St. Louis Blues: 2018-19 Pivotal Year For Klim Kostin

The St. Louis Blues have a decent amount invested in all their prospects. However, despite being a low first round pick, Klim Kostin has a lot on the line.

The St. Louis Blues felt they really had a steal on their hands when they drafted Klim Kostin. He was the major part of the trade that saw Ryan Reaves go to Pittsburgh at the time.

Most teams let him slide because there were vague whispers about his personality and work ethic, but mostly the issue was the Russian issue. It’s all well and good to draft Russian players, but if they are contractually bound to KHL teams, getting them out can be a nightmare.

The Blues rolled the dice and were rewarded for it, in terms of the Russian issue. Kostin got out of Russia almost as soon as he was drafted, with the full intention of playing professionally in his very first year in North America.

The Blues could have easily found a home for him in the CHL. However, part of luring Kostin to the states was the promise of not playing junior hockey and going pro immediately.

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His first year was not exactly what the hype promised. Six goals and 28 points in 67 games is not exactly mouth watering. However, he played very well against his own age group, scoring five goals and eight points at the World Junior Championships.

The first year can be shrugged off. Kostin was in a new country, learning a new language and a new way to play the game. He will continue learning since the San Antonio Rampage have a new coaching staff that will implement a more Blues-oriented style.

That might be the biggest thing for him. In 2017-18, he was playing further down the roster and getting coaching from Colorado Avalanche affiliated coaches. Coaches are coaches, in that they want their players to play their best. However, they are not as interested in fully testing you over their own prospects, unless you force them to.

The culture shock was just too great and Kostin had to adapt to new roles. He ended up doing just that, becoming much more physical, racking up 72 penalty minutes and getting into fights.

The Rampage will be hoping Kostin returns to a more scoring type of game in 2018-19. That’s why this year is pivotal for him.

Kostin does not have to lead the league in scoring or razzle and dazzle every night. He is only 19 and if he does not make the NHL until he is 22, but is fully ready, then so be it.

However, the issue with Kostin will be style and production. If he continues to play more like a fourth line player, even getting first or second line minutes, then the Blues might be in trouble. If he does not improve on six goals by a decent margin, he might be heading toward bust territory.

In a perfect world, Kostin would put up Vladimir Tarasenko-like numbers in the AHL. Tarasenko only had eight goals and 19 points in his first NHL year and he was 21. The next year, he jumped up to 21 goals and 43 points. A similar jump from Kostin would be fantastic.

Whether we should expect that from him is up to him. Again, he is very young. It’s no more likely that he’ll turn into Tarasenko than it is he will be the next Dmitrij Jaskin. Both are possible, but only he can determine which direction he goes.

Hopefully, with a full year under the Blues own affiliate, he will blossom into the player we all hope. As long as there is clear progression in that direction, we can breathe easier.

The first year there were plenty of excuses and good, viable ones. In 2018-19, it’s time to start putting up.