Evgeny Kuznetsov

Evgeny Kuznetsov
With the Capitals in 2016.
Born	May 19, 1992 Chelyabinsk, Russia
Height	6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight	190 lb (86 kg; 13 st 8 lb)
Position	Center / Right Wing
Shoots	Left
NHL team Former teams	Washington Capitals Traktor Chelyabinsk
National team	Russia
NHL Draft	26th overall, 2010 Washington Capitals
Playing career	2007–present

Yevgeny Yevgenyevich Kuznetsov (Russian: Евгений Евгеньевич Кузнецов; born May 19, 1992) is a Russian professional ice hockey forward currently playing for the Washington Capitals of the National Hockey League (NHL). He previously played for Traktor Chelyabinsk of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). He has represented Russia in junior and senior level competitions on numerous occasions, winning gold medals at the 2011 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, as well as at the 2012 IIHF World Championship and 2014 IIHF World Championship.

Playing career

Professional

Kuznetsov made his professional debut in the 2009–10 season with Traktor Chelyabinsk of the KHL. That season, he played 35 games, totaling eight points. After his performance for Traktor, he was ranked as the third-best European skater by the NHL Central Scouting Bureau for the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, where he was eventually selected in the first round, 26th overall, by the Washington Capitals.^[1][2]

In the 2011–12 season, Kuznetsov was selected^[3] to the KHL All-Star Game. During the season, he also won the Continental Cup and bronze medals with his team. It was reported that during the 2013–14 season, Kuznetsov earned $3.8 million to play for Traktor.^[4]

On March 8, 2014, Kuznetsov signed an entry-level contract with the Washington Capitals.^[5] On March 25, he scored his first career NHL goal, which happened to be a short-handed goal, against the Los Angeles Kings with under a minute left to tie the game; the Capitals, however, eventually lost 5–4 in the shootout.

On April 23, 2015, Kuznetsov scored the first and second Stanley Cup playoff goals of his career against the New York Islanders. In the same game, he also had an assist in an eventual 5–1 Washington win. On April 27, 2015, he scored the game-winning goal in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Quarter-finals against the Islanders in the same series, advancing the Capitals to a Conference Semi-finals match-up against the 2014–15 Presidents' Trophy-winning New York Rangers.

During the 2015–16 season, Kuznetsov was named to his first All-Star Game as a replacement for Alexander Ovechkin, who pulled out due to a lower-body injury.

International play

Kuznetsov at the 2012 World Junior Hockey Championship.

Evgeny Kuznetsov accepting a post-game award at the 2010 World Jr Championships
Medal record
Representing Russia
Men's ice hockey
World Championships
	2012 Helsinki
	2014 Minsk
	2016 Russia
World Junior Championships
	2011 USA
	2012 Canada
IIHF World U18 Championships
	2009 USA

Kuznetsov played for Russia at the 2010 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships held in Saskatchewan, Canada. He finished the tournament with two goals and was selected as the player of the game for Russia after the preliminary round game against Austria.^[6]

Kuznetsov again represented Russia in the 2011 World Junior Championships in Buffalo, New York. He was the only 18-year-old on the Russian team; every other player was 19.^[7] He finished second in the tournament in scoring with four goals and seven assists in seven games. He also had three assists in the gold medal game in which Russia overcame a 3–0 deficit in the third period against Canada to win 5–3. Kuznetsov was named by the tournament coaches as one of the three best players on his team,^[8] and was named to the tournament all-star team by the media.^[9] He was also named the best player in the match against Norway, in which he recorded one goal and one assist.^[10] He finished tied for second in the tournament in scoring, alongside teammate Vladimir Tarasenko, with four goals and seven assists.^[11]

Kuznetsov then served as team captain for Russia at the 2012 World Junior Championships, the third year in a row he participated in the tournament. On December 29, 2011, in a game against Latvia, Kuznetsov recorded three goals and six assists for nine points in an emphatic 14–0 win for Russia. This set a record for most points by a Russian player at the World Juniors, as well as the second-highest total in a game in the history of the tournament, one point behind Peter Forsberg of Sweden, who set the record in 1993.^[12]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2007–08	Traktor-2 Chelyabinsk	RUS-3		2	0	0	0	0		—	—	—	—	—
2008–09	Traktor-2 Chelyabinsk	RUS-3		22	5	15	16	40		—	—	—	—	—
2009–10	Belye Medvedi Chelyabinsk	MHL		9	4	12	16	8		2	1	2	3	4
2009–10	Traktor Chelyabinsk	KHL		35	2	6	8	10		4	1	0	1	0
2010–11	Traktor Chelyabinsk	KHL		44	17	15	32	30		—	—	—	—	—
2010–11	Belye Medvedi Chelyabinsk	MHL		8	10	5	15	4		5	0	2	2	10
2011–12	Traktor Chelyabinsk	KHL		49	19	21	40	30		12	7	2	9	10
2012–13	Traktor Chelyabinsk	KHL		51	19	25	44	42		25	5	6	11	28
2013–14	Traktor Chelyabinsk	KHL		31	8	13	21	12		—	—	—	—	—
2013–14	Washington Capitals	NHL		17	3	6	9	6		—	—	—	—	—
2014–15	Washington Capitals	NHL		80	11	26	37	24		14	5	2	7	8
2015–16	Washington Capitals	NHL		82	20	57	77	32		12	1	1	2	8
KHL totals				210	65	81	146	124		53	14	9	23	46
NHL totals				179	34	89	123	62		26	6	3	9	16

International

Year	Team	Event	Result		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2009	Russia	U18			7	6	7	13	10
2010	Russia	U18	4th		7	5	7	12	6
2010	Russia	WJC	6th		6	2	0	2	10
2011	Russia	WJC			7	4	7	11	4
2012	Russia	WJC			6	6	7	13	2
2012	Russia	WC			10	2	4	6	4
2013	Russia	WC	6th		3	1	0	1	2
2014	Russia	WC			10	1	1	2	4
2016	Russia	WC			6	1	1	2	0
Junior totals					33	23	28	51	32
Senior totals					29	5	6	11	10

Awards and honours

Award	Year
IIHF World U18 Championships First Team All-Star[13]	2010
World Junior Ice Hockey Championships First Team All-Star[14]	2011
World Junior Ice Hockey Championships First Team All-Star	2012
World Junior Ice Hockey Championships Best Forward	2012
World Junior Ice Hockey Championships Most Valuable Player	2012
NHL First Star of the Week October 18, 2015 - October 25, 2015	2015
NHL All Star Game	2016
NHL First Star of the Month	January 2016

References

1. NHL Central Scouting (2010). "International Skaters Final Ranking" (PDF). NHL.com. Retrieved 2011-01-06.
2. Kimelman, Adam (2010-06-26). "Taylor Hall, Tyler Seguin selections start to wild first round". NHL.com. Retrieved 2011-01-06.
3. "Vote's result of the 2012 KHL All-Star Game". KHL.com. 2012.
4. http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1876477-predicting-the-next-5-washington-capitals-prospects-to-arrive-in-the-nhl/page/4
5. "Capitals agree to terms with Kuznetsov". capitalstoday.com. 2014-03-08. Retrieved 2014-03-08.
6. IIHF (2010-01-06). "Best Players per Game" (PDF). IIHF.com. Retrieved 2011-01-07.
7. Meltzer, Bill (2011-01-05). "Russia's comeback kids ready for WJC gold medal game". NHL.com. Retrieved 2011-01-06.
8. IIHF (2011-01-05). "Best Players of Each Team Selected by Coaches" (PDF). IIHF.com. Retrieved 2011-01-07.
9. IIHF (2011-01-05). "Media All Stars" (PDF). IIHF.com. Retrieved 2011-01-05.
10. IIHF (2011-01-05). "Best Players per Game" (PDF). IIHF.com. Retrieved 2011-01-07.
11. IIHF (2011-01-05). "Scoring Leaders" (PDF). IIHF.com. Retrieved 2011-01-07.
12. Aykroyd, Lucas (2011-12-29). "Nine-point night for Kuznetsov". IIHF.com. Retrieved 2011-12-30.
13. http://www.eliteprospects.com/awards.php?award=U18%20WJC%20All-Star%20Team
14. http://www.tsn.ca/World_jrs/feature/?id=1324

External links

• Evgeny Kuznetsov's player profile at NHL.com
• Evgeny Kuznetsov's career statistics at The Internet Hockey Database
• Evgeny Kuznetsov's career statistics at EliteProspects.com
  
• Profile at Traktor Chelyabinsk website (Russian)