HERSHEY, PA — The Hershey Bears have experienced many exciting moments this season, but having 2018 Stanley Cup champion Evgeny Kuznetsov on their roster — even just for five days — ranked high on their list.
Kuznetsov ended up with the Capitals’ minor-league affiliate as he returned from a 25-day stay in the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance program. When the Capitals placed him on waivers, none of the other 31 NHL teams picked him up. Kuznetsov officially joined Hershey the night of Monday, March 4 while Capitals general manager Brian MacLellan worked out a trade with the Carolina Hurricanes in the background, briefly making him the highest-paid player in AHL history ($8 million).
Kuznetsov had every reason to pout or be a poor sport after being sent to the minors. Instead, Bears players were amazed by his humbleness, optimism, and positive energy. And oh yeah, his skill and skating ability.
“It was a great experience,” Ethen Frank said. “He was probably one of the most energetic people and happy guys I’ve ever met. You could just tell he was happy just to have another chance and to be able to continue to play the game no matter where he’s at. He just had a great attitude and he made it a lot more fun because he’s cracking jokes and his laugh is pretty contagious. It was nice to have him for the little bit we did.”
Monday, March 4
Kuznetsov arrives in Hershey
Hershey officially announced that Kuznetsov would become a Hershey Bear on the afternoon of Monday, March 4.
NEWS: Forward Evgeny Kuznetsov is joining the Bears after being loaned by the @Capitals. Kuznetsov, a 2018 Stanley Cup Champion, and a two-time NHL All-Star, is expected to take part in Hershey's practice on Tuesday at GIANT Center.
rabbittransit | Roster Moves
— Hershey Bears (@TheHersheyBears) March 4, 2024
In his first hours with the club, Kuznetsov found his temporary lodging. Then he grabbed dinner with fellow countryman, Bogdan Trineyev, and new teammates Chase Priskie and Jake Massie at The Chocolatier located at Hersheypark. The quartet spent the evening participating in a charity event supporting Cocoa Packs.
Tuesday, March 5
Kuznetsov makes his Hershey Bears debut at practice
The next morning, Kuznetsov took the ice for the first time in nearly two months, participating in a full hour-long practice with the Bears.
“He showed up this morning bright and early and had the dressing room all laughing in there,” Hershey Bears head coach Todd Nelson told RMNB. “In fact, he walked into the assistant coaches’ office and said, ‘Hey, are you guys excited to see me?’ He has that personality to him and the coaches all laughed.”
The biggest intrigue among players and coaches was Kuznetsov’s conditioning after such a long layoff. Nelson said that he asked Kuznetsov “‘Have you been working out?’ and he goes, ‘Yeah, I’m jacked right now.'”
Despite his extensive NHL experience, the Russian centerman didn’t get any special treatment from the team. In fact, Kuznetsov skated on an extras line with Tyson Empey and Kevin O’Neil, regulars on the ECHL South Carolina Stingrays, as the team assessed where he was at. Empey described the experience of doing drills with Kuzy as “crazy” and “definitely pretty sweet.”
Nelson put the team through its paces, holding a demanding skate that included exhausting end-to-end sprints as practice wrapped up. Kuzy’s conditioning, despite the long layoff, impressed everyone involved.
“Obviously, he’s a very talented player,” Nelson said. “He hasn’t skated for 50 days and he was one of the smoothest guys out there today, which is incredible.”
“You couldn’t tell he was off for 50 days,” Bears captain Dylan McIlrath said in disbelief.
McIlrath added, “I’ve gotten to know Kuzy a little bit over the last few years and we’ve had a really good relationship, so it’s great to see him just walking through the doors, hearing his token laugh. It brought a big energy, a big buzz to the rink and it was fun.”
As Kuznetsov left the ice after his only practice at Giant Center, he signed about a dozen autographs for fans.
The day would mark the only public time he’d skate as a Hershey Bear at Giant Center.
“Everyone’s really excited,” Bears alternate captain Aaron Ness said that day. “He’s an incredible talent, an incredible player. He’s fun to watch. It’s going to be exciting. You guys are all here (the media), it’s a great mood, and everyone’s ripping around so hopefully we can use that to our advantage here.”
While McIlrath considered the possibilities of Kuznetsov remaining with the team into the postseason, he remained realistic about the situation and how he could best support his new teammate.
“He’s in a difficult spot coming down here,” McIlrath said. “He doesn’t want to be a distraction, I’m sure. But that being said, he wants to obviously get back to the NHL. He doesn’t want to end up here for a long time, but we are here to welcome him. He’s going to be a part of our team as long as he’s here and we’re going to treat it that way. I think he’s had a good attitude: I haven’t talked to him much yet but he wants to be treated like every one of the guys. So that’s just how we’re going to go about our business.
“We definitely take a certain level of pride to try to help people become the best versions of [themselves] and players,” he added. “I know obviously Mikey (Connor McMichael) got his reps in here. I mean, I’d like to take credit for his play (with the Capitals this season) but I can’t — he obviously did that all himself. Same with Kuzy. He’s going to put in the work. He’s got to do it himself, but we’re going to help him along and that gives us a sense of pride.”
Wednesday, March 6
A long minor-league bus ride
Kuznetsov’s plan the next day was unclear, as he was still in the follow-up phase of the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance program. The Bears were set to travel to Charlotte, North Carolina ahead of a back-to-back against the Charlotte Checkers on Friday and Saturday night at Bojangles Coliseum. Unlike an NHL team — which would fly — the team would travel by bus.
“We’re going to talk with management and try to get a game plan moving forward,” Nelson said then. “When I come to the rink [Wednesday morning], I’ll see who I have here, and whoever I have will make the trip to Charlotte.”
Kuznetsov was ultimately cleared for the trip and joined the team on a 500-mile bus ride that lasted approximately eight hours.
“He sat up at the front with Bogey (Bogdan Trineyev),” Bears’ alternate captain Mike Vecchione said. “We reserved a seat back in the bus with veteran guys but he was up front with Bogey. I didn’t really see much of him; I think he slept a lot of the ride. I didn’t get a chance to ask him how that bus ride was. His first American League experience is our longest bus ride of the season. It’s kind of shit timing for him, but he embraced it.”
Ethen Frank admitted that the bus ride might have been the most fun part of the Evgeny Kuznetsov Hershey Bears Experience for the rest of the team.
“The stories he would say on the bus, I don’t know if I can remember any word for word, but he had some good ones of the past that he’s been a part of and he was telling the coaches,” Frank said. “Of course, we’re all listening and eavesdropping on those.”
“He said he didn’t want to be treated any different. He sat on the bus and he just wanted to be treated like one of the Bears,” Vecchione added. “It was cool of him to just kind of humble himself and at the same time be himself.”
By the end of the trip, Bears’ fourth-line center Riley Sutter believed Kuznetsov had a much better appreciation for NHL accommodations.
“Yeah, I think after that he realized he doesn’t mind flying that much,” Sutter said with a sly smile. “He was hoping to be back up in the National as soon as possible, but he embraced the moment and made the most of his time here.”
Thursday, March 7
Kuznetsov’s second practice with the Bears
Kuznetsov would take the ice again for his second practice with the team on Thursday, this time at Bojangles Coliseum.
Nelson moved Kuznetsov away from the team’s extras and placed him with Vecchione and Frank on the Bears’ top line.
The promotion signaled that the team was preparing for Kuznetsov to potentially stay with the team past Friday’s rapidly-approaching NHL trade deadline. And his presence on the club grew in importance as the team’s previous first-line center, Mike Sgarbossa, was up with the Capitals as an injury replacement. Sgarbossa’s move would end up lasting the rest of the season, as he became ineligible for the Bears’ playoff run when he remained on the Capitals’ roster at the deadline the following day.
📍 Charlotte, NC pic.twitter.com/7iiMHy83Bp
— Hershey Bears (@TheHersheyBears) March 7, 2024
Nelson recalled that this was the practice where Kuznetsov really blew him away with his play.
Meanwhile, Vecchione said that skating with Kuznetsov reminded him of his NHL call-up to Washington in 2022, where he’d go on to make his Capitals debut on March 18 against the Carolina Hurricanes. Vecchione spent most of the night on a line with Nicklas Backstrom and Anthony Mantha but ended up getting some ice time with Kuzy.
“Well we can go back two years ago when I got called up,” Vecchione said. “I mean Dowder got hurt, so Kuzy was double shifting. I got a couple shifts with him and he’s just the coolest dude. He was taking a faceoff and he set me up behind him in the Ovi spot. He was like, ‘We’re going to score you a goal! I’m going to win this faceoff, you shoot it.’
“He was always talking to me on the bench, trying to pump me up. It was so relieving as a guy who’s just got called up to play with someone like that, who’s encouraging me to make plays and not think about making mistakes and dumping pucks in. He said, ‘Go out there, skate, dangle, they can’t keep up with that.’
“I thought that was the coolest thing. He was doing everything in his power to get me the puck and try to get me that first goal. I loved everything about that and what a good guy he is.”
At Bojangles Coliseum, seemingly a million miles away from an NHL opportunity, Kuznetsov brought that same energy to the AHL team.
“It was the same thing,” Vecchione said. “He was up the middle, I was on the left, Franky was on the right. We were just buzzing, having fun. His attitude — he’s just such a lighthearted guy. He’s always smiling having a good time. He brought so much energy to the team just in those few days he was with us.”
Friday, March 8 – NHL Trade Deadline
Kuznetsov traded to the Carolina Hurricanes. “He was by his phone the whole time.”
Kuznetsov would sleep at the team hotel and wake up early on Friday for the team’s morning skate. The NHL trade deadline was at 3 pm later that day. That evening, the team would face off against the Checkers.
Kuznetsov would never end up taking the ice with the team.
“Yeah, we were going out for pregame skate on Friday and we kind of had a feeling,” Vecchione said. “He was by his phone the whole time.”
The first report of Kuznetsov’s trade to the Hurricanes came from Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman at 10:33 am.
Washington and Carolina have been discussing an Evgeny Kuznetsov deal. Not sure how it will all work, but it's been moving along
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) March 8, 2024
Kuznetsov departed Bojangles Coliseum around 10:45 am after saying his goodbyes to his minor-league teammates.
“Obviously when it happened, he said in front of the guys, ‘Thanks for having me, it was awesome,’ gave everybody knuckles, packed his stuff, and he was out,” Vecchione said. “We were all happy for him, obviously, because he needed a fresh start and I think Carolina is obviously a really good hockey team. They’re Cup contenders. It was cool. He’s such a cool dude.”
A team staff member then drove Kuznetsov to Charlotte Douglas International Airport where a jet was waiting to take him to Raleigh. He would end up making it in time for part of the Hurricanes’ practice that day.
Hello from the newest Hurricane 👋 pic.twitter.com/D8ZpsfCZ69
— Carolina Hurricanes (@Canes) March 8, 2024
“We obviously didn’t expect him to stay down in the American League for a while, but we were definitely hoping for one game,” Ethen Frank said. “I’m sure he would have pulled off some pretty miraculous stunts out there and made it look pretty good.”
The Bears published a social media post thanking Kuznetsov for his very brief time with the team.
Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened.
Thanks for the laughter and the memories, Kuzy. All the best with Carolina! 🫡 https://t.co/w5qCuGkkif pic.twitter.com/YR4OkDKEqb
— Hershey Bears (@TheHersheyBears) March 8, 2024
“It’s tough,” McIlrath said of deadline day. “I’ve been dealt. It’s always shocking news. We have a really tight knit group. Obviously, we don’t want to see anyone leave. If anything, we like guys getting called up in our organization, but to leave for somewhere else is tough. But if they’re going to an opportunity to go play in the NHL, that’s great, we just don’t want them to go to our rivals.”
In Washington, Alex Ovechkin admitted from afar that the deal “was a sad day for us. Especially for me.”
Since arriving in Carolina, Kuznetsov has reflected on his time in DC, calling the city a “massive chunk of my heart.” He’s expressed regret that things didn’t work out better. “Unfortunately I had to leave on that note, but it’s life.”
He scored his first goal with the Canes on March 14 and received thunderous applause from his new fans. “(I) almost cry a little bit,” he said.
The 2018 Stanley Cup champion made his return to his former home barn on March 22, where he received a loud ovation from that Capital One crowd, too, after an emotional tribute video.
The best part of everything is that Kuznetsov, the person, seems to be in a situation where he can thrive.
“He needed to get a fresh start and leave this environment,” Capitals head coach Spencer Carbery said.
So far with the Hurricanes, Kuzy has six points (2g, 4a) in his first 12 games with his new team.
“He definitely brought a lot of energy and a lot of excitement to the Bears,” Vecchione said. “We had a blast with him. I’m very happy he found a home. It was cool to play an NHL game with him, practice with him a little bit, and I wish him all the best.”
