Marat Khusnutdinov was originally going to Iowa in hopes of finding his game. Instead, he’ll go to New England.
The 22-year-old Russian is headed to the Bruins as part of the deal that sent Justin Brazeau to the Minnesota Wild and will bring Khusnutdinov, former Bruins Jakub Lauko and a sixth-round pick back to Boston before Friday’s NHL Trade Deadline.
It’s unclear whether Khusnutdinov will report to Boston or Providence.
Earlier this week, the Wild had sent Khusnutsdinov to AHL Iowa for salary cap reasons after acquiring Gustav Nyquist. But the hope was that time in the AHL might spark the offensive game that’s yet to blossom since he arrived in the NHL from Russia.
Much was expected when the Wild selected him in the second round of the 2020 draft. According to his draft scouting report from NHL.com at the time:
“Explosive two-way center, flashy, skilled and an offensive threat on every shift. A leader and team player, wins battles and plays with a lot of confidence.”
Minnesota director of amateur scouting Judd Brackett, a Harwich native, said:
“Marat is an elite skater, two-way center with speed and has creative offensive vision.”
Since being drafted, he stayed in Russia for four seasons, where he was a kid playing against men in the Kontintal Hockey League before joining the Wild at the end of last year.
The 5-foot-11, 176-pound forward has shown limited offensive upside in parts of two seasons with the Wild. He has three goals and eight assists in 73 career NHL games. He had two goals and five assists in 57 games this season.
The Athletic’s Harman Dayal liked him for the Bruins.
“Khusnutdinov was a highly touted prospect from the KHL and while he’s struggled to make an offensive impact in his first full NHL season (seven points in 57 games), he’s still only 22, boasts an impressive speed/work rate combo and is already a very solid defensive player. Furthermore, he didn’t have the most talented linemates to play with this year in Minnesota, so in my mind, it’s too early to write off his offensive game/potential.
There’s a chance Khusnutdinov’s offensive game never grows and that he ends up stuck as a tweener who lacks a distinct enough identity to be an effective bottom-six NHL player, but I would roll the dice on him developing into a decent third-line forward one day.“
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