
Fantasy Summary
An elite-level skater with tremendous playmaking ability. A true fantasy boom-or-bust.
Observations
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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
Stats
Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | TP | PIM | Playoffs | GP | G | A | TP | PIM | |
2010-2011 | Team Moskva U15 | Districts Cup U15 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | | ||||||
2011-2012 | Moskva Selects U15 | WSI U15 | 8 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 0 | | | ||||||
2012-2013 | Krasnaya Armiya Moskva | MHL | 49 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 8 | | | ||||||
Russia U17 | WHC-17 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | | | |||||||
Russia U17 | EYOF | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | | | |||||||
2013-2014 | Krasnaya Armiya Moskva | MHL | 36 | 13 | 18 | 31 | 2 | | | Playoffs | 18 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 0 |
Russia U18 |WJAC-19| | WJAC-19 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | | | |||||||
2014-2015 | CSKA Moskva | KHL | 12 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | | | Playoffs | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Krasnaya Armiya Moskva | MHL | 37 | 20 | 21 | 41 | 20 | | | Playoffs | 13 |