Still listed as the NHL’s #1 European skater of 2016-17, Klim Kostin has everything a team could want in a prospect going into the draft.
Compared to Evgeni Malkin, Kostin boasts a big, stable frame, good skating, pretty good shot, uses his size to his advantage to keep the puck, good hands, drives play pretty well, can take over an entire offensive shift...and if you’re hurting for marketable superstars he certainly at least has the look of a young guy you could put on posters with a comic book hero name.
However, a big part of why he’s even an option at 18 is because his draft year was the stuff of nightmares: a season ending shoulder injury, a generally unproductive 18 pro level games, going all the way from Dynamo Moscow in the KHL to the MHL, and previously having been the WJC/World Champions captain for Russia, he didn’t receive an invitation after an unproductive Canada/Russia series in November.