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

[Itsnotatrap]

Interesting note: his second favorite sport is boxing. That might come as a surprise to the first goon who tries something.

We already have Vince Dunn for that.

 

[phxblue]

Some gifs from Kostin's time in the VHL that I made earlier:










And yes, if you see someone calling Kostin a center, please try to stay away from that person, I think it is some kind of a desease out there.

Caser, which past/present NHL players does Kostin remind you of / compare to?

 

[PiggySmalls]

He says its 100%

Awesome, hope he is there next week. Sucks I'm in Houston all summer.

 

[carter333167]

Have someone look at his shoulder and make sure it has repaired properly...better to get it done right and healed than have it nag for 4 seasons. Some great shoulder specialists in STL.

 

[Caser]

Caser, which past/present NHL players does Kostin remind you of / compare to?

It's actually has been complicated for me, as while Kostin looks like a typical dynamic power-winger, his overall playing style is very creative (that's why I'm not a fan of a popular Nichushkin comparison): he very often looks for a pass and will use the full width of the rink instead of just forcing his way through to the net (like you would expect from a typical power winger). I had an impression that purely in terms of style he has that something from Malkin (in those games when Malkin played at wing).

 

[Mike Liut]

It's actually has been complicated for me, as while Kostin looks like a typical dynamic power-winger, his overall playing style is very creative (that's why I'm not a fan of a popular Nichushkin comparison): he very often looks for a pass and will use the full width of the rink instead of just forcing his way through to the net (like you would expect from a typical power winger). I had an impression that purely in terms of style he has that something from Malkin (in those games when Malkin played at wing).

Malkin / Jagr

 

[MortiestOfMortys]

Great, so now we have the Danish Malkin and the next Russian Malkin too

All your Malkins are belong to us

 

[Alklha]

Button made a Nino Niederreiter comparison, and that is actually not far off.

 

[BlueDream]

Button made a Nino Niederreiter comparison, and that is actually not far off.

Excellent.

I kinda love the style of forwards we will have. Schenn, Schwartz, Tarasenko, Sobotka, Thompson, Sanford, Barbashev, Musil, Kostin, etc.

A lot of skill and also a lot of guys that aren't easy to play against.

 

[shpongle falls]

I wonder if Kostin is NHL ready now or is he going to need some time in the AHL before making the Blues? Guess we'll find out when training camp gets here but was curious if anyone here thinks he's NHL ready.

 

[Vincenzo Arelliti]

From watching him, I think he will be ready for 3rd/4th line duty, I think people will be surprised with how agile he is for his size. He was meant to go top 5 - he can be that guy

 

[kimzey59]

I wonder if Kostin is NHL ready now or is he going to need some time in the AHL before making the Blues? Guess we'll find out when training camp gets here but was curious if anyone here thinks he's NHL ready.

Physically he is NHL ready.
Not sure if his all-around game is there yet though. Probably needs a year in the AHL to work on his defensive game and adjust to the smaller ice.

 

[2 Minute Minor]

Sounds like Kostin would benefit from starting in the AHL. But I'd love if he comes to camp and forces his way on the roster.

 

[MU_Beerman]

Crap, all the more reason to waste another vacation day hanging out in Hazelwood.

 

[Itsnotatrap]

Crap, all the more reason to waste another vacation day hanging out in Hazelwood.

It's the only thing that mall has going for it.

 

[Robb_K]

Physically he is NHL ready.
Not sure if his all-around game is there yet though. Probably needs a year in the AHL to work on his defensive game and adjust to the smaller ice.

I don't think he'll need a FULL year in The AHL. I think he'll just need 35-45 games to get back in playing shape, and get used to the small rink. He should then be ready to play on The Blues' 3rd Line. I see him playing regularly with The Blues, at least late this coming season, and in The Playoffs.

 

[DatDude44]

I don't think he'll need a FULL year in The AHL. I think he'll just need 35-45 games to get back in playing shape, and get used to the small rink. He should then be ready to play on The Blues' 3rd Line. I see him playing regularly with The Blues, at least late this coming season, and in The Playoffs.

I feel the exact same way, but about Tage Thompson this year.

I wouldn't hate it if kostin played one year in juniors and dominated, then turned pro. I don't see a reason to rush a talent like his. I say try to have his confidence sky high when he starts to lace up the skates for the wolves or blues.

 

[Robb_K]

Holy **** I can't believe we got Kostin too! I'm liking what I'm reading about him. I hope he can make the roster out of training camp. I can't believe a guy that is talented as him fell that far in the draft. Injury + Russian factor I guess?

I love this pick, and the great move to acquire it. But, I don't see any way that he'll be able to start out in St. Louis. He has to get back in playing shape, and get used to the small ice, and work on playing defence NHL-style, and learn The Blues' system. I see him starting with The Wolves, and playing 30-40-45 games with them, - then, coming up to The Blues, and playing regularly on their 3rd Line.

 

[Captain Creampuff]

In his prospect thread there is a tweet there saying Kostin wants to play in NA next year. Whether it be the NHL or AHL.

 

[Kshahdoo]

I probably am too because I was a little surprised he was around at #20 let alone #31. I was on the phone with a friend telling the TV, please be Kostin lol..

Quote from Kostin:

“It was very difficult,†he said. “But I worked extremely hard to get back into shape. I’m at 100 percent now and ready to play in the NHL next season.â€

The kid is driven.

Drive is always good, but he couldn't become an impact player in the VHL, not KHL, and now he's ready to play in the NHL... I mean, Tarasenko at his age was a solid KHL starter. I think it will take a couple years at least to him to become NHL ready.

 

[kimzey59]

I don't think he'll need a FULL year in The AHL. I think he'll just need 35-45 games to get back in playing shape, and get used to the small rink. He should then be ready to play on The Blues' 3rd Line. I see him playing regularly with The Blues, at least late this coming season, and in The Playoffs.

I like the optimism but I don't agree.
Kostin has some work to do before he'll be NHL ready.

He needs to adjust to the smaller ice and that can take time.
He needs to get better defensively, and that also takes time.
He might say that his shoulder is 100%, but as we saw with Berglund/Steen it can take nearly a year to really recover from a shoulder surgery. He needs to get his shoulder back to 100%.
He might have the size to play in the NHL right now, but he can still due to add on some weight. An offseason or two of intense training is never a bad thing.

Not to mention there are a lot of guys he'll have to leapfrog on the depth chart(Barbashev, Sanford, Jaskin, Paajarvi, Thompson, Sundqvist).

I love Kostin's drive and desire to be in the NHL, but we have no need to rush him. Let him spend a full year in the AHL making the adjustments he needs to make and tell him he'll get a real chance at the NHL roster the next year. I think it's better for him and for us if we let him have some time to develop properly.

 

[Evgeny Oliker]

...

I agree.

He needs a full year in AHL.

But what I would do is call him up for a few games and play him with Tarasenko or Barbashev so that he gets a feel for NHL and doesn't want to go back to Russia.

 

[Robb_K]

I agree.

He needs a full year in AHL.

But what I would do is call him up for a few games and play him with Tarasenko or Barbashev so that he gets a feel for NHL and doesn't want to go back to Russia.

I would bet that he'll play at least SOME games with The Blues, near the end of the season.

 

[Linkens Mastery]

I love how the Blues always keep getting these draft steals. Fabbri, Barbashev, Parayko, Ed and now Kostin.

 

[Daley Tarasenkshow]

I love this pick, and the great move to acquire it. But, I don't see any way that he'll be able to start out in St. Louis. He has to get back in playing shape, and get used to the small ice, and work on playing defence NHL-style, and learn The Blues' system. I see him starting with The Wolves, and playing 30-40-45 games with them, - then, coming up to The Blues, and playing regularly on their 3rd Line.

I just hope he can get the playing time on a potentially crowded/shared AHL team. That is my concern. You need to play him not only to develop him but to make sure there's no doubt he stays here in NA.