Last night the San Antonio Rampage put up five goals against the Iowa Wild, and today they’ve lost two of the goal scorers. While Zach Sanford is on his way back up to the NHL, Klim Kostin has been assigned to Team Russia for the upcoming World Junior Championships. Kostin had been listed on the Russian roster as a player who would join the preliminary roster at a later date, which is apparently now as the tournament approaches. Pre-tournament games start tomorrow with Russia taking on Sweden in Kelowna, British Columbia.
Kostin, 19, greatly impressed in his first training camp after being selected 31st overall in 2017, but failed to crack the St. Louis roster. Instead of going back to the KHL, he joined the Rampage as a teenager and actually showed quite well in his first professional season. Though there were some consistency issues, that’s to be expected of a player so much younger than his competition. Kostin still used his big frame well and ended the 2017-18 season with 28 points in 67 games. This season he’s off to a better goal scoring pace and has 11 points in 28 games, but will really get to show off in the upcoming junior tournament.
Participating in the tournament last year for Russia as one of the rare 18-year old players selected, Kostin was a standout and ultimately led the team in scoring with eight points in five games. He’ll be looking for revenge and a medal this time around, and should play a huge part among the team’s talented forwards.
I wonder why they wouldn’t let Robert Thomas go as well.