There’s always that one wild card player in every NHL Draft. I’m going to say that Klim Kostin is the one for me this year. From top-to-bottom, the kid seethes skill and power, but scouts never got to see it this year due to injury that led to surgery — this hurt his draft stock.
Kostin is still ranked as the number one European prospect by the NHL CSS, and I’d say that’s probably still true. While the thought of drafting him now may not sound as “sexy” as you want a top-10 pick to sound, if he hits his stride in potential, he’s going to be an absolute pain-in-the-ass to play against one day.