ST. PAUL, Minn. — From Mats Zuccarello’s protege to Marat Khusnutdinov’s mentor, Kirill Kaprizov is having a blast right now.
Not only has Kaprizov been the league’s hottest goal scorer for two months — yes, even hotter than Auston Matthews, who has scored 55 goals this season — but having Khusnutdinov at his side is also giving the Minnesota Wild’s Russian superstar a new sense of purpose.
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Now, if only the 21-year-old second-round pick would stop sleeping through dinner and standing up his countryman.
“No respect,” Kaprizov, who got to share the ice with Khusnutdinov during his NHL debut in Thursday’s 2-0 win over the Anaheim Ducks, said with a hearty laugh.
OK, to be fair, that happened only once, and that was due to jet lag from Khusnutdinov’s flight to the United States.
But there is no doubt Kaprizov, 26, is enjoying taking Khusnutdinov under his wing.
The Wild got the rookie prospect a hotel room in the same building where Kaprizov owns a condo, and Kaprizov has been Khusnutdinov’s daily chauffeur — or, as Khusnutdinov calls it, “free taxi” — to and from practices, games and dinner dates over the past week. Kaprizov has taken him shopping for groceries and clothes and has given him a grand tour of the Twin Cities. He has also acted as an interpreter for Khusnutdinov when coach John Hynes and his staff have needed to meet with the young centerman.
And Thursday afternoon, in advance of Khusnutdinov’s NHL debut, it had to be an honor for Khusnutdinov to get a ride from one of the greatest Russian players currently in the game. What’s more, Kaprizov gave him some words of wisdom.
When Kaprizov made his NHL debut in January 2021, it was the first game of the pandemic-shortened season. At the time, he became the sixth player in NHL history to have 3 points in his debut and only the third in history to score an overtime winner. When he celebrated that breakaway goal at the then-Staples Center, the only noise he heard was from his roaring teammates. And when he stared into the stands, he saw … nobody.
So Kaprizov told Khusnutdinov to enjoy Thursday’s game in front of a crowd of 18,376 at Xcel Energy Center because it was something he never got to experience during his first game and near-unanimous run to the Calder Trophy.
“It’s what I say to him in the morning,” Kaprizov said. “It’s easier to play like this, I think, than without fans.”
"It's the dream of every hockey player."
🗣️ Marat on making his NHL debut tonight. #mnwild pic.twitter.com/0hlqqu0lud
— Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) March 15, 2024
For a guy who has yet to have a full practice with his new team, who was thrust into a lineup with new systems, new teammates and on a different-sized rink than he’s accustomed to, Khusnutdinov looked the part during a solid NHL debut.
He logged nearly 12 minutes of ice time, mostly playing alongside Marcus Foligno and Freddy Gaudreau, although he got one shift with Kaprizov and even got a spot on the second power-play unit. He had a team-leading four blocked shots in a game in which the Wild protected Marc-Andre Fleury well by giving up only 17 shots and blocking 16. And Khusnutdinov was strong on the forecheck, separating Ducks players from pucks and even forcing one turnover that led to a Foligno chance.
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“He brought what he’s really good at,” Hynes said. “He’s certainly a smart player. He certainly understands how to play without the puck. All through the game he had the blocked shots. I thought he was good in a lot of areas. I’d say probably the second period he seemed most comfortable, and then there was a little bit more puck touches, and you can see what he can bring offensively.”
Most importantly, at least in the eyes of Minnesota fans who know full well that the Wild are perennially one of the worst faceoff teams in the NHL, Khusnutdinov can win a draw.
He won five of six in the first period and six of nine in the game. And when he won his first two cleanly, the crowd erupted almost comically.
“It’s crazy,” Khusnutdinov said in English, laughing, before adding sarcastically: “Two faceoffs? Oooooooh. Ooooooh. (It was like,) ‘OK, thank you!’”
What’s impressive about Khusnutdinov is that even though he had an interpreter at his disposal Thursday night, he continued to try to talk to reporters in English and did a good job of it.
And when Ryan Hartman presented his new teammate with the “Hero of the Game” Viking helmet, Khusnutdinov told his new team to “stay hot!”
Stay hot 🔥#mnwild pic.twitter.com/OK26LRmscY
— Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) March 15, 2024
Kaprizov is blown away by it.
“I think his English is pretty good,” Kaprizov said. “Better than mine when I came here. Mine was zero. I just knew, ‘Hey, how are you?’ That’s it. I think his English is pretty good. He can talk with the coach and with the guys in the locker room, too.”
Kaprizov and Khusnutdinov drove to the rink listening to Russian music. Kaprizov said he sensed Khusnutdinov was nervous about his debut simply because he was quiet, so he told him not to worry and to just play his game.
As part of the NHL’s collective bargaining agreement, teams are expected to fly a player’s parents and immediate family members to their NHL debuts. Because it’s so difficult to get Russian citizens into the United States, Khusnutdinov’s parents and sister had to watch on TV back home in the wee hours of the morning.
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Khusnutdinov was satisfied with his play and certainly the win, but he said there’s a lot to improve upon.
“I still need to control the puck better, make better plays,” he said. “Today was a good team win. I’m glad I could contribute, but personally, I could do a lot better. I need to do a lot better.”
Fleury, who is only the fourth goalie in NHL history to play 1,000 games, played his 1,018th Thursday and recorded his 75th career shutout and 560th win. Despite his age of 39 and 20 years in the NHL, Fleury still loves being the goalie who gets to hit the brakes and provide a rookie playing in his first NHL game a solo lap before warmups.
Khusnutdinov stepped onto Xcel Energy Center’s ice helmetless, got a loud applause from the fans who lined the glass in the Wild end and let his long hair blow in the breeze.
Lid-less Marat Khusnutdinov’s rookie solo lap in advance of his #mnwild debut pic.twitter.com/Ow4ogGWgv1
— Michael Russo (@RussoHockey) March 14, 2024
“It’s the dream of every hockey player to do the lap in the NHL, to play in the NHL,” Khusnutdinov said. “It’s an amazing feeling.”
As for Fleury, he said, “I still get a kick out of it, watching the guys go (out for their rookie lap). Well deserved. He’s got nice hair … in the wind and stuff.”
The Wild played a complete game against one of the league’s doormats, improved to 5-0-1 in their past six and climbed to within 4 points of the eighth-place Vegas Golden Knights heading into Minnesota’s three-game swing to St. Louis, Anaheim and Los Angeles.
Zach Bogosian scored the winning goal, and Kaprizov added his 34th on one of his eight shots. In his 23 games since Jan. 19, Kaprizov has scored a league-leading 21 goals, and his 38 points are third to Connor McDavid and Nathan MacKinnon.
“He looks like he’s smiling, having fun, relaxed,” Fleury said. “I’m sure, for him, the more you score, the better you feel. The better you feel, the more you score. It’s fun to watch him go, and obviously, he’s been a huge part of our success here lately.”
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Naturally, Kaprizov preferred to talk about Khusnutdinov after the game, not his own sizzling play. And Khusnutdinov was thankful for the “good chat about hockey” he had with Kaprizov before his debut.
“I had some questions; he had some good answers,” he said. “Just some good back-and-forth. … He’s a good person, an amazing player. I’m very happy to meet him and play with him. I’m just really happy to be his teammate.”
And the Wild are thankful for how Kaprizov has embraced this mentorship.
“Kirill’s an elite player, but he’s such a down-to-earth, great guy,” Hynes said. “Coachable. Great teammate. Obviously, what he’s doing with Marat, especially living in the same area, same hotel, basically taking him under his wing, I think it’s really great.
“Even now, with so much that Kirill has going on — his ice time, his media responsibilities — but anytime we can say, ‘Hey, Kirill, can we meet quick and just talk to Marat?’ he’s excited to do it and willing to do it. That’s not surprising, but I do think it shows you and other people just the type of person that Kirill is.”
(Photo of Marat Khusnutdinov: Bruce Kluckhohn / NHLI via Getty Images)
