b-mad said:
If he can only get 4-6 min a game on a fourth line in the AHL I think it says an awful lot about his progression at this point. He's getting that time because he apparently has to earn his icetime, and if all his ability warrants at this point in his development is fourth line time it sure doesn't say much about him right now.
Yes it does say alot about his progression, it says that he's a young player who's didin't have a clue about defense, he came to Hamilton to play under a coach who's known to be a defensive coach, Doug Jarvis, he spent the 1st 20 games or so improving his defensive game, adapting to a new culture, etc...he then left for the WJC's, excelled there, and since he's come back, he's now playing among the top 6, and his production is becoming more regular...
It's not like players are robots, just because Semin came here and played well right from the start and it's taking Kostitsyn more time, dosen't mean that one is better than the other, players aren't programmed to succeed right away, it takes some more time than others, there's so many examples, even here in North America, it took how long before Chris Pronger was able to dominate in the NHL, it didn't happen right away, but look at him now, Dan Hamhuis last year had a great season in his first season, does that mean that he's better than Pronger now???
Some of you are funny, you know nothing about what Kostitsyn has been though this year, you don't know how he's become a much more complete player at the expense of his offensive game, but in the long run, it'll make him a much better player, and if all goes according to schedule, a better overall player than Semin...
Anyways, he's played much, much better since his return from the WJC's, but don't forget the type of coach he plays for, just because he dosen't put up huge #'s dosen't mean he's a bust, the leading scorer for hamilton, Tomas Plekanec and all-star, dosen't even have 40 points
It's like Marian Gaborik, I'm of the opinion that if he didin't play for jacques Lemaire, he'd rack up alot more points than he has...
circumstances play a huge factor when it comes to prospects...why should it be different for Kostitsyn?