Andrei Kostitsyn called up!

[habscout]

Due to Koivu's groin injury, Andrei Kostitsyn was just called up for tonight's game against Buffalo.

http://www.rds.ca/canadien/chroniques/193110.html

[Athlétique.Canadien]

Let's all pray that being in the NHL revitalizes him. Nothing would be more pleasing if he found his offence and his gaffes on D were handled by a good 2 way on his line. I've been waiting for this.

GO ANDREI!

[option+]

Wow, this will be interesting. All the talent in the world, but probably not NHL ready. I'm very curious to see how he does.

[Funk Doc]

good, i hope he can impress the staff and stay alittle longer. Maybe Andrei will get the Habs off this scoring slump lol

[rydified]

Andrei has a nice point streak going right now, hope fully he can build on it!

[Psycing]

Very interesting... Looking forward to see how the lines work out.. (Maybe w/ Plex?)

[Mont Royale]

We'll see what happens. I don't expect he'll get many minutes, but a taste of the NHL may whet his appetite.

[CoRvInA]

Kostit's rack on the 4th line I imagine.. would preffer to see him on the second line... he's mostly offense would make more sense Am I right or am I right ight ight ight ightt....

[simonus]

i must believe that kost would be paired with either bonk or ribeiro... i dont think they want him on a kid line yet...

that being said, i vote for putting him with bonk

1) Bonk's D is good enough to take care of Kost

2) Maybe Kost's O can help lift up Bonk

3) there are other, ready O-style wingers for Ribeiro

hmm...

[CoRvInA]

Good Point Simonakus! Agree and Like that Idea Hope Julien is reading this!

[KoZed]

He's more likely just a body to have a complete roster. I wouldnt see him get much ice-time, kinda like Lapierre when he was called up. He'll probably be put on the 4th line with anyone else who underachieves *coughDagenaiscough* At best he might see some PP time.

[simonus]

ap79, quite possibly correct for the start, but i wouldnt be terribly shocked to see julien juggle kost amongst linemates throughout the game... seems like you can work yourself in/out of favour mid-shift...

[KoZed]

Originally posted by simonus

ap79, quite possibly correct for the start, but i wouldnt be terribly shocked to see julien juggle kost amongst linemates throughout the game... seems like you can work yourself in/out of favour mid-shift...

Yeah, that's what I didnt bother to write. I imagine Kost ending up with Ribs & Ryder for a couple shifts in the 2nd... then with Plekanec & Bulis somewhere in the 3rd.

[Habitforming]

Shame it can't be the other Kostitsyn. At least Sergei has shown some consistency. Don't get me wrong I love Andrei's skills and potential, but he looks like he is waiting for something.

Kind of a kick in the butt to Locke as well. He has been the most consistent of any Bulldog so far and yet he has been passed on twice now. He must be wondering what he has to do to get a chance.

[Edited on 2005/12/1 by Habitforming]

[simonus]

Originally posted by Habitforming

Shame it can't be the other Kostitsyn. At least Sergei has shown some consistency. Don't get me wrong I love Andrei's skills and potential, but he looks like he is waiting for something.

Kind of a kick in the butt to Locke as well. He has been the most consistent of any Bulldog so far and yet he has been passed on twice now. He must be wondering what he has to do to get a chance.

[Edited on 2005/12/1 by Habitforming]

grow 3 inches and gain 30 pounds?

[gohabsgo252006]

Some players just don't adapt well to the AHL but when the get a shot in the NHL they feel more at home for whatever reason, it's the same story in other sports where guys don't produce in the minors, get a chance and explode onto the scene. HOpefully he looks good out there, I would like to see him with Bonk and Bulis....Those guys can take care of him defensively but like i was reading today on Hockeysfuture, his defense has been much improved of late..

Let's hope he makes a SPLASH...

[Habitforming]

I don't buy that for a second Simonus

The AHL is the closest you can get to the NHL [in style and possibly skill] and he has been the best Bulldog on a bad/terrible team.

We all know the list of small players in the NHL, so that is a moot point. Besides the current version of the NHL benefits Locke's highly skilled game.

[Edited on 2005/12/1 by Habitforming]

[CoRvInA]

So are we agreeing again that perhaps at fault here is Julien? Like we have assumed earlier.. What more do we have to lose? No one expects us to do well with so many M.I.A.

or is there more to be gained by actually defensively winning this game by a score of 1 to 0 ...

Concentrate on waking up the second line (Ribs abd co)

More Ice time for Bonk and co moving him up if need be to the second line?

Or giving the rooks (plek Higg and Perez) as much Ice time with a (carte blanche) ?

[les_glorieux]

TSN has a very good opinion of him:

Scouting Report

Assets: Has explosive scoring ability and a nose for the net. Loves to dangle and make nifty plays. Is comfortable in pressure situations, which bodes well for his future in Montreal.

Flaws: Must be able to control his epileptic-like symptoms in order to make it in the NHL. Is still rather raw in the defensive zone. Needs to make better use of his linemates.

Career Potential: First line winger.

[Edited on 12/1/2005 by les_glorieux]

[simonus]

Originally posted by Habitforming

I don't buy that for a second Simonus

The AHL is the closest you can get to the NHL [in style and possibly skill] and he has been the best Bulldog on a bad/terrible team.

We all know the list of small players in the NHL, so that is a moot point. Besides the current version of the NHL benefits Locke's highly skilled game.

[Edited on 2005/12/1 by Habitforming]

i was being facetious... (although he is a little small)

[option+]

Originally posted by les_glorieux

TSN has a very good opinion of him:

Scouting Report

Assets: Has explosive scoring ability and a nose for the net. Loves to dangle and make nifty plays. Is comfortable in pressure situations, which bodes well for his future in Montreal.

Flaws: Must be able to control his epileptic-like symptoms in order to make it in the NHL. Is still rather raw in the defensive zone. Needs to make better use of his linemates.

Career Potential: First line winger.

[Edited on 12/1/2005 by les_glorieux]

I saw Kostitsyn play in the World Juniors in 2004 - he basically beat the US singlehandedly (well, him and Al Montoya's crap goaltending). He has so much skill, it's unfair. It will be very exciting when he puts it all together.

[Colin]

For Kosty to succeed he needs to be given confidence, pure and simple. If he goes out on his first shift and makes a boo-boo, he can't be shoved to the middle of the bench to admire the rest of the play all night. This is true for any rookie, and is the reason our rookies aren't making more of a spash. Sure, on occasion you need to take them aside and get them to watch and think about what they're doing, but the kids on Montreal have to be afraid of making even the slightest error.

If his errors are consistent and he doesn't seem to be learning, then by all means, sit him, but if he makes a gaffe a la Plex - sending a pass directly on to the stick of an opponent resulting in a goal (and we won't comment on how many vets do this) - he shouldn't be sat. He should be put out on his next shift and shown that mistakes don't get you benched, only a failure to learn does.

I see absolutely zero reason why a player with the calibre of talent such as Kosty has cannot stick with the club even after all the injury boys get back. He's been improving in Hamilton consistently, and from what I hear, he even has some defensive awareness. Already he seems a step ahead of the one-trick pony Dagenais (great shot, but seriously, there's more to the game). In a season where we are NOT Cup contenders, I fail to understand why Kosty isn't given a real shot in the NHL over a Dagenais-type player. If we can manager to give Dags 9 minutes or so at five-on-five on some nights, why can't we give it to Kosty? Add in PP time, and he's got a 15+ minute night - and that's not hampering his development at all.

Now, perhaps Gainey has a grander scheme to things that we don't know about, and if that's the case, then I guess I can understand some of the decisions. But I'm really not convinced with the way we've treated our kids. I see absolutely no reason, when we have so few talented offensive players tonight, why Kosty should not be placed on one of the top two lines and told to just have at it. Enjoy the experience and let's see what you can do. If he's having trouble, skip a shift or two, fine, but let's see a coach over his shoulder on those shifts to point things out and see if he can incorporate what he's learned for his next shift.

But if you're going to call Kosty up to play 2:00 minutes, then I don't see the point. Bring up someone else and let this kid stay and play on the farm.

Just some thoughts.

[Funk Doc]

Originally posted by Colin

For Kosty to succeed he needs to be given confidence, pure and simple. If he goes out on his first shift and makes a boo-boo, he can't be shoved to the middle of the bench to admire the rest of the play all night. This is true for any rookie, and is the reason our rookies aren't making more of a spash. Sure, on occasion you need to take them aside and get them to watch and think about what they're doing, but the kids on Montreal have to be afraid of making even the slightest error.

If his errors are consistent and he doesn't seem to be learning, then by all means, sit him, but if he makes a gaffe a la Plex - sending a pass directly on to the stick of an opponent resulting in a goal (and we won't comment on how many vets do this) - he shouldn't be sat. He should be put out on his next shift and shown that mistakes don't get you benched, only a failure to learn does.

I see absolutely zero reason why a player with the calibre of talent such as Kosty has cannot stick with the club even after all the injury boys get back. He's been improving in Hamilton consistently, and from what I hear, he even has some defensive awareness. Already he seems a step ahead of the one-trick pony Dagenais (great shot, but seriously, there's more to the game). In a season where we are NOT Cup contenders, I fail to understand why Kosty isn't given a real shot in the NHL over a Dagenais-type player. If we can manager to give Dags 9 minutes or so at five-on-five on some nights, why can't we give it to Kosty? Add in PP time, and he's got a 15+ minute night - and that's not hampering his development at all.

Now, perhaps Gainey has a grander scheme to things that we don't know about, and if that's the case, then I guess I can understand some of the decisions. But I'm really not convinced with the way we've treated our kids. I see absolutely no reason, when we have so few talented offensive players tonight, why Kosty should not be placed on one of the top two lines and told to just have at it. Enjoy the experience and let's see what you can do. If he's having trouble, skip a shift or two, fine, but let's see a coach over his shoulder on those shifts to point things out and see if he can incorporate what he's learned for his next shift.

But if you're going to call Kosty up to play 2:00 minutes, then I don't see the point. Bring up someone else and let this kid stay and play on the farm.

Just some thoughts.

i agree completely on what you just said. If he only gets to play 2:00 minutes during the game, then we should have called up Vandermeer or Murray. I also agree that if these kids make one mistake during the game they shouldn't be demoted, they should understand what they did wrong and how to prevent from happening in the future.

[habschris]

Yes exactly, how many times do you see vets make the same mistakes and never get sat down.

[jackp]

Originally posted by simonus

ap79, quite possibly correct for the start, but i wouldnt be terribly shocked to see julien juggle kost amongst linemates throughout the game... seems like you can work yourself in/out of favour mid-shift...

I, for one, have no faith in the coach or his system. He reminds me of Vigneault, and we all know how much we achieved under him. Another thing is the number of injuries we're suffering under Julien, just like with Vigneault. Is is possible that this defensive system makes players work so hard, that they get ground down and prone to injury? I realize that this is a stretch, but I just cannot ignore the similarities between this regime and Vigneault's.

To further this point, Dandenault was quoted as saying that they have to abandon the "run and gun" and play more defensive. I personally think this is the diametric opposite of what we should be doing, which is going back to the "run and gun." In the beginning of the year, when we were "running and gunning," we were competitive with Ottawa (2 close games). Now that we've become defensive? 4-0 and Julien saying he's happy with the effort!

I live in Mississauga and am cursed with living in Leafs land. But one thing I have to say about Quinn's Leafs: they know how to play offense. They make nice plays in the offensive zone. It doesn't surprise me that they win despite usually being outshot *because they don't shoot many low-percentage shots.* That team can get away with playing 2 lazy periods and still win the game because they know what to do with the puck (like in their last game against us.) (I watch Leaf games when there's nothing better to do because I want them to lose, so it makes it interesting.)

If you want to see what I mean, just watch a Leaf game and observe how they play offense. Then watch us play in the offensive zone. We look lost and disorganized compared to them...

- Jack