Marat Khusnutdinov didn't show up on the scoresheet with any points but man was he effective.
Marat Khusnutdinov didn't show up on the scoresheet with any points but man was he effective.
ST. PAUL - He didn't record a point but man was Marat Khusnutdinov impressive. The young center stepped in and made an impact on the defensive side of things very quickly.
Khusnutdinov, 21, had four block shots, one hit, and went six for nine on the face-off dot. On his first shift, the 5-foot-9 center won two faceoffs and had two blocked shots.
The crowd cheered when he stepped onto the ice and they erupted when he won two faceoffs on his first shift.
"It’s crazy. Two faceoffs? Whoa," Khusnutdinov said in English with a surprised look on his face and his hands up in the air. "OK thank you!"
Kirill Kaprizov has been taking Khusnutdinov under his wing and was pretty proud to see the young Russian play in his first game and hear the fans cheer him on.
“Yeah," Kaprizov said in English on the fans cheering for Marat. "Thanks for fans.”
Kaprizov made his Minnesota debut in front of no fans in the building so he didn't get to experience the roar of the crowd for himself.
“It’s what I say in the morning," Kaprizov said. "It’s good for him, home rink, feels good team won. It’s easy to play like this I think than without fans.”
For Khusnutdinov it was exciting for him to make his NHL debut but it was also exciting for him to get a chance to play with Kaprizov.
"He’s a good person, an amazing player," Khusnutdinov said through a translator on Kaprizov. "I can’t really add much more than that. I’m very happy to meet him and play with him. Like I said, he plays amazing, he’s an amazing person and a really good hockey player. I’m just really happy to be his teammate."
It was a great debut for Khusnutdinov. He showed his offensive skill throughout the game but he proved to be a reliable defensive player and someone who can go out and win face-offs, which is something this team has historically struggled with.
"I thought it was a really good game for him. I thought he brought what he’s really good at," Wild head coach John Hynes said on Khusnutdinov. "As you said, I thought faceoffs, he dug in and won some big faceoffs. 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. So really happy for him. I thought it was a good first game. We were able to get the win, he had some good quality minutes and I thought Moose and Freddy, I thought that line was good in general. Nice to see."
Yet the youngster thinks he could've been better and wants to prove more of himself.
"No, not yet," Khusnutdinov said on if he showed his game. "I still need to control the puck better, make better plays. 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."
He will get a chance to do that on Saturday when the Wild travel to St. Louis to face the Blues in a must-win game.
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