Andrei Kuzmenko
Andrei Alexandrovich Kuzmenko (Russian: Андрей Александрович Кузменко; born February 4, 1996) is a Russian professional ice hockey player for the Calgary Flames of the National Hockey League (NHL).
| Andrei Kuzmenko | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Born |
February 4, 1996 Yakutsk, Russia | ||
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (180 cm) | ||
| Weight | 203 lb (92 kg; 14 st 7 lb) | ||
| Position | Winger | ||
| Shoots | Right | ||
| NHL team Former teams |
Calgary Flames CSKA Moscow SKA Saint Petersburg Vancouver Canucks | ||
| National team | Russia | ||
| NHL draft | Undrafted | ||
| Playing career | 2014–present | ||
Playing career
Kuzmenko made his Kontinental Hockey League debut playing with CSKA Moscow during the 2014–15 KHL season.[1] In the 2017–18 season, Kuzmenko broke out as a 21-year-old establishing career bests of 13 goals and 25 points in 45 games with CSKA. In helping the club reach the Gagarin Cup finals, he produced four goals in 15 games.
Approaching the 2018–19 season, Kuzmenko was traded by CSKA to fellow contending club, SKA Saint Petersburg in exchange for Sergey Kalinin on August 8, 2018.[2] In his fourth year with SKA in the 2021–22 season, Kuzmenko increased his offensive output to over a point-per-game leading SKA in scoring with 20 goals and 33 assists for 53 points in 45 regular season games. He led the team in the postseason, continuing his scoring pace with 14 points in as many contests before losing in the Conference finals to eventual champions and former club, CSKA Moscow.[3]
As an undrafted free agent and having gained NHL interest, on June 20, 2022, Kuzmenko was signed to a one-year, entry-level contract with the Vancouver Canucks.[4][5] He made his NHL debut on October 13, where he scored a goal in the eventual 5–3 loss to the Edmonton Oilers.[6] He continued to produce steadily through the early parts of the season; on November 3, he recorded his first career NHL hat-trick in a four-point game, as the Canucks took an 8–5 victory over the Anaheim Ducks. By this time, Kuzmenko had tallied six goals and four assists for 10 points through 11 games.[7] Establishing himself as one of the Canucks top offensive contributors, Kuzmenko as an impending free agent opted to remain with the Canucks in signing a two-year, $11 million contract extension on January 26, 2023.[8]
On January 31, 2024, in the midst of a struggling sophomore season that saw him get healthy scratched multiple times, Kuzmenko, along with multiple draft picks and prospects, was traded to the Calgary Flames in exchange for forward Elias Lindholm.[9]
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2012–13 | Krasnaya Armiya | MHL | 49 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2013–14 | Krasnaya Armiya | MHL | 36 | 13 | 18 | 31 | 2 | 18 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 0 | ||
| 2014–15 | Krasnaya Armiya | MHL | 37 | 20 | 21 | 41 | 20 | 13 | 4 | 10 | 14 | 0 | ||
| 2014–15 | CSKA Moscow | KHL | 12 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2015–16 | CSKA Moscow | KHL | 15 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2015–16 | Zvezda Chekhov | VHL | 17 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2015–16 | Krasnaya Armiya | MHL | 5 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 7 | 8 | 1 | 9 | 2 | ||
| 2016–17 | CSKA Moscow | KHL | 34 | 6 | 9 | 15 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2016–17 | Zvezda Chekhov | VHL | 23 | 11 | 17 | 28 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0 | ||
| 2016–17 | Krasnaya Armiya | MHL | 3 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 13 | 11 | 13 | 24 | 6 | ||
| 2017–18 | CSKA Moscow | KHL | 45 | 13 | 12 | 25 | 12 | 15 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 6 | ||
| 2017–18 | Zvezda Chekhov | VHL | 7 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2018–19 | SKA Saint Petersburg | KHL | 58 | 12 | 19 | 31 | 20 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| 2019–20 | SKA Saint Petersburg | KHL | 49 | 14 | 19 | 33 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 0 | ||
| 2020–21 | SKA Saint Petersburg | KHL | 57 | 18 | 19 | 37 | 14 | 15 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 4 | ||
| 2021–22 | SKA Saint Petersburg | KHL | 45 | 20 | 33 | 53 | 10 | 16 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 12 | ||
| 2022–23 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 81 | 39 | 35 | 74 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2023–24 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 43 | 8 | 13 | 21 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2023–24 | Calgary Flames | NHL | 29 | 14 | 11 | 25 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| KHL totals | 315 | 85 | 115 | 200 | 68 | 61 | 18 | 11 | 29 | 28 | ||||
| NHL totals | 153 | 61 | 59 | 120 | 20 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
References
- "Andrei Kuzmenko player profile". Kontinental Hockey League. March 4, 2018. Retrieved March 4, 2018.
- "SKA trades Kalinin to CSKA for Kuzmenko" (in Russian). Kontinental Hockey League. August 8, 2018. Retrieved August 8, 2018.
- "Who is Andrei Kuzmenko? Russian star coming over to NHL after signing with Canucks". www.sportingnews.com. June 20, 2022. Retrieved February 10, 2024.
- "Top KHL forward Andrei Kuzmenko set to sign with Canucks". SportsNet. June 20, 2022. Retrieved June 20, 2022.
- "KHL star Kuzmenko to sign with Canucks". The Sports Network. June 20, 2022. Retrieved June 20, 2022.
- "Canucks' Andrei Kuzmenko: Gets goal in NHL debut". CBS Sports. October 13, 2022. Retrieved November 4, 2022.
- "Kuzmenko nets first NHL hat trick as Canucks down Ducks". Sportsnet. November 4, 2022. Retrieved November 4, 2022.
- "Canucks reach two-year, $11 million extension with Kuzmenko". The Sports Network. January 26, 2023. Retrieved January 26, 2023.
- "Flames Make Deal With Canucks". NHL.com. January 31, 2024. Retrieved February 1, 2024.
External links
- Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or The Internet Hockey Database
- Andrei Kuzmenko profile and statistics at KHL.ru