The Leafs don’t have any legitimate first line scorers – with the exception of Phil Kessel – so secondary players like Nikolai Kulemin are expected to step up and fill the void. The 24-year old left winger is entering his third NHL season, after posting back-to-back campaigns of at least 30 points. The Leafs are banking on Kulemin to top the 20 goal, 45 point mark playing on the first two lines.Like many of the players on Toronto, Kulemin was slow out of the gate last season and only scored 3 points in his first 15 games. He elevated his play by doubling his pace to 6 points in the preceding 15 games. Then he had 8 points in the next 15 games for a total of 17 points in 45 games. Based on these figures, Kulemin was on pace for 31 goals pro-rated (82 games). However, he finished with 36 points, which shows just how well he played in the second half. If Kulemin can continue his upward progression to start this season, he can realistically be expected to score between 40 and 45 points.
Along with his offensive abilities, Kulemin also prides himself in being a complete player by contributing on the penalty kill, where he averaged 1:14 of shorthanded ice time per game last season. He also scored 1 shorthanded goals. Those numbers don’t jump off the page, but looking deeper at another stat explains where Kulemin is most effective. Last season, he took only 5 penalties and drew 23 from the opposition. Those numbers led the Leafs for the best penalties taken/drawn ratio.
The 6-foot-1, 225 pound power forward uses his large frame to overpower opponents in the corners and forecheck the opposition on both special teams. He will never be expected to score on a point-per-game pace, but makes up for that with his exceptional two-way play.
Head Coach Ron Wilson has already stated that Kulemin will start the season alongside Tyler Bozak and Phil Kessel. This is a potential method for success based on the results that the trio produced in the final 30 games last season. Kulemin has started off slow the past two seasons, so the Leafs hope he can right the ship by playing with familiar linemates.
With two years of experience under his belt, Nikolai Kulemin is finally settling into Toronto and is poised to breakout into one of the best two-way forwards in the league.
2009-10 Statistics
78 games, 16 goals, 20 assists, 36 points, 16 penalty minutes
2010-11 Prediction
79 games, 24 goals, 21 assists, 45 points, 20 penalty minutes
3 Burning Questions
1 – Do you think Kulemin will start on a line with Tyler Bozak and Phil Kessel to replicate the success they had last season?
2 – How many points do you think Kulemin will score this year?
3 – Can Kulemin have a better start this season after starting slow last year?
I don't see why he can't get more assists if he is playing alot of time with Kessel.
ReplyDeleteIf given the 1st line minutes (and playing with Kessel) I think he'll rack up 30-35 A. With those minutes I think he'll get 20-25 G (50-60 pts).
If he is demoted I expect his G to not drop drastically, probably about 15-20 G, but his assists will drop like a rock, just because there isn't that much scoring depth for him to pass too, probably ~20 A, for 35-40 pts.
Cheers
Thanks for the comment, Blair. I agree with your points about Kulemin tallying more assists if he continues to play alongside Phil Kessel (and Tyler Bozak for that matter) but judging from the pre-season lineups, it appears that Kris Versteeg will play on the first line with Bozak/Kessel, which means Kulemin will be bumped to the second line. Either way, he will get a lot of ice time and opportunity on the Leafs.
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