Wild President of Hockey Operations and General Manager Bill Guerin is excited for Marat Khusnutdinov to come to the Wild after signing his entry-level contract and thinks he can really help this team.
Wild President of Hockey Operations and General Manager Bill Guerin is excited for Marat Khusnutdinov to come to the Wild after signing his entry-level contract and thinks he can really help this team.
NASHVILLE - Getting Marat Khusnutdinov over to Minnesota will happen after the young center's work visa get's figured out but when Khusnutdinov can start practicing and playing, the Wild are excited for the impact he can make in the lineup.
"I do. I think Marat is is the type of player that can help us right now and all the assets that he has," Wild President of Hockey Operations and General Manager Bill Guerin said on if he expects Khusnutdinov to be in the lineup as soon as he can. "He's a solid two-way player. He's got speed and he's tenacious. Those are the things that we're looking for. We want to make sure we put him in a situation that he can succeed in and the timing of when he gets into the lineup is going to be important. But he will eventually get in the lineup."
It can be challenging to bring someone like Khusnutdinov into the lineup considering he hasn't been here for the whole season and the Wild are in the middle of a playoff chase. But Guerin believes that doesn't matter. If he can play then he will enter the lineup.
"I mean, it doesn't really matter," Guerin said if adding Marat to the lineup ruins the Wild's mojo in the middle of a playoff push. "If the guy can play hockey, he can play hockey and he can be coached."
In his years in the KHL, Khusnutdinov has proven he can play at a high level. The KHL is no slouch, it's a good league. It isn't the NHL but it still is a great league and Khusnutdinov proved he's ready for the next level.
While playing for SKA Saint Petersburg last year, Khusnutdinov tied Artemi Panarin for the seventh-highest single-season point total in KHL history by a player 20 years or younger and became the youngest player in SKA St. Petersburg history to reach 50 career points.
He also ranks sixth in KHL history for most career points as an U21 player.
"I mean the KHL is a good League? It's not the NHL, but it's a good league and these guys are good players. They can adapt," Guerin said. "It might be a bigger stadium or bigger arena but it's hockey. These guys are good hockey players, they're smart and they're adaptable."
There is no doubt Khusnutdinov is ready to play at the next level and Guerin said he and his staff views him as a center down the road but his versatility is big plus as well. He's played center but he's also played left wing and right wing.
The biggest question will be how he transitions to the States. He hasn't been to Minnesota yet so it may be tough to adapt to a new lifestyle.
"I think the human side of it, the social side of it is much more difficult. Being away from home, not knowing the language, not having your friends and family around you. Those are the most difficult things. When you go to the rink it doesn't matter what language you speak or where you're from. They're all hockey players, and that's what they want to do.
"I think if you've gotten to the point where guys like Kirill and Marat have gotten to, you're ready, you can play. It's just a matter of how good you're going to be and how much you can play."
But Guerin pointed out that Kaprizov and Khusnutdinov have been in communication all ready and do most of their talking over video games so it is nice that Khusnutdinov will have a friend here and someone who can take him under his wing and teach him the American life so to speak.
Nonetheless, the expectation is for Khusnutdinov to play and help this team for now and the future. Guerin and the rest of the Wild's staff are excited to see what the 5-foot-9 center can do when he get's his visa done and enters the lineup.
"You know what, let's see how he does in practices first. We don't want to overwhelm him. I mean, I'm sure his world is moving at light-speed right now," Guerin said. "But we're gonna put him wherever he's going to have the most success and where he can help us the most."
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