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  • Khusnutdinov's Deliberate Play Is A Product Of His KHL Roots


    Image courtesy of Robert Edwards-Imagn Images
    Bekki Antonelli

    A lot went wrong in the Minnesota Wild’s game against the Ottawa Senators on Saturday, but Marat Khusnutdinov wasn’t an issue. The 4th line forward recorded a 0 plus/minus despite a 6-0 loss. However, the goal visualizer and film showed Khusnutdinov on the ice for the 5th goal against.

    Khusnutdinov is in his second season with the Wild. The Russian forward has 2 goals and 3 assists over 51 games this season, with a 10:59 Time of Ice/Game (TOI/G) average. First-line forwards average closer to 20 minutes per game. For example, Kirill Kaprizov averages 22:25. He hasn’t driven offense for Minnesota but hasn’t seen much ice time. 

    Khusnutdinov played 16 games after arriving from Russia last year, netting 1 goal and 3 assists. He spent most of the season developing in the KHL, where he has played since 2021-22. He played 6 games for SKA St. Petersburg and 49 for HK Sochi, producing 20 points over the season. 

    Many players develop in other leagues before their NHL careers, primarily in the AHL. The KHL is a similar caliber league but there are some key differences. The KHL has bigger rinks, and the players focus more on passing and skills than physicality. Therefore, Russian players who succeed in the NHL are more skilled than physical. Their game usually translates as long as the player can handle a hit once they come to the NHL. Former KHL players are likely better conditioned from the bigger rink but are used to having more time to react due to a larger space.

    Khusnutdinov’s overseas development prevented him from playing with players in Minnesota’s system or against many future opponents. While this can make acclimating to a new roster more difficult, Khusnutdinov seems to have fit in with Minnesota’s roster. 

    The success of Minnesota’s other KHL alumni created a blueprint for Khusnutdinov.  Kirill Kaprizov spent 6 years in the KHL before coming to the NHL in 2021-22 and put up 51 points over 55 games in his first season. 

    Still, Kaprizov had more KHL development time. He was 23 when he came to the US, a year older than Khusnutdinov is now. The Wild also chose Danila Yurov in the first round (22nd overall) in the 2024 draft, suggesting they value players with KHL experience. 

    Khusnutdinov’s biggest problem seems to be his lack of mistakes. He only spent 12:27 on the ice in Ottawa and killed 3 penalties. The goal against was during his 4th kill. Khusnutdinov didn’t make any meaningful mistakes because he played a very safe game. 

    Khusnutdinov’s lack of physicality is a result of his KHL background. He ranks 10th for hits on the Wild, with 37 over 50 games. While 10th might not seem that low, all the forwards below him either play far fewer games or have many more points. 

    Most of the time, Khusnutdinov won’t take the body. However, Khusnutdinov has only 12 penalty minutes this season and 6 last year. 

    Usually, if the Wild forward isn’t going to score goals, he needs to be more difficult to play against. However, I don’t think that’s the role Hynes has in mind for him. If Hynes wanted Khusnutdinov to be a heavy hitter or thought he needed more physicality in his game. If that were the case, maybe he would give him more ice time in Iowa. 

    Instead, Hynes wants Khusnutdinov to adjust to the speed of the NHL and trusts him to keep the puck out of the net while the more experienced players get a rest. 

    Khusnutdinov looked timid early in the Senators game. A Minnesota defenseman passed the puck up the boards to him, which he missed. The puck ended up bouncing back to him, and in the time it took him to corral it, Ottawa players closed in on him. He still had a little room to skate but chose to pass it back to his defense. It wasn’t a bad play, as it kept Minnesota in control of the puck. However, a more confident player would have skated with it or dumped into the zone and chased. 

    When Khusnutdinov does carry the puck, he makes a giant loop back instead of going into pressure. That gives him time and opens up the ice, but it also allows more defenders to get in front of him. 

    As the game progressed, Hynes played Khusnutdinov more. He got bolder once the game was out of hand and carried the puck more. However, he still chose to go for a pass over shooting if a defender was in front of him. 

    Like most 4th liners, Khusnutdinov is in a tricky spot. To make really great plays, players must take bigger risks. Top NHLers make passes that get picked off or shut down on a puck carry all the time. It’s just less noticeable because they can recover quickly. 

    They also do it so often that they succeed on some of them, resulting in highlight reel plays. However, a bad mistake could mean less ice time or a demotion to the AHL for a less proven player. The usual role of a 4th liner is to make the safe play so the goal scorers can rest, so Khusnutdinov can’t always try to dangle either. 

    Even with a less aggressive style of play, Khusnutdinov’s good hockey sense gets him on the scoresheet. Last Wednesday, the forward scored the first goal in Minnesota’s win against the Toronto Maple Leafs by being in the right spot. 

    The Russian seems to always opt for safer play instead of taking chances. In terms of his physicality, lack thereof is for the best. Hynes wants his skills over brute force. Despite not making it onto the score sheet too often, Khusnutdinov shows potential through his smart plays. However, he needs to work on his reaction time and make risky plays to produce more and move up the ranks.

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    The Athletic's Scott Wheeler must really love Jiricek and Buium, which is certainly understandable. He's listed Detroit at #5(partly due to 2 strong goalie prospects) and Chicago(who is full of strong skater prospects) at #4.

    That leaves his top 3 teams in some order to be: Wild, Sharks, and Montreal.

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    MaRat is an interesting player. On this road trip, I have seen him have even more instinctive offensive traits, and he looks really smooth doing it. In a small area, he is very shifty, and he makes some very nice, short passes you wouldn't really expect from a 4th liner. 

    He never really has much with him. Lauko's speed helps, but he usually gears down to his linemates, and Shore simply can't keep up. He does button hook and drop pass a lot, yet if you watch him, he does this with extreme confidence, like he can lose a guy on the button hook. 

    I agree with Bekki's assessment that he has played a safe, low drama game, just as he's been asked to play, but there seems to be much more in the tank. I think freeing him up a little more will produce some more offense. That spin move he put on the Montreal defender was awesome. Let's remember that he is still young and learning and has been tasked with making sure nobody scores against him. 

    I'd like to see what can happen when he smashes shifts into the 5th gear a little more often. And, it's not just the 5th gear, but he has such good edges and acceleration. I think the biggest issue is nobody can skate with him. 

    One just has to wonder, can Bankier or Haight keep up with him? How about Milne? Why not give them a try? Shore is not the answer.

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    54 minutes ago, Lovehockey said:

    Very good article 

    Agreed.  Analysis with stats is nice too, but this seemed to delve into why a lot more without relying so heavily on stats, which I appreciate.

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    2 hours ago, mnfaninnc said:

    a safe, low drama game, just as he's been asked to play

    Along with a ton of very conservative decisions by the Wild defense. They were bailing out of the offense zone early and often. They didn’t look confident to me, including Spurgeon, which took me by surprise. The only thing that makes sense is the coaches are requiring this style of play. Personally I’m in favor of playing aggressive and having the D pinch in. Too many pucks are leaking out into the neutral zone. 

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    20 hours ago, Imyourhuckleberry said:

    The Athletic's Scott Wheeler must really love Jiricek and Buium, which is certainly understandable. He's listed Detroit at #5(partly due to 2 strong goalie prospects) and Chicago(who is full of strong skater prospects) at #4.

    That leaves his top 3 teams in some order to be: Wild, Sharks, and Montreal.

    Make that Top 2 after today.

    Which is either frightening or worrying.  I know it's just one guy's opinion, but the Wild are in a lot better shape roster wise than San Jose, Montreal, and Detroit.  Stuggles be damned, it's kinda weird that the team still has so many potential players waiting to break in and make impacts.

    My worry is Wallstedt has had one hell of a rough year, but Gus has done enough to stick with if the price is right.  It lessens the need for Wallstedt to be "the guy," and might keep the tandem for a reasonable amount ($9-11m if they are both good?)  I wonder if Wheeler is banking on playing with Minnesota's defense instead of Iowa's.  

    But if Buium's hype is real, that's the best offensive defenseman ever (Highest is Suter at 51...so not exactly the highest bar).  Even getting to Suter's pace is hardly the worst outcomes.  Faber's already a two way guy with decent numbers (35-45 per season it looks like).  Jiricek already had some offense in what little time he was here.

    Add in Yurov next season, Stramel's rounding into shape, and Ohgren and Khusnutdinov hopefully finding footing, I could see the hype surrounding the team.   You would hope that Kap and Rossi staying and better support would help Boldy a bit too.  There IS a plan in place.  It's just the waiting game is so hard.

     

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    Hartman suspension seems to have led to one of his best friend's being claimed off waivers and Vinnie immediately chipped in with a game winner.

    Vinnie actually has decent NHL scoring numbers for a guy that's been on the edge of the AHL for years. His best years were at ages 23-24, but they weren't bad at all.  He is possibly a legitimate upgrade over Johansson if they were to just let someone take NoJo's ice time.

    In the last 2 seasons, Johansson has 46 points in 124 games playing almost exclusively 2nd line and roughly 16 minutes per night. Vinnie has 42 points in his last 116 NHL games despite playing less than 13 minutes per night and not always on a scoring line.

    With the minutes discrepancy, Vinnie is nearly .3 points per 60 minutes better than NoJo has been over those last roughly 1.5 seasons worth of games.

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    5 hours ago, Imyourhuckleberry said:

    He is possibly a legitimate upgrade over Johansson if they were to just let someone take NoJo's ice time.

     

    I can't remember what constraints NoJo has in his contract but could he be waived and moved to Iowa if no one claims him? I think just the threat of that may loosen his restrictions.

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