Dave King on Kulemin

King was certainly prescient about Kulemin. He’s all that plus a mean streak that keeps trouble at bay, but without the crazy shit antics. We always talk about players that make others better around them, but this guy makes really good players even better. Check! Spot one on the first line now occupied for next year.

I am definitely really excited about what he could develop into because he certainly has the tools.

Read this awhile back when Kulemin was first coming into the forefront. King was right on the money about how slow many hockey prospect sites, HF for example, were in assessing Kulemin’s impact as a pro. Then, when they did finally acknowledge Kulemin as a prospect, they copied King almost word for word in their evaluation.

Didn’t Kulemin explode in the RSL playoffs that following year or the next, too?

King also didn’t think much of the Sens pick Kaigorodov (didn’t want to pay the price and his talent level wasn’t high enough to make him stick in the NHL) which turned out to be pretty prescient too.

King’s thoughts on Vorbiev (not the Leafs draft pick, another kid) and the importance of “greasy” players made me re-think my initial take on guys like May, Mayers, etc. I wish the Toronto media horde would ask Wilson about players affecting the culture of the room and the performance of their peers. Would be full value just to hear what names Wilson would respond with.

We should add this book to the PPP book club pantheon.

Thanks for the insight, MF.

Kulemin will be a solid NHL player…once the Leafs trade him after a few years of “underachieving.”

is by far my favorite Leaf this year. If they use this kid right and don’t break his natural ability to play two way hockey, he will be around for a long time. I think finding him a decent line will boost his stats, too. Grabovski possesses a similar, more flashy, form of backcheck. Grabs has surprised me for his backchecking as many times as he has dumbly turned over the puck. Saying that, Kulemin and Grabs do work well together. I think getting Hagman back on that line will be beneficial for both players. Anyone heard ANYTHING about Hagman in a while?

Sharing the love: Prior to practice yesterday, Wilson made the entire team stand in a circle at centre ice, then had Jason Blake and Mikhail Grabovski skate in and hug each other. Blake and Grabovski have had two run-ins during practice the past five weeks, including one Monday.

What’s a rec?