Nikita Kucherov, who missed the entire regular season due to injury, returned in time for the playoffs to score 32 points in 23 games for Tampa. He was Yzerman’s 2nd-round, 58th overall pick in 2011. And get this: He called fellow Russian Igor Larionov after he won, according to Larionov’s son:
“I was at dinner with my dad yesterday and he got a (FaceTime) call from a random number. He picks it up and it’s Nikita Kucherov with the Stanley Cup. Kuch shouts ‘u0442u044b u043cu043eu0439 u043au0443u043cu0438u0440, u0441u043fu0430u0441u0438u0431u043e' about 6 times. The translation of that is ‘You’re my idol, thank you.