"You want that competitive spirit within your team. You want that every day at practice. You want that throughout the year," Kunin said. "We got a lot of young guys. It'll be good for them to get into that and be battling and fighting for everything every day at such a young age coming into the league."
Many borderline prospects will be vying for an opening night roster spot. Some names are players like Daniil Gushchin, Tristen Robins, Shakir Mukhamadullin, and Collin Graf.
However, for veterans like Kunin, this will keep them sharp and remind them that not every day in the NHL is guaranteed.
"Also, for older guys, you have to earn it as well. Nothing's given, nothing's guaranteed," Kunin said. "When you have that mindset from day one getting to camp it really sets up a good format, identity, whatever you want to call it for your group. It's an everyday process. You gotta show up every day. You gotta come ready to go every day, or someone's going to take your spot."
Kunin's hard work and drive every day earned him an alternate captain role at the end of the season. No matter the situation, Kunin fought to the bitter end. No play describes that better than getting a roughing penalty for protecting Georgi Romanov, who was playing in his second career game, against the Calgary Flames in the season's final game with 1:43 left in the third period.
Kunin said he hasn't been told whether or not he will keep his role as an alternate captain. The distinction was not officially made, but he and Mikael Granlund wore "A"s on their jerseys following the trade deadline.
Get updates delivered to you daily. Free and customizable.
It’s essential to note our commitment to transparency:
Our Terms of Use acknowledge that our services may not always be error-free, and our Community Standards emphasize our discretion in enforcing policies. As a platform hosting over 100,000 pieces of content published daily, we cannot pre-vet content, but we strive to foster a dynamic environment for free expression and robust discourse through safety guardrails of human and AI moderation.
Most Popular
Comments / 0