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W Nikita Kucherov (2011, 58th overall, Tampa Bay)

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Yzlamic Preacher*

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malkinfan said:
His shot is not weak, it was in fact his calling card when coming out of Russia. In juniors it was always Gusev setting up Kucherov so he could rip his wicked one timer/wrister. Watch some of his highlights.. Pure sniper type player.
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Both Lightning Prospects :yo:
 
TampaBolt

TampaBolt

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Semaj said:
Really creative and skilled player, also among the best skater in the Q. Despite his stats showing otherwise, he's much more of a passer than a shooter. His creativity and playmaking abilities are among his strenght and his shot is pretty weak, he has scored pretty much all his goals in breakaway. He really is a beast in breakaway.

He play like a typical Russian player tought. He really need to be more intense, especially arround the board where he never comes out with the puck. So far he didn't play well in both playoff game against Drummondville. He made a few flashes in the second game but tried to be too fancy.

To answer the OT. He really lack awareness in the defensive zone and need way more guts to win battle arround the board and it will slow down in transition to the NHL a lot. In conclusion, I think he surely could help a NHL team next year in a offensive role but will likely play a while in the AHL cause he has to improve his play whitout the puck a ton before thinking about playing in the NHL.
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I don't know what have you been looking at but Kuch has an absolute rocket. He is a Sniper first. Once he was traded scored at almost a goal per game pace. As some one said before, he is too good for junior hockey. Next year he will play with either the Lightning in an offensive role or full time AHL. Probably the latter to round up his game.
 
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Fulcrum

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Semaj said:
Really creative and skilled player, also among the best skater in the Q. Despite his stats showing otherwise, he's much more of a passer than a shooter. His creativity and playmaking abilities are among his strenght and his shot is pretty weak, he has scored pretty much all his goals in breakaway. He really is a beast in breakaway.

He play like a typical Russian player tought. He really need to be more intense, especially arround the board where he never comes out with the puck. So far he didn't play well in both playoff game against Drummondville. He made a few flashes in the second game but tried to be too fancy.

To answer the OT. He really lack awareness in the defensive zone and need way more guts to win battle arround the board and it will slow down in transition to the NHL a lot. In conclusion, I think he surely could help a NHL team next year in a offensive role but will likely play a while in the AHL cause he has to improve his play whitout the puck a ton before thinking about playing in the NHL.
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He also has a smaller frame and built, so asking of a finesse sniper to be a board warrior is a square peg in a round hole.

He IS really good at spinning of hits and getting his poke check in to break up plays along the boards and getting the puck to his teammates. I find Grigorenko and Gusev have a very similiar style along the boards, same school afterall.

And ye, he has a really good powerful and Very accurate one timer from the RW and scored his lionshare of goals in MHL from there.
 
Flames Fanatic

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He was very noticeable during the WJC. I still have Gord Miller saying his voice when I read it in my head. Tenacious offensively to be sure.
 
Semaj49

Semaj49

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- I may went a bit too far when I said his shot is weak but really, it isn't a strengh either.

- To the people who think Kucherov will make the jump to the NHL next fall: I can see it ,but I highly doubt it. I think he has to polish his game in the AHL

- To the guy who thinks Kuch is too good for the CHL: He surely is one of the best offensive player in the Q but saying he is too good for Junior Major is totally laughable at this point. Especially after his playoff debut.

- To the guy who said he is a shooter first: I seriously doubt you've ever watch him play.


By the way, i'm not a hater, I really like this talented kid but at the same time I can't believe how overated he is on this board.
 
Jacko95

Jacko95

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Semaj said:
- I may went a bit too far when I said his shot is weak but really, it isn't a strengh either.

- To the people who think Kucherov will make the jump to the NHL next fall: I can see it ,but I highly doubt it. I think he has to polish his game in the AHL

- To the guy who thinks Kuch is too good for the CHL: He surely is one of the best offensive player in the Q but saying he is too good for Junior Major is totally laughable at this point. Especially after his playoff debut.

- To the guy who said he is a shooter first: I seriously doubt you've ever watch him play.


By the way, i'm not a hater, I really like this talented kid but at the same time I can't believe how overated he is on this board.
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I highly doubt he is overrated, you hear near to nothing about him on this board, while other 2011 draftees who were drafted by Canadian teams are already prized prospects (Corrado for example).
I doubt he will make Tampas roster out of the gate, we have to many guys deserving a shot before him and with Defense being our main weakness, I can't see Kucherov as a good call-up. I want him to learn a better two-way game first and Syracuse should be the perfect place to do so.
 
Sear91

Sear91

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I've heard a comparison to Michael Ryder- He has the ability to score 30 goals or more in the NHL if he grasps the "shoot first" mentality. He's got some flash and can pass very well. 30-30 would be wonderful from him and as a Lightning fan I am VERY excited to see how he develops.
 
Retire91

Retire91

Stevey Y you our Guy
May 31, 2010
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Given that Cooper was the AHL coach I feel he would give a lot of his players priority on callups given the relationships and knowing what their strengths are. I am not sure we would promote Kucherov over players he has been coaching for all this time unless Kucherov explodes
 
Semaj49

Semaj49

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Sear91 said:
I've heard a comparison to Michael Ryder- He has the ability to score 30 goals or more in the NHL if he grasps the "shoot first" mentality. He's got some flash and can pass very well. 30-30 would be wonderful from him and as a Lightning fan I am VERY excited to see how he develops.
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Don't know where you find that comparison but this is totally off.

The closest comparison I find is a rich man Alex Tanguay, a really creative and playmaking winger.
 
Captain Clutch

Captain Clutch

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May 2, 2012
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I like the comparison to hejduk, though I think Alex Tanguay might be the better comparison. He is a very good playmaker, and this will be his role at the NHL level. Looked great at the WJC but needs to fill out a little in the AHL or he'll get broken in half.
 
WADEugottaBELAKthat

WADEugottaBELAKthat

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He is elusive on the rush and has enormous amounts of hockey sense. Goal scoring is one of his strong suits, he has both flair and desire for scoring. His shot is not hard, but it is accurate with a quick release. And he can score in quite alot of ways. Thinks the game real well.

He needs more strength. He has a teenage body and doesn´t have the puck strength off the rush to handle the older, heavier pros yet. His one-on-one skills are pretty good when in the corners but he gets poke checked pretty often. He is a player who relies on his speed, but he actually isn´t really all that fast ... but he has quick first steps.

I have said this before and I will mention it again here; Kucherov reminds me an awful lot of Martin Straka. I like him ALOT as a player and have been wowed by his international performances.

But in the end, I don´t think he will crack the NHL ... at least not for a long time. Just a hunch from my end. But I hope he does... his celebrations are awesome!!
 
Number 57

Number 57

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Tanguay's a good comparison, but I still view him more as a shoot-first type of player. He has world class hockey sense and puck skills, I can't see him not making it into the show. He really is underrated around here as nobody is talking about him - a winger with that much skills should be on a top prospect list somewhere, anywhere.

Think of Kabanov but with higher production. Like Kabanov = Kovalev and Kucherov = Semin.
 
TampaBolt

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Semaj said:
- I may went a bit too far when I said his shot is weak but really, it isn't a strengh either.

- To the people who think Kucherov will make the jump to the NHL next fall: I can see it ,but I highly doubt it. I think he has to polish his game in the AHL

- To the guy who thinks Kuch is too good for the CHL: He surely is one of the best offensive player in the Q but saying he is too good for Junior Major is totally laughable at this point. Especially after his playoff debut.

- To the guy who said he is a shooter first: I seriously doubt you've ever watch him play.


By the way, i'm not a hater, I really like this talented kid but at the same time I can't believe how overated he is on this board.
Click to expand...


I doubt you watch him play. He has a great shot for his age and league. Once he adds strength it will get even better. He and the word overrated, cannot be used in the same sentence. He is barely talked about even when producing at almost 2 ppg pace for his Q debut season, with arguably a "middle of the road" team.
 
SergeConstantin74

SergeConstantin74

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«J'ai pris la bonne décision en venant à Québec et j'ai dit à quatre ou cinq joueurs russes qu'ils devraient tenter leur chance. Ce serait bon pour eux, comme ça l'a été pour Valentin Zykov [Baie-Comeau]. En Russie, personne ne s'intéresse au hockey junior. Ici, c'est comme une mini-Ligue nationale.»
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http://www.lapresse.ca/le-soleil/sp...e=cyberpresse_B13b_remparts_4708_section_POS3

"I made ​​the right decision in coming to Quebec and I said to four or five Russian players they should do it also. It would be good for them as it was for Valentin Zykov [Baie-Comeau]. In Russia, nobody is interested in junior hockey. Here, it's like a mini-NHL."
 
Retire91

Retire91

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Young players like Gusev in the KHL do they get paid the crazy dollars to play at such a young age? I am just wondering if the financials are better for a player to develop in the KHL where in the CHL AHL route they will make much less by comparison unless they crack the NHL lineup?

Just wondering if Euro players are watching the Rundblad Filatov type stories and seriously rethinking if development years in the NA are financially the right way to go.
 
Number 57

Number 57

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Kucherov gets 6 pts tonight and eliminates his former team the Quebec Remparts... what a monster. 18 pts in 10 games so far in these playoffs.
 
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