The joke around the Calgary Wranglers was that you didn’t want to get stuck with Yan Kuznetsov as your road roommate.

Not because he snores, and not because he’s some sort of slob.

Because as this up-and-coming defenceman continued to chase his NHL dream, he wanted to be sure even on travel days that he stayed sharp with his stickhandling.

So when the Wranglers checked into a hotel, Kuznetsov would often have one his CCMs with him.

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“Don’t listen to those guys, what they say,” the Flames rookie protested with a wide smile. “They like to exaggerate that I stickhandle at 8 a.m. or something like that, and that’s not true. I had my stick stolen a couple times on the road, too.”

Whatever is deemed to be an appropriate hour to work

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