An NHL player might never be more relatable than Vancouver Canucks sniper Andrei Kuzmenko after he discussed his recent diet change.
Last summer, before the 27-year-old winger suited up for the Canucks out of the KHL, Kuzmenko made some heavily topped waffles a staple of his diet. Even after scoring 39 goals in his first NHL season, Kuzmenko knew he had to cut out the sweet delicacies for training purposes.
“Last season was so bad for me, my weight,” Kuzmenko told Sportsnet’s Iain MacIntyre. “Now, I lose weight. Last summer, I (ate) a lot of waffles.”
And they weren’t just your basic Eggos, either. Kuzmenko dressed his waffles to the nines.
“Waffles, then Nutella, then strawberries, then bananas.”
Sounds like the ideal start to any day, but maybe not for a high-level athlete. Kuzmenko made some sacrifices during his training this summer to hopefully turn up to Canucks camp in much better shape this time around.
“Waffles are not good for me,” he said. “I like, but (they’re) not good for me. This summer, rules for me: no chocolate, no Nutella, no ice cream in my freezer. You want ice cream, then go to the market. But I stay home.”
The strict change may help Kuzmenko avoid a sophomore slump this upcoming season. He entered 2022-23 as the top KHL free agent and as a largely unknown quantity. He then scored 39 goals and 74 points and led the entire NHL in shooting percentage for a Canucks team that was sorely lacking high-end talent.
And with Vancouver rewarding him with a two-year, $11-million contract in the middle of last season, Kuzmenko only wants to improve.
“I need to be better,” he said. “Little drills, yes? Defence, I be better. Shooting, I be better. I shoot more. And skating … I need physical body. Work, work, work.
“I know I have pressure. But I have pressure all my hockey years. Every year, step up. But for me, it’s simple: You want to be better? Go to work. Go to the gym, go to the ice, go to the cycle. You don’t want to be better? Relax, stay home. But I want to be better.”
The Canucks’ overall direction is a little unclear. They traded former captain Bo Horvat to the New York Islanders in the middle of last season, but have opted to continue pressing on with the core of Elias Pettersson and new captain Quinn Hughes.
Now the pressure is on for the team to potentially make the playoffs out of a temperamental Pacific Division and improve on whatever they were able to do last year.
