The much anticipated NHL debut of Washington's 2010 1st round pick, Evgeny Kuznetsov will be Monday vs the Pittsburgh Penguins. He is one of the top prospects (not to be mistaken with top players lol) outside of the NHL. His wish was to start a family at a young age, so he decided to stay in the KHL his first few pro years closer to family, which ignited concerns about drafting Russians in the 1st round irrespective of talent.
I remember watching Kuznetsov live at the Saddledome during the WJC tourney in 2012 and he was lights out in the semifinals. Russia won 6-5 over Canada unfortunately. He scored some spectacular goals, finishing the game with a hat-trick and a helper.
Undoubtedly skilled, he should fit in well with Ovechkin in Washington (Ovy even attended Kuznetsov's wedding), and I would group him in that Radulov and Kovalev, semi-star tier, not quite up there with Ovy, Datsyuk and Malkin, but he'll be a good one for sure.
http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=445621
NHL.com article, comparing him to other "phenoms"
http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=7...d=nhl:topheads
Translation of Soviet Sport's Interview with Kuznetsov in 2011
http://www.russianmachineneverbreaks...-am-kuznetsov/
Kuznetsov Chirping at Canada in Calgary (Boooo!)
http://www.calgarysun.com/2012/01/04...ping-after-win