Vancouver Canucks' winger Andrei Kuzmenko is confronting the reality of professional sports: what you did last season doesn't guarantee success in the current one. After a remarkable 74-point campaign last year, which earned him a two-year contract worth $11 million, Kuzmenko has seen his production dip, amassing just 15 points—four goals and 11 assists—in 21 games. This downturn in output has led to Kuzmenko being sidelined as a healthy scratch on two occasions.
Adding to his challenges, Kuzmenko sustained a facial injury from a deflected shot by teammate JT Miller during Wednesday's game against the New York Islanders. The incident has temporarily removed him from the lineup, but expectations are for a swift return to action.
Kuzmenko's Lone Goal Not Enough
In Thursday's contest at Rogers Arena against the Vegas Golden Knights, Kuzmenko managed to find the back of the net. The play unfolded as Miller pounced on a loose puck, drove to the net, and delivered a pass to Kuzmenko, who then rifled a wrist shot past Vegas goaltender Logan Thompson. Despite this effort, the Canucks fell to a 4-1 defeat.
"It doesn't matter if I scored... it doesn't matter if my score doesn't help the team," Kuzmenko reflected postgame. "I need to be better, this I understand. That's why I haven't played [as much] this season." His self-awareness highlights the pressure athletes often face to contribute beyond personal statistics.
The First Line Struggles
The Canucks' first line, which includes Kuzmenko, Ilia Mikheyev, and Elias Pettersson, has not lived up to expectations. While Pettersson has tallied a respectable 30 points, with nine goals and 21 assists, and Mikheyev has contributed 12 points, their collective performance has been overshadowed by the second-line's superior scoring and overall play.
Coach Tocchet's Expectations
Head coach Rick Tocchet has made it clear that he wants more from Kuzmenko, describing his season's efforts as merely "OK" and challenging him to "play a little harder." The benching for back-to-back games against the Seattle Kraken and San Jose Sharks was intended as a reset for the Russian winger.
"He's got to get his game a little bit more sharpened up," Tocchet stated on November 27. He has laid out specific areas for improvement, expecting Kuzmenko to exhibit greater intensity in puck battles and quicker defensive transitions in the neutral zone.
"Those are the little things that I value around here. It's not about just scoring goals. Goal scorers are going to go through slumps," Tocchet explained. "The little things matter. That's part of our staples, and he has to understand that's the Bible for us around here."
Despite the loss, Kuzmenko's goal and performance in the third period against the Golden Knights earned him some praise from Tocchet, who noted the player's focused approach. "If you watch his shifts in the third, he was going A to B," Tocchet observed. "He wasn't zigzagging, backward skating defending; he was going forward."
Kuzmenko himself acknowledges the high bar set by his coach and is keen to meet it. He admits the concern over his four-goal tally thus far and commits to maintaining his focus on the team's success.
When questioned about his mental state during a nearly month-long goal drought in November, Kuzmenko responded with a smile, "What interesting questions about mentality. It's an interesting moment for mentality, for personality, for me," he said. "It's simple with the hard work mentality, work in the gym, it's simple."
With his sights set on improvement, Kuzmenko looks to build on his recent individual success in the upcoming game against the Calgary Flames on Saturday.
The journey of a professional athlete is never linear, and Kuzmenko's current season embodies the relentless demand for consistency at the highest level of sport. Under the guidance of Coach Tocchet and with a determined mindset, Kuzmenko aims to recapture the form that made him a standout player last season, contributing not only through goals but also through the gritty, less glamorous aspects of the game that are so crucial to a team's success.