Kuznetsov also said that he has no plans to change his antics or approach, whether it be his jokes or his slow-motion shootout moves.
Though he's only played three years in the NHL so far, Yegor Sharangovich has heard his fair share of chirps. And for him, some of the best have been courtesy of Washington Capitals center Evgeny Kuznetsov.
The Calgary Flames forward said in a YouTube interview with Cherkas Atlant that Kuznetsov is one of the funniest opponents that he's faced off against.
"Honestly, I don't like to laugh on the ice... [Kuznetsov's] such a character," Sharangovich said, as translated by DeepL. "I can just laugh with him."
Sharangovich had a couple of examples at his disposal, as well.
"He [said to me], 'Why can't you stand on your feet, figure skater?'" Sharangovich added. "I remember how he teased [Dmitry] Kulikov. Dima has big gloves... Kuznetsov said, 'Why don't you take off those kid gloves and change them to normal ones?' He not only likes to tease me, he likes to tease everyone."
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Kuznetsov has prided himself on his sense of humor and fun-loving personality, declaring this past year that he's not going to change his antics.
He even recalled how former teammates Andre Burakovsky and Jakub Vrana would be offended at times by his jokes, but he said that comedy and happiness are two important aspects of his life that he tries to intertwine with his career.
"I'm just not afraid to speak, you know? I always said what I'm thinking. And I believe that if people around me can handle my jokes, that means they always enjoy the life, too, you know?" he said. "Some people may take personal. They don't like me but that's not my business. I want to surround myself around people that kind of see the same way as me."
So, for Kuznetsov, he's not changing a thing, from his chirps to his slow-motion shootout moves to his Birdman celebration.
"It's just me. I'm not trying to be somebody else, I'm just like that. You know, if somebody doesn't like that, they can talk, but I'm sorry. That's who I am, and I'm not going to change."
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