By Mikki Tuohy -
There’s an understandable reluctance to draft Russian players into the NHL because of the geopolitics involved, but a few teams have seemingly cracked the code.
The Minnesota Wild drafted a handful of Russian players in the franchise's early days. However, starting in 2004, they didn’t draft any Russian players until 2015, when Kirill Kaprizov was the steal of the draft from the fifth round. Since then, the team has been more willing to draft Russian players. Marat Khusnutdinov was one of them, and he finally joined the team last spring.
It’s hard for any young player to move continents and adjust to an entirely different league. Khusnutdinov did an admirable job of learning things on the fly, but some fans were still disappointed with his league debut. The 2024-25 season will be Khusnutdinov’s chance to show fans that he’s prepared to be a staple player as the Wild emerge from their salary cap situation.
When Khusnutdinov arrived in America, he was slightly more prepared than Kaprizov. First, he spoke decent English and did his first press scrum almost entirely in English. During that scrum, he admitted that the NHL was faster and smarter than the KHL. Khusnutdinov and his camp had also been in constant communication with the Wild, whereas Kaprizov had been completely incommunicado. Because of social media, fans had a good idea of what Khusnutdinov brought with him to the rink.
First of all, what impressed fans the most during Khusnutdinov’s first game was that he won nearly all of the faceoffs he took. For a team that has continually struggled up the middle, that was enough to elicit cheers from the fans in attendance every time he won. He made 100% of his 5-on-5 faceoffs in the offensive zone. Of all of the true centers taking faceoffs during that game (so not wingers who stepped up to the dot after the refs kick a center out), Khusnutdinov had the best faceoff percentage that game, with 67%.
Fans need to remember that Khusnutdinov plays in a different style than Kaprizov and Yurov. There seems to be an undercurrent of thought that he’s a high-skill, goal-scoring player. And while he obviously has skills, he’s much more of a tough fourth-line grinder. He’s a rare physical type who can make hits and block shots without taking many penalties.
Khusnutdinov's work ethic and ability to play bigger than he is one way that he is like Kaprizov. Khusnutdinov and Kaprizov are slightly undersized but solidly built and able to push other players out of their space. While Kaprizov’s ability to put the team on his back in the third period is unique, fans can see some of that same drive in Khusnutdinov. He can push play back into the offensive zone and east to west to make plays happen.
Khusnutdinov does have some skills that make him a fun player to watch. He can dance around defenders and is a great playmaker, but he doesn’t have much prowess with goal-scoring. If he can play with a winger who is a quick trigger shot, he could rack up assists this coming season.
Next season could be a big one for Khusnutdinov. After staying in Minnesota for a good chunk of the summer, Khusnutdinov is bound to feel even more at home. Off-ice worries about fitting in and succeeding as a stranger to America can fade away, and he can focus solely on the good ole hockey game.
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