Milstein’s interview starts at 36:30.
https://www.sekeresandprice.com/august-29-2023-dan-milsten-jeff-paterson/
On Kuzmenko:
– This summer he wanted to be in the best shape of his life, and it was a challenge for them to set up his training in Bali.
– He had a trainer for the month of June, another one in July and then has come to the US. He’s in Miami training with the Florida Panthers guys using their facilities now.
– Canucks were NOT happy when they heard Kuzmenko was going to be training in Bali. Said they heard from the head coach, from everybody, everyone was concerned.
– In June, Kuzy was training with Pavel Datsyuk’s summer coach. They actually found ice in Bali so he was skating too.
– Milstein talks about the differences between getting ready for KHL season and getting ready for NHL season and said Kuzy was not ready last season. They were a bit concerned after seeing him at training camp last season.
– This summer he has changed some things so they expect a new and improved Kuzmenko coming in this year.
– “Look at his half-naked pictures on Instagram, he looks great, the best shape of his life”.
– Milstein says he expects big things from Kuzmenko and from the Canucks in general this season, he’s really excited.
– On Kuzmenko living in Vancouver: “the new thing in Russia and Belarus is sushi so there is no better place in the NHL world than living in Vancouver. Clearly it’s not the taxes”.
– “The fans are sometimes crazy, including Rick Dhaliwal”
– Talks about Vancouver being a great place to live, says Mikheyev had 15-20 teams calling last year and he chose Vancouver. Kuzmenko had 32 teams to choose from and he chose Vancouver.
On Mikheyev:
– He’s doing great in his recovery, he arrived in Vancouver last week. He’s skating, working hard.
– He met with the doctors in the US that operated on him, they expect a full recovery and **hopefully he’s ready for the start of the season**.
– He keeps reminding Ilya “this is not a sprint is a marathon” and it’s not about the pre-season, it’s about the entire 82 games schedule.
On Klimovich:
– He’s working hard getting ready to fight for a roster spot.
– He’s been training in Vancouver doing all the right things, says he’s a great kid.
– “He could be in the KHL playing on all 23 teams but he’s here, he’s not thinking about anything other than continuing to develop.”
– At 18 he was one of the youngest players in the AHL.
– He’s not a complainer, he’s extremely happy to be in Vancouver.
– Says Mikheyev and Kuzy have been helping Danila, they’re friends off the ice.
At the end (53:00) Milstein talks about Leafs prospect Amirov who passed away from brain cancer a few weeks ago.
by electricnux
13 Comments
Was really interesting to also hear that in the KHL the preseason is 2 months long. Very different from the NHL where the guys are just expected to show up in shape and get right into it.
Pretty funny thinking about Kuzy just living his best life in Bali while Canucks management are just sweating bullets
Love that Kuzy and Ilya have been helping Klinovich on and off the ice, that’s really cool to hear!
The whole coaches calling him thing seems a bit odd considering teams aren’t even allowed to dictate what a player does on their offseason, but I guess to look at it in a positive light, seems like a tight knit group if they are doing that
“and said Kuzy was not ready last season”
I don’t know, he seemed ready to me.
I know he’s an all-around Swiss Army knife type guy but cmon 15-20 teams calling for mikheyev? Assumed there was competition given the cap hit but 15/20?!?!??
I love how he jokes that Kuzy will score 65, Canucks will not be able to afford him, and Klimovich will take Kuzy’s place! He’s very supportive and high on his clients; you always love seeing that from an agent—fun interview.
* Talks about Vancouver being a great place to live, says Mikheyev had 15-20 teams calling last year and he chose Vancouver. Kuzmenko had 32 teams to choose from and he chose Vancouver.
But I thought all the meanies in the media would prevent free agents from coming?
….thanks for the excellent summary!!!!
Would the Canucks have preferred he train in Russia instead? Bali seems like a good choice to me.
Typical Agent drivel. Nice to hear about Mikheyev’s recovery though. Another PK weapon we could use. A lot of “Vancouver is lucky to have these guys” comments. Again, an agent talking up his clients. Nothing really special to be garnered here. I did enjoy the “Fans are sometimes crazy, including Rick Dhaliwal.” Lol. Dude is a glorified fan at this point. But he does have some good insider information from time to time.
It’s ironic how upper mgmt is not pleased about Kuzy training in Bali when they don’t even have a proper training facility for the team. At least he’s in Florida with the Panthers guys training in a REAL facility now. 🫠
“Look at his half-naked pictures on Instagram”
Don’t mind if I do
Kinda scares me that if Kuzy isn’t top 5 in-shape guys, he could get demoted down the lineup. Also doesn’t sound like Mikheyev will be ready to start the year. This sounds like a typical canucks way to start the year.