Rus: Dmitri Kosmachev Review

Dmitri Kosmachev - Columbus Blue Jackets

The 2003-04 season was not disastrous for Kosmachev, but so much more was expected from the talented blue liner that his mediocre performance fell well short of expectations.

Prior to the 2003 NHL Entry Draft, the young blueliner was known as a defensive defenseman, who makes few mistakes in his own zone. During the 2003-04 season, Kosmachev did not appear to fit that image any longer, failing to significantly develop his skills and not playing as smart as he has in the past. A big defenseman, he did not effectively use his frame in physical battles.

The reasons for such a turn of events are unclear, but additional pressure from above may have had something to do with it, as the club’s aim was no longer to survive in the Super League, but to actually make the playoffs. Besides decision making, skating is another area where Kosmachev needs to further improve in order to keep his development on track. It was mostly sufficient to keep him in the play, but at times he struggled to recover from positional mistakes or get back into his own zone quickly in one-on-one situations.

CSKA’s new young defenseman during the 2003-04 season was ’86 born Kirill Lyamin and while about the same size as Kosmachev, Lyamin’s decision making was significantly better than Kosmachev’s.

After being given a chance to recover from his mediocre play during the first several months of the season, a mistake filled game against Nizhnekamsk’s Neftkhimik resulted in Kosmachev being sent down to CSKA’s junior farm club, where he spent most of December and January.

The young defenseman made his February return to CSKA not because he significantly improve in the juniors, but because the club’s blue line suffered a lot of injuries and the management had hardly anyone else to turn to.

Despite his struggles, Kosmachev was still one of the best ’85 born Russian defensemen, so accordingly he was called up to represent Russia at the U20 World Junior Championships, where he was reunited with his old defensive partner Denis Ezhov (Buffalo Sabres). The two players were the youngest defensemen on the mostly ‘84 born roster. Accordingly, they skated the entire tournament on the squad’s third defensive pairing, delivering a solid, though unspectacular performance.

With CSKA now under a new head coach, he should get another chance to get his game back on track, but the 2004-05 season will be critical in Kosmachev’s development.

article courtesy Evgeny Belashchenko and RussianProspects.com