Every debut begins with a meeting.
But fear not, young lad.
It’s not like being called to the principal’s office.
“At first, they're like, 'Why am I in here?!” Head Coach Ryan Huska laughed of an early-morning heart-to-heart with young Yan Kuznetsov. “They have a different look in their face. And then you can see the excitement (and) the pride, I guess.
“He's worked hard for this opportunity. He's done a good job this last little while for the Wranglers and he deserves it. It's nice to see a young man's face when you get to tell him he's going to play his first game.”
Kuznetsov – who was up with the big club after a Jan. 5 summons, but was sent down Monday so he could practice with the AHL’s Wranglers – was recalled again, bright and early this morning.
He skated on a pairing with fellow Wranglers grad Nick DeSimone at the morning skate.
“It's been a long (road) and it's always been a goal and it's pretty amazing; it's overwhelming, at first,” Kuznetsov said of the NHL’s game-day experience. “It's pure joy and I will just try and enjoy this day as much as I can.”
Kuznetsov, who was drafted in the second round – 50th overall – in the 2020 Draft has seven points (2G, 5A) with the Flames’ AHL affiliate this year.
He himself as a “simple defenceman who moves the puck quick, north,” and at 6-foot-4 and 209 lbs., he can be a handful, physically, both in clearing the net-front and on the PK.
“He has a better understanding of how he has to play as a pro - and maybe his first couple years, he fought it a little bit, at times,” Huska said. “But now, he's started to figure it out, where 'I have to be a good checker, a good defender, I have to make a good first pass.' And then he has to use his size to his advantage. So, those are all things over the course of the last number of years he's worked on and he's got better with, and he's put himself in position where he's getting his first game today.”
