Prospect Info: Klim Kostin (31st overall in 2017) - Part II

[The Note]

I still wish they would’ve put him in one of the playoff games just to see what he could do

Given how the series was obviously trending after the second game idk why they didn't, honestly. What really would have been the harm?

 

[Bye Bye Blueston]

Given how the series was obviously trending after the second game idk why they didn't, honestly. What really would have been the harm?

Berube said he looked exhausted. Didn’t want to put him in situation to fail (or get hurt).

 

[The Note]

Berube said he looked exhausted. Didn’t want to put him in situation to fail (or get hurt).

Fair enough, I must’ve missed that quote. I admittedly did not pay much attention to the postmortem press conferences.

 

[ChicagoBlues]

HaHaHa!! Postmortem!! LMAO

Do you think Klim is a Slayer fan?

 

[rumrokh]

I'd expect that if Kostin isn't a regular by season's end, he takes that Gregarin Cup performance and parlays it into a deal in the KHL.

I'd hope that after all the work he's done to play in the NHL, he's given a long look and makes the team out of camp. I'd hope that he's given an opportunity in a 3rd (or higher) line role this season - enough to encourage him to stay and convince him he's not just going to be a 4th line grinder or AHL tweener for us. I'm not saying gift him that role, but if we have an injury opening, give him a taste of what he has dreamed of... Hope it brings out the best in him.

I've had strong belief Kostin was going to be a force and just needed time to develop - I'm really hoping to see the dividends start to show this year, before he sours on the team's handling of his development.

I think he's going to be given a serious chance, but he has to bring it. I don't think he can have any complaints about the way the team has handled his development. The whispy swirls of that kind of talk are fans whose hockey knowledge comes from video games. They think you can trade slower stars for a team full of fast 20 year olds who magically develop into 50 goal scorers.

I'll actually go a step further and say the fact that the Blues haven't just shoved him in as a 4th liner is specifically because they see more potential in him and he has needed to continue to develop his game.

 

[Ibleedlou]

You can google video of Klim in the KHL this year and you'll find he played pretty well, even showing some nifty moves here and there. His passing was sometimes off mark, but he seemed to work hard, find the right place to be and can definitely hit. I believe he'll fit into our system just fine and will find his game over time, in front of the net.

 

[VinikToWinIt]

I'd expect that if Kostin isn't a regular by season's end, he takes that Gregarin Cup performance and parlays it into a deal in the KHL.

I'd hope that after all the work he's done to play in the NHL, he's given a long look and makes the team out of camp. I'd hope that he's given an opportunity in a 3rd (or higher) line role this season - enough to encourage him to stay and convince him he's not just going to be a 4th line grinder or AHL tweener for us. I'm not saying gift him that role, but if we have an injury opening, give him a taste of what he has dreamed of... Hope it brings out the best in him.

I've had strong belief Kostin was going to be a force and just needed time to develop - I'm really hoping to see the dividends start to show this year, before he sours on the team's handling of his development.

If he doesn't find a permanent spot on the Blues roster this year, do you see him potentially being flipped? I've always been intrigued by Kostin & the Lightning could use a cheap forward given that we're likely about to lose our entire third line.

At this point in his development does he project more as a "top 6 or bust" stylistically or could he fit in in a bottom 6 role?

 

[The Note]

If he doesn't find a permanent spot on the Blues roster this year, do you see him potentially being flipped? I've always been intrigued by Kostin & the Lightning could use a cheap forward given that we're likely about to lose our entire third line.

At this point in his development does he project more as a "top 6 or bust" stylistically or could he fit in in a bottom 6 role?

In my - admittedly limited viewing - I think he could succeed in a bottom 6 role, for sure. He plays a pretty physical game and likely will have enough offensive touch to chip in some goals here or there if that's what it comes to. The defensive side of his game likely needs some work to be a reliable and useful bottom 6 guy, but that can come with time. This is certainly a big year for him and his development as there will likely be a spot(s) he should be fighting for on the opening night roster.

 

[Brockon]

If he doesn't find a permanent spot on the Blues roster this year, do you see him potentially being flipped? I've always been intrigued by Kostin & the Lightning could use a cheap forward given that we're likely about to lose our entire third line.

At this point in his development does he project more as a "top 6 or bust" stylistically or could he fit in in a bottom 6 role?

I didn't follow any of Klim's Gregarin cup role... But he went from playing ~8 mins ATOI for the first few months of the KHL season with minimal stats to playing what his coach describes as a key role in the Gregarin cup.

You don't play 17-18 mins a night in the playoffs as a bottom 6 grinder on a cup winner. I'd say Kostin likely has middle 6 potential on most teams. On the Bolts? Tougher question, because you guys are DEEP - but I think he's ready for regular duty, so long as Kostin doesn't butt heads with Berube and end up in his doghouse. Judging by strictly his finals stat line - he can definitely play a bottom 6 role, I just think that he can bring more to the table than pure bottom 6 play.

Kostin regular KHL season 7g-11a-18p 43gp, playoffs 5g-9a-14p 23gp.

Below describes his Finals.
— Best rookie for the second time in this year’s playoffs was Klim Kostin (Avangard), who scored 2 (1+1) points. Kostin logged an average of 17 minutes and 32 seconds, had 11 shots on goal, recorded 22 hits (the most in the series), blocked six shots, and earned five powerplays for his team.
Gagarin Cup finals’ finest: Hrubec, Sharipzyanov, Boucher, and Kostin

Interview with Bob Hartley, discussing Kostin (9ish mins long)
Bob Hartley Klim Kostin's physicality, his adjustment to the NHL and what he focused on in the KHL – 101 ESPN

 

[shpongle falls]

Wow that's a great interview with Bob Hartley, thanks for posting that! I can't wait to see what Kostin can do next season.

 

[Bluesguru]

The Blues would be stupid if they don’t make Kostin a regular this year. He should of been playing 2 seasons ago or at least integrated gradually to team. They’ve wasted valuable time with this kid.

 

[Mike Liut]

The Blues would be stupid if they don’t make Kostin a regular this year. He should of been playing 2 seasons ago or at least integrated gradually to team. They’ve wasted valuable time with this kid.

He’s going to be a force

 

[ezcreepin]

The Blues would be stupid if they don’t make Kostin a regular this year. He should of been playing 2 seasons ago or at least integrated gradually to team. They’ve wasted valuable time with this kid.

He was literally 20 years old coming off of a 2nd stint in SA where, by most accounts I've seen, didn't show considerable improvement offensively. Granted, he was learning English and the NA game, so I wouldn't necessarily call his season wasted development. The following year after we won the cup was Covid, AND we did bring him up due to injuries (4 games). If he were ready then, he would've supplanted someone else on the roster. The fact that some people look past what he accomplished this season and act like the Blues wasted time or development with him is short-sighted, and you invalidate the work he put in to do what he did. I would argue this was the best thing for his development and winning the Gagarin cup further solidifies that opinion.

 

[Mike Liut]

He was literally 20 years old coming off of a 2nd stint in SA where, by most accounts I've seen, didn't show considerable improvement offensively. Granted, he was learning English and the NA game, so I wouldn't necessarily call his season wasted development. The following year after we won the cup was Covid, AND we did bring him up due to injuries (4 games). If he were ready then, he would've supplanted someone else on the roster. The fact that some people look past what he accomplished this season and act like the Blues wasted time or development with him is short-sighted, and you invalidate the work he put in to do what he did. I would argue this was the best thing for his development and winning the Gagarin cup further solidifies that opinion.

Yep, his time is now.

 

[ezcreepin]

Yep, his time is now.

I love watching rookies play in the NHL just as much as anyone else, but the amount of people that forget Tarasenko came over when he was 22 is absurd. Kids take time to develop and if it's 4 years, then it's 4 years.

 

[Linkens Mastery]

The Blues would be stupid if they don’t make Kostin a regular this year. He should of been playing 2 seasons ago or at least integrated gradually to team. They’ve wasted valuable time with this kid.

I wholeheartedly disagree. Kid is only 22 and while he was good in the AHL he wasn't ready for the NHL yet. He's going to be a good middle 6 force. But he was not ready the year the Blues won the Cup, and he had visa issues this season.

 

[ezcreepin]

I wholeheartedly disagree. Kid is only 22 and while he was good in the AHL he wasn't ready for the NHL yet. He's going to be a good middle 6 force. But he was not ready the year the Blues won the Cup, and he had visa issues this season.

Probably why they felt they could trade Blais tbh. Or maybe this forces Sanford to be more consistent idk. But Kostin IS ready now. He's done all he needs to do professionally to be an NHL player.

 

[Linkens Mastery]

Probably why they felt they could trade Blais tbh. Or maybe this forces Sanford to be more consistent idk. But Kostin IS ready now. He's done all he needs to do professionally to be an NHL player.

I honestly think he was ready last year, but before that he wasn't. Last year was Visa issues.

 

[Bluesguru]

He was literally 20 years old coming off of a 2nd stint in SA where, by most accounts I've seen, didn't show considerable improvement offensively. Granted, he was learning English and the NA game, so I wouldn't necessarily call his season wasted development. The following year after we won the cup was Covid, AND we did bring him up due to injuries (4 games). If he were ready then, he would've supplanted someone else on the roster. The fact that some people look past what he accomplished this season and act like the Blues wasted time or development with him is short-sighted, and you invalidate the work he put in to do what he did. I would argue this was the best thing for his development and winning the Gagarin cup further solidifies that opinion.

He had scored a beautiful goal for the Blues and got sent down next day and then got ran over by someone in AHL like 2 days later and was out for a while. Can’t say that was good - ha. He should have had more NHL exposure by now IMO.

 

[Bluesguru]

I wholeheartedly disagree. Kid is only 22 and while he was good in the AHL he wasn't ready for the NHL yet. He's going to be a good middle 6 force. But he was not ready the year the Blues won the Cup, and he had visa issues this season.

But you learn from experience. You can’t gauge what you need to improve on until you play. Did you see the difference in Kyrou this past season? That’s because he had 44 games experience the previous 2 seasons. You can’t learn to get better without NHL experience. Kostin should of had a similar amount of games under his belt coming into this season and he doesn’t. He’s behind the curve.

 

[Mike Liut]

But you learn from experience. You can’t gauge what you need to improve on until you play. Did you see the difference in Kyrou this past season? That’s because he had 44 games experience the previous 2 seasons. You can’t learn to get better without NHL experience. Kostin should of had a similar amount of games under his belt coming into this season and he doesn’t. He’s behind the curve.

He plays a physical power game. I think he’ll step right in and play his game from day 1. He seems like a very mature kid with a mans body already. I think he’s going to be a fan favorite with his style.

 

[Spear]

He had scored a beautiful goal for the Blues and got sent down next day and then got ran over by someone in AHL like 2 days later and was out for a while. Can’t say that was good - ha. He should have had more NHL exposure by now IMO.

With normal 82-game seasons the past two years, he likely would have received some of that exposure. With the work Hartley did with him and the KHL experience, I think he's going to turn out just fine.

 

[Bluesguru]

He plays a physical power game. I think he’ll step right in and play his game from day 1. He seems like a very mature kid with a mans body already. I think he’s going to be a fan favorite with his style.

He should, but I just hope the Blues don’t mess with his head regarding defensive responsibilities and being strictly a north/south player. I think the kid still wants to be a goal scorer. Just wish the Blues would let him loose. I remember Bill Armstrong compared him to Backes. We can only hope.

 

[ChicagoBlues]

I think the reality of Kostin making the opening night roster is very much dependent upon what DA does in free agency and in the weeks leading up to camp.

We all know that DA is going to add one or two veterans for cheap at the last minute.

 

[ChicagoBlues]

Even if Kostin doesn’t straight up command a roster slot, I still think he will be on the opening roster. Healthy scratch maybe.

I hope Tarasenko starts the season with the Blues and has some fun with two other Russian forwards.

I’d imagine that that would be pretty cool and the best training for Klim.

I could get on board with that.

Let’s see how the next few weeks go.