Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
Washington Capitals Mailbag: Kuznetsov
Our next Washington Capitals mailbag question comes from Rob!
"I’m really excited about Kuzy! What do you think his ceiling as a player and who do you think that ceiling will resemble?"
I think Evgeny Kuznetsov is primed to have a breakout season in 2015-2016. The development that he made to his overall game for the Washington Capitals in 2014-2015 was outstanding. He went from being largely a two trick pony to showing signs of being a complete player. His creativity and hockey IQ gives him an incredible upside. He showed both of those in his game winning goal in Game Seven against the Islanders.
The Washington Capitals needed a lift and Kuzy gave it to them. That’s the kind of veteran play that you’d expect from a seasoned veteran. Excellent awareness by the Washington Capitals center to see the opening across the ice, go after it, wait until Jaroslav Halak was on the ground and finish hard. If he fails to do any one of those things with no hesitation, that goal doesn’t happen.
Kuznetsov’s ceiling is a two-way center who does ridiculous things on offense. That’s also a brief description of a fellow Russian center: Pavel Datsyuk. Do I think Kuznetsov will be THAT good defensively? Probably not. However, he’s quickly improving and Kuznetsov has insane puck handling skills, just like Datsyuk. I think that’s a reasonable comparison.
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