Evgeny Kuznetsov is about to have plenty of time to get to know the rest of the Hershey Bears.
Kuznetsov loaded up into a bus on Wednesday morning with the rest of his Hershey teammates for an over 7-hour long ride to Charlotte, North Carolina. The Bears are scheduled to take on the Checkers in a back-to-back on Friday and Saturday at Bojangles Coliseum.
The veteran Russian centerman, pillow in hand, was all smiles on Hershey’s social media accounts as he jumped onto the bus.
Kuznetsov skated with the Bears for the first time on Tuesday at Giant Center. The 31-year-old pivot was waived by the Washington Capitals last Saturday and then assigned to Hershey when he cleared waivers the next day.
After the skate, Hershey head coach Todd Nelson spoke about the possibility of Kuznetsov coming on the trip to North Carolina.
“That’s something that I’m going to talk to management about,” Nelson said. “We wanted to see how today’s practice went. We’re going to talk with management and try to get a game plan moving forward.”
He added, “When I come to the rink tomorrow, I’ll see who I have here, and whoever I have will make the trip to Charlotte.”
Heading down to the Queen City🚌💨💨💨 pic.twitter.com/0RWhwC3QOn
— Hershey Bears (@TheHersheyBears) March 6, 2024
Kuznetsov is believed to still be in the follow-up phase of the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program which has allowed him to practice but not yet play in games. Whether or not he has already been approved to see game action again is not yet known.
Kuznetsov is expected to speak with the media when he has been cleared.
The 2018 Stanley Cup champion has never played in an AHL game in his career. He was joined walking to the bus on Wednesday by fellow Russians, Bogdan Trineyev and Dmitry Osipov.
Kuznetsov’s line-mates from practice on Tuesday, forwards Tyson Empey and Kevin O’Neil, were sent back down to the ECHL’s South Carolina Stingrays.
We've loaned forwards Tyson Empey and Kevin O'Neil to the @SCStingrays.
— Hershey Bears (@TheHersheyBears) March 6, 2024
