St. Louis Blues Klim Kostin Sent To Play In Russian KHL

The St. Louis Blues don’t know when they’ll be able to take the ice again. So, they are looking to Europe to get guys playing time.

The St. Louis Blues are waiting on word from the NHL as to when they will have a training camp and when the 2020-21 season will begin. The problem is the NHL has no clue, and that’s not a dig on the league.

The NHL is in a situation where they cannot really rely on solely on their television contract the way other sports leagues can. Hockey needs fans in the stands to make money, even at the highest level.

Nobody knows when local governments will allow that. Certain college and professional football have been allowed to have fans in their stands, but those are outdoors. Indoor facilities are still off limits as of now.

That puts the Blues in a hard place. They have players that need to get as much experience as possible and that’s not really possible when you don’t have any idea when your league will start.

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So, in an odd turn of events, the Blues have loaned Klim Kostin to Avangard Omsk in the KHL. The reason this is strange is mainly because the NHL and KHL have usually had an odd relationship, with it being hard getting players to North America from Russian teams.

In this instance, the Blues are in charge since the player is theirs to begin with. According to the Post-Dispatch, Doug Armstrong even said he would only send players to Europe with assurances they could recall them whenever.

So, Kostin will be allowed to play games in his native Russia until the NHL begins its training camp and then he will return. This could be very good for him.

This will allow Kostin to jump in and play games right now, getting his legs under him and playing against high-level competition. That will give him a head start on both the Blues and the rest of the NHL during a time when the Blues need him to step up and grab a spot.

Some will argue there might not be a spot available yet, but we don’t know what moves the Blues might still make. Additionally, if Kostin is as talented as we all hope, you can make room by bumping the likes of a Mackenzie MacEachern or even Zach Sanford if Kostin is playing well.

Kostin could get good tutelage too. Omsk has Bob Hartley, former Colorado Avalanche and Calgary Flames coach, behind the bench.

Hopefully Kostin can find his offensive game again over there. It’s great that he’s developed an edge and toughness to his game, but 29 goals in three AHL seasons isn’t cutting the mustard.