Prospect update article

[montreal]

www.habsworld.net/show_prospect.php?id=258

Not much, just some updates on CHL, NCAA and Euro's.

[blaise]

I still wish I knew exactly what the Habs see in Kastsitsyn. He's a mystery man who doesn't seem to emerge from the shadows.

[montreal]

Blaise said:

I still wish I knew exactly what the Habs see in Kastsitsyn. He's a mystery man who doesn't seem to emerge from the shadows.

I think it's easy to see what they were looking at. The kid has decent size, but is a very good skater, with impressive speed and acceleration. Plus he's gifted on offense, great heavy shot and good passing plays. Who knows what will happen, but they got a kid that seems to have a ton of skills, time will tell if he can translate them or not. To early to say anyone made the right or wrong move, it's only been 6 months since the draft, I'd wait two to four years to really give an opinion. You win some you lose some.

[oldhabsfan]

Blaise said:

I still wish I knew exactly what the Habs see in Kastsitsyn. He's a mystery man who doesn't seem to emerge from the shadows.

I get the impression that a lot of the mystery comes from the difficulty fp getting information out of Russia, especially about ice time, and from the Rusian hockey system and especially his own coach's attitude to rookies.

[blny]

Blaise said:

I still wish I knew exactly what the Habs see in Kastsitsyn. He's a mystery man who doesn't seem to emerge from the shadows.

Potentially their own Kovalchuk. Andrei has incredible skill. So much, that most scouts felt he was the most talented in the draft. That's pretty heady stuff for a draft as deap as 2003's. Andrei may require some polish, but I wouldn't put too much stock in his stats from CSKA 1. That's a pro team, and Eastern Euro teams are notorious for limiting the role of young players. Kats may turn out to be a bust, but who knows. The goal at the draft was obvious. Get the most dynamic player available. Andrei fits that bill. Look at Hamilton, and some prospects in other areas. We have a slew of playmakers. Smallish skill guys with the ability to create chances for others. Andrei is the finish. I can't wait until he's signed and playing over hear.

[NWTHabsFan]

Blaise said:

I still wish I knew exactly what the Habs see in Kastsitsyn. He's a mystery man who doesn't seem to emerge from the shadows.

I suppose the fact that he played in Division I of the WJC and wasn't televised and the fact that he plays in a distant league where he has had the tendency of bouncing between two teams has made it rather hard for us to get a good read on this young man. However, he is still just a young 18 year old with tons of upside. But, like any prospect, there are no guarantees. Our scouting staff and other independent scouting organizations were very, very high on this kid, and they do that stuff for a living 24/7. I guess we will just have to wait and see over the next 5 years or so how close their projections were of his upside.

Personally, I have seen players like Ryder, Ward, and most recently Balej all emerge almost out of nowhere from the point of view of the casual fan. It takes time to have that "breakthrough" season that really confirms that a player is ready for the bigs and not just another project or AHL lifer.

Also, when you look at a player like Perezhogin who did really well on a two time gold medal WJC team, had good success as a young player in the RSL, still had a really tough time adjusting to the NA game. He is just now starting to show the skills and promise that everyone hoped he would show the minute his plane landed from Moscow. And he is several years older than Kasty.

All this to say that I welcome the day that young Andrei finally gets to earn his keep on this side of the pond.

[BadCompany]

Blaise said:

I still wish I knew exactly what the Habs see in Kastsitsyn. He's a mystery man who doesn't seem to emerge from the shadows.

Well, let me flip the question on you - what don't you see in Kastitsyin that leads to your scepticism? Honest question...

For me, I will readily admit I have never see Kastitsyin play, so everything I am basing my opinion on is second hand reports, or pure stats. But those are all good. Before he was drafted, and much before the actual draft, I remember some posters on Hockey's Future raving about his strong play at the World Junior's in Halifax, comparing him to Marian Gaborik. Other reports trickled in, citing his high skill level, couple with intense desire and will to win. Two lovely combinations.

Since then, he has progressed rather nicely, from a statistical standpoint anyways. True, he has had a hard time getting ice time for CSKA, in the Russian Super League, but they are coached by legendary hard-case Victor Tikhonov, and for comparison's sake, Nikolai Zherdev, the 4th overall pick (and who many had ranked 1st overall) also playing for CSKA, often as a linemate of Kastitsyin, also had trouble getting ice time, and eventually bolted for the NHL. Zherdev managed just 4 points in 20 Russian Super League games, while Kastitsyin currently has 1 in about 13 (hard to find up-to-date information). Everytime he has been demoted though, Kastitsyin lights up the Russian Upper League, with well over a point a game, and actually close to a goal a game. At the recent World Juniors, in the second division, he went nuts, finishing 3rd in tournament scoring, with his two linemates 1 and 2.

He wasn't just some out-of-the-blue pick, though it can seem that way given how hard it is to find information from the Russian leagues.

Some stuff on Kastistyin, that I found before the draft, and posted here. As you can see, there were a lot of glowing reviews before Montreal drafted him, and we all know the accolades Red Line bestowed on him afterwards. As far as I am concerned, he is one of, if not our best prospects...

NHL.com World Junior Summary:
Andrei Kastsitsyn, Belarus: He could be sleeper of the upcoming draft. With very little in the way of supporting players around him, he dominated each and every shift he took at the World Junior Championship, despite taking a constant mugging. If Belarus had more players like him, or more who tried as hard as he did, then the country would have not gone winless and been relegated to the world B Pool.
www.nhl.com/intheslot/read/juniors/wjc/top10_010503.html

Red Line Report World Junior Summary
Our choice for biggest gainer on the charts is Andrei Kastsitsyn, the Belarussian winger who generally arrives at the net with all the speed and subtlety of a freight train. He was already high on our list, but after his valiant effort for a brutally undermanned squad, there's no way we can keep him out of our top 10, so he enters at #6.
www.usatoday.com/sports/hockey/columnist/woodlief/2003-01-27-woodlief_x.htm

NHL.com World Junior Preview
One player of note is Andrei Kastsitsyn. He scored three goals when Belarus beat Canada 5-3 at the World U18 championships in April. Since then he has moved to Moscow where he plays for Viktor Tikhonov's Red Army team. He's a shifty and gifted scorer who can burn you with his hands or his speed.
www.nhl.com/intheslot/read/juniors/wjc/main122402.html

From two years ago:
The other tournament standout was 17-yearold Belarussian prodigy Andrei Kastsitsyn. Kastsistsyn exemplified the Belarussian plan of blooding new faces into the national team set up and at only seventeen years of age, still qualifies to play in three international age groups. The smooth skating youngster received more ice time as the tournament progressed, scoring in the tournament decider against Slovenia, and demonstrating a tenaciousness that will stand him in good stead as he prepares to skate for CSKA Moscow in the Russian Elite league this season. He is likely to be included in the NHL draft next year.

www.benchwarmer.co.uk/issue_archive/benchwarmer_issue_121.pdf

[Bob]

BadCompany said:

Well, let me flip the question on you - what don't you see in Kastitsyin that leads to your scepticism? Honest question...

Everytime he has been demoted though, Kastitsyin lights up the Russian Upper League, with well over a point a game, and actually close to a goal a game.

I don't know how the Russian Upper League compares to the CHL... but if there is any comparison, we would be pretty happy with a guy that is scoring at a goal per game clip.

Patrick O'Sullivan in the OHL, Sidney Crosby in the Q are at that level and no one in the WHL is close. Jeremy Williams of Swift Current has 33 goals in 42 games.

When you put it in that context, Kastsitsyn is doing okay.