Hurricanes star Andrei Svechnikov ready for Round 2
Andrei Svechnikov’s introduction to playoff hockey last April came at the end of Alex Ovechkin’s right arm. His introduction to deep-sea fishing this summer came when he boated the first fish of the day, which turned out to be a shark.
“Pretty decent size, to be honest,” Svechnkov said. “It’s mostly fun when you put that shark in the boat. It starts jumping for 10 minutes, then you have to put the shark back in the water.”
The kid doesn’t do things halfway, whether it’s settling postseason scores with his most famous countryman — and coming out on the wrong end of it — or throwing a line in the water, let alone scoring goals, lacrosse-style or otherwise.
And the 20-year-old remains beloved by his teammates, the youngest-ever winner (by far) of the team’s Steve Chiasson Award, announced Wednesday and chosen by the players as their most inspiring and dedicated peer. Even Eric Staal didn’t win it until he’d been in the league eight years.
None of that has changed.
But it’s a very different hockey player, emotionally and technically, who will take the ice in August for his second trip through the playoffs. The second-year winger not only knows what he’s getting into, he’s better equipped for it.
“He’s certainly more comfortable,” Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “You can see that, whether it’s playoffs or not. He’s growing up and he’s growing up quickly. Not just physically, but mentally you can tell he feels comfortable.
“Now he knows. He knows what to expect. And I think he knows he’s got that bigger role with our group. He’s one of our top guns, no question about it, and he understands that. He’s definitely in a different place this year than he was last year.”
Svechnikov scored two goals in his playoff debut and had a point in the second game against the Washington Capitals before Ovechkin’s knockout derailed the rookie’s playoffs for more than two weeks. Svechnikov was never able to have the same impact after his quick return, not that any of the Hurricanes were in gear against the Boston Bruins.
After a regular season that saw the expected sophomore improvement — extrapolating his 68 games out to a full 82, his goals increased from 20 to 29 and his assists more than doubled from 17 to 44 — there will be nowhere for Svechnikov to hide on the ice this time around, with another elite Russian forward waiting on the other side in the first round in Artemi Panarin.
“Especially for me, I have to play really good and be the best on the ice,” Svechnikov said. “Be the best every shift and try to help my team to win games.”
Svechnikov is ready for that. His second season was full of improvement, visible and unseen. Whether it was as simple as taking better care of himself by eating better and watching his sleep or as complicated as improving his play with the puck in certain areas of the ice, he’s better prepared to meet those expectations.
“Last year I was struggling on the half-wall, kind of, to get the puck out,” Svechnikov said. “This year I didn’t have problems with that a lot.”
And if anyone wants to take a swing at him?
“I think he knows what to do this time,” teammate Warren Foegele said.
This story was originally published July 22, 2020 at 2:29 PM.
