Kucherov's work ethic has him on cusp of Lightning scoring record

NEW YORK -- Nikita Kucherov and Vladislav Namestnikov stayed on the ice after the rest of the Tampa Bay Lightning players got kicked off.

"Somehow they were able to weasel their way to stay on," former Lightning forward Tyler Johnson recalled.

This was in 2013, during Kucherov's first NHL training camp. Johnson and Ondrej Palat were on the other side of the glass watching Kucherov and Namestnikov doing drills.

Johnson vividly remembers what he saw from Kucherov.

"You could just see how detailed he was in everything he did," Johnson said. "He was thinking about the smallest of things: how he's stickhandling, where he's putting the puck, how he's protecting it. It's things that all NHL players, we think about them, but when you're doing a drill, it's still hard for us to do it the same way every single rep. That's what he was working on, every single rep doing the same thing over and over again."

Johnson said he and Palat were talking as they watched about how skilled and fluid Kucherov looked, how everything seemed so easy for him.

He was 20 years old, having been selected in the second round (No. 58) of the 2011 NHL Draft. He was not a can't-miss prospect.

"We knew he was a very skilled player, but he wasn't a first-rounder. He wasn't expected to be who he is," Johnson said. "We knew he was good and skilled, but I didn't know just how skilled he was until we actually got to see him. And then I was like, 'Wow.'"

Thirteen years later, Kucherov is a two-time Stanley Cup champion (2020, 2021), a seven-time NHL award winner (the Hart Trophy twice, the Ted Lindsay Award twice, the Art Ross Trophy three times), and is four points away from passing Steven Stamkos to become the Lightning's all-time leading scorer.

Stamkos, who is in his third season with the Nashville Predators after playing 16 with the Lightning, holds the title -- for now -- with 1,137 points (555 goals, 582 assists) in 1,082 games, an average of 1.05 points per game.

Kucherov has 1,134 points (404 goals, 730 assists) in 887 games, an average of 1.28 points per game.

He has a chance to get closer to the record, if not break it, on Tuesday, when Tampa Bay visits the Vegas Golden Knights at T-Mobile Arena (10:30 p.m. ET; ESPN, SN+).

"Whether I stayed or left, I think it was going to happen at some point," Stamkos said. "It might have gotten pushed down the line a little longer, but I think if it's all said and done and 'Kuch' ends up a Lightning for life it would have happened at some point."

Kucherov is notorious around the NHL for his work ethic, his vision and his hockey brain.

"He marvels at Kucherov because I believe they have similar minds," said Cooper, who regularly talks with Gretzky, including about Kucherov. "Everybody gives a different challenge on how you coach them, and I think Wayne probably was no different when he played because expectations are higher and there are just so many demands on a player of that elite talent. But what Gretzky appreciates is all that goes on because I think a lot of people take it for granted. When you're the best everybody thinks, 'Well, it's easy,' but to be honest, it might be harder to be the best. That's why Wayne is so intrigued by Kucherov, because he sees similarities."

Cooper, Kucherov's only coach in the NHL, said the Russian forward's most unique talent is his ability to "think above the rim."

But it took Kucherov some time to figure out how to do that against the best competition in the world.

"It's like you can pass your driver's test, it doesn't make you a good driver. You still have to get behind the wheel," Cooper said.

Kucherov had to learn how to use his brain and skill to beat players such as, for example, a couple of Hockey Hall of Famers like Shea Weber and Duncan Keith. He had to learn how to attack them and others, how to outfox them.

"That's when he figured it out," Cooper said. "You couple that with the talent he has and he is who he is today."

But he had 18 points (nine goals, nine assists) in 52 games as a rookie in 2013-14. He spent part of that season in the American Hockey League with the Syracuse Crunch, where he had an easier time and produced 24 points (13 goals, 11 assists) in 17 games.

Then in 2014-15, he started to click with Palat and Johnson. They became known as "The Triplets" line, and it worked, helping the Lightning make a somewhat unexpected run to the Stanley Cup Final, where they ran into the dynastic Chicago Blackhawks.

"That 'Triplets' line checked a lot of boxes, but 'Kuch' was the catalyst," Cooper said. "I have been around a lot of guys that think about the game, but 'Kuch' not only thinks about the game, he thinks THE game, and he thinks inside the game."

Kucherov is revered for how he works at the game. His offseason on-ice training sessions are legendary, and he's well known for shooting hundreds of pucks in his garage, too.

"In the summertime when you get to do his training sessions with him on the ice it's a special treat," Lightning defenseman Ryan McDonagh said. "He runs all of his stuff on his own sheet, and if you get the invite with him it's pretty special."

The invite. Seriously.

"I'm not going to break too much of his stuff, but it's only open for certain guys and there are rules he works by. For one, you have to show up," McDonagh said.

It's the same in season, after practice ends.

"We always did stuff," Johnson said. "After practice he would say, 'Come down and do this with me.' He has new drills, but he has his fundamentals that he always goes back to. He has this little power-play drill with just some edgework and showing the puck in certain ways."

Johnson said his heartbeat rarely spiked in these training sessions. He said he barely broke a sweat.

"Everything is critiquing, the fundamentals, little aspects," Johnson said. "When you're doing it it's like, 'Am I wasting my time right now?' It translates, though. It's cool."

Johnson said the only negative is that Kucherov expects his training partners to be able to do everything he wants them to do.

It's not realistic, but it's motivating.

"He thinks everyone should have that work ethic," Stamkos said. "If there's a player on the team that is struggling with making a pass or making a play, he's like, 'Well, why aren't they working on the ice two hours every day like I am?' That pushes you as a player, too, when you see the best player putting in that work. You want to do it too. Marty St. Louis used to tell me that seeing me as a young player invigorated him a little bit and he wanted to quote-unquote keep up with the younger guys in the League. That's how I felt with 'Kuch' too. I saw Kuch come in and you see this work that he's putting in and it inspires you."

The inspiration was first evident when Kucherov and Namestnikov stayed on the ice long after a practice session during his first training camp. 

He's still doing it with Hagel and Brayden Point and Jake Guentzel and others, Kucherov as the constant, the driver, and the soon-to-be Lightning record-breaker.

"He's never satisfied," Stamkos said. "After we won the second Cup in Tampa (2021) a bunch of guys came over to my house after. It was like 3 or 4 in the morning. We had the Stanley Cup, and he was talking about (Connor) McDavid and (Nathan) MacKinnon, and he thought they were in this huge tier above him and he wanted to get into that tier. That's what he was talking about after just winning the Stanley Cup and putting up 30-whatever points in the playoffs. But that just goes to show the mindset that he has; obsessed in a good way."