St. Louis Blues have reason to be excited about the future with the sudden emergence of what we hope is the real Klim Kostin during the 2019 NHL preseason. However, they need to temper their expectations.
The one thing fans have in common, whether that is fans of the St. Louis Blues or any sports team really, is their habit of making the next big thing a bigger deal earlier than what is realistic. Whether that is at a draft or after a preseason game or, in the case of some, before they even suit up in a professional uniform, it happens all the time.
We are seeing it happen right now. The hype around Klim Kostin is reaching a fevered pitch and we are getting into territory that is dangerous to fans.
We have seen this happen before and will see it happen again. No matter how much warning anyone gets, there are always those out there that want to crown people before it is their time.
Kostin is having a great preseason so far. In the first three games of the preseason, Kostin lit up the board with three goals and six points. Not a bad start right?
The thing is we all need to pump the breaks on this. It is exciting to see him finally doing the things we were told he was capable of when he was drafted. However, it is the preseason.
Kostin scored two goals in five games back in 2017-18 and did not make the team. We have seen guys in plenty of sports have good preseasons and either not make the team or be placed in the minor leagues if we are talking about baseball or hockey.
Preseason is not always a good indicator of things even though fans continually want to question when the team will reward the kids. Jordan Kyrou had two straight good preseasons. Once he finally got a shot at the NHL, he was still not quite ready.
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Another thing is Kostin has cooled off as the preseason went on. When he was placed in a role more like what he would see should he make the Blues out of the gate, i.e. only 11 minutes on the ice, he struggled.
Last, but perhaps most importantly, is there simply isn’t really room for Kostin if we are realistic. Yes, it sounds good and fair in our own minds to reward someone for having a good preseason, but the Blues lineup is all but set even with some mediocre preseason performances.
Everyone kept saying that Pat Maroon‘s spot was up for grabs. I say it had already been filled by Sammy Blais and maybe Mackenzie MacEachern.
The fourth line, as long as everyone was healthy, was always going to start the year with Alexander Steen, Oskar Sundqvist and Ivan Barbashev. The only thing that has thrown that into flux is whether Barbashev will enter the season healthy.
Zach Sanford and Robby Fabbri have not had impressive preseasons and Craig Berube has acknowledged that. Still, the Blues know that it would be difficult to get one or both through waivers to start the year in the AHL, so they will likely be in the NHL to start the year.
The point being with all this is that Kostin needs playing time. Even if you want to argue he has earned a spot in the NHL to start the year, he has not done well with low minute totals.
He needs to be playing top line minutes to see if he can thrive in that sort of spot. Kostin, whether due to injury or poor performance, saw fourth-line time with the San Antonio Rampage in 2018-19 and basically looked like a fourth-line player. That’s great that he can accept a role, but that is not what the Blues need from him in his progression.
St. Louis needs to know if he can produce when placed in a top six or, at least, a top nine role. So, playing on the fourth line in the NHL proves nothing. At this point in his development, getting used to the speed of the NHL, but playing a purely defensive role is not in his best interest.
Kostin needs to play most, if not all, the season with the Rampage. If injury forces him to be called up, so be it. However, he needs to be on their top line and scoring goals, not sitting in the press box at the Enterprise Center.
He has been given a much longer look in higher profile roles, but he needs to continue seeing power play time and high leverage situations and will only get that with the Rampage. He will only get fourth line minutes in St. Louis, even if he plays with the third line.
Perhaps Berube will surprise us all and put Kostin in the starting lineup on day one of the season. Maybe Sanford, Fabbri and MacEachern have done that little to where the old school leaning coach will give the youngster his shot to grab the brass ring.
I think that will not be the case. I think the Blues will go with the players they finished the 2018-19 season with and those that no longer benefit from playing in the minors. Kostin still has a ton to benefit from playing in the AHL.
Fair or not, the last spots on the Blues are basically depth players that will not see the ice much to start. Kostin needs to play and he will not play much with the Blues given the overall picture.