There is something more than endearing about watching Andrei Kuzmenko try to navigate a media scrum the day after the skilled winger’s first-ever NHL playoff game.
In many ways Kuzmenko approaches the scrum with the same enthusiasm he appears to approach everything connected to his new life as a member of the Los Angeles Kings – with abandon and immense pleasure.
And given his significant hockey acumen and equally significant impact on his new team and teammates, it’s fair to suggest the media scrum might be the more challenging of his duties as a member of the LA Kings.
It’s never easy to try and navigate talking to the media in a language that is not your own. And yet Kuzmenko gamely tries to answer all of the questions, following his dynamic performance in Game 1 of the postseason.
No doubt he’ll become more and more comfortable with the process and he’ll need to be if he continues to play at the level he has shown in recent weeks and as recently as Game 1 when he scored a critical power play goal to open the scoring in the series and added two assists in a dramatic 6-5 Kings win in Game 1 on Monday night.
And no, he admitted he didn’t sleep much after the win.
“After every game I have a terrible sleep, just five hours,” the 29-year-old native of Yakutsk, Russia explained. “So much emotion. First playoff game. So excited. Electric atmosphere.”
He noted that he’s played in playoffs in Russia at different levels for different teams.
“But now in NHL is other level,” Kuzmenko said.
Funny how things work out.
Kuzy opens the scoring! 👑 pic.twitter.com/FEs93cI1pM
— Sports on Prime Canada (@SportsOnPrimeCA) April 22, 2025
During a trade deadline period that saw any number of high-profile players on the move in what was definitely a seller’s market, the addition of Kuzmenko along with a seventh-round draft pick for a third-round pick in 2027 seems now like the bargain of the ’25 deadline.
Of course, who could have seen this coming?
According to the National Hockey League’s advanced EDGE statistics, Kuzmenko led all NHL during Game 1’s in offensive zone time percentage at 55.8. Along with his three points, Kuzmenko had five shots on goal in Game 1. Only Kevin Fiala, with six shots, had more from either team in Monday’s game.
Head coach Jim Hiller seemed almost whimsical when discussing Kuzmenko’s playoff debut and how he’s been embraced by his teammates.
“First NHL playoff game, you never know what to expect. He’s an older player so he’s got that on his side. But I thought he performed like he has since the trade deadline for us, just really been a difference maker and he was again last night,” Hiller said Tuesday. “You just got to give him a lot of respect, he’s really, really done a job and he had a tough go for a while and he gathered himself. Just really happy for him. Just really happy for him.”
Just as Kuzmenko seems to have an ever-present grin whether it’s navigating media briefings or practicing or during games, the people around him seem to light up, too, when talking about the undrafted winger.
Hiller is no different especially as he described Kuzmenko’s penchant for trying to draw up new and innovative plays for his teammates.
“You guys have talked to him. He’s such a unique guy. And he loves hockey. He can’t stop talking about hockey and he’s got a new play for every situation,” Hiller said. “It’s the greatest for the people who are hockey mad and think about it 24/7, it’s just really interesting to see. It all makes sense. It’s not all possible in every moment, but it all makes sense. But you just love to see the passion for it. So, I think that’s probably why his linemates, especially, they get the brunt of it. I know I’ve said it 100 times but what an addition to our team.”
Kuzmenko had a breakout year in Vancouver in 2022-23 under head coach Bruce Boudreau and said he’s tried to learn from all of his coaches as he moved from Vancouver to Calgary to Philadelphia and finally Los Angeles.
“I don’t know how many players in the NHL had five coaches in three years, maybe just me,” Kuzmenko said with a laugh. “It was difficult at times for me but now I understand how I have to play to help the team.”
It’s that willingness to learn and the drive to be a good, all-around player that has garnered the attention and affection of his teammates in Los Angeles where defensive responsibility and accountability is part of the Kings DNA.
“Obviously a great debut for sure. I’m sure he was a little bit nervous. But then at the same time I always say that the first game of the first round is always the hardest to play in and now I think the nerves settle a little bit,” Kings captain Anze Kopitar said of Kuzmenko who has played almost exclusively with Kopitar and Adrian Kempe since arriving at the trade deadline. “Having a good game like he did [Monday] and getting the win is huge and he’s been a really good addition for us right since he got here. We’re going to need him to play like that going forward.”
Kempe, likewise, has warmed to Kuzmenko and raves about how he has complimented their forward unit and the team’s top power play unit one that now employs five forwards, a rarity among NHL teams.
“Brings the morale up on the team,” Kempe said. “I think everybody’s been really happy with Kuzy coming into the team and he’s a great guy and he’s been working really hard learning a new system all that kind of stuff. He’s been working really hard to try and work it out here. Everybody’s really happy with everything he’s done so far.”
There has been an undeniable ripple effect to Kuzmenko’s arrival and his subsequent impact. Not only has it stopped the parade of wingers who have tried to find a fit with Kopitar and Kempe but his fit with those two veteran stars has allowed the other two top forward units to stabilize and build their own chemistry and identity.
“Highly skilled in the O-zone but also been a really good player on the rush,” Kempe said of Kuzmenko. “Me and Kopi have always kind of been good rush players so I think he’s been fitting in really well there. All the other lines have good chemistry too, been playing together for a while now, so they kind of know each other and kind of feel like every line has not their identity but their own type of game they play and it’s been working really well for us over the last couple of months.”
KUZY OUR GLORIOUS KING pic.twitter.com/SCAiFBuQQD
— x – LA Kings (@LAKings) April 22, 2025
National broadcast analyst Cassie Campell-Pascall has worked a number of Kings games recently including Game 1 Monday night. She’s also based in Calgary and got to know Kuzmenko during a 66-game stay with the Flames spread over two seasons. The evolution she’s seen is dramatic.
“He’s a really good guy. Really funny. Really good teammate,” Campbell-Pascall said on Tuesday. “Works hard. In the gym. On the bikes. Doing all those things.”
And yet in Calgary he was a healthy scratch.
“He just couldn’t find his way all the time,” Campbell-Pascall explained.
But with the Kings the pieces to the puzzle have all come together.
“It’s the perfect role for him,” Campbell-Pascall said.
Top line, first power play unit. It’s where Kuzmenko thrives and it’s where he’s thriving with the Kings.
“He’s dynamic, he’s got offensive flare,” said Campbell-Pascall a member of the Order of Canada and a member of Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame. “He’s just been put in a perfect position.”
The result has been beneficial to Kuzmenko on a personal level and to the Kings and specifically the Kings’ power play which scored twice in Game 1, two more power play goals than the Kings scored during their first-round loss to Edmonton last April.
“The power play had been so static. There wasn’t a lot of creativity. He comes along and he doesn’t really play with a structure. He moves around,” Campbell-Pascall said.
She pointed out that on the first goal Monday Kuzmenko started out high before moving all the way behind the Oiler net before sliding to the side of the net where he tapped home a terrific backdoor pass from Kevin Fiala.
“The Kings needed a little spontaneity and creativity on their power play and he brings that,” Campbell-Pascall added.
Early days yet as far as playoffs are concerned. But it sounds like they certainly got it.
Photo by Juan Ocampo/NHLI via Getty Images
