Orpik shows rookie the way

Capitals blueliner helps Kuznetsov become a force

He calls him batya. It is a Russian colloquialism, meaning Dad. And at first glance you might assume it is in reference to Alex Ovechkin.

After all, when the Washington Capitals took a chance and drafted Evgeny Kuznetsov with the 26th overall pick in 2010, they did so with the hope that Ovechkin would not only convince his fellow Russian into his leaving his home country but also ease the transition to playing in the NHL.

That, more or less, finally happened last year.

But during Kuznetsov’s first full season in North America, it has been a California-born defenceman who previously couldn’t tell you the difference between borscht and a balaclava that has acted as the 22-year-old’s father figure.

“Oh yeah, Batya,” Brooks Orpik said of the nickname Kuznetsov gave him. “Obviously, someone did that for me. I think it’s really important to make younger guys — whether they’re European or North American — feel comfortable off the ice, because if they don’t feel comfortable off the ice, they’ll never feel comfortable on the ice.”

On the ice they are polar opposites. Orpik, who grew up around Buffalo and Boston, has had an 11-year career as a stay-at-home defenceman; Kuznetsov, who was born in the bleak, industrial town of Chelyabinsk, is a magical forward who teammates call “Harry Potter” because he wields his stick like a wand.

They seem even more like an odd couple off the ice. But because both are new to Washington — Kuznetsov arrived last March, while Orpik joined the Capitals as a free agent in the summer — they have found a common bond. Kuznetsov has introduced Orpik to some restaurants he might never try on his own. And the 34-year-old veteran has returned the favour, by acting as a sounding board for what was an up-anddown season for the Russian rookie.

“I feel like he is Russian,” Kuznetsov said of Orpik. “He’s just a really great guy. I’ve learned a lot from him.”

“He talked to me about the beginning of the year,” said Orpik, “about how he was having a tough time transitioning to the smaller ice and the different game. I don’t know what game it was, but halfway through the season you just saw his confidence shoot right up.”

Kuznetsov scored 11 goals and 37 points this season. But more than half of those came after the all-star break when he had seven goals and 22 points in 36 games.

He has carried that momentum into the playoffs, where the secondline centre scored the series-clinching goal in Game 7 against the New York Islanders.

Heading into Wednesday night’s Game 4 against the New York Rangers, Kuznetsov was tied with Ovechkin with a team-leading four goals in 10 games.

“The first 20 (games) he was struggling to be in the lineup on a consistent basis because there wasn’t a lot of consistency in his game,” said head coach Barry Trotz, who converted Kuznetsov from a winger into a centre. “And then that consistency and learning sort of came around and he got better. You just need to be patient.”

When he finally got to Washington in March 2014, former general manager George McPhee jokingly called Kuznetsov the “Loch Ness Monster,” because “we’ve heard of you, but we haven’t seen you.”

It was an appropriate nickname for a player who, despite scoring nine points in 17 games last season, often went missing on the ice.

Kuznetsov said an injured shoulder, which was not fully healed after being operated on earlier in the year, played a part in his struggles. But the bigger reason was the culture change.

“I changed the style, I changed countries, all life,” said Kuznetsov. “Different people, different locker-room, different stuff. You need time to feel good. You need time to feel comfortable. I feel very, very comfortable right now.”

Nicklas Backstrom said Kuznetsov has the ability to “skate circles around everyone” and Joel Ward continues to be surprised by “the amount of tricks he has in his bag.” But teammates have marvelled even more at Kuznetsov’s maturity.

He backchecks and stops on pucks rather than lazily circling around. He has simplified his game, made it less east-west and more north-south. He’s making the right decisions at the right times. With the score tied in Game 3 on Monday, Kuznetsov had an opportunity at the end of a shift where he could have tried to deke past a defender for a scoring chance. Instead, he dumped the puck in deep, went for a change and player who hopped on the ice in his place scored the game-winner.

“Now, he recognizes when he can beat guys and when he should make smarter plays with the puck,” said Orpik. “He’s been our most improved player.”

You can thank his batya for that.