The Minnesota Wild’s Marat Khusnutdinov scored his first career NHL goal on Friday (April 12) against the Vegas Golden Knights. Khustnutdinov was the Wild’s second-round pick in 2020 when they traded Luke Kunin to Nashville for Nick Bonino and the 37th overall pick.
The 21-year-old recorded 20 points (six goals, 14 assists) and ten penalty minutes (PIM) in 49 games with HK Sochi of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) during the 2023-24 season, ranking fifth on the club in assists, seventh in points, and serving as the team’s captain.
The Wild signed Khusnutdinov to a two-year, entry-level contract in February that will run through the 2024-25 NHL season.
The native of Moscow, Russia, totaled 41 points (11 goals, 30 assists) and 18 PIM in 63 games for SKA St. Petersburg during the 2022-23 KHL season, ranking second on the team in assists, sixth in goals, and T-7th in points. He tied Artemi Panarin for the seventh-highest single-season point total in KHL history by a player 20 years or younger. He became the youngest player in SKA St. Petersburg history to reach 50 career points (20 years, six months, and 13 days) in his 116th career game. Khusnutdinov appeared in 162 career KHL games over four seasons (2020-24) with SKA St. Petersburg (2020-23) and HK Sochi (2023-24), finishing with 75 points (22 goals, 53 assists), 38 PIM and a plus-6 rating. He also played in 32 career Gagarin Cup playoff games as a member of SKA St. Petersburg, posting 11 points (two goals, nine assists) and 12 PIM.