FEATURE: Kostin bringing valued presence and play to Oilers

EDMONTON, AB - The story of forward Klim Kostin in Oil Country continues to write itself.
So far, Oilers coaches, management, teammates and fans are liking what they're reading in the 23-year-old Russian's play on the ice and easy-going, likeable personality off it just 11 games into his time with the Edmonton Oilers.
Kostin speaks similarly about his new city and organization as his adjustment to his new surroundings after his trade from the St. Louis Blues last month has been pretty seamless to this point. "When you feel comfortable, you feel happy in a team with the guys," he said. "Everyone's here not just like a team, it's like real family here."
"When I wake up in the morning, I just can't wait to go to the locker room and see the boys and then go to the practice, so I really feel comfortable and happy."
For Kostin, his adjustment to Edmonton and the Oilers has been aided by opportunity in the lineup, a close-knit culture in the locker room and great team facilities that get him to the rink early and keep him there long after practice is over.
A certified 'rink rat', having all the amenities available to him at Rogers Place makes it feel more like home than the JW Marriott across 104th Avenue where he's been staying.
"It's a really good locker room here," he said. "Yeah. Good food. It's a lot of food, so that's why I'm probably staying there that long (laughs). I have nothing to do at the hotel, so I'm staying at the hotel right now. But yeah, the locker room is much bigger than my room."

A Gordie Howe hat trick in Wednesday's decisive 8-2 win over the Arizona Coyotes went a long way in Oil Country learning more about what the 23-year-old from Penza, RUS can bring to the table on the ice for an Oilers club that needs all the contributions they can get right now with a number of its top-nine forwards out of the lineup due to injury.
Kostin has stepped up in 11 games for the Oilers, recording two goals and an assist over that span and seeing his three points come over his last four games, where he's played over 10 minutes in each contest.
From a relatively unknown trade acquisition to becoming an important depth piece for this Oilers team, Kostin's taken advantage of available ice time and opportunity since his promotion from the Bakersfield Condors to contribute meaningful minutes, offence, toughness and a 200-foot game.
"Actually, Ken and I were just talking about that this morning. I didn't know much about Klim," Head Coach Jay Woodcroft said. "Obviously, the trade was made for (Dmitri) Samorukov and he went down to Bakersfield with a great attitude. He worked at his game in Bakersfield, and on that Florida trip when we lost Yamamoto and Kane, it provided an opportunity for him to come up."
"He didn't play initially. He played in that next game, so he missed the game against Carolina but he played the next game in Florida. Right off the bat, I noticed someone who was big and someone who went to the net. We've sat and talked with him just about the opportunity that's before him, and for him, I think if he plays a simple, straightforward, physical type of game, it's something that we need."

Kostin was a late first-round selection of the St. Louis Blues at the 2017 NHL Draft and has played in North America over the last six seasons apart from the COVID-challenged season of 2020-21 when he played for Avangard Omsk in the KHL.
The winger downplayed to the Edmonton media his own English-speaking ability that developed over watching his favourite Russian shows dubbed in English after originally being able to say only a few lines on his arrival to North America.
"When I got here, I wanted to say, 'Hey, my name is Klim and I'm hungry.' That's all I knew," he said.
"I don't know. Just like watching movies, talking with the guys, trying to speak somehow. I never had a teacher or something like that."
But he doesn't struggle to get his message across on the ice, as he did after adding a goal, assist, and getting in a scrap with former Oiler Zack Kassian in an exchange of fists late in Wednesday's win.
"Size is never a problem. You just need to have, like, character. Six-foot-three or five-foot-seven, it doesn't (matter)."
The word to describe the feeling eluded him until helped by the Edmonton media, who characterized his ability to speak English as quite strong.
"Courage?" said a media member.
"I don't know. What is it?" he replied.
"Bravery," said another.
"Oh, yeah. Bravery."

Scoring in front of the Oilers home fans for the first time on Wednesday with a pin-point snipe over the shoulder of Coyotes netminder Connor Ingram was an 'unbelievable' feeling for Kostin, who's quickly becoming one of the favourites of Oil Country with his personality and play. He keeps it light in the locker room, even extending it outwards to the visiting team like he did on Monday when fellow Russian Alexander Ovechkin and the Capitals were in town.
"No, I asked him the first time (for a stick) last game when we played against Washington. It was my first time," he said, "I have an (Ilya) Kovalchuk stick, a (Pavel) Datsyuk stick, so I have everyone. I only missed that Ovi stick in my collection."
"He gave me one, but I'm really worried that someone will grab it -- probably Holloway," he added.
Dylan Holloway was positioned behind Kostin media scrum in the locker room of the Downtown Community Arena being used for interviews on Thursday afternoon, shaking his head with a noticeable smile.

Kostin's become a loveable member of the team, handing out hugs during practice and keeping things light with a few stick-knob microphone extensions into teammates' media availabilities over the last month. On the ice, Kostin trades his likeability for a hard-nosed game that's going to benefit the Oilers in the long run in the same way his light-hearted persona lights up the locker room.
"Yeah, he's a pretty good character, as you guys can probably tell," Holloway said in his following interview with Kostin lurking in the background. "He's pretty fun. But yeah, he's obviously a great player and big body. Gets a lot of energy for us on the ice and then brings a lot of energy off the ice, too."