Evgeny Kuznetsov

Unlike Connor McDavid, Evgeny Kuznetsov dominates a beer league game!

He is showing off to land an NHL contract for the upcoming season. Watch below:

It looks like there is a trend of professional hockey players taking part in beer league games lately. On Wednesday night, Edmonton Oilers superstars Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl surprised the crowd in Newmarket, ON, near Toronto, taking part in a friendly contest in a beer league. Both were held scoreless and lost 6-2.

On that same night, Evgeny Kuznetsov also attended a beer league game, shocking other local players who took the ice at MedStar Capitals Iceplex in Washington. This was perhaps the first time since late January 2024 that the Russian forward was back on Capitals ice.

Kuznetsov suited up for the Moose in an MCIAHL – Lower B game, and played up the middle, impressing everyone despite slowing downn intentionally to keep the competition fair.

“Oh my god,” said one player watching Kuznetsov as he went on a rush down the ice and scored easily. “Jesus Christ.” He scored his first tally with 3:45 remaining in the first period to put the Moose up 3-2. He later scored a power-play goal in the third period with 4:37 left in regulation to put the home team up 8-4. The Moose would improve their record to 11-4-0 with the victory.

The former NHL star, who is hoping to return to the league, a number 92 jersey of his former KHL team, Traktor Chelyabinsk, per Russian Machine Never Breaks.

Kuznetsov has been back in North America since earlier this summer after mutually terminating his contract with SKA Saint Petersburg this past April. In the 2024-25 campaign in the KHL, he posted 12 goals and 37 points with SKA, suiting up frequently on the same line as Montreal Canadiens’ super rookie Ivan Demidov.

As an unrestricted free agent, Kuznetsov is reportedly looking to score a bonus loaded contract ahead of the 2025-26 season.

“He’s willing to take a million, two million bucks plus incentives, somewhere, for…a contender that’s looking to add,” David Pagnotta explained on Hello Hockey.