Prospect Info: Leafs' 2019 5th-round (#146) -- Michael Koster - 5' 9"/172 lbs HIGH-MN CHASKA

[Man Bear Pig]

5'9. My prediction. 0-10 NHL career games.

It's like you arent even trying anymore.

 

[saltming]

At this age they are mostly full grown

It depends on when they hit puberty but even so most men still have a little growth after he age of 18

 

[saltming]

5'9. My prediction. 0-10 NHL career games.

Is this from another secret stat or is this the crystal ball giving you this data?

 

[Muston Atthews]

5'9. My prediction. 0-10 NHL career games.

NHL Draft Pick Probabilities

considering ~4 players will play more than 99 games in the NHL you aren’t going out on much of a limb with your prediction on a later pick in the 5th round

 

[The CyNick]

It's like you arent even trying anymore.

How many do you think he'll play?

 

[darrylsittler27]

The Leafs have had some luck with late picks i.e Johnsson, Engvall, Komorov, Carl Gunnarsson.Timashov,Lindgren and Gordeev were trade pieces. You throw everything at the wall and see what sticks.

 

[stickty111]

Koster has been terrific so far. He is getting lots of praise from the announcers, and has been of their better players so far.
There is a good chance he becomes an NHL player.

 

[Stephen]

between Hollowell/Koster/Fusco we're going to be waste deep in Krug level D , lol

Don't forget Niemela, Loponen, Rindell, Kokkonen.

 

[Stephen]

Koster has been terrific so far. He is getting lots of praise from the announcers, and has been of their better players so far.
There is a good chance he becomes an NHL player.

Not sure you can make that interpolation based on 6 games of Big-10 hockey. Let's hope he becomes a real NHL asset, but on the other hand that has to be weighed against your comfort level in playing a Michael Koster at the NHL level in a real role, similar to where you might slot someone like Rasmus Sandin.

 

[Pyrophorus]

I like Koster, but if he can't skate, he's not making the show.
Get your degree, young man.

 

[CantLoseWithMatthews]

I like Koster, but if he can't skate, he's not making the show.
Get your degree, young man.

who said he can't skate?

 

[Pyrophorus]

who said he can't skate?

He's not fast-or fast enough.

 

[Menzinger]

because 5'9" and the sky is always falling #schtick.

One could say "i predict this prospect plays 0 nhl games" for anyone drafted nd statistically be more likely to be right than wrong since most dont.

Using height to judge a prospect is the laziest type of analysis

 

[Menzinger]

Not sure you can make that interpolation based on 6 games of Big-10 hockey. Let's hope he becomes a real NHL asset, but on the other hand that has to be weighed against your comfort level in playing a Michael Koster at the NHL level in a real role, similar to where you might slot someone like Rasmus Sandin.

I've seen all of the Gophers games this season, since they're one of my local ncaa teams.

He HAS looked good so far, though his skating likely needs a bit of work still. I'm hoping he'll get more power play time as.thr season goes on.

Early days still, but certainly some positive signs for a later round pick

 

[stickty111]

I like Koster, but if he can't skate, he's not making the show.
Get your degree, young man.

This goes against what fans have said from watching the games. He's a fine skater, but needs a bit more mobility.

 

[stickty111]

He's not fast-or fast enough.

That's different from he can't skate.

 

[Stephen]

I've seen all of the Gophers games this season, since they're one of my local ncaa teams.

He HAS looked good so far, though his skating likely needs a bit of work still. I'm hoping he'll get more power play time as.thr season goes on.

Early days still, but certainly some positive signs for a later round pick

Seems like the Leafs have stocked up on a number of Matt Grzelcyk type guys, particularly in the college and Finnish ranks, so those are longer term plays where you just bury an acorn, forget about it and if you have something blossom in a few years, fantastic.

 

[weems]

 

[nobody]

He's not fast-or fast enough.

From what I've seen so far, he's a damn good skater and quite effortless at that as well. I'm not sure where you got your information from but I think if you actually watch him play you can see that he moves around with ease out there and has been an absolute force this season. It wouldn't shock me if he ends up as the #1 D on that team before the end of the season.

I'd also keep an eye out to see if he can sneak on to the WJC roster. I think he's been one of the standout d-men in the NCAA this year and with the limited playing time most players have had, he can skyrocket up the depth charts and USA WJ coaches won't be disappointed if he's wearing the red, white and blue come boxing day.



Keep in mind that all three of Johnson-Faber-Lacombe are top 2 round picks and pretty well-regarded d-prospects. Koster is a 5th rounder who IMO thus far this year has outperformed all 3 of these guys.

 

[Knies iT]

It depends on when they hit puberty but even so most men still have a little growth after he age of 18

A Minnesota-based poster that's followed him since high-school mentioned he thinks that Koster's grown. I'd agree with that because he looks bigger than when he played at the Hlinka, i'd say 5'10" now.

Either way, his current weight of 170-175 is pretty stocky for that height and he probably only has another 10lbs of potential weight to add naturally. He's more physically developed than other small statured D like Hollowell.

As for skating - he's a fantastic skater in all directions. The "room for improvement" comments are only referring to the power of his stride, similar to Liljegren in that sense.

 

[MapleLeafs9]

Mike Kostka

 

[LeafChief]

Love it that we have so many prospects performing so strongly.

 

[nobody]

Love it that we have so many prospects performing so strongly.

I agree.

Amirov - NHL future as a top 6 W
Abramov - NHL future as a top 6 C/ middle 6 C
Niemela - NHL future as a 2nd/3rd pairing D
Korshkov - NHL future as a bottom 6 W
Ovchennikov - NHL potential, let's see how he develops. Dark horse future top 6 W.
Kral - NHL potential 2nd/3rd pairing D
Holmberg - NHL potential 3rd line W
Hollowell - NHL potential 3rd pairing D
Kokkonen - NHL potential 3rd pairing D
Koster - NHL potential top 4 D
Akhtyamov - NHL potential starting G
Hallander - NHL potential bottom 6 W
Hirvonen - NHL potential bottom 6 C/W
SDA - NHL potential 3rd line C
Mietinen - NHL potential middle 6 W

Add on to
Robertson - NHL future middle 6 W
Sandin - NHL future top 4 D
Liljegren - NHL future top 4 D (high upside)/ low upside 3rd pairing RHD
Abruzzese - NHL potential middle 6 W

We need to keep Rielly, Matthews, Nylander, JT, Marner core together and we have plenty of players that we can add in who can fit the middle 6/ bottom 6 forwards and 2nd/3rd pairing D roles in the future. If Sandin reaches his potential we can have a potential top-pairing D. If Amirov continues to grow, I think we can have a fine complimentary top line W for Auston.

Having such a solid depth of good to great players will be huge for us keeping our contention window open for more than 5+ years. If we can hit on a star player in the next few drafts or one of our current players turns into a star player, we're well set. The only position I really really hope we luck out on though is goaltending. If we can develop a starter who is capable of playing good hockey, that goes a very long way for us. We've never in my life been able to develop a great young goalie and I think it's about time our fortunes change for the better.

 

[ViewsFromThe6ix]

I agree.

Amirov - NHL future as a top 6 W
Abramov - NHL future as a top 6 C/ middle 6 C
Niemela - NHL future as a 2nd/3rd pairing D
Korshkov - NHL future as a bottom 6 W
Ovchennikov - NHL potential, let's see how he develops. Dark horse future top 6 W.
Kral - NHL potential 2nd/3rd pairing D
Holmberg - NHL potential 3rd line W
Hollowell - NHL potential 3rd pairing D
Kokkonen - NHL potential 3rd pairing D
Koster - NHL potential top 4 D
Akhtyamov - NHL potential starting G
Hallander - NHL potential bottom 6 W
Hirvonen - NHL potential bottom 6 C/W
SDA - NHL potential 3rd line C
Mietinen - NHL potential middle 6 W

Add on to
Robertson - NHL future middle 6 W
Sandin - NHL future top 4 D
Liljegren - NHL future top 4 D (high upside)/ low upside 3rd pairing RHD
Abruzzese - NHL potential middle 6 W

We need to keep Rielly, Matthews, Nylander, JT, Marner core together and we have plenty of players that we can add in who can fit the middle 6/ bottom 6 forwards and 2nd/3rd pairing D roles in the future. If Sandin reaches his potential we can have a potential top-pairing D. If Amirov continues to grow, I think we can have a fine complimentary top line W for Auston.

Having such a solid depth of good to great players will be huge for us keeping our contention window open for more than 5+ years. If we can hit on a star player in the next few drafts or one of our current players turns into a star player, we're well set. The only position I really really hope we luck out on though is goaltending. If we can develop a starter who is capable of playing good hockey, that goes a very long way for us. We've never in my life been able to develop a great young goalie and I think it's about time our fortunes change for the better.

That's why a lot of the objective analytical models are much, much higher on the Leafs prospect pool than many casuals. They just have a ton of likely NHL players. Sure there's no Stuetzle but the depth of the pool is insane.

 

[X66]

between Hollowell/Koster/Fusco we're going to be waste deep in Krug level D , lol

If ONE of them becomes Krug, that's a home-run.

If all THREE some how do, that's a grand slam.

Great trade assets as well.