"They weren't having it": Canucks concerned about Kuzmenko's Bali plans

"They weren't having it": Canucks were concerned about Kuzmenko's Bali plans

Sounds like Vancouver Canucks management was a little concerned about Andrei Kuzmenko’s summer travel plans.

Kuzmenko’s agent Dan Milstein confirmed as much while speaking with Sekeres and Price Show today, saying that he heard from many people within the Canucks’ organization before his client jetted off for the summer.

Kuzmenko has quite literally been around the world this offseason, travelling to South America, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia before settling in South Florida. But it was his plan to set up shop in Bali for multiple months that appears to have been of most concern.

Rick Tocchet spoke over and over about the importance of Canucks players having a “big summer” late last season. What Tocchet meant by that was he expected players to improve their game over the summer and show up to training camp in great shape.

Canucks management probably didn’t foresee that getting accomplished in a tropical paradise in Indonesia, but Milstein is adamant that Kuzmenko accomplished his goal.

“He wanted to be in the best shape of his life. We were put to a test because he was going to visit Bali for a few months,” Milstein told hosts Matt Sekeres and Blake Price.

The reaction from the Canucks?

“Oh, my God! They weren’t having it. So we’ve heard from the head coach, we’ve heard from everybody, and maybe perhaps from the janitor, too. Obviously, everyone was concerned,” Milstein added. “I told everybody to take a chill pill. We have it under control.”

.@HockeyAgent1 (@GoldStarHockey) on the #Canucks thoughts about Andrei Kuzmenko's summer in Bali 🌴 :

"They weren't having it…the head coach…even the janitor too…I told everybody…we have it under control…we have the best guys"@InterchangeRec | https://t.co/iItcNtrzYo

— Sekeres and Price (@sekeresandprice) August 29, 2023

Pavel Datsyuk’s old trainer worked one-on-one with Kuzmenko in June, while another person with experience training NHL players headed to Bali for July. They found a sheet of ice in Bali for Kuzmenko to skate on, as well as a gym to work out at.

“We knew he was gonna be in good shape and under control the entire summer. His test was to say farther from the table and closer to the gym.”

There were times when Kuzmenko had to get creative though.

“He got everything he needed and then some. He spent the entire time preparing, working out. A lot of unconventional stuff… He couldn’t find weights, so he found some wood that he used instead of the weights. There were no elliptical and some other machines, so we discovered some staircases… Whatever it takes to get our client in shape.”

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Despite a sensational first NHL season that saw him score 39 goals and 74 points, Milstein admitted that Kuzmenko did need to improve his fitness.

A 27.3 shooting percentage has some people predicting that Kuzmenko will regress next season, but not Milstein. He is predicting a “new and improved” Kuzmenko after altering his summer fitness routine.

“Look at his half-naked pictures on Instagram. He looks great. The best shape of his life. So I’m excited, you guys should be excited too!”

Training camp is less than four weeks away.