Expectations for Andrei Kuzmenko with the Canucks

The Vancouver Canucks made headlines last month by signing highly-touted KHL star Andrei (also spelt as Andrey) Kuzmenko.

Many teams wanted Kuzmenko’s services but in the end, the 26-year-old left-winger ended up choosing the Canucks on a one-year entry-level deal. They have been linked with Kuzmenko heavily in the months prior.

He is coming off a 20-goal, 33-assist season with SKA St. Petersburg. There is no question that Kuzmenko has talent. He’s an excellent playmaker and a great skater with a ton of highlight reel skill.

However, Kuzmenko’s talent and production in the KHL by no means guarantee that he will have success in the NHL. DobberProspects put it best, Kuzmenko is a boom or bust type of player.
You could say that a lot about a bunch of players who came from Europe and made their way to the NHL.

For example, Fabian Brunnström signed with the Dallas Stars in May of 2008 after impressing in his native Sweden. (The Canucks were close to signing him but Dave Nonis was fired from the General Manager position before they could get a deal done.) He impressed early on in Dallas by scoring a hat trick in his debut and became the third player in NHL history to do that.

Brunnström’s first season in the NHL was good. He put up 17 goals and 12 assists in 55 games.

However, he couldn’t build on that success as he was put on waivers by the Stars in October of 2010. A few months later he was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs (Ironically acquired by Nonis) and played for the AHL’s Toronto Marlies. Brunnström spent one more season in the NHL with the Detroit Red Wings organization before heading back to Sweden.

A more recent example would be Nikita Gusev who also played for SKA. No, he was not a free agent as he was actually drafted (seventh round, 202nd overall by the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2012) but there was some hype for him when his rights were traded from the Vegas Golden Knights to the New Jersey Devils.

As we all know, Gusev didn’t live up to the hype. After two seasons in New Jersey, (His first was a 13-goal, 44-point season) he signed for the Florida Panthers and failed a PTO with the Maple Leafs last fall and is now playing for SKA once again.

The best example of a European free agent is Artemi Panarin. He signed with the Chicago Blackhawks in 2015 and is now an NHL superstar.

But enough about those guys, back to Kuzmenko and the Canucks. The point is, we cannot hype Kuzmenko up too much.

No, I’m not saying he won’t be a capable NHL player because there is potential he can be a good one. But there is also the possibility he could end up like Gusev or Brunnström. So we have got to have reasonable expectations for him.

With the signing of Ilya Mikheyev, it doesn’t look like Kuzmenko will start in the top six. Giving him third-line minutes to start the season isn’t a bad thing at all.

He is going to need time to adjust to the NHL just as Vasily Podkolzin did last season. Putting him in the bottom six gives Kuzmenko a chance to adapt and he has the opportunity to show what he can do. If he impresses, a chance in the top six is his.

If you are asking me to make a point prediction, I’m predicting 22 points for him. That’s nine goals and 13 assists.

You have every right to be excited about Kuzmenko joining the Canucks next season. He’s got the talent. But the expectations of him can’t be too high.