Alex St. Peters
Web Editor/Writer
astpeters@lc.edu
The future’s looking bright for the St. Louis Blues’ young prospects Jordan Kyrou, Robert Thomas, and Klim Kostin. All three of them played outstandingly at this year’s World Juniors Championship (WJC). Their play was not something of a fluke, either, because all of them are lighting up the scoresheet in their respective leagues. Jordan Kyrou and Robert Thomas both play in Canada’s Ontario Hockey League (OHL) and both are some of the leagues top scorers. As of Jan 12, Jordan Kyrou of the Sarnia Sting is ranked third in points with 60 points (19G 31A) in 31 games. Kyrou is only six points behind the league leader Morgan Frost of the Sault Ste.Marie Greyhounds 66 points (24G 42A), but Kyrou has nine less games than Frost due to missing time from playing in the WJC tournament. Robert Thomas of the Hamilton Bulldogs is ranked eleventh in points with 46 (20G 26A) in 27 games. Thomas was just recently traded to the Hamilton Bulldogs from the London Knights in a transaction that happened after Thomas won gold with Team Canada at the WJC tournament. Klim Kostin is currently playing for the St. Louis Blues American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate the San Antonio Rampage. Kostin is ranked third in points among rookie players on the team with 11 points (2G 9A) in 29 games.
At the WJC tournament this year, the three of them finished as some of the top scorers on their teams and the whole tournament. Kyrou and Thomas both played for team Canada, whereas Kostin played for Team Russia. Kyrou led in scoring for Team Canada with 8 points (3G 5A) in six games. Thomas finished tied for third on his team with 6 points (1G 5A) in six games. Kostin led Team Russia with 7 points (3G 4A) in five games. Among all players in the tournament, Kyrou finished tied for third, Kostin tied for fourth, and Thomas tied for fifth in scoring. Even though all three of them played well only Kyrou and Thomas will be bringing a medal home. Canada beat Sweden in the championship game for the gold, but Russia was outed by USA in the quarterfinal game.
Not only did Robert Thomas and Jordan Kyrou win Gold, but they also were some of Team Canada's top performers. https://t.co/rENr5eEKD9 #stlblues #WorldJuniors ?
— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) January 6, 2018
Kyrou, Thomas, and Kostin impressive play in the tournament didn’t go unnoticed by hockey fans all around the world. They were some of the key players on their teams. They not only were able to score goals, they made the players around them better with their great playmaking ability and hockey sense.
Two of Kyrou’s three goals would’ve made it on the top 10 of the tournament.
.@StLouisBlues prospect & @StingHockey forward Jordan Kyrou shows off some nice patience and goes shelf for ??@HC_WJC ??'s 5th goal of the game!
?#WorldJuniors ?? #AllTogetherNowSTL pic.twitter.com/B8VyYV9EWI
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) January 5, 2018
Thomas made some amazing puck movement and was always where he needed to be to make the play.
Robert Thomas makes it 1-0 for Canada off a pass from Taylor Raddysh #WorldJuniors pic.twitter.com/b5Zxw8MPVY
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) December 31, 2017
Kostin was a powerhouse when it came to moving the puck and he terrorized goalies with his blistering shot.
Гол в исполнении Клима Костина ?#BLRRUS #U20 pic.twitter.com/c5RdVYF5Dj
— Хоккей России (@russiahockey) December 29, 2017
It’s going to be interesting to see how the Blues will use these players in the near future. Whether it be making the team next year or calling one of them up towards to the end of the season to help with a playoff run. These players are going to have a bright future in the NHL it’s just a matter of time until they get their chance to shine.