Nikita Kucherov’s hard work is an underrated skillset
With Edmonton Oilers superstar Connor McDavid carrying the “best player in the world” mantle for the last handful of years, and players such as Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon or defenseman Cale Makar most often brought up as contenders for McDavid’s crown, there may be no more underrated player in today’s game than Tampa Bay Lightning winger Nikita Kucherov.
Anybody that follows hockey knows that Kucherov is a brilliant offensive player. After all, he was the Art Ross Trophy winner in each of the past two seasons, and is on pace to be the NHL’s scoring leader once again this season. But for whatever reason, whether it’s because he doesn’t have the electrifying speed of a McDavid or MacKinnon, or because he’s been absent from international showcases like this year’s Olympics or last year’s 4 Nations Face-Off due to the IIHF’s ban on Russia, Kucherov doesn’t seem to get the shine befitting a former Hart Trophy winner and two-time Stanley Cup champion.
On Tuesday’s episode of Daily Faceoff LIVE, hosts Jonny Lazarus and former NHL goaltender Carter Hutton were joined by The Sheet‘s Jeff Marek to discuss how Kucherov’s greatness can be taken for granted, and how hard he works to maintain his elite level of play.
Jonny Lazarus: Mitchell Chaffee’s a guy I always talk about on my show because he’s a good friend of mine from UMass. He played for Tampa the past couple years and he always said that Nikita Kucherov is on the ice before anyone else working on those things. He is doing board drills, noticing how the puck spins off the boards for 20 minutes. Everyone says, because of the All-Star thing a couple years ago, people say Nikita Kucherov doesn’t give a shit or doesn’t work hard, but that’s not the case. Nikita Kucherov puts in the work. There’s a reason why he’s the best at these things, it’s because he does the extra stuff that no one is willing to do. People want to work on their one-timer, people want to work on their saucer passes, people want to work on their skating, but Nikita Kucherov is working on the hand-eye, he’s working on picking a puck up off the boards and skating into it and timing it. Those are little skills that go such a long way.
You can catch the full discussion and the rest of Tuesday’s episode here…