Andre Kostitsyn?!?

[Nico Cauzuki]

Getzlaf had some red flags a few of us wanted Parise but i wasnt mad about the pick Kostistyn had elite skills

 

[MarkovsKnee]

I feel like the habs never recovered from that botched pick.

They didn't. Getzlaf spent 2 years in junior after 2003 pick. We draft Price in 2005. Pacioretty, Mcdonagh, Subban in 2007. Imagine Getzlaf added to that group, along with Plekanec, Markov, etc.

There is no Gomez trade for sure, and we win at least one cup.

This 2023 draft is like that one. Forget all other drafts, we NEED to hit on this draft. If we don't, our rebuild maybe goes on for years, and we probably have up and down years like the Price group did.

If we do hit on it, our chances as a consistent top team get a lot better, and it means we only have to grow some organizational depth, which is a lot easier then core depth.

Like Getzlaf that doesn't mean a player has to step in right away, someone like Will Smith probably won't or could, but he's still a great add. We need to draft core pieces this year.

Pressure is on for this draft. We can't have any KK, Hugh Jessiman, David Fischer f***ups. There's busts in every draft. We can't afford to do that this year.

 

[_habsfan9]

I still remember that draft looking at the hockey news magazine and saying to the TV PICK PARISE!!

Andrei had an amazing release and set of hands. Its a shame he couldn't put it all together. He scored a few big goals for us in the playoffs so I don't look badly upon him, he was just taken in the wrong spot in the best draft of all time.

 

[Et le But]

Getzlaf had huge question marks over his skating and desire to compete, somewhat like Wright.

Anaheim scouts said as much.

Does that make AK the Slafkovsky in this comparison?

 

[Grate n Colorful Oz]

Does that make AK the Slafkovsky in this comparison?

Not, really. I was simply comparing the similarities of how Wright and Getzlaf were perceived and both fell vs their prospect ranking.

Why does everything need to be put into a narrative?

If you want me to state the obvious point here I'll do it: You never know what will truly happen with a 18 years old. That's it, that's all.

 

[JuJu Mobb]

People say Kostitsyn had elite skills...

Besides his shot, what else did he have?

 

[donghabs98]

Andrei had elite skills. He had everything, except the toolbox to put it all together.

In terms of skills, other than Kovalev, he was the most skilled forward we've had since Richer.

There were many games over his career where Andrei's talent and potential would show. Big hitting winger who could shot and dangle. Unfortunately he couldn't do it consistently or else we'd all be having a different conversation right now

 

[Colezuki]

Historical revisionism. Getzlaf was passed over by 2/3 of the league because he had huge warts he worked over.

He wasn't "clearly" the better choice at tge time. Anaheim scouts said they took a gamble.

He wasn't even the best choice between the Habs and Ducks as Carter went one pick later and while Getz had 1100 points Carter has had 400 goals. A big goal scoring center has been what this team is craving for decades

 

[Gamimenos]

People say Kostitsyn had elite skills...

Besides his shot, what else did he have?

That hairline

 

[Colezuki]

People say Kostitsyn had elite skills...

Besides his shot, what else did he have?

stick handling was pretty good if my memory serves me right

 

[DAChampion]

A lot of people started referring to Kostitsyn as a bust once the concussions and other injuries accumulated.

 

[CDN24]

It was a stupid selection. Getzlaf was clearly the guy to select. Just like Kopitar over Price but that's another "chicane" for another day.

That 2003 draft was crazy deep, you can argue the best two players went in the second round at 45 and 49. Bergeron and Weber.

 

[Kobe Armstrong]

People say Kostitsyn had elite skills...

Besides his shot, what else did he have?

He was a physical beast in his prime when he turned it on, he was tougher than Anderson but used his power even less frequently than Andy

And let's not forget the best Kostitsyn-Plek moment ever, AK46 is alright in my books



wish they had the full clip

 

[Habs]

I was just watching a video about the 2003 draft. Getzlaf was ranked #5 NA player, was a big center that Habs had always needed. Anyone know why we didn’t draft him, or what the strange attraction to Kostitsyn? This was one of Timmin’s first drafts with us. Is it just one of those stupid genius moves by Timmins who seemed to like to look smart by taking the out of the box pick? I really don’t get it. I imagine talking to Kostitsyn in his interview was like watching paint dry. And, he had a medical condition to boot!?!

Don't get me started on that draft you are opening up old wounds for me.

 

[Matthew McConaughay]

It was a stupid selection. Getzlaf was clearly the guy to select. Just like Kopitar over Price but that's another "chicane" for another day.

Yep, Getzlaf and Kopitar help their team win the cup, but not Price or Kostisyn

 

[BenchBrawl]

Andrei had a lot better raw skills than Slafkovsky.

His stickhandling and shots were better.

 

[Schooner Guy]

Getzlaf had his warts as a prospect. Was perceived as not always giving 100%. It was Jeff Carter who they would have picked if not for Andrei, presumably.

Obviously Getzlaf ended up being way better than Carter, but hindsight is 20/20.

I wanted Carter at the time. Getzlaf dropped on many lists leading up to the draft due to concerns around skating and effort. It's crazy that the Ducks got both him and Perry in that same draft.

Red Line Report was very high on Kostitsyn.

 

[Tetragrammaton]

Yep, Getzlaf and Kopitar help their team win the cup, but not Price or Kostisyn

We could of had both and won multiple cups. You don't build a team around a goalie that's just foolish. You get goalies fo free or draft them low. Halak would have won us some cups if we had offense. Ah well the past is the past, I'm just happy that we finally have some offense and we don't play to protect the loss anymore

 

[boompuffboom]

BRUTISH strength, which he used to party hard rather than play hockey.

sick mitts, heavy shot, a physical specimen.

got a few glimpses and flashes, but obv, the off-ice bs took over.

 

[Leon Lucius Black]

I don't blame them for taking Kostitsyn. He was a highly rated talent with health concerns, however the Habs' medical staff gave the green light to take him. He was a gamble, but it wasn't like they went off the board to take him. In the top 16, there were also guys like Zherdev, Nillson, Jessiman and Steve Bernier who went so weren't the only team who ended up with a mediocre player.

I think the more disappointing thing was the Habs took 2 centres from the Q in that 2nd round which likely meant they would've spent a lot of time scouting the Q. Despite that, they passed on Bergeron for a guy who couldn't even be a regular in the AHL.

 

[Tetragrammaton]

I don't blame them for taking Kostitsyn. He was a highly rated talent with health concerns, however the Habs' medical staff gave the green light to take him. He was a gamble, but it wasn't like they went off the board to take him. In the top 16, there were also guys like Zherdev, Nillson, Jessiman and Steve Bernier who went so weren't the only team who ended up with a mediocre player.

I think the more disappointing thing was the Habs took 2 centres from the Q in that 2nd round which likely meant they would've spent a lot of time scouting the Q. Despite that, they passed on Bergeron for a guy who couldn't even be a regular in the AHL.

I believe they didn't take Getzlaf or Carter because they were threats to Koivu being 1st line center. They chose to draft a power forward to play with Koivu. When Kostisyn was on he looked like Ovechkin at times, but always left us wanting much much more.

 

[JianYang]

Andrei had elite skills. He had everything, except the toolbox to put it all together.

In terms of skills, other than Kovalev, he was the most skilled forward we've had since Richer.

Andrei was a tank, and he had a good start. His first full season, he put up around 55-60 points if I remember correctly.

Then the following season he took a huge headshot at the beginning of the year, and I wonder how much that affected him moving forward.

Regardless, you still saw flashes of what he could do after the hit too.

 

[Beaker]

The brother duo was fun while it lasted.

 

[Grate n Colorful Oz]

I don't blame them for taking Kostitsyn. He was a highly rated talent with health concerns, however the Habs' medical staff gave the green light to take him. He was a gamble, but it wasn't like they went off the board to take him. In the top 16, there were also guys like Zherdev, Nillson, Jessiman and Steve Bernier who went so weren't the only team who ended up with a mediocre player.

I think the more disappointing thing was the Habs took 2 centres from the Q in that 2nd round which likely meant they would've spent a lot of time scouting the Q. Despite that, they passed on Bergeron for a guy who couldn't even be a regular in the AHL.

People have always complained about not picking Bergeron who was a diehard Nordiques fan. If they had draft interviews back then, I wonder how that went.

 

[Gainesvillain]

I remember a lot of us were high on Parise, but there was quite a bit of agitation among fans that the habs had selected three US-born players in each of the last three first rounds and couldn't go 4 in a row.

I've also always believed that the early disappointment regarding Kostitsyn post-draft made the habs gun-shy about taking Anze Kopitar a couple years later. Both guys were from smaller European countries and hadn't played a lot of high-profile hockey leading up to their draft years,

I don't believe the pick was particularly a reach - Kostitsyn was consensus top-10. Wasn't he ranked somewhere around 5 in the THN rankings? I threw out all my old draft guides a few years back....Definitely not like the Rangers going for Jessiman,