Marat Khusnutdinov has more Brad Marchand in his game than you think

Before we get ahead of ourselves, I don't expect Marat Khusnutdinov to lead the Boston Bruins to a Stanley Cup this season and then go on to 14 years of domination as a first-line winger. While Brad Marchand did that in 2011 by bursting onto the scene from a fourth-liner in the regular season to Patrice Bergeron's flank in the playoff run, Khusnutdinov likely doesn't have that same kind of potential.

However, it's worth noting that no one necessarily saw Marchand's growth coming either. Everyone knew he was gritty and resilient, and wasn't going to take no for an answer when it came to his NHL career, but no one expected him to be one of the greatest left wingers in Bruins history and on the cusp of being a Hockey Hall of Famer.

Some parts of Khusnutdinov's game closely resemble Marchand's. One thing is their ability to play bigger than they are, by using their speed and edges to fight off bigger defenders. Khusnutdinov would have to do it on a much more consistent basis to mirror Marchand's game entirely. Still, when the Russian is on his game like he has been over the last two weeks, the physical comparisons are eerily similar.

Khusnutdinov's goal on January 15 against the Seattle Kraken was one that Bruins fans have seen plenty from Marchand. Elite speed through the neutral zone to catch defenders flatfooted, an ability to get body position on the outside of a defender entering the attacking zone, and then a nice move across the goalie to tuck the puck in the far side.

It'l be interesting to see whether Khusnutdinov can stay consistent enough to stay alongside David Pastrnak for the rest of the season. A massive help in Marchand's career was when he found a home alongside Bergeron in that 2011 season. They became a dynamic duo for years in Boston, and Khusnutdinov can only dream of gaining that kind of security with Pastrnak.

The obvious caveat is that Khusnutdinov doesn't have one crucial element that made Marchand great. The Bruins' former rat was able to get under his opponents' skin so effectively that they often forgot about playing hockey and only focused on getting even. That trait gained Marchand a lot of space over the course of his career and helped the Bruins tremendously.

The Russian doesn't have as much of that in his game, as shown by his 10 penalty minutes this season. However, if you're comparing their offensive production, Khusnutdinov is on pace for 38 points in 77 games this season, which closely resembles Marchand's breakout in 2010-11 with 41 in 77.

Khusnutdinov would have to tally 19 points in 25 games in the playoffs this season while winning the team a Stanley Cup to fully follow in Marchand's footsteps, but if he can be just a portion of the player the former captain became for the organization, it'd be a massive win for Bruins fans.