Kucherov entered the top three players of the NHL before the start of the new season

Russian striker “Tampa Bay Lightning” Nikita Kucherov took third place in the pre-season ranking of the best acting players of the National hockey League (NHL), the press service of the organization in the social network X.

There are 50 players on the list. In the first place is the forward of the “Edmonton Oilers” Connor McDavid, on the second – forward “Colorado Avalanche” Nathan McKinnon.

Of the Russians in the top 50 ranking also included goalkeepers Andrei Vasilevsky (13th place), Igor Shesterkin (22) and Ilya Sorokin (35), as well as forwards Kirill Kaprizov (14) and Artemy Panarin (39).

In the regular season, the 33-year-old Kucherov scored 130 points and took second place in the scorer race, behind only McDavid (138). The Russian for the second time became the winner of the prize to the most valuable player of the season “Hart Trophy”, and also entered the top three contenders for “Ted Lindsay Evord” – the prize awarded to the best player of the regular championship according to the results of voting among members of the NHLPA (jockey league union), but lost to McDavid.

The new NHL season starts on the night of September 30.