Sergei Kostitsyn

Sergei Kostitsyn
Born	March 20, 1987 (1987-03-20) Navapolatsk, Byelorussian SSR, Soviet Union
Height	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight	207 lb (94 kg; 14 st 11 lb)
Position	Right wing
Shoots	Left
NHL team Former teams	Nashville Predators Montreal Canadiens
National team	Belarus
NHL Draft	200th overall, 2005 Montreal Canadiens
Playing career	2007–present

Siarhiej Aliehavič Kaścicyn (Belarusian: Сяргей Алегавiч Касціцын; born March 20, 1987), better known as Sergei Kostitsyn, is a Belarusian professional ice hockey winger currently playing for the Nashville Predators of the National Hockey League. His older brother Andrei plays for the Montreal Canadiens.

Playing career

Junior hockey

Like his older brother, Sergei excelled in the Belarusian junior hockey program. Sergei played for HK Gomel in Belarus in 2004–05 (14 points in 40 games) and was drafted in the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) Import Draft by the Ontario Hockey League (OHL)'s London Knights. Sergei was also drafted in the seventh round, 200th overall in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft by the Montréal Canadiens, the team that also had drafted Andrei in the first round (10th overall) in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft. He was traded to the Nashville Predators on June 29 2010.

Kostitsyn moved to North America in 2005–06 to play with the Knights and recorded 26 goals, 52 assists and 78 points, leading all OHL rookies in scoring during the 2005–06 season. The 19-year-old was the second runner-up for the Emms Family Award, as OHL Rookie of the Year, behind Logan Couture of the Ottawa 67's and 15-year-old winner John Tavares of the Oshawa Generals. Sergei was instrumental in the London Knights' 2006 playoff run, which saw them lose to the Peterborough Petes in the OHL final. In his first ever OHL playoff game against the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds, Sergei had six points, a goal and five assists, in a 6–1 London win. In the semi-finals, Kostitsyn scored the series-clinching goal against the Guelph Storm, a power-play goal in the first overtime of game five. In addition to being named team rookie of the year,^{[citation needed]} the Knights named him the playoff performer of the year, finishing the post-season with 37 points in 19 games.

Joining the Montreal Canadiens' 2006–07 training camp, Kostitsyn was returned to London for a second OHL season. He was placed on a line with young superstars Patrick Kane and Sam Gagner and was named an alternate captain. Kostitsyn finished third in OHL and CHL scoring behind teammate Patrick Kane and Oshawa's John Tavares, tallying 40 goals and 131 points in only 59 games. His 91 assists led the CHL and broke the London Knights franchise record of 89 set in 1972–73 by Dennis Ververgaert.^{[citation needed]}

Montreal Canadiens

On May 1, 2007, Kostitsyn was signed to an amateur tryout contract with the Canadiens' American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Hamilton Bulldogs, to assist the team in its Calder Cup-winning playoff run.^{[citation needed]} However, after not being inserted in the lineup, he returned home to Belarus to see his family. On May 26, Kostitsyn signed with the Montreal Canadiens to a 3-year, entry-level contract.

Kostitsyn began the 2007–08 season with the Bulldogs. On December 12, 2007, while leading the Bulldogs in scoring, Kostitsyn was called up by the Montreal Canadiens. He played his first career NHL game against the Philadelphia Flyers on December 13 and played on the top-line with captain Saku Koivu and Christopher Higgins. Sergei recorded his first career NHL point, an assist, in the next game, a 4–1 win against the Toronto Maple Leafs on December 15. Five days later, in his fourth game on December 20, Sergei scored his first career NHL goal, a power-play marker in a 5–2 win against the Washington Capitals. He finished his rookie season with 27 points in 51 games and added eight points in 12 playoff games.

The following season, Kostitsyn was reassigned to Hamilton on February 19, 2009. After earning 14 points in 16 games while in the AHL, he was called back up a little over a month later on March 22. Prior to the 2009–10 season, Kostitsyn was cut from the lineup and assigned to Hamilton. On September 30, he announced that he would not report to Hamilton and even asked to be traded. He was then suspended by the team. A few days later, Kostitsyn agreed to report to the Bulldogs in time for the start of the 2009–10 season. After four points in the first five games of the season, however, he left the team on October 21 and was consequently suspended a second time by the Canadiens. He finally decided to report once again to the Hamilton Bulldogs and after recording 13 points in 16 games with the Bulldogs, he was recalled by the Canadiens.On May 7th, Sergei was effectively cut from the Habs when Jacques Martin told the player to stay off the ice for the morning practice.

On June 29th, 2010, Kostitsyn was sent to the Nashville Predators for goaltender Dan Ellis and forward Dustin Boyd in a trade involving future considerations.

On July 6th, 2010, Kostitsyn signed a 1 year deal with the Nashville Predators worth $550,000 that runs through the 2010-2011 NHL season.

International play

As a junior, Kostitsyn has participated in four World Under-17 tournaments, three World Junior Under-18 Championships, and two World Junior Championships, one of which was with his brother Andrei.

In the 2006 World Junior Championships, he was named tournament MVP of the B-pool, leading Belarus to a promotion to the top-tier. Playing in pool-A in 2007, he scored a goal and two assists in the first game of the tournament, a 4-2 upset victory against Finland. He finished the tournament with 5 points in 6 games.

After his rookie season with the Montreal Canadiens, Kostitsyn competed in the 2008 World Championships with Belarus. He played in four games, recording one assist.

On December 23, 2009, Kostitsyn was selected along with his older brother Andrei, Mikhail Grabovski and Ruslan Salei as the only four current NHL players to represent Belarus in the 2010 Olympics.

Awards

• Named World Junior Championships Pool-B MVP in 2006.
• Named to the OHL First All-Rookie Team in 2006.
• Named the London Knights' top playoff performer in 2006.
• Named the London Knights' rookie of the year in 2006.

Records

• London Knights single-season assists record - 91 in 2006–07

Off the ice

In February 2009, La Presse reported that Sergei, along with his brother Andrei and defenceman Roman Hamrlík, had links with Pasquale Mangiola, a member of an organized crime group, who was arrested as part of "Operation Axe" during the month and charged with firearms and drugs offense. According to ESPN, the NHL will send security officials to investigate the links between the players and Mangiola, though La Presse also reported that the three players were not involved in any criminal activities and no investigation against them is planned.

Career statistics

				Regular season							Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	+/-		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	+/–
2005–06	London Knights	OHL		63	26	52	78	78	–5		19	13	24	37	44	+2
2006–07	London Knights	OHL		59	40	91	131	76	+38		16	9	12	21	39	–2
2007–08	Hamilton Bulldogs	AHL		22	6	16	22	18	+2		—	—	—	—	—	—
2007–08	Montreal Canadiens	NHL		52	9	18	27	51	+9		12	3	5	8	14	+5
2008–09	Montreal Canadiens	NHL		56	8	15	23	64	-3		1	0	0	0	2	0
2008–09	Hamilton Bulldogs	AHL		16	5	8	13	18	4		—	—	—	—	—	—
2009–10	Hamilton Bulldogs	AHL		16	4	9	13	2	2		—	—	—	—	—	—
2009–10	Montreal Canadiens	NHL		47	7	11	18	8	4		5	0	0	0	0	0
2010–11	Nashville Predators	NHL		77	23	27	50	20	10		12	0	5	5	2	0
OHL totals				122	66	143	209	154	+33		35	22	36	58	8	0
AHL totals				54	15	33	48	20	+8		—	—	—	—	—	—
NHL totals				232	47	71	118	143	+20		30	3	10	13	18	+5

External links

• Sergei Kostitsyn's NHL player profile
• Sergei Kostitsyn's career stats at The Internet Hockey Database
• Sergei Kostitsyn's career stats at eurohockey.net