RW Evgeny Kuznetsov (2010, 26th overall, Washington)

[Saved*]

He looked invisible for the most part. Did not notice him on the ice other than potentially when he fired a shot from the blue line on a 3 on 2? May have gotten that confused with another player though.

 

[drw02]

I thought he looked alright for his first game. Was playing on the 4th line with Beagle and Wilson...Their line controlled the play for the most part when they were on the ice. He had some decent chances down low on the PP....seemed a little jittery which is to be expected but you can see he has some talent for sure.

 

[The Zetterberg Era]

The Caps are idiots if they let this happen unless they win 9 straight games starting tomorrow(0r conversely, get 16 points in 9 games, which would be tolerable).Burn a year of eligibility for what, otherwise?

Teams do this all the time to get guys out of college or from overseas. Fact is Kuznetsov can make a ton of money in the KHL, burning time off his ELC is important to him even coming over.

Like I said this is something you see a lot, I know you watch both the Caps and Wings, this for instance was a part of signing both Abdelkader and Sheahan out of college, they got an immediate game and a year off their ELC. It is a pretty common practice really and Kuznetsov certainly held that leverage in terms of coming over. Not to mention with his talent he should be in the Caps lineup anyway.

 

[OiledUp]

Yeah, burning a year off his ELC is probably good for relations with the player which imo is a good thing. Plis since they're not getting a teenager he probably won't need 3 years of development to become an actual NHLer making it fair imo.

 

[SoundAndFury]

Also shorter ELC almost most definitely means a cheaper 2nd contract. I don't think Kuznetsov is going to score 90 points during what will essentially be a rookie season for him.

 

[tim_*]

As far as his contract goes, I was under the impression that it was either 2 years now or 1 year next year, but don't quote me on that.

And his first performance, you could tell the jitters were definitely there. Fact is, I have 0 expectations when he's on a line with Beagle. Wilson is another story, but Oates is currently grooming him to be a goon.

There were a few flashes of skill present when he played with Ovechkin and Backstrom, albeit brief. Fans who expect any kind of point production when he's mostly playing on the 4th line are a bit ridiculous.

 

[jigglysquishy]

He was on the 4th line. Lighten up.

He's also never played NA hockey, so it'll be awhile to adjust.

By next Christmas he'll be a stud. Compare him to Tarasenko (who is on a ~55 point pace this year), except Kuznetsov will play in a wide open system. He will get 65 point next year. Book it.

 

[FinnSkillz28]

Had pretty solid night vs. Vancouver
Played about 10minutes and collected 3 assist.

 

[Hansen]

Beauty slap pass to Wilson for the 2nd assist. Kids got some solid skill.

Loved that game tonight, high energy and youthful scoring on both sides!

 

[sourdough]

Yeah, burning a year off his ELC is probably good for relations with the player which imo is a good thing. Plis since they're not getting a teenager he probably won't need 3 years of development to become an actual NHLer making it fair imo.

There is also the possibility that GMGM is on the hot seat and knows it. Making the playoffs could be crucial to his job security

 

[JA]

The Washington Capitals' season has just ended. Kuznetsov has scored 3 goals, 6 assists, 9 points in 17 games with an average TOI of 13:28 per game since joining them. Keep in mind he had a three-assist night against Vancouver a while ago. He has 3 goals and 3 assists in his last 13 games. What are your thoughts on him thus far?

 

[Dr John Carlson]

The Washington Capitals' season has just ended. Kuznetsov has scored 3 goals, 6 assists, 9 points in 17 games with an average TOI of 13:28 per game since joining them. Keep in mind he had a three-assist night against Vancouver a while ago. He has 3 goals and 3 assists in his last 13 games. What are your thoughts on him thus far?

Pretty much as good as I had hoped. I think he was fairly tentative when it came to physical play for the most part since he has had some bad shoulder problems this year but an offseason to rest will hopefully fix that. Plus, it was his first 17 games in the NHL and he was getting bottom 6 minutes (typical Oates). He's wasn't going to be a PPG player, so the only people who would be disappointed in him obviously had their expectations way too high.

 

[CoveRoad973]

Pretty much as good as I had hoped. I think he was fairly tentative when it came to physical play for the most part since he has had some bad shoulder problems this year but an offseason to rest will hopefully fix that. Plus, it was his first 17 games in the NHL and he was getting bottom 6 minutes (typical Oates). He's wasn't going to be a PPG player, so the only people who would be disappointed in him obviously had their expectations way too high.

If he's able to stay healthy I'm looking for a 50+ pt season for him.

 

[trick9]

Much better defensively than i expected.

 

[malkinfan]

Fairly certain he will be in the top 6 rotation next year which will feature the likes of Ovi, Backy, Grabo, possibly Burakovsky and Mojo. I think the Caps are re-trending towards skilled forward core seeing that scoring became an issue when they leaned towards more bruisers. I can see Kuz easily scoring 60 points next year.

 

[flamebird]

Bump - 9pts in last 8gp

Has anybody seen him play this year more than once? How is the development coming along?

 

[Acallabeth]

There's a thread on this NHL player on the NHL board. I don't think we should discuss him as a prospect anymore.

http://hfboards.mandatory.com/showthread.php?t=1828537

 

[DapperCam]

Is this the guy on the Caps?

 

[BoDacious Horvat]

Is this the guy on the Caps?

It sure is!
http://www2.tsn.ca/bardown/Story.as...atured+in+a+2005+hockey+documentary&id=533451