Brett Kulak and Alexander Romanov have been a solid pair for Canadiens
Kulak #Kulak
Canadiens defenceman Brett Kulak is enjoying his role as a mentor for rookie Alexander Romanov.
Kulak, 27, has been with the 21-year-old Russian as the third defence pairing since the start of training camp and they have played very well together. Heading into Saturday night’s game at the Bell Centre against the Calgary Flames, Kulak had 0-2-2 totals and was plus-4 while averaging 14:08 of ice time. Romanov had 1-1-2 totals and was plus-5 while averaging 19:02 of ice time, also playing on the power-play and penalty-killing units.
“I take pride in it,” Kulak said about mentoring Romanov. “He’s a hungry young player, he works really hard. I got to be at my best for him to be at his best and for us to help our team the most we can as a defensive pair. So that’s what we’ve been working on and I thought since Day 1 at camp we’ve continued to grow as a defensive pairing and we keep getting better and better.
“I think we have fun playing to each other,” added Kulak, who is in his third season with the Canadiens after starting his NHL career with the Flames. “He’s always smiling and he’s working hard and winning battles. It rubs off on me, too. It’s good energy when we’re going to start playing lots of games here soon. So you got to stay positive and stay energetic and upbeat.”
The Canadiens will be busy next week with four games — two against the Vancouver Canucks, followed by two against the Ottawa Senators.
The Canadiens selected Romanov in the second round (38th overall) of the 2018 NHL Draft. They acquired Kulak from the Flames on Oct. 1, 2018 in exchange for defencemen Rinat Valiev and Matt Taormina . Since then, Kulak has struggled to earn a regular spot in the Canadiens’ lineup, but he was very impressive while playing while playing all 10 post-season games last year and has continued his strong play this season.
“It takes a lot of hard work to build the confidence and get the trust and confidence in the coach,” Kulak said after Saturday’s optional morning skate in Brossard. “For me, that’s a day-to-day thing. We have a really deep roster and a very good team and everyone’s battling hard in practice to make a difference and contribute to the success of the team. It’s the same thing for me. It’s nice when I’m not thinking about being in and out of the lineup. That’s something I’ve struggled with in the past when I’ve been younger. It’s like: Oh, I better do something really good to stay in the lineup. But I think that’s just sort of maybe I’ve matured. A few years in the league now has helped out a lot where I just focus on my job. It helps me do my job better and it just speaks for itself when you get put back in the lineup.”
Coach Claude Julien likes the way Kulak has helped Romanov adjust to playing in the NHL after spending the last two seasons with CSKA Moscow in the KHL.
“He’s been put with a first-year player and he’s handled it well,” Julien said. “The first-year player’s a good player, but there’s still some growing pains in a player that’s in his first year. (Kulak’s) had to be reliable and he’s done just that. There’s times he’s been on the ice against other team’s top lines and he’s handled it well. I think so far he’s had a really good start to the season and the inconsistency (from last season) we have yet to see this year. So it’s a good sign of a young player maturing.”
As for Romanov, Julien said: “I think, at the end of the day, he came in with lots of confidence, we said that. We liked what we saw. This guy played in the KHL, so he’s played more or less pro hockey now for a few years. Although he’s a young player, he has that experience that’s helped him. But let’s be honest, too. This kid is making mistakes like everybody else. For a young kid he’s handling himself well, but there’s still some things we’re working with him to make him an even better player. But he has all the attributes to be that. He’s had a good start to the season for a young player, but it’s going to get tougher here as we move forward. So that’s why I’m saying we got to keep working with this guy because he’s got to improve himself individually as much as the game as we move forward is going to improve as well.”
Romanov is still working to improve his English and Kulak has been helping explain drills to the Russian at practices to make sure he fully understands what’s expected.
“He’s a really good player,” Kulak said. “I think he’s adjusted really well. But he’s played high-level hockey for a few years now over in Russia.
“What I like playing with him is he’s assertive and he’s never second-guessing his decision,” Kulak added. “He makes the first decision that comes to his mind. It’s never like he’s going out of a position there and he wants to go to a different position. He knows where he’s going and it makes it easy for me to read off him.”
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