Interview with Mikhail Grabovsky

[puck7x]

I figured I'd start a thread about this since it went unnoticed in the forum...

Its a good read. Looks like the Habs might have found another gem from Belarus...

http://www.habsworld.net/article.php?id=752

Speaking of Belarussian gems... Here is what Mckeens had to say about Kostitsyn's WJC tourney...

<u><b>Andrei Kostitsyn (Mtl), RW</u></b>

Did not light up the scoreboard, but nevertheless enjoyed an outstanding tournament .. learning his AHL lessons well as he demonstrated a consistent dedication to defense and positioning throughout .. often hung back deep to help break up plays at his own blueline .. uses body effectively .. notched a pair of nice assists against Switzerland, but really raised his game up a few notches against the Americans .. nearly went end-to-end on one play, mostly one-handed while fending off a checker .. made another slick move to undress Likens .. looks thicker and stronger all over .. displayed superb anticipation and hand-eye coordination to pick off Suter's cross-ice pass while shorthanded, and then quickly moving the puck up to Efimenko who scored on a 2-on-1 .. made great cutback move to elude checker in neutral zone, then faked wrister and tried to slip puck back between his legs to open teammate .. always seemed to be in control of the puck even while making hair-pin moves at top speed .. strong on the puck, very comfortable in possession .. took a big hit behind the net, but still got pass out front to set up second goal .. creates space for himself by first bumping opponents a la Forsberg .. skated back hard on penalty kill .. likes to fire one-timers from the right half-boards on the power play, but also functioned as QB at top of the umbrella in alternate formation .. fast, explosive release - needs little time or space to unload shot .. showed excellent imagination and initiative on one PP, exploding in from the point, passing to himself off the boards and then driving in hard behind the net - gamebreaker stuff .. will stand up for himself, threw quick elbow after taking one hit .. hard, heavy slapshot .. great hands that really disguise his intentions well .. tricky passer, has neat little backflip that he saucers up and down expertly .. can change his mind in a heartbeat and has the skill to pull off moves .. against Slovakia, he thwarted a shorthanded chance from Marek Zagrapan by taking him into the boards .. took a horrific check from behind from Boris Valabik in which he laid motionless on the ice for several minutes .. returned a few minutes later and proceeded to put on another stickhandling exhibit .. stole the puck, blew past a defender and blazed down the ice for a shot on goal .. did not play against Germany .. twice voted player of the game for Belarus, AK delivered a composed and quite mature performance here, sprinkled with dashes of elite speed and playmaking talent. (5-1-4-5, minus-1)