A lunch in Miami helped Kuzmenko decide on the Vancouver Canucks.
Before he even signed to free agency, Ilya Mikheyev was contributing to the Vancouver Canucks.
The fast-paced side signed a four-year deal with the Canucks worth $ 4.75 million a year on Wednesday. Prior to that, he helped in his recruitment efforts for the other Russian winger who signed on Wednesday, Andrei Kuzmenko.
“I talked to Kuzy in Miami,” Mikheyev said during a Zoom call Thursday morning. “We were in Miami at the same time and had some lunch. He asked me about the NHL and he asked me about his options. [the offers] he succeeded. And I tell him that Vancouver is the best choice for him.
“He thought a lot about Vancouver and another team, but it’s my opinion for him: I told him Vancouver is the best option for Kuzy.”
This is a pretty impressive assist for Mikheyev without even playing a game for the Canucks. Knowing that Kuzmenko would go there, along with compatriot Vasily Podkolzin, made the canucks also a more comfortable landing place for him. It may help ease Kuzmenko’s transition, which was a little tough for him in his freshman year.
“I played two and a half years in Toronto, probably just a Russian guy,” Mikheyev said. “When I entered the NHL, just the first year, having Russian guys was good because my English was bad. You train, of course, you talk to guys, on the court, in off-court restaurants, and it’s good for you.
“Now, when you know English better, it’s just an advantage when you have Russian guys.”
Mikheyev said he came to appreciate Vancouver as a team and as a city when the Toronto Maple Leafs played them both during the 2020-21 season shortened by COVID, when the Leafs and Canucks were in the same division.
“I saw how this team played, I saw the court and maybe no fans, but it was my first free agency and it’s a long decision,” Mikheyev said. “We talked to my family, to everyone, and Vancouver was the best option. I like the city, I like the team, I like how they built that team.”
After playing in Toronto, Mikheyev clearly has no problem playing in a crazy Canadian hockey market. He joked that he knows the meaning of the pressure after his stint with the Leafs and immediately said he feels a “responsibility” to play well for such passionate fans.
Mikheyev had an advanced season last year, scoring 21 goals in just 53 games. He thinks he can keep scoring with Vancouver.
“I worked a lot the summer before last year,” Mikheyev said. “I understand more hockey in the NHL, it’s more experience. Everything was easier for me, the game, the practice, and I feel more comfortable. And of course, I understand my mistakes.”
It helps that he was no longer recovering from an ugly wound where his wrist was cut with a skate blade.
“I had two injuries the first year, I first cut my wrist,” he said. “It’s hard. It’s not easy because you cut tendons … but I understand I just had to work hard and come back stronger. Because I’m a professional and I want to play.”
While Mikheyev has yet to play a full season in the NHL, it has largely been injuries by chance: a severed wrist, an awkward cross control on the boards and a broken thumb. Hopefully, Mikheyev can avoid similar bad luck with the Canucks.
If so, Mikheyev could be in line for a career year and perhaps pick up a few more assists with Kuzmenko.