and he's going a different direction. Amazing skater.

Glen Anderson could accelerate when turning and had great speed and agility but he was nowhere near as tricky as Kuz.

 

[trick9]

Kuznetsov jukes me out watching him. I sometimes think he is going one way and BAM! he does some silly physics contortion that seems unnatural and he's going a different direction. Amazing skater.

Glen Anderson could accelerate when turning and had great speed and agility but he was nowhere near as tricky as Kuz.

Only a matter of time before we get one of this but with Kuznetsov instead of Datsyuk.

 

[BobRouse]

Only a matter of time before we get one of this but with Kuznetsov instead of Datsyuk.

Prime Datsyuk is actually a pretty good comparison skating wise albeit they are a bit different. Good one tho

 

[Alexander the Gr8]

Only a matter of time before we get one of this but with Kuznetsov instead of Datsyuk.

He dodged a Bruins forechecker at full speed yesterday and left him in the dust while going end to end.

Prime Datsyuk is actually a pretty good comparison skating wise albeit they are a bit different. Good one tho

Datsyuk had an awkward skating style. It was effective, but he didn't pivot as often as Kuznetsov does.

 

[Jags]

Fair points all. And yeah, Kuzy is much shiftier. Still, when talking about sheer acceleration, Gartner's 0 to 60 was near unmatched.

Yeah, and I think that's part of what his skating teacher meant. Some guys are just naturally fast. That can't really be taught. But when you study great technical skaters like Coffey and Miller, there are techniques there that can be taught.

That isn't to say that Gartner was devoid of technique or Coffey and Miller weren't naturally fast, but if you're giving someone an example of something to study, best to give them something they have a chance at replicating.

 

[Alexander the Gr8]

So apparently Kuzy had a serious ankle injury at the beginning of the season and played through it. While I admire his determination to get his game back on track despite the injury, I would've liked him and Carlson to sit until they got back at 100%. It's not like we needed a struggling/injured 92 and 74 to win games.

I don't want to see them risk their long term health for some meaningless October regular season games. Skating is an important part of their games, can't imagine Kuzy without his insane skating ability.

 

[g00n]

So apparently Kuzy had a serious ankle injury at the beginning of the season and played through it. While I admire his determination to get his game back on track despite the injury, I would've liked him and Carlson to sit until they got back at 100%. It's not like we needed a struggling/injured 92 and 74 to win games.

I don't want to see them risk their long term health for some meaningless October regular season games. Skating is an important part of their games, can't imagine Kuzy without his insane skating ability.

Just logged on so sorry if it's been posted elsewhere, but is there a source for the injury story?

 

[arlcapsfan]

Trotz saying story is false. This article was on twitter....

https://goo.gl/1JCX4t

 

[Alexander the Gr8]

Well NHL.com is usually a reliable source. When did Trotz say that it's fake?

 

[BobRouse]

One thing I've learned about the Caps...NEVER trust them with any injury related news good or bad.

According to the Caps they have not had an injury in 3 years it seems. That's how it feels like when they talk.

 

[g00n]

Well NHL.com is usually a reliable source. When did Trotz say that it's fake?

According to the posted link the source for the nhl.com story is a Russian pundit and Trotz is denying the report

 

[SimplySensational]

One thing I've learned about the Caps...NEVER trust them with any injury related news good or bad.

According to the Caps they have not had an injury in 3 years it seems. That's how it feels like when they talk.

Good, no one needs to know anything besides the coach, GM, and the medical personnel.

 

[BobRouse]

Good, no one needs to know anything besides the coach, GM, and the medical personnel.

Its really lame.

It really comes down to the fact that there isn't much pressure on the NHL by sports books since hockey doesn't get gambled on that much.

NFL releases pretty specific injury information and in that sport opposing players can REALLY take advantage of that since there is so much going on in the field and no one can see what happens in scrums at the bottom of the pile

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

If it was really that significant they would have held him out. Agent leak?

 

[Devil Dancer]

Good, no one needs to know anything besides the coach, GM, and the medical personnel.

I get that line of thought, but it must suck to be a guy struggling to play through an injury in this league. The fans and media just see a player doing poorly and trash him, while he's just trying to do the best he can.

I think I remember Laich talking about how tough that can be on players.

 

[Jags]

I also just don't see how a "serious ankle injury" cleared up while he was on it so much. The rigors of an NHL season and ice skating in general don't seem like ideal circumstances for an ankle to heal.

 

[AtNightWeFly]

This would explain a lot of things actually.

So I'm guessing it was serious enough that it hindered his production but not serious enough that he couldn't play/skate?!?
Whatever, its in the past now.

 

[RandyHolt]

I would like to think us crazed deranged diehards scrutinizing his game under a microscope would have noticed a serious ankle injury. We all harped on a lack of scoring, with various theories for why. None suggested injury, and thus we may be wrong. Of course he had been not scoring for close to a year. Injured while snowboarding during the blizzard.

Yeah he probably had an ankle injury. Trotz can't risk getting busted for not reporting it, and thus denies it. Many if not all players have some sort of injury however minor, during the season and play through and we never know any better.

 

[artilector]

Regardless of the possible early ankle problem, it's still a bit of a mystery to me why some games/shifts Kuz is flying, and at other times he's kind of gliding around in neutral.

I can't tell if it's more of a stamina limitation, or a mental thing -- that when he feels confident (or that the team really needs him to do something), that's when the extra gears become available to him. Or maybe when good teams take away space he just can't find enough room to accelerate and get the puck with speed.

Because... if he could reach his top gear more consistently game-to-game and regardless of opponents, he'd be a Malkin-level player...

 

[CoolSportsStuff]

Highlights. Washington Capitals - Boston Bruins.
And a little BONUS at the end of the video.

 

[Lexus]

Evgeny Kuznetsov - Thriving in Washington - Sportsnet Feature 2017

Not sure, but I thought you guys would like this... I certainly did, and i'm not even a Caps fan.
It aired the the other night on Sportsnet.

(video via: @HockeyWebCast)



https://youtu.be/lNg_X9_LB3c

 

[Calicaps]

Not sure, but I thought you guys would like this... I certainly did, and i'm not even a Caps fan.
It aired the the other night on Sportsnet.

(video via: @HockeyWebCast)



https://youtu.be/lNg_X9_LB3c

That's great! Thanks for sharing. Alzner should take him to a rodeo in Calgary.