NHL Russia mic’d up Caps center Evgeny Kuznetsov during the Russia/North America World Cup of Hockey game and the video is a must watch.
Kuzy is revealed to be a chatty player during games, frequently talking strategy and instructing players where to go on the ice – even veteran Pavel Datsyuk.
Then there are Kuzy’s priceless interactions with on-ice officials and players. After scoring a beautiful, coast-to-coast goal, Kuzy did a flapping bird celebration and high-fived his teammates at the Team Russia bench. Kuznetsov then began yelling at an unknown North America player (possibly Mark Scheifele) skating off the ice. “HEY? SOMETHING LIKE THAT?!” Kuznetsov screams. “Something like that? Something like that?”
Kuznetsov was also asked by an official about how he likes his steak. “I like medium rare,” a smiling Kuznetsov said in English. “They don’t have baked potato in Russia.”
0:08 – Kuzy notices a blown defensive assignment from the bench: “Oh, Taras!… No, that was him who played one-on-one. Come on, bro!”
0:17 – Kuzy after taking a minor: “Sorry, guys, about that penalty. I didn’t hook him. I did hit his hands, but I did not hook him.”
0:24 – Before a shift change: “I got Malych (Malkin)… NO ICE! NO ICE! NO ICE!!!”
0:33 – Team Russia organizes for a face off: “Guys, where are you going?… A right-handed shot is there… Yeah, go to the far side.”
0:45 – Before another face off: “Bob, pay attention, I am going to win it right this way. I’ll win it this way.”
0:53 – During a scoring chance: “Closer! Closer!”
1:02 – Puck almost goes into the bench: “OOOO!”
1:04 – Kuzy yells from the bench: “A log! He is a log!”
1:07 – Kuznetsov to a teammate: “I was stick-handling around him, yeah, here, when it went out… I wanted to… I saw he got the boards. We would have had two-on-one. Unless that one caught up with us.”
1:23 – Kuzy talks to Pavel Datsyuk before a face off: “On the blue, Pasha. We are doing the standard one, like we do the breakout with the Capitals. Breakout like we do with the Capitals!”
1:36 – Kuzy talks power play strategy with teammates: “The first one lays down over there, the second one under him in the middle. We’ll have two-on-one, Ovi over there. I’ll receive it, you go that way. I’ll lay down first, and you under him in the middle. You and me. Taras is here, I am laying on the boards, and you skate up the middle. Remember how we did it? I’ll lay on the boards, and you skate up the middle. Yes, I am on the boards, and you go up the middle under him. But I am jumping up there by myself, I need help there! Sanya, go there!”
2:20 – Kuzy talks to a teammate at the bench: “No, see, why it turned out that way. No we went all right, but then we lost the puck.”
2:38 – Kuznetsov scores and does the flapping bird celebration: “There she goes!”
2:46 – After celebrating the goal with his teammates, Kuznetsov looks at the Russia bench and yells: “HEY! HEY! HEY!”
2:52 – Kuznetsov, in English, yells at an unknown Team North America player after scoring: “HEY? SOMETHING LIKE THAT?!… Something like that? Something like that?”
3:01 – Someone tells Kuzy not to taunt and he responds: “Just a little bit… No, no. I calmed down. Now he’ll shush me, but I’ll stay quiet.”
3:11 – Kuznetsov talks at the bench: “Now, on experience, right – you two go, I’ll be the third one behind you.”
3:19 – Kuznetsov speaks with a referee in English: “At the net? What? Mushrooms? I like medium rare (steak). [unintelligble]. Baked potato. They don’t have baked potato in Russia. No. They have baked potato.”
3:46 – Kuzy cheering on a teammate: “Good, good, good. He’ll have a go at it. Great job Telega! Great job!”
3:52 – Kuzy talks with Ivan Telegin: “Telega, bro, how are you? Great job, great job!”
4:00 – Before a face off: “What do you want? Short side? Tell the guys, short side.”
4:07 – Before a shift change: “Zheka, Zheka, Zheka! (Dadonov) Who do I take? Pasha [Datsyuk], right? I got Pasha!”
4:16 – Talking strategy at the bench: “I am trailing you. We do the drop, right? I’ll be trailing you to help. And then I’ll stop.”
4:26 – Kuznetsov yells during a play: “One! He is one!”
4:32 – Kuzy congratulates a teammate: “Good job Nikita! Hang on, bro!”
End to End, @Kuzya92! #WCH2016 #CapsWCH pic.twitter.com/n4lbBxlZRG
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) September 20, 2016
Translation by Igor Kleyner.
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