Prospect Info: Mike Kostka Discussion Thread

[zeke]

Did his skating cost us scoring opportunities?

he got burnt a couple times, but nothing too bad. But it'll be a different game when the NHLers get back up to game speed.

Phaneuf, Franson, and Komisarek are all worse skaters than Kostka

Phaneuf is a far, far, far better skater than Kostka, and a very good skater period.

 

[crump]

Phaneuf skating ability is deceiving. His size and stride are a little unorthodox in small areas (while defending down low for example) he seems awkward, but when he gets going he is a very good skater.

 

[ConnorTO]

He won't, once Gardiner comes back then we will have to make a hard decision - who gets sent down

lol... Kost played great dont get me wrong


but Gardiner is Jake Gardiner...
the guy who killed it last season

 

[zeke]

he's not a perfect skater, and has trouble with the turn oftentimes, but he's a very good skater overall.

 

[Joey24]

I found him to be slow and to make some very minor-league looking plays with the puck. He should correct those with time, but I wasn't as big of a fan as everyone else seems to be. His defensive play was a positive though. I thought he looked very average for the amount of time that he got. The commentators however seem to have felt otherwise.

He's from my hometown (Ajax) so I'm very happy for him, however I wasn't completely blown away with his play. He was very average while playing inflated minutes, IMO.

First game of the season, playing big minutes in his first NHL game on one of the biggest stages in the world. I think he did quite well all things considered and the fact that he was able to keep his nerves in check speaks volumes about his character imo.

Who knows if he will stick with the leafs or if he will continue to improve or stay steady. The fact is he has achieved something not many hockey players do and that's step into a NHL play big minutes in his first game and not look out of place.

 

[Razz]

Have never seen a guy jump up our depth chart so quickly. Even Gardiner didn't get #1 PP time out of the gate.

Kostka must have really turned some heads this year. He's going to be on the team all year long if he keeps it up. This guy is actually a keeper. Did we actually win the lotto for a change?

It'll be interesting to see how the icetime shakes down once Gardiner returns and gets back to full speed.

Might be:

Phaneuf Kostka
Garinder Franson
Gunnarson Liles
Komisarek Holzer

We're going to be trading someone soon I think.

 

[crump]

First game of the season, playing big minutes in his first NHL game on one of the biggest stages in the world. I think he did quite well all things considered and the fact that he was able to keep his nerves in check speaks volumes about his character imo.

Who knows if he will stick with the leafs or if he will continue to improve or stay steady. The fact is he has achieved something not many hockey players do and that's step into a NHL play big minutes in his first game and not look out of place.

That one shot of him in the bench gazing up at the scoreboard was priceless. Had that, " I can't freakin believe this." Look on his face. Great story.

 

[bunjay]

He played over 9 minutes in the first, and as far as I could tell was still moving just fine at the end of the game. I hope that was conditioning more than adrenaline.

 

[Leaf4Life]

Where is Kostka? I was blown away by all the little small plays this guy made. Recovery plays were unreal. He will play 48 games with the Leafs. Gunnarsson looked TERRIBLE yesterday. I think he has been wrongfully praised on the weakest Dcore in the NHL last few years. Gunnarsson needs to go. Kostka is very smart and poised.

Funny how your evaluation is based on a single game. Overreacting much??

 

[Mowerman]

Played well but I don't expect him to sustain it once we see a bit more normalcy. Lots of guys aren't game-ready and he's been playing important minutes on a top AHL team. Good for him though.

 

[12345*]

Phaneuf skating ability is deceiving. His size and stride are a little unorthodox in small areas (while defending down low for example) he seems awkward, but when he gets going he is a very good skater.

That's the problem. His agility is below average. And his first three strides are awful. He can't turn. Without that agility, its hard to defend down low without taking penalties and its impossible to recover from mistakes.

 

[TobyWong]

Have never seen a guy jump up our depth chart so quickly. Even Gardiner didn't get #1 PP time out of the gate.

Kostka must have really turned some heads this year. He's going to be on the team all year long if he keeps it up. This guy is actually a keeper. Did we actually win the lotto for a change?

Take it as an indication that Carlyle is being smart and leaning on the guys who are already in game shape early on while everyone else gets up to speed rather than thinking of it as some indication that Kostka is jesus on skates and nobody noticed before.

 

[Nordiques1979]

He's not the best skater, but i'd take his slap shot over Komi/Gunar/Liles skating.

 

[scott57]

Have never seen a guy jump up our depth chart so quickly.

Anyone remember Claire Alexander ? ... another similar feel good story.

 

[CerebralDevil]

The guy played physical and positiioned himself pretty good out there in one game, so I'm not complaining. I was pleasantly suprised how well he did.

 

[crump]

Anyone remember Claire Alexander ? ... another similar feel good story.

Oh yea, he was a milkman (when they still delivered milk to your side door milk box) before becoming a Leaf.

 

[Nordiques1979]

Kostka is like Bouwmeester but better in his own zone.

 

[JAMmer124]

Kostka is like Bouwmeester but better in his own zone.

Bouwmeester is one of, potentially the best, skaters in the entire league.

Kostka is better defensively, but really aren't comparable players IMO

 

[Dangles McGavin]

Papa Dion looks incredibly awkward, but he's a pretty good skater.

 

[Nordiques1979]

Bouwmeester is one of, potentially the best, skaters in the entire league.

Kostka is better defensively, but really aren't comparable players IMO

The way they play, simple but good. They look similar to me. Bouwmeester is weak in his own zone, Kostka slapshot is better. Just few differences, and yes JayBow is a great skater, better than Kostka, but Kostka is a better skater than Phaneuf/Komi/Gunar/Holzer/Fraser

 

[New Leaf]

Kostka is like Bouwmeester but better in his own zone.

Bouwmeester has been, and still is, very good defensively. His Corsi Rel QoC last year was 1.672, behind only Butler on the Flames' d-corps. He did this starting only 45% of his shifts in the offensive zone. His PDO was also down at 996, which suggests that this is his normal form. Aside from pure stats, he's also a very smooth skater. Bouwmeester is better than Kostka and one good game doesn't make this change.

 

[The Beyonder]

He's not the best skater, but i'd take his slap shot over Komi/Gunar/Liles skating.

What? Liles is an excellent skater, it's an insult to put him in the category of Gunnar and Komi.

 

[The Beyonder]

He's pretty solid defensively, good stick work, solid defensively, and seems to have leadership qualities too. Good for him, hopefully he can stake a permanent place in the lineup, would open up the possibilities of trading a few guys for picks or in packages.

 

[Hyperglide]

I remember Kostka in the Calder Cup last year. I kept thinking why this guy wasn't in the NHL. I'm not even just saying that to say it. He was a big part of why the Barons won the Calder.

 

[Razz]

Looks like Kostka is going to stay in the lineup. Carlyle is benching Komi and Franson for Fraser and Holzer.

One of those 4 is going to be let go once Gardiner returns in a couple days.

I love how straight forward Carlyle is. No surprises with this guy. I like it.