Prospect Info: Dmitri Kostenko, RHD, - (VHL Rights Traded to Yugra)

[Deebs]

Brian Lawton sure liked our pick

 

[Schooner Guy]

Brian Lawton sure liked our pick

He liked the pick after he called it an off the board pick even though they had him ranked 9 spots ahead of when we took him.

 

[Fazkovsky]

Why do we draft by need? Timmins isnt smart

 

[calder candidate]

Wasn’t trilled with the pick but that highlights video is Scherbakest hard no to see and like the skills.

 

[1909]

David St-Louis is a big fan.

Great pick !!!!!

 

[dackelljuneaubulis02]

he certainly has hands and a shot

 

[wildD]

I like this pick,

 

[Just Linda]

I'm not a fan of this pick, my least favourite pick so far. I don't see his NHL potential, he doesn't have the brain for it and doesn't play physical enough to be a good primary defender.

 

[abo9]

https://thehockeywriters.com/dmitri-kostenko-2021-nhl-draft-prospect-profile/

“Kostenko can be a maddening player to watch- there is a lot of offensive skill and ability there, but there are real concerns pertaining to defensive play. He possesses one of the best sets of hands in this year’s MHL class, his passes are crisp and accurate, and his slap shot has some power behind it. However, all too often, he seems lost or unwilling to compete without the puck, especially in the defensive zone. This is only exacerbated by playing in the VHL. Additionally, while his skating looks fine when on the attack, the mechanics seem to break down a bit when reacting to an attacking player.” – Ross Martin/The Draft Analyst
” Kostenko is an interesting case of a player who clearly exhibits skill, skating, and creativity while playing on a team that has very few other players that stack up. When in the VHL, he had very little help. On the MHL club, outside of fellow 2021 draft prospect Fyodor Svechkov, there isn’t much to work with upfront. Kostenko is at his best when he is able to find himself some room with his feet and the puck on his stick and then dishing passes around the offensive zone. He plays with a bit of deception, looking off opponents and threading a no-look pass off his backhand or faking a shot and finding a teammate on the backdoor.” – Tony Ferrari/DobberProspects

Seems like he's got great offensive skills, but as a defenseman lacking too much in defensive awareness...
Is there a reason why such kids don't get transitioned to forwards even if it's that "late" in their career?

 

[Skip Bayless]

Soft handed D, me likey.

 

[WeThreeKings]

There's a lot of intriguing things in the overall package so it's about refining it.

That's a swing and I'm here for it, I'm going to pay a lot of attention to him.

 

[Intangir]

You guys are way too down on this guy, give him a chance at least. From the shift-by-shift game I've watched there's lots to like here although Kostenko IS a a later-round pick in a weaker draft so flaws are to be expected at this point and he most likely than not fails to make it in the NHL. That said, David St-Louis is over-analyzing here and belittling Kostenko's upside quite a bit.

Kostenko's first pass is pretty good, he holds the line well in the offensive zone both with his good agility and savvy little plays, owns a pretty nice array of shots, and he seems to be genuinely good at receiving even difficult passes while keeping control (now that is an underrated quality to have as a player). Then you also add the fact that he is actually pretty good at hitting people though I wish he cleared the front of the net with more alacrity, more proactively instead of only when opposing forwards activate and face the net with the puck.

As far as lacking hockey IQ defensively, I don't buy it. Kostenko's game lacks maturity, and is still really raw, true, but his decisions with/without the puck aren't ''bad'' per se, they just need quite a bit of refinement. I like his reads better right now than I ever did Broberg's, that's for sure.

One thing that might have influenced St-Louis' take on Kostenko is that the guy plays a more passive, ''wait and see'' type of game on D that we're not really used to in NA but can regularly be seen in Russia given the increased size of the rink and more deliberate pace of play offensively. To the unknowing beholder, that approach to defense might come across as him lacking drive or defensive IQ.

But look more closely and you begin to notice that his stick is generally in the good places out there, that Kostenko's pretty hard to beat 1-on-1, battles well along the boards, protects the puck pretty well along the boards/using the net to shield himseld from offensive pressure to pass the puck, and is just generally in good position out there to block shots/interfere with opposing forwards' sticks when it is important that he do so.

Again, not saying the guy is without flaws (will need to adjust his whole defensive game for NA ice, needs to be a bit less lackadaisical when holding the puck, start to pass more in the offensive zone instead of just shooting, improve acceleration/balance, etc.), or that he is even likely to be an NHLer, but we are being way too harsh on him despite not really knowing much about the guy, and we should wait and see how he progresses from now on.

 

[WeThreeKings]

You guys are way too down on this guy, give him a chance at least. From the shift-by-shift game I've watched there's lots to like here although Kostenko IS a a later-round pick in a weaker draft so flaws are to be expected at this point and he most likely than not fails to make it in the NHL. That said, David St-Louis is over-analyzing here and belittling Kostenko's upside quite a bit.

Kostenko's first pass is pretty good, he holds the line well in the offensive zone both with his good agility and savvy little plays, owns a pretty nice array of shots, and he seems to be genuinely good at receiving even difficult passes while keeping control (now that is an underrated quality to have as a player). Then you also add the fact that he is actually pretty good at hitting people though I wish he cleared the front of the net with more alacrity, more proactively instead of only when opposing forwards activate and face the net with the puck.

As far as lacking hockey IQ defensively, I don't buy it. Kostenko's game lacks maturity, and is still really raw, true, but his decisions with/without the puck aren't ''bad'' per se, they just need quite a bit of refinement. I like his reads better right now than I ever did Broberg's, that's for sure.

One thing that might have influenced St-Louis' take on Kostenko is that the guy plays a more passive, ''wait and see'' type of game on D that we're not really used to in NA but can regularly be seen in Russia given the increased size of the rink and more deliberate pace of play offensively. To the unknowing beholder, that approach to defense might come across as him lacking drive or defensive IQ.

But look more closely and you begin to notice that his stick is generally in the good places out there, that Kostenko's pretty hard to beat 1-on-1, battles well along the boards, protects the puck pretty well along the boards/using the net to shield himseld from offensive pressure to pass the puck, and is just generally in good position out there to block shots/interfere with opposing forwards' sticks when it is important that he do so.

Again, not saying the guy is without flaws (will need to adjust his whole defensive game for NA ice, needs to be a bit less lackadaisical when holding the puck, start to pass more in the offensive zone instead of just shooting, improve acceleration/balance, etc.), or that he is even likely to be an NHLer, but we are being way too harsh on him despite not really knowing much about the guy, and we should wait and see how he progresses from now on.

This is a great post.

Frankly, what we can see is flashes of physicality, flashes of excellent hands, shooting skills and passing.. there's flashes of good defensive play and yeah, he looks a lot like a passenger on the defensive end.

I respect a lot of what David St-Louis does. He really looks at hockey with an advanced, new-aged lens and he believes a lot in his model. That's really important, but sometimes you have to not die by the sword and I do think he does tend to allow players who don't fit into his models to be pushed outside and not evaluated fairly on the traits.

This is the type of pick you want your scouts to make, there's a toolbox filled with great tools and it's up to him to elevate those tools and learn when to use them in the confines of the structure of a hockey game - but I'd rather teach him and reel him in then try to milk blood from a stone with defensive defenseman who have no offensive tools.

 

[WeThreeKings]

 

[Kennerback]

Just watched some tape on him... First impressions.
The good:
1-He’s a bowed knee skater. I personally like it.
2-He’s very good at distributing the puck on the PP.
3-Handles the puck well.
The less good:
1-Is not defensively assertive at all. Seems like he’s only thinking offence.
2-he has good size compared to other skaters but has zero physicality.

 

[dinodebino]

Great pick !!!!!

Who's this David St-Louis guy?

 

[MarkovsKnee]

This is a homerun swing that is most likely to strikeout. Timmins did say pre-draft that he was looking at "homerun" picks, and by and large, he has done that.

 

[Weber Fan]

He puts pretty decent numbers in the VHL…Interesting!

 

[Harry Kakalovich]

Hope this Russian D-man pans out

 

[dackelljuneaubulis02]

This is a homerun swing that is most likely to strikeout. Timmins did say pre-draft that he was looking at "homerun" picks, and by and large, he has done that.

and that's what you want to see. we need big hits. we have plenty of singles and doubles in our prospect pool who even have the potential for more. but we really need just sheer skill at this point.

whether it's a guy who has everything else but the skating's shaky or has consistency/effort issues but has lots of skill, etc. those are what you want to go for when you're MTL. i mean most likely any team but espeically the Habs in 2021.

i saw enough swings at real talent this draft to like it. no goofy cichys or ruschienski picks which is refreshing. really besides the 2nd russian D they all seem to have some kind of intriguing upside.

if ever there was a draft that's a 'wait and see' ohhhhh baby it's this one.

 

[montreal]

 

[JoelWarlord]

I think this is the most intriguing pick in the draft for me, interesting to get a draft age player from the VHL.

 

[26Mats]

well, he's scored some nice goals at lower levels:



Getting to know Montreal Canadiens #87 selection Dmitri Kostenko

 

[HABitual Fan]

Hahaha Markov is my favourite Hab in the last 20 years.... but I really don't think he would make a good coach... talking isn't really his thing..

I'm sure there are better options.

Actually he was supposed to be an assistant coach in the KHL this year, but he got suspended by the doping agency. Not that he did anything wrong, he never informed them that he had retired, so he got suspended for failing to take drug tests since he stopped playing. If he can't coach there, maybe it is time for the organization to make peace with him and get him as a special coach or to help with scouting and recruiting players from the KHL as an ambassador..

 

[Adam Michaels]