Vegas Golden Knights center Jack Eichel marvels at Kucherov’s creativity.
Utah Mammoth forward Clayton Keller used words such as “smooth,” “smart,” and “deceptive” to describe Kucherov.
“Learning about the power play the last couple of years, I have really liked to watch him and how he operates the half wall, how many different options he has and how smart he is to open plays up,” Keller said. “He’s definitely a guy that I’ll watch every single game if I’m not playing.”
Kane said the same thing.
“If you’re that guy that’s an off shot playing your off wing, you find yourself in the dot to hash mark area of the ice, that’s the guy you want to watch, because he’s a master at it,” Kane said. “He’s incredible at knowing what he’s going to do with the puck before he gets it, and then obviously he’s so smooth. So much skill. His ability to be a shooter and a passer makes him so dangerous, because you don’t know which one he really wants to be or which one he’s going to defer to. He just makes the right play. But he’s the guy for me now that I’m watching to see what he’s doing, how he’s producing, how good he is on the power play.”
Kucherov wasn’t getting that kind of praise early in his career.
No one who watched him closely denied the talent; the question was more how to get it all out of him.
Cooper, who has coached Kucherov his entire NHL career, admits mistakes he made early on.
“That’s how we grew together,” Cooper said. “It wasn’t roses all the time. Part of my job is to figure out the personalities of these guys and what makes them tick. I know what makes Kuch tick now. I did not know that in 2015. That was a scramble for me and sometimes I fault myself and some of my tactics for trying to motivate him when I was not educated enough on his personality and the Russian culture in general. That was part of my learning too, reading up on how the culture is in Russia versus how it is here, and that helped me considerably.”
That Cooper has had the opportunity to grow with Kucherov, and vice versa, has enabled the two to have a connection that goes beyond what is typical among coaches and players in the NHL.
Cooper said he has seen that connection manifesting itself in Kucherov’s comfort level as the years have gone by.
“You have to manage him over motivating him,” Cooper said. “First of all, you have to manage his expectations at times. At times if frustration sets in it’s a delicate balance because if there is one player who can manufacture something out of nothing it’s Kuch, but there are times when that’s not needed. I think he’s come such a long way because he never used to say anything on the bench, and now he’s saying things like, ‘Get the puck deep, boys,’ or, ‘Shoot it.’ Those are things he would never say earlier in his career. That’s how you see the growth in him as a player, teammate, everything.”
And today, Cooper says the following with a directness that speaks to the seriousness of his statement.
“It is well known in Tampa Bay Lightning lore the past decade who our best player has been and he’s owned up to it,” Cooper said. “And by best I mean on and off the ice.”
If all goes to plan, Kucherov will pass Stamkos, who is now with the Nashville Predators, as the Lightning’s all-time leading scorer at some point next season, and he’ll do it in fewer games.
“He’s special,” Hagel said.