#ak96

ON KUZMENKO Andrei Kuzmenko is an undrafted forward originally from the KHL and was born February 4, 1996. During his formative years in Russia, Kuzmenko played for the MHL, VHL, and KHL before developing interest in the NHL, and eventually, becoming NHL bound. He was drafted in 2013 as 45th overall, wearing jersey #95 during the exhibition game.

Here is Kuzmenko in the 2011-2012 season wearing jersey #10, one of his common numbers during his juniors outside of #96 for Moscow Selects u15.

In the 2012-2013 season, Kuzmenko would go on to play in the MHL for Krasnaya Armiya Moskva as #96. It was around this time that Kuzmenko went on to compete at the WHC-17 Russia u17 team as #4. Kuzmenko would also play at EYOF wearing the same number.

He’d make a return to the MHL with Krasnaya – racking up 41 Pts, 20G, and 21A respectively, in 37GP. During this season, he would go on to play for Russia’s u20 team in the International-Jr as #16 with only 2GP. Nothing notable happens in the 2015-2016 season, but Kuzmenko would go on to play at the WJC as #21 and boosted Russia to second place, earning him silver.

BONUS: here’s an article involving a 21-year old Kuzmenko on his WJC trials.

Kuzmenko has also been noted wearing #60 during the 2017 Deutschland cup with Russia - it was in the same season (17-18) that he would enjoy notable progress in his career, with the 2017-2018 season serving as a breakout season for Kuzmenko, with him representing Russia's secondary team. It was at this time that Kuzmenko was traded to SKA. Internationally, Kuzmenko would total up to only 1G and 1A during this.

In the 2019-2020 season, he would play 6 games at the olympics and tally 4 points for Russia. In the following year, he’d return to Worlds but play only 2 games. The succeeding year was his best with the KHL, tallying 53 points before signing with the Vancouver Canucks where he would eventually meet with Kevin Fiala - however not as teammates.

ON FIALA Fiala was born the same year as Kuzmenko on July 22. Similar to Kuzmenko, he has been known to scatter between multiple jersey numbers. He’s documented to have worn #23, #81, #9, #13, #68 and #17. Although not much media can be found, here’s a run down of all of the numbers he has donned per his tenures:

Fiala played as #68 with the Swiss Eastern Selects (2008-09), #9 with the ZSC Lions u17 (2010-11), #17 with the Swiss u18 team, #81 with the Malmo Redhawks j20 (2012-13) #23 with the Swiss u20 team, and #13 with the Swiss team (2013-14). Fiala, before getting drafted to the NHL, would play with HV71 as a loan wearing #18 before being selected #11th overall by the Nashville Predators and debuting with #56.

Although notorious for jumping between numbers, as Fiala continued on in his career, he would become most known for wearing #22 and #21, which has been widely documented across his senior play. #22 most often with and in the NHL, while he’d wear #21 internationally, notably with the Switzerland international team.

In his juniors, like Kuzmenko, he was known to play wearing #10. Notably, he wore #10 with the Swiss u17 team for EYOF during the 2012-13 season. Additionally, here is Fiala in the 2013-14 season playing for the Swiss u18 team wearing number 10. But during his time with Nashville, Fiala would bounce between their AHL affiliate team (the Milwaukee Admirals) and play #12.

He would then be traded from the Nashville Predators to the Minnesota Wild and stay there from the 2019 season through the 2022 season where he was traded to the LA Kings. This was the turning point for Fiala as, immediately after, he signed a 7-year contract under an NMC. Fiala, as a Predator, finished with 96 Pts across all his seasons played with Nashville. Kuzmenko currently has 22GP as a King.

FIRST MEETINGS On November 18, 2022, the Canucks beat the Kings 1-4. Kuzmenko would rack up 2 Pts off assists to Elias Petersson’s goals. Below is Kuzmenko and Fiala sharing the same ice for the first time.

Kuzmenko's next meeting with the Kings would be on March 18, 2023 where the Kings would face the Canucks at their home arena where Andrei Kuzmenko would score the GWG in a shootout, the score 3-2. Fiala was not on the ice for this, nor was he in the lineup. This was the fate for many previous meetings between the Kings and Canucks as both Fiala and Kuzmenko would either be scratched, or injured. Likewise, their following meetings would be sparse, with Kuzmenko often becoming a healthy scratch and utilised incorrectly under Tocchet – thus nothing relatively remarkable happened between the two during Kuzmenko's remaining tenure as a Canuck.

And after a struggling sophomore year, Kuzmenko would be traded to the Calgary Flames, where, still, he would not make many notable appearances on the ice beside Fiala – however, would watch. It’s at this time that Kuzmenko's NHL playing style would grow, and would shape up to become similar, and, eventually, complementary to Fiala’s.

BONUS: Here is a comparison of their plays – although not exactly replicas as Fiala's pass would go through Doughty before Kopitar, the two would play in similar sequence.

AS KINGS Despite next to nothing happening between the two within the Flames-Flyers timeline, Kuzmenko and Fiala would go on to enjoy their careers independently (in, admittedly, similar fashion) before Kuzmenko would be traded to the LA Kings by the Philadelphia Flyers on March 7, 2025. He would debut against the St. Louis Blues on March 8, 2025 as the Kings would win in OT, 1-2. This would mark the first time Fiala and Kuzmenko would share colours and teammates. And, funnily, the two share an agent.

Ironically, the only time Fiala and Kuzmenko would play together would be on the PP1 unit, as Kuzmenko would be on the same line as Kopitar and Kempe. Obviously, they’d not garnered much chemistry quite yet. This period of time was reminiscent of their former days as opposition, however, this would be bound to change.

On March 22, 2025, Kuzmenko would register his first point as an LA King against the Carolina Hurricanes with a primary assist to Anze Kopitar's PPG. Shortly after, he’d record his first goal as a King late into the first. This was around the time that chemistry between the new PP1 unit (and between Fiala and Kuzmenko) would shift.

Following the 7-2 win over the Canes — what would come out of it would be Kuzmenko’s first helmet picture, and his very iconic helmet video that would also reveal that Fiala and Kuzmenko are stallmates.

Transcript of the helmet video below.

MOORE: Great game boys, Ritter, great job out there, but I’m gonna give it to the new guy. [APPLAUSE] KUZMENKO: Thanks boys, thanks for the support– FIALA: Can you say thank you? Thank you. On! KUZMENKO: Ah. KEMPE: Ayo… KUZMENKO: It’s a great game everybody, good job, good game. [mumbled] Prepare tomorrow! [APPLAUSE].

The following night, on March 23, 2025, the Kings would win against the Boston Bruins at home, the score 7-2, and this video would come out, showing that the pair were evidently getting along.

That marked a turning point for Fiala and Kuzmenko, as on March 25, 2025, when the Kings were set to play a game against the New York Rangers, the Kings would post a photo series that would map out their “roles” on the 5F power play and display their (apparently not so) newfound connection.

Per the game, Kuzmenko would feed Fiala on the power play to tie the game in the exact same manner they rehearsed — and Fiala would go on to score an empty-net to top the Rangers 3-1. This net-front presence and flank set-up would carry onto the next games within the season, with Fiala and Kuzmenko occasionally alternating roles and seeing the same success with little risk.

The two would celebrate their goal, Fiala mouthing something along the lines of "fucking right."

The two would also share a moment following their win.

Of course, Fiala went on to do media following the win wherein he was asked about Kuzmenko. Specifically, he was asked about the jump he gives to the power play, his creativity, and what Fiala had personally noticed.

“Well, a lot, I mean, he’s very skilled. He can make plays, he can shoot the puck, you know, even five-on-five, you know. He’s been… awesome, [he] brought a lot to us, to our team, we appreciate him for sure. Um, you know, he’s… talking, he sees stars, so it’s been awesome. I mean, the goal for me today, I had an empty-net. It was an awesome, awesome play by him.”

On April 5, 2025, the Kings would meet with the Edmonton Oilers and the Kings would post this video. The Kings would shutout the Oilers, 3-0. The two would exit the ice with a goal each, Fiala named second star of the game, and Kuzmenko, the third star.

The two would make magic on the ice following this, as on April 10, 2025, the Kings would face a rival of theirs – the Anaheim Ducks – where Fiala would net two goals, his 31st and 32nd, with number thirty-one being off Kuzmenko on the power play.

BONUS: the two are supposedly benchmates, as seen here.

Two days later, on April 12, 2025, Fiala would net another two against the Colorado Avalanche, and, like clockwork, he would showoff on the power play, with the pass dished from Kuzmenko along the boards. Fiala, pre-PPG, was also trying to get Kuzmenko's attention. Succeeding the goal, the pair would celebrate along the boards, too.

On April 14, 2025, the Kings would visit the Edmonton Oilers to shutout the home team 5-0. The Kings would release this photo series.

The two would continue to build on this chemistry before the Kings would clinch a playoff berth, and for the fourth year in a row, play the Edmonton Oilers. April 21, 2025, would be game one between the longtime rivals. It was in this game that Kuzmenko would net his first playoff point, a power play goal. Kuzmenko was the first scorer of the game. It would be a tip-in on Fiala’s shot, a retelling of previous goals they have factored in on. The two would share a moment on the bench right after.

April 23, 2025, game two, would see the same success for the Kings, with them finishing with a 2-0 lead. They would both continue to celebrate each other's successes within these games, even if the other hadn't been part of any assists or goals.

On the night of game three, April 25, 2025, the Kings would release another photo series.

(BONUS: Fiala and Kuzmenko are both known for struggling as two-way players, with Kuzmenko often being labelled a defensive liability while Fiala often ends up in the box.)

And for the sake of putting this somewhere, the two are usually spotted together in the background of each other's walk-ins, photos involving the other, and have pretty much just gravitated toward each other since the Canes game. Here's a compilation of every helmet picture, walk-in, and miscellaneous media involving the duo.

little bonus: since playing at Worlds, Fiala has also taken up a similar role to Kuzmenko, often playing net-front rather than his usual flank position.

Bonus from 6/01/25: the two have also followed each other back on Instagram after going the entire season without doing so. Kev also liked his Bali dump