Andrei Kuzmenko

June 2202 – The Canucks have won the Kuzmenko sweepstakes and officially signed him to an ELC deal. The 26-year-old will slot into the club’s top-nine, and be given every opportunity to provide an additional stream of production. Time will tell if his game will translate to the smaller surface, but one thing is for sure: the upside is well worth the risk. Enjoy the boom-or-bust, folks. Dave Hall

June 2022 – Kuzmenko is on his way to North America and is officially this summer’s hottest import commodity. The 26-year-old is fresh off a career year, finishing second leaguewide with 53 points over 45 games for SKA St. Petersburgh. He added a point-per-game over 14 playoff games to boot. Having been a top-three SKA producer for three consecutive years, his resume comes highly coveted. He has racked up 200 points (85G + 115A) over the course of his 315-game career and is considered one of the KHL’s elite talents. Undrafted, Kuzmenko’s bread-and-butter is his offensive game. He is an elusive skater, who can burn opponents off of the rush or in tight spaces, and combines this with a deadly mix of slick hands and a strong ability to process the game. He is able to make high-percentage plays at top speeds and rarely folds under defensive pressure. His playmaking is elite and is always looking one-to-two steps ahead. While his backcheck and work on the defensive side of the game is truly an area of concern, his fantasy projection carries a high upside. We have seen close comparisons come-and-go, and the boom-or-bust factor is no different with Kuzmenko. Yet, with a cheap ELC contract attached, the risk-versus-reward highly outways any negative. Dave Hall