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Player Discussion Marat Khusnutdinov

Jbcraig1883

Jbcraig1883

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Mar 31, 2002
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Paraphrasing Bomber on the Iowa Wild broadcast -

"Good feet, get on pucks on forecheck or rechecking, good at disrupting play, and is really good away from puck for a young guy. NHL coaches need to trust young guys on both sides. KHL experience has been impressive for 21 years old. Thinks he can grow game offensively and be patient, especially due to lifestyle/culture/new teammates/etc. Have been in contact with him a lot last few years and he is super happy to come over."
 
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Al Lagoon

Al Lagoon

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Feb 22, 2012
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Curing your Euros in their home leagues until their early 20s was a formula Detroit worked to perfection in their heyday.

Getting early 20s finished pros, as opposed to raw tennagers, goodness.

Makes drafting a Riley Heidt seem more complicated, all he can do is spin his wheels in the WHL, a year older, playing against punks a year younger.

Maybe that rule should be reexamined.
 

MNRube

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Oct 20, 2013
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NorthMinnesota said:
Think Marat will fit in well. He should slot in 1c while Ek trys to find a second line.
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I think we have to get back to a more balanced lineup. Sucks bc the top line is genuinely electric

Kap-Marat-Hartman
Foligno-JEE-Mojo (d-zone starts)
Boldy-Rossi-Zucc (o-zone starts)
Freddy + whoever isn’t traded

Knowing our FO, Marat will get crap linemates and deployment and we won’t get a true idea of how NHL ready he is.
 

Wonderful Tacos

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Nov 29, 2023
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Disagree with the idea of throwing Marat into 1C right off the hop. I'd imagine he would look good there but not at all convinced its going to be better than what Ek's doing on that line right now.

I'd leave the first two lines alone and make a new 3rd line with the returning Johansson, Khusnutdinov, and Foligno.

Johansson / Khusnutdinov / Foligno

Johansson and Khusnutdinov push transition offense together with speed and ideally with the puck on Khusnutdinov's stick.

Foligno is net front / board battle / typical corsi guy helping them get out the defensive zone and cycle the puck when in the offensive zone. When in the o-zone typically trying to set up a high-danger shot attempt from Johansson / one of the defensemen or a tip shot by Foligno.

If this has success in the future I would be interested in improving on the general idea of this line with

Ohgren / Ek / Khusnutdinov

I dont think it makes sense playing Khusnutdinov with Zuccarello as they're too similar of players with overlapping weaknesses and playing together will likely tend toward intolerably high levels of overpassing and turnovers for high-danger chances against. To some extent that also goes for Khusnutdinov playing with Rossi although that could be more workable but seems silly if Zuccarello is the other wing. I mean that's three pretty small guys with overlapping skill sets.

I could definitely be interested in having Hartman be the other wing with Khusnutdinov and Foligno or perhaps pairing Hartman and Foligno with Khusnutdinov. Hartman can shoot, knows how to get open for a skilled passer, and could be another big body to generally go get the puck and get it onto khusnutdinov's stick (better than Johannson would). But I'd really Khusnutdinov to have another high level skater with him and if Johansson is on the line I like Foligno better as a complimentary piece to those two than Hartman.
 
Circulartheory

Circulartheory

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Apr 22, 2006
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Just going to say, Ive been always conservative with Khusnutidov and said our realistic goal would be Haula (when he was in Minnesota) but marketing around his arrival has on point so ... I'm on the hype train now and going to cheer him on being the more present Haula, a 2nd/3rd line winger scoring 45points a season. LETS GO!
 
AKL

AKL

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I'm not expecting anything more than a reliable, two-way, 30-40 point player, but with his skating and smarts it also wouldn't surprise me if he touched 50 at some point. Seems like the kind of guy whose game could be elevated with smart, skilled linemates.
 

f7ben

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Mar 25, 2018
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AKL said:
I'm not expecting anything more than a reliable, two-way, 30-40 point player, but with his skating and smarts it also wouldn't surprise me if he touched 50 at some point. Seems like the kind of guy whose game could be elevated with smart, skilled linemates.
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And there is historical context showing exactly that.
 
Dr Jan Itor

Dr Jan Itor

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Dec 10, 2009
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Maybe he can play the Zuccarello role with Kaprizov and Yurov once Zucc is done: a ~45 point player elevated to PPG status playing with stars.
 

Wonderful Tacos

Registered User
Nov 29, 2023
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He's got a player profile on the team website now.

www.nhl.com

Marat Khusnutdinov Stats And News

Get all the latest stats, news, videos, and more on Marat Khusnutdinov.
www.nhl.com www.nhl.com

Now listed at 5'11" and 176 lbs vs his listed size on EP (probably from the draft) of 5'9" and 165 lbs

Its not hard to believe he's bulked over the last couple years but wrt to the idea of growing two inches taller after 18, uhh.. just gonna suspend my disbelief since we're at peak hype on this dude right now.
 
Wasted Talent

Wasted Talent

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BagHead

BagHead

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Dec 23, 2010
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Wasted Talent said:
It just means Zuccarello is indirectly mentoring Khusnutdinov by mentoring Kaprizov.
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The mentorship downline, hey? I'm glad Zuccarello has someone who is willing to speak out about his accomplishments. So many people ignore the impact that a great mind and solid leader has on a lockeroom. Zuccarello, Koivu, Wes Walz. If you listen closely and have 20 minutes, you can still hear the voice of Walz in the corridors.
 
Minnewildsota

Minnewildsota

He who laughs last thinks slowest
Jun 7, 2010
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BagHead said:
The mentorship downline, hey? I'm glad Zuccarello has someone who is willing to speak out about his accomplishments. So many people ignore the impact that a great mind and solid leader has on a lockeroom. Zuccarello, Koivu, Wes Walz. If you listen closely and have 20 minutes, you can still hear the voice of Walz in the corridors.
Click to expand...
 
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Webster

Webster

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Shocked by his stats last season for HK Sochi. 49 games, 20 points, -12.

I hope this was just a slow season for him, but these numbers...
 

MNRube

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Oct 20, 2013
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Webster said:
Shocked by his stats last season for HK Sochi. 49 games, 20 points, -12.

I hope this was just a slow season for him, but these numbers...
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If you look at the previous year’s numbers he looks like a Top 6 lock. You have to look at the total picture. He was buried this year at time as players headed to the NHL often are
 
AKL

AKL

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MNRube said:
If you look at the previous year’s numbers he looks like a Top 6 lock. You have to look at the total picture. He was buried this year at time as players headed to the NHL often are
Click to expand...

He was second among Sochi's forwards for TOI.

The reality is he's not an offensive driver. When he played with SKA he was thrust into a top six role due to lack of depth and some injuries to others. That boosted his offensive numbers. This year SKA had a lot more depth and he was down the lineup, had nothing really to do with him leaving for the NHL.
 
BuiumSaveUs

BuiumSaveUs

Danila Yurov Fan Club Executive Assistant
May 2, 2018
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He was over .5ppg player once he got to Sochi but there were a lot of Russian poster concerned with his game. I think at the very least though he can be a 4th line center rn. The question will be if the offense comes which the Wild think it will
 
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