Central Scouting also has Kostin at No. 1 and I haven't heard from anyone who agrees with that assessment. As far as I know, NHL clubs don't put much stock in their rankings either but rather use their lists to get players on the radar that they hadn't known of or watched previously.
But to answer your question, I saw him play five times; four U18 games, one in the French league - unfortunately, all online. Take this with a grain of salt, because nothing can replace live views, but five games are generally good enough to get a solid idea of a player.
Here's my full report for a little more detail, in case you are interested:
A player from a non-traditional country that came a bit out of nowhere to move up into third-round consideration. Texier is a highly skilled player who can move past opponents with quick dekes. He can stickhandle in tight spaces thanks to his quick hands. His overall puckcontrol is good as well, as he has very soft hands that let him receive passes without the puck bouncing off his stick blade, allowing him to quickly make plays when he gets the puck. Texier had 10 goals and 9 assists in the French league this season, but I see him developing more as a playmaker. He has excellent vision and plays accurate passes in the offensive zone, able to set up scoring chances. His shot, on the other hand, is not quick or accurate enough to be a shooter at the highest level. Texier likes to rush past defensemen and drive to the net, but he can't always finish those plays and probably can't do the same thing against stronger competition.
The biggest concerns about Texier are without a doubt his skating and defensive play. His backward-forward transitions are slow and choppy, the same goes for his first few strides. His top speed is decent - he looks surprisingly speedy with the puck, still able to pull off dekes - and he has a long stride once he is in full stride, but he takes way too long to get there. His first steps can look like a "running man" style, as he doesn't dig his edges into the ice but rather just tries to make quick steps. Texier is also one of those guys who like to do the "one-foot push" when roaming around the ice, rather than doing proper crossovers that would allow him to accellerate quickly. That said, he has some ability to pull off deceptive moves, like a quick turn of his feet before moving in the other direction, but his edge work is too choppy overall. Furthermore, Texier is very slow on the backcheck and doesn't always seem to put in maximum effort. His defensive awareness and positioning are subpar and he often moves around all over the place and doesn't really get engaged. He also lacks strength and doesn't have prototypical NHL center size, but he plays a pro-style physical game in that he finishes checks frequently and in U18 play runs over players in his way, which is something not many junior players do in Europe.
This was a long list of red flags, but if Texier can work with a skating coach and get more aware of his defensive role, he could make it to the NHL one day. He does have the vision and offensive smarts, as well as the skill to become an offensive impact player. He is certainly a long-term project, though, who would be best off moving to the Swiss league or the CHL. Central Scouting sees him as a second or third-round pick but as much as I want to trust their knowledge and experience, I can't see it. For me, he's in the 90-120 (fourth round) range.
