As predicted in the 2005 MLN FAB50 (Ranked 12th OA), we believed that Andrei Kostitsyn might have major league time in the NHL fairly quickly.
Perhaps too quickly. Kostitsyn, picked 10th overall by the Canadiens in 2003, has ridden the proverbial roller coaster in splitting this season between Montreal and Hamilton.
Among the ups came back in October in a pair of tilts against Syracuse, when he scored twice and played well enough to impress Crunch coach Gary Agnew.
"He's quick and has real good hands," Agnew said.
That early success led to a pair of stints with the Canadiens, before he was sent down again in January.
Since then, the youngster with the gifted shot has fallen on hard times, landing at times on the Canadiens' fourth line.
"About a month ago Kostitsyn was headed in the right direction. He was playing very solid. Playing both ends of the rink, he created chances and played with passion," Bulldogs head coach Don Lever said.
"The last week and a half he has gone back to where he was at the beginning of the year."
Seeing limited time has occasionally had adverse effects on the promising rookie.
"When you play on a fourth line you do lose your sharpness and it takes awhile to get it back," Lever said.
Kostitsyn didn't lack for effort when he first returned, according to Lever.
"Best I can remember he played his best game when he first came back. We didn't play well as a team but he played well and then the next game in Manchester we as a team played well and he was off kilter," he said.
Despite Kostitsyn's periodic struggles, the Canadiens remain excited about Kostitsyn's future in Montreal.
"We know he has a good shot," said one team personnel executive, "and (about) all his offensive talent. But we need him to work on his overall game. He needs to become a complete player and get good at all the little things that don't always show up on a score sheet."
Lever thinks that Kostitsyn will progress as he becomes more comfortable with life in North America.
"He has showed a lot of signs of improving his work ethic, Lever said. "A lot of Andrei's problem is his communication skill. He needs a better understanding of the English language."
A top fifteen high flyer last year, Kostitsyn drops to 37th this year on the MLN FAB50. With work on his consistency we might see him at the top of the class of 2007, his last eligible year for the FAB50 rankings.
- Ed Gonser
