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The Flyers now have seven picks within the first two rounds of the 2025 NHL Draft. Flyers’ General Manager Danny Briere added to his stockpile following the trade that sent Joel Farabee and Morgan Frost to Calgary. He has the ammo to make one heck of a deal for a Center, in the future. With that being said, just just what an impression by Andrei Kuzmenko in his first two games as a Flyer!!!
First things first, Kuzmenko is a native of Yakutsk, Russia. He played in the KHL, and as a matter of fact he played with Matvei Michkov in the 2021-22 season. Kuzmenko stands at 5’11 and weighs 194 pounds. He was originally traded by the Vancouver Canucks to the Calgary Flames in 2024. Kuzmenko, believe it or not, is a former 30+ goal scorer, as he netted 39 goals in the 2022-23 season with the Canucks.
Kuzmenko is a streaky scorer. He doesn’t play a power game, nor he is a penalty killer. Kuzmenko also needs more defensively, especially with the way Flyers’ Head Coach John Tortorella likes to use his players for their two-way game.
“He seems like a really good kid. I think he’s very coachable,” Flyers’ Head Coach John Tortorella said following the Edmonton Oilers game on Saturday.
Sure doesn’t sound like they will flip him at the deadline imo, but then Tortorella says this yesterday, “He has a chance here to come to a team that’s looking for more offense, and may be grow his career here.”
Kuzmenko really has an opportunity here with the orange and black. He was all over the ice this past Saturday, as he netted his first goal as a Flyer. He skated well, and Kuzmenko really created space offensively for his teammates. He’s very crafty.
The 28-year-old in Kuzmenko is a power-play specialist. He’s very good between the face-off dots, and below the hash marks offensively. His stats have fallen off from the 2022-23 season, as he only has five goals and 11 assists on the season in just 38 games played.
Kuzmenko now skates to a clean slate with the orange and black. He is fast and one could sense his skill with the way he created offense last night against Pittsburgh. Kuzmenko threads the needle with beautiful passes, maybe he’s benefitting from a change of scenery.
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John Tortorella
Tortorella said yesterday that he drove home from the Four Nations Faceoff Tournament. He found out that there were going to be some Canadians on board, so he decided to drive home, “I didn’t take the charter back. I drove back. When I knew a bunch of Canadians were going to be on there. I was definitely driving.”
