Klim Kostin

The Blues' 2017 first-round pick (31st overall) continues to toil in the minors with no end in sight. The 20-year-old has generated 52 points and a minus-34 rating in 133 minor league games, and his knack for physicality has landed him 174 PIM in that span. Kostin clearly would like to elevate to the big club, especially after seeing fellow first-round pick Robert Thomas have so much success, but his game simply isn't ready to make the leap. The Russian center is likely two years out of a roster spot with the Blues, but the team needs to be careful of losing the youngster back to the KHL.

The top-ranked European player from the 2017 NHL Draft, Kostin had high expectations from the beginning. However, the 19-year-old was immediately placed in a difficult spot with AHL San Antonio -- a shared affiliate with Colorado. This meant the Blues' need to develop Kostin wasn't always fulfilled, and he was often placed in the bottom six, recording six goals, 28 points and 72 PIM in 57 games. The Blues will be San Antonio's only parent club in 2018-19, which will give Kostin the top-six minutes he needs to truly adjust to the North American game. When he gets there, the 6-foot-3, 212-pound center has the looks of a power forward with the ability to leverage his creativity to make plays on his own.

Kostin’s road to St. Louis was a bit of a strange one. The Penguins bizarrely dealt the final pick of the 2017 draft’s first round to the Blues for enforcer Ryan Reaves, and that pick was promptly used on Kostin -- then under contract with HC Dynamo Moscow of the WHL. The Russian club proceeded to change ownership and release all the players on its roster, allowing Kostin to sign his entry-level deal with the Blues in July. The 18-year-old forward was the highest-rated European skater in the 2017 draft, yet worries about his WHL contract and a lingering shoulder injury caused him to fall to the end of the first round. Kostin has shown well in junior tournaments, and his pro experience will do him some good, but the Blues have a strong forward corps already, so there’s no need to rush him into the lineup and possibly stunt his growth. He’s expressed a strong preference to avoid playing in Canadian juniors (WHL Kootenay holds his rights), so an AHL role may be on tap for most of 2017-18. Keeper-league owners should take notice of his progress as the season progresses.