Klim Kostin has found a home with the San Jose Sharks.
EDMONTON -- As far as fan favorites of the Edmonton Oilers go, Klim Kostin was certainly high up there.
Especially when considering how short his time was with the organization. He was acquired in the first month or so of the regular season - and then was traded the summer after.
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The reason for trading him, was more financial than anything else. At that point, the best course of action for the Oilers was to trade him to a team that would be willing to give him a chance. While things didn't work out for Kostin with the Detroit Red Wings, he's finding himself more comfortable with the San Jose Sharks.
Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now spoke to Kostin yesterday. Kostin told Peng that he, "feels alive in San Jose." When asked why he had a simple and direct response.
"Ice time."
Looking at the numbers, it's easy to see why. Kostin played 33 games for the Red Wings. He had four points and averaged 8:43 of ice time per game.
His time on ice has shot up with the Sharks - to the tune of 14:15 per game. In 12 games with the Sharks he's also doubled his points adding four goals and four assists to his season totals.
Who would have thought.
Clearly things were not working with the Red Wings and a change of scenery was necessary for Kostin to gain some footing. So far with the Sharks he's played more than 11 minutes in 11 of the 12 games. With the Red Wings he only eclipsed 11 minutes in a game on four occasions out of 33 games.
In his last five games he's skated for 16:33, 15:59, 17:01, 16:19 and 15:19. There's nothing wrong with that. Hopefully Kostin can solidify a role with the team and stick around long enough to earn some consistency.
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