(Article) Fitter than ever, Andrei Kuzmenko ready to take on the world

[Fred65]

As  whole fans don't want the truth and prefer to live in a fairy tale land of sugar an spice. How long fans lived in a world where Juolevi was a future all star and Virtanen need to play on the line with the Sedins was unbelievable. Lets just hope managemnt has things in perspective. I hope Demko is ready, but with the arrival of family I wouldn't be at all surprised that working out fell a little behind. Patterson tels you what he sees

[rekker]

How can you not love this player, that smile? In all the downs and misses with this organization, Kuz is a bright, bright pickup. 

[rekker]

On 9/8/2023 at 6:36 AM, HorvatToBaertschi said:

So if everything goes absolutely right, we might make the last wildcard? Dream bigger haha

We are a beaten fan base. A whooped dog of a fan base. Lol.

[TNucks1]

24 minutes ago, Fred65 said:

As  whole fans don't want the truth and prefer to live in a fairy tale land of sugar an spice. How long fans lived in a world where Juolevi was a future all star and Virtanen need to play on the line with the Sedins was unbelievable. Lets just hope managemnt has things in perspective. I hope Demko is ready, but with the arrival of family I wouldn't be at all surprised that working out fell a little behind. Patterson tels you what he sees

Yeah because we're fortune tellers and could predict OJs injurys which really killed his career.

[Alflives]

4 minutes ago, TNucks1 said:

Yeah because we're fortune tellers and could predict OJs injurys which really killed his career.

OJ’s lack of character and determination (along with a lack of skating) killed his career. Who in the heck lies down! That’s what losers do. Marcus Nuskund literally crawled off the ice with a broken leg. That’s what winners do. OJ was a mistake the moment Benning  decided that was his guy. The OJ and Virtanen mistakes set us back a lot. Both misses on character too. And after Benning  said character was key to his drafting. 

[IBatch]

1 hour ago, Alflives said:

OJ’s lack of character and determination (along with a lack of skating) killed his career. Who in the heck lies down! That’s what losers do. Marcus Nuskund literally crawled off the ice with a broken leg. That’s what winners do. OJ was a mistake the moment Benning  decided that was his guy. The OJ and Virtanen mistakes set us back a lot. Both misses on character too. And after Benning  said character was key to his drafting. 

OJs injuries were part of the problem, so were those WJ's.   Two players of the gold cup team were overrated.   Why you need to pay attention to the body of work as well.   OJ wasn't killing it offensively on an absolutely loaded London team.   Was too safe a pick.   At least he went on to have a couple slam dunks.   Brock and Demko were excellent picks for where they went.   It wasn't all bad.    At least we've got a couple star players out of the mix and a legit number one goalie.    Could be better for sure.    We really needed that OJ pick to work out, right now we could have Hronek and Chychrun or Sergachev just as easily, both deserving of the first D to go that draft, whiffing on the first D out was a big whiff.    And don't normally validate this sort of thing but OJ's cocky gym aversion comment at the draft, sure bit him in the ass.   Those injuries may never of happened if he dedicated himself as much as his peers.  

Edited September 9, 2023 by IBatch

[Alflives]

1 minute ago, IBatch said:

OJs injuries were part of the problem, so were those WJ's.   Two players of the gold cup team were overrated.   Why you need to pay attention to the body of work as well.   OJ wasn't killing it offensively on an absolutely loaded London team.   Was too safe a pick.   At least he went on to have a couple slam dunks.   Brock and Demko were excellent picks for where they went.   It wasn't all bad.    At least we've got a couple star players out of the mix and a legit number one goalie.    Could be better for sure.    We really needed that OJ pick to work out, right now we could have Hronek and Chychrun or Sergachev just as easily, both deserving of the first D to go that draft. 

Yup. Benning was bad but he did draft us a nice core (plus traded for Miller). Every club has mistakes at the draft. Just look at the Habs last two first rounders! 

[mikeyman109]

Its great to hear the Kuz is in great shape and I think he will have a great year again this season but it begs the question; what was happening the years previous?

With all the talk of players coming into camp in great shape and Coach T saying they need better fitness levels what the heck was going on before? The Sedins were always touted as fitness freaks being the hardest working players on the team. Where was that work ethic the last few seasons? I would expect that professional athletes would be in top condition always but it seems there was a let down there. Hopefully this piece of the puzzle makes a big difference especially in the start we get from the group.

[TNucks1]

23 hours ago, Alflives said:

OJ’s lack of character and determination (along with a lack of skating) killed his career. Who in the heck lies down! That’s what losers do. Marcus Nuskund literally crawled off the ice with a broken leg. That’s what winners do. OJ was a mistake the moment Benning  decided that was his guy. The OJ and Virtanen mistakes set us back a lot. Both misses on character too. And after Benning  said character was key to his drafting. 

what character issuses did OJ have?

[ilduce39]

4 hours ago, mikeyman109 said:

Its great to hear the Kuz is in great shape and I think he will have a great year again this season but it begs the question; what was happening the years previous?

With all the talk of players coming into camp in great shape and Coach T saying they need better fitness levels what the heck was going on before? The Sedins were always touted as fitness freaks being the hardest working players on the team. Where was that work ethic the last few seasons? I would expect that professional athletes would be in top condition always but it seems there was a let down there. Hopefully this piece of the puzzle makes a big difference especially in the start we get from the group.

It sure seems like the team is taking this offseason very seriously. I wonder how much of that is hype / media pumping up how hard the team is training. 
 

Off the top of my head I’ve read about Boeser, Kuzmenko, Podkolzin, Petey, Hughes and saw a before/after pic of Hronek. All on the topic of training.  
 

I didn’t feel like the team (outside of poor Juolevi) was particularly out of shape in previous years.  Green ran a notoriously tough camp. But it sure seems like Tocchet’s message was picked up by the Canucks media team - if the players are actually training harder than usual is a nice thought but really - who knows?

[Alflives]

1 minute ago, ilduce39 said:

It sure seems like the team is taking this offseason very seriously. I wonder how much of that is hype / media pumping up how hard the team is training. 
 

Off the top of my head I’ve read about Boeser, Kuzmenko, Podkolzin, Petey, Hughes and saw a before/after pic of Hronek. All on the topic of training.  
 

I didn’t feel like the team (outside of poor Juolevi) was particularly out of shape in previous years.  Green ran a notoriously tough camp. But it sure seems like Tocchet’s message was picked up by the Canucks media team - if the players are actually training harder than usual is a nice thought but really - who knows?

Guys like OEL were never in their best condition. Boeser too. We’ve have some big minute players who aren’t fit enough. It seems Tocchet has sent the message and we will soon see which guys listened. 

[ilduce39]

9 minutes ago, Alflives said:

Guys like OEL were never in their best condition. Boeser too. We’ve have some big minute players who aren’t fit enough. It seems Tocchet has sent the message and we will soon see which guys listened. 

I think OEL’s struggles were injury related, not fitness. 
 

I can believe Boeser, particularly last year.  But it never seemed like a team issue.

 

Edit: I’m all for it if the team is focused up this offseason in the weight room - but I’m always a little cynical about this stuff as we really only see what gets shown to us.

Edited September 10, 2023 by ilduce39

[Provost]

On 9/7/2023 at 9:18 PM, Rick_theRyper said:

Man we have a few great players on this team, if Boeser, Garland can take a step back to what they can be.. if Petey, Miller, Kuzmenko repeat their seasons or improve, and the added upgrades on defense come as advertised. It'll be a hard grind but they could win that wild card spot. 

We can dream!  We had a bunch of guys have career  years last year and weren’t even in playoff contention.

 

We are still a roster on paper that literally needs everything to fall right to squeak into the playoffs.

 

There is a reason we play games though, sometimes magic happens and a team’s chemistry is just right to become better than the sum of its parts.  We have enough new bodies to hope some of that happens.

[aqua59]

On 9/9/2023 at 1:52 PM, Citizen Erased said:

He still better than Sekeres & Price. Here’s a recent picture of them:

 

 

$hitsack and Price is what I call those two. No saying much when comparing the group within itself. These guys are basically full of it. 

The boys on CHEK school them daily. 

 

[Zoobs]

I like so much about Kuz...his personality and skills.  But what evidence is there that he's "fitter than ever"?  Sounds like his priority was surfing and sitting on planes travelling.  

[Mysterious Canuck]

https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/article/no-more-nutella-waffles-for-canucks-kuzmenko-i-want-to-be-better/

 

 

VANCOUVER — With a workout regimen as unusual as his staple diet last summer – and yes, one of those things was caused by the other – Andrei Kuzmenko still managed to score 39 goals for the Vancouver Canucks during his first season in the National Hockey League.

Imagine what he might do in Year 2, now that the 27-year-old has sworn off the Nutella waffles.

“Last season was so bad for me, my weight,” Kuzmenko said this week after skating with Canuck teammates at the University of B.C. “Now, I lose weight. Last summer, I (ate) a lot of waffles.”

Waffles with syrup and whipped cream? Not exactly a kale smoothie with yogurt and quinoa.

“No, (it's) worse,” Kuzmenko explained, layering his hands, one above the other. “Waffles, then Nutella, then strawberries, then bananas.”

At least there was fruit. But after choosing the Canucks last summer as a highly coveted free agent out of the Kontinental League, Kuzmenko clearly was not in NHL-shape when he reported for camp and was placed by the training staff on a individualized conditioning program that saw him in the gym or on the bike, often alone, after practices throughout the season.

 

“Waffles are not good for me," he said. “I like, but (they're) not good for me. This summer, rules for me: no chocolate, no Nutella, no ice cream in my freezer. You want ice cream, then go to the market. But I stay home.”

Actually, staying home is one thing the engaging Russian did not do.

Kuzmenko may have a home in Moscow and a team in Vancouver, but he is a citizen of the world.

Starting in Panama and then moving into South America before crossing the Atlantic and working his way east from Turkey, the winger had his passport stamped in 15 countries this summer. There were stops in Dubai and Singapore and Malaysia, among other places, but he spent most of June and July in Bali, the island-province in Indonesia.

Kuzmenko surfed in the morning and then went to the rink.

Yes, there is ice in Bali that isn’t in drinks. Kuzmenko said he rented one-hour blocks at Bali Ice Skating Arena. You can Google it. It is attached to a mall.

 

Importantly, Kuzmenko’s entourage of family and friends included a coach he flew in from Russia. The Canuck posted pictures on his Instagram account.

“(He's) not happy coach,” Kuzmenko emphasized. “He is: 'Let's go, let's go, let's go.' It's so hard, yes. It's work, work. But this summer is so simple for me to prepare for season because I have coaches. For my body, it’s very good.

“I need to have good summer because I change (how I) prepare for season. I work on my balance, yes. Skating is a little difficult for me (last season) when I stop, change sides, and my balance is a little tight and I go down. So, I work on the balance. I work on my ... what is it for food?”

Nutrition?

“Yes, yes,” he said. “Now, my body is very good. I understand what is work. I prepare.”

Kuzmenko also brought a personal coach with him to Miami, where he spent most of August (with a quick side trip to Cuba) and skated with other South Florida-based NHL players. The five-foot-11 winger said he is stronger and about 10 pounds lighter than he was going into his first training camp with the Canucks.

He returned to Vancouver two weeks ago. He said he did not go home to Russia this summer.