Article: Marat Khusnutdinov Shines In NHL Debut

[Thomas Williams]

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[Pewterschmidt]

Based on this small sample size I can say Marat-a-tat-tat pushes Rossi down lineup, not other way around.  This is what it looks like to show coach you deserve more TOI.   Nice work Judd.  This kid doesn’t need a single shift in Iowa.  If yurov is putting up twice as many pts as the Rat did I cannot wait for him to arrive.  
(And Fred and Foligno didn’t even get in his way.  Imagine this kid with a couple nhl wingers)
#wildyoungcorereboot

Edited March 15 by Pewterschmidt

[Protec]

Knudi has lots of runway to learn and develop as an NHL player. As a young guy, he's gotta be thinking about being responsible most of all. Winning draws was good to see. I think he'll get some good chances before too long. One shot for his line last night was kinda crummy but in a tight game, not a big deal.

Fleury shutout, nice to see too.

Biggest game of the season coming up at St.Louis.

[AKwildkraken]

I thought Marat looked a little nervous handling the puck in the first period, but got better as the game progressed.  I was impressed with his ability to use his body to separate the puck from the opponent.  Being able to do this as a smaller player reminded me of Spurgeon with this ability.  I think he will have more offense to his game with more familiarity with the team.  Hopefully he can continue winning draws!!!!

[Protec]

Most bizarre thing I've seen in a long time and confirmation it's clown-world. Bearded tough guy hurt by, Johansson... 😄

NOTES: Ducks defenseman Radko Gudas left and did not return following a hit from Minnesota forward Marcus Johansson at 4:27 of the first period.

Edited March 15 by Protec

[IllicitFive]

17 minutes ago, Protec said:

Most bizarre thing I've seen in a long time and confirmation it's clown-world. Bearded tough guy hurt by, Johansson... 😄

NOTES: Ducks defenseman Radko Gudas left and did not return following a hit from Minnesota forward Marcus Johansson at 4:27 of the first period.

Maybe he was reading some Hockey Wilderness comments yesterday about the swinging stick and being soft for having some size. Got him all riled up to take out the ducks leading checker. 

[Citizen Strife]

I laughed when the crowd cheered for a center winning faceoffs.  The game wasn't too much for him, and the line did what it needed to in a tight game.  He showed intelligence in when and where to pinch in or stay back, and that's what you want in a checking line.  Foligno can hit and crash and Gaudreau can...he can...

Well, whatever happens to Khusnutdinov, he made it known he's smart, fast, and capable on both ends.  Nice start.

 

Edited March 15 by Citizen Strife

[Citizen Strife]

Also, I'm in no hurry to say one way or another whether Rossi or Khusnutdinov would fit better where in the lineup.  Hartman has proven adept at working with Kap and Boldy until Ek comes back, and Hartman could take over 2nd or 3rd line wing.  Having more center depth is just good to have right now.

[Will D. Ness]

I would take Bogo over Gudas, beard wise, tough wise, contract wise, and over all not an asshole wise.

NoCall on NoJo for boarding Gudas on that play.

[IllicitFive]

It was weird to see someone win over 50% of face offs, I will take 66% all day compared to what we have seen forever it seems.  He didn't seem hesitant about going to corners and digging for pucks. His fore and back checking seemed to be as advertised, used his speed to get into position well and put pressure on. A bit more time, confidence and comfortability with teammates will help the offense come. There wasn't anything I saw last night that raised a red flag. I am excited to see what he can bring. I think this is the start of the movement towards a quicker game as well. He's advertised as a speed demon, I think Chisholm brings some more speed on the back end, especially relative to goose and Merril. Bring in Yurov, some more of the youth, maybe we have our speed with some size we have all been craving, instead of trying to play 80's and 90's tough guy hockey.

[Lovehockey]

Marat played very careful game, he was good on face offs. So far this all I can say. And this is understandable for the first game, new team/country/smaller ring. Little concern is that usually u can see the talent right the way - like small moves, pack handling and so on even if player restrict himself (Boldy, Kaprisov, Favor are coming in mind right the way). This was not on display in the first game. He looked good but not much better the Dewey guys we traded. But like Marat said this is not his game and he will be much better so we will see.

[mnfaninnc]

I liked him using his body to check, at least twice. Not being afraid to get in there on bigger opponents was good to see. I didn't quite see his speed on display, but I did notice his acceleration a couple of times as outstanding. 

There line almost scored a goal except that Foligno had kicked it in the net and the refs blew the play dead prior, so there is that. Very successful debut. Did they give him the ice solo at the beginning of the warmups?

Overall, I think this is a nice piece. Looks like his bottom is where Dewar was this season.

[AKwildkraken]

8 minutes ago, mnfaninnc said:

I liked him using his body to check, at least twice. Not being afraid to get in there on bigger opponents was good to see. I didn't quite see his speed on display, but I did notice his acceleration a couple of times as outstanding. 

There line almost scored a goal except that Foligno had kicked it in the net and the refs blew the play dead prior, so there is that. Very successful debut. Did they give him the ice solo at the beginning of the warmups?

Overall, I think this is a nice piece. Looks like his bottom is where Dewar was this season.

 

[AKwildkraken]

Yeah, he got the solo time for warmup.

[mnfaninnc]

I thought I'd catch everyone up with what's going on in jrs. 

In the WHL, Prince George (Heidt) has clinched the division title and is #1 in their conference. Moose Jaw (Parker) is third in the other conference. 

In the OHL, Oshawa (Kumpulainen) is #1 in its conference, Saginaw (Haight) is #2 in the other conference as well as Owen Sound (Petrovsky) is #7. All of these teams have clinched playoff spots.

I've also been trying to find news on Firstov and have found none. Does anyone have any information on whether or not we should expect him?

Yurov's journey continues on Sunday.

Edited March 15 by mnfaninnc

[mnfaninnc]

Also, Farjestad (Ohgren) finished #1 in the SHL, they are currently in playoffs receiving a 1st round bye. 

[Will D. Ness]

"Hoos Nude Enough" had a good combo of strength and speed from what I could tell.  I'm pretty sure there is more there that wasn't on display last night.  

I'm leaning towards a line with him centering between Shaw and Letteri rather than Foligno and Freddy.  

[raithis]

54 minutes ago, mnfaninnc said:

I didn't quite see his speed on display, but I did notice his acceleration a couple of times as outstanding.

He's a two way player who puts more of an emphasis on defense.

Offensive-minded players are willing to gamble a bit more.  They will sometimes sacrifice defensive position for offensive chances.

I doubt we see his speed on display too much unless one or more of his linemates can keep up.

[Protec]

1 hour ago, Lovehockey said:

Marat played very careful game, he was good on face offs. So far this all I can say. And this is understandable for the first game, new team/country/smaller ring. Little concern is that usually u can see the talent right the way - like small moves, pack handling and so on even if player restrict himself (Boldy, Kaprisov, Favor are coming in mind right the way). This was not on display in the first game. He looked good but not much better the Dewey guys we traded. But like Marat said this is not his game and he will be much better so we will see.

I think the big difference is the Deweys had a year to figure it out. They weren't really able to find another level in MN. 

If Guerin has young players who are hungry but also relatively unproven guys in the league on his roster too, it makes sense to sort them out. Give each an ample opportunity to audition. 

Currently Knudi, Shaw, and Beckman are up. Rossi made it and took another step. He nearly had one last night. 

To me, it looks like Guerin has a plan and he's burning through prospects and serviceable vets at about a 1-2 year clip.

I.e. good audition = contract. Status quo = out after an opportunity. A more kicks are the can type long-game. Smart upgrades like Chisolm, or inexpensive pokes at a Bogo are necessary while the Wild work towards a compete roster. Lots of players have been shuffled by Guerin in the mid-low tier levels and it's been pretty good. MN is not that far off now from being INSIDE the top 16. That's not bad considering how lousy the start was.

[Protec]

3 hours ago, Will D. Ness said:

NoCall on NoJo for boarding Gudas on that play.

How great would it be if Gudas goes for payback and beats the tarp out of NoJo? 🤣

[mnfaninnc]

21 hours ago, raithis said:

I doubt we see his speed on display too much unless one or more of his linemates can keep up.

I am anticipating we see it when he picks a defenseman clean at the point and is off to the races. You could also see that he has no problem playing deep in the defensive zone and catching up to the wings for offense. I noticed a couple of times that he ended up just being in the right spot for the puck due to his speed getting to a place a little early. 

It does not take him long to go through his gear box and get to 80% of his speed, to me, that's kind of exciting. It was also good to see him ram into guys bigger than him while not losing his balance. This is where, I think, he differs from Rossi at this point and why Rossi needs one more huge offseason to bulk up. 

[raithis]

10 hours ago, mnfaninnc said:

I am anticipating we see it when he picks a defenseman clean at the point and is off to the races. You could also see that he has no problem playing deep in the defensive zone and catching up to the wings for offense. I noticed a couple of times that he ended up just being in the right spot for the puck due to his speed getting to a place a little early. 

It does not take him long to go through his gear box and get to 80% of his speed, to me, that's kind of exciting. It was also good to see him ram into guys bigger than him while not losing his balance. This is where, I think, he differs from Rossi at this point and why Rossi needs one more huge offseason to bulk up. 

Agreed.  His acceleration and reaction time allows him to cover a much broader area than most players.  If Ek is out longer, I'd like to see him get some PK time.  Johansson and Lucchini (in this St Louis game) are not the answer for an absence of Deweys and a hurt Ek on the PK.

[FredJohnson]

But has he earned the playing time? TM 

[FredJohnson]

On 3/15/2024 at 11:46 AM, mnfaninnc said:

Also, Farjestad (Ohgren) finished #1 in the SHL, they are currently in playoffs receiving a 1st round bye. 

Get his arse over here while he's got time off!! 😁

[mnfaninnc]

14 hours ago, raithis said:

Agreed.  His acceleration and reaction time allows him to cover a much broader area than most players.  If Ek is out longer, I'd like to see him get some PK time.

I was thinking this exact thing when I watched #90 and #27 look dejected after the Blues scored on the PP. I was also thinking the 3 on 3 OT session would probably let him showcase some of his speed and skills. It was a shame we couldn't get a taste of it. Boldy's long shift probably took him out of it, but I'll bet Heinzy wasn't even considering it. 

There hasn't been a lot of practice time for Dino to get caught up on everything, but, sometimes, the element of surprise can be good. In this situation, I don't think the Blues would have known how to defend him and definitely wouldn't have known his full speed. I would have paired him with Kaprizov's 2nd shift. 

Other thoughts on last night, I was pleasantly surprised to see Shaw get up under Sunny and just move him out of the way and then mix it up with him. To me, it looked like Shaw went to the weight room during the layoff/rehab, and took out his frustration by building upper body strength. 

I also thought Rossi elevated his game like a whole gear. He still needs some strength, but I saw a very engaged player who picked it up. It wasn't just his goal, it was every shift after the shake up. 

I was also pleased to see Heinzy shake things up when lines weren't working. That is something Evason rarely did. We needed that and it paid off. 

Sometimes a player with confidence can do some amazing things you didn't think he had. It is pretty obvious that this has been a hard year for Freddy, and his turn at the shootout was pretty much a summary of where he's at. I don't know if he's still not feeling right, but his confidence level is pretty low. I think he'll punt on this year, and just hope for a bounce back year next season.