Unpacking Svechnikov's elite month and career-best season. Is his explosive skating finally reaching its full, healthy potential?
If you ask Andrei Svechnikov why he's having one of the best stretches of his career, he really isn't able to give you the answer.
Because, to him, nothing actually feels different.
"I feel the same. I'm the same person. Same player."
But yet, for some reason, Svechnikov is having the best month of his career in already one of his most consistent seasons.
In January alone, the Carolina Hurricanes' star winger has scored 10 goals and registered 19 points, and for the year, he sits second on the team in goals (20) and points (46).
Past that, he's also having the best season of his career in terms of chance generation (61.29 CF%) as well, while also bringing the usual physical elements of his game as well.
"He's such a physical presence and can skate so well," said Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour. "Obviously he has a scoring touch and passing ability, but he can really touch all aspects of the game. That's why, when he's on, he has an impact on all areas of the game."
And his numbers aren't just being propped up by power play production or empty-netters like in past years either. No, he's actually been a consistent 5v5 producer this year.
So what gives?
Well, on the one hand, there's probably a bit of the natural maturity of a player who will be turning 26 in just a couple of months to take account of.
Because even with eight years of NHL experience under his belt, there's really no substitute for age and experience in the game of hockey.
There's also been some discussions surrounding the question of what is the peak age for players, with some theories stating that the peak for forwards is around age 25.
But on the other hand, could this simply be the case that for the first time that in a long time, the Russian winger has been fully healthy?
"He's obviously battled some injuries over the years and this year, we've avoided that, so that could be part of it," Brind'Amour said.
Svechnikov hasn't played a full, 82-game season since his rookie year and has dealt with a myriad of injuries throughout the years, including a significant one in March of 2023, when he tore his right ACL.
It would be seven months before Svechnikov returned to the ice for the Hurricanes from that injury, and while he's stated that there's been no lingering effects from it over the years, it doesn't feel too crazy to suggest that the actual, full recovery timeline may have been a bit longer than that.
Looking at Svechnikov's skating data courtesy of NHL EDGE, it's clear that his skating has taken steady jumps over the previous few seasons after crashing around the same time as his ACL injury.
This year, Svechnikov is in the 80th percentile or higher amongst all NHL skaters for all of the skating stats that EDGE tracks and his top speed of 23.01mph is the fastest he's been clocked at since 2022.
And when comparing that skating data with his goals per game rate for each of the past five seasons too, a visible correlation emerges.
Obviously correlation does not imply causation, but it's a relationship that definitely feels closely related and is one that perhaps could be the answer for Svechnikov's uptick in production.
Because for a player like Svechnikov, skating is so important.
Whether it's the way he's able to find a second gear and burst past defenders off of the rush or the way he can cut back and forth through the neutral zone or in the offensive zone corners, it all comes back to being able to skate well.
And perhaps this isn't related to the ACL at all and more so is just the result of being healthy from a myriad of various ailments, but whatever the reason is, it's clear that Svechnikov is back to looking like a true star once again.
"He's got his strength and his speed back," said captain Jordan Staal. "I think he's also making better decisions with the puck as well and making it hard on teams to take it off of him. Going to the dirty areas and scoring goals. He's the player that we all know he can be and this year he's been solid all throughout."
And for Svechnikov, that's all that matters.
"I just go out there, have fun and play my hardest," Svechnikov said. "That's what I've been doing. I just have to continue doing that."
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