Miami University’s Riley Barber headlines a list of Caps prospects at the NCAA Tournament (Photo credit: Rachel Lewis / Triple Deke Photography)

Washington Capitals prospects have been no strangers to the NCAA hockey tournament recently. A year ago, four of them (including then-UFA Cameron Schilling) made it to regionals. This year’s tournament includes six Caps prospects.

Regionals will be held in Toledo, OH; Providence, RI; Grand Rapids, MI; and Manchester, NH. The winners of the tournaments will face each other in Pittsburgh on April 11-13.

Grab yourself a bracket and let’s learn about our competing Caps prospects.

Riley Barber, RW, Miami University

Strong and skilled, Barber has made a statement in his freshman year. One of the biggest surprises for the Caps organization this year, Barber has built tremendous chemistry with fellow Michigander Austin Czarnik on the RedHawk’s first line.

Barber is among an impressive group of players who have won CCHA Rookie of the Year honors. He is the last name on a list that starts with George McPhee and includes Max Pacioretty, Brendan Morrison, and Rod Brind’Amour.

The RedHawks will face Minnesota State at 5 PM Eastern on Saturday.

Patrick Wey, D, Boston College

The big, rugged, stay-at-home defenseman Wey contributes to his team more than his statline suggests. As Wey completes his NCAA career, he has a chance to win his third national tournament. The Pittsburgh native usually plays on the right side of the Eagles’ first pairing, next to Teddy Doherty.

Wey’s outstanding defensive play this spring earned him Hockey East’s Defensive Defenseman of the Year title.

The Eagles start their road to the NCAA title on Saturday at 9 PM against Union.

Thomas DiPauli, RW, University of Notre Dame

DiPauli has been eased into NCAA action by the Notre Dame coaching staff. As the end of the season neared, DiPauli’s role increased and his production improved dramatically. A two-way forward, the Italy native has a chance to make a name for himself in the tournament. Thomas’ older brother, Theo, is playing for Union. They could play one another in the Frozen Four.

Notre Dame will begin the tournament at 1:30 PM ET on Saturday.

Travis Boyd, C, University of Minnesota

Boyd has mostly been a bottom-6 player on a stacked Gophers squad. It’s difficult to get more than that when Erik Haula and Nick Bjugstad are ahead of you on the depth chart. Boyd is a solid penalty killer and plays a balanced, two-way game.

The Gophers will face Yale on Friday at 2 PM.

Austin Wuthrich, RW/LW, University of Notre Dame

Just like DiPauli, Wuthrich has been up and down the lineup all season. Wuthrich had a tough second half and missed a considerable amount of time due to a head injury. Wuthrich was back on the Fighting Irish’s first line again during the CCHA Tournament, where he scored the tournament-winning goal and was named to the All-Star Team.

Greg Burke, RW/LW, University of New Hampshire

Burke is not expected to play this weekend due to a concussion. His NCAA career has been injury-filled: during four seasons with the Wildcats, Burke has been limited to 97 games. When he is healthy, however, he is an important player for his team.

UNH will battle Denver on Friday at 8 PM.

All games will be on ESPN3 in the US and ESPN Player outside North America . Most will also be available on ESPNU.

Riley Barber attacks Buckeyes’ goal. (Miami University Athletics).

Caps sixth-round draft pick Riley Barber has continued the same strong play that earned him a spot on the 2013 USA WJC team. As part of Miami (OH) University, Barber beat intrastate rival Ohio State, securing victory in the CCHA regular season. In the last game of the season, Barber scored a goal and assisted another, endangering the Buckeyes’ net each time he and linemates Austin Czarnik and Curtis McKenzie hit the ice.

Take a look at Barber’s highlights and stats after the jump.

Barber’s aggressiveness and hard skating wreaked havoc on the Ohio State defense. He leveled a few big hits, one of which, on Sam Jardin in the first period, was deemed illegal. I think it was a great play that wouldn’t have been called in the NHL.

Time Warner Sports video

But the biggest highlight of Barber’s night– if not his whole season– came in the second period. The Livonia-native took a drop pass from Czarnik, easily beat the defense, then deked the goaltender.

Time Warner Sports video

Winning the CCHA regular season is a big deal as the league will disband after this season. From the beginning of the 2013-14 season, Miami and Western Michigan will join newly-founded NCHC; Michigan, Michigan State, and Ohio State will play in the Big Ten’s new hockey program; Notre Dame will be moving to Hockey East; Alaska-Fairbanks, Bowling Green, Ferris State, Lake Superior, and Northern Michigan will join the WCHA.

Barber’s 15 goals and 36 got him on the NCAA leaderboards. He led his team in goals and points, was tied for seventh in goals, and fifth in points among drafted players. Among all freshmen, he tied for second in goals and led in points.

Redhawks celebrate the big win. Barber is the closest to the camera. (Miami University Athletics).

Photo credit: Ian iPad

Over the offseason the Hershey Bears saw several key veterans sign elsewhere, such as future AHL Hall of Famer Keith Aucoin, 2011-12 AHL leading scorer Chris Bourque, and fan-favorite enforcer Joel Rechlicz. The team also had to deal with a peculiar problem due to the lockout: two head coaches, Mark French and new Caps bench boss Adam Oates. Capitals general manager George McPhee mandated that Hershey learn Oates’ new system, so that the organization’s minor league players could be used to it by the time NHL games started being played. All this change has seen the team scuffle to a .500 record through 34 games this season (16-16-1-1).

But now things are starting to look up. Before it was announced that the lockout had been lifted, Hershey had been getting its best goaltending of the year from Braden Holtby, who was recently named AHL player of the month for December. Stan Galiev, who had been struggling with his transition from junior hockey, is starting to look more comfortable on the ice and more worthy of his #29 prospect ranking from Hockey Prospectus. The organization also has a surplus of quality goaltenders in the ECHL knocking at the door of the AHL: Philipp Grubauer and 2012 seventh-round pick Sergey Kostenko.

On Saturday, after the Bears’ 3-1 loss to the Binghamton Senators, I asked French if this is the best he’s seen Braden Holtby play, if the sky is the limit for Riley Barber, and if Caps fans should be worried about Galiev’s early season struggles.

My full Q&A with French is below the jump.

With the lockout ending, do you think there’ll be a lot of turnover on Hershey’s roster. Are you looking forward to getting a guy like Philipp Grubauer back on the team? 

It’ll be interesting. It’ll obviously create some roster instability. I think Phillip has displayed that he can play at the American League level. At the same time we’ll be losing a darn good goalie as well.

Is this the best you’ve seen Braden Holtby play?

Probably consistently. I can think of back-to-back games in Norfolk last year where he was unbelievable. But it’s probably the most consistent I’ve seen him play over a long period of time.

Stan Galiev has been shuttled up and down this year between Reading and Hershey. Even at the beginning of the year, he told RMNB he was still getting used to playing in a new system. Have you seen a big improvement from him lately? Tonight he had a pretty strong game.

I think his game, right before we went to break, was the best game we’ve seen him play. And tonight, I really liked the intensity he played with. He’s a skilled player, but when we sent him down our message to him was “you need to play more consistently with a higher compete level.” And we wanted him to go down and try to generate a little offensive confidence. I think his two most recent games we’re seeing some results.

Should Caps fans read into the fact that the 29th rated prospect in the NHL started off so slow? Is it going to take him a few years to develop? Did playing in the QMJHL hurt him?

I think it’s a pretty big jump [from the QMJHL]. It’s a change of the system. Certainly a big change in the game. The Q is a good league, but it’s very offensive, so now we’re asking him to pay a lot of attention to different details of the game. I think the problem you have with young guys is they start thinking too much, instead of reacting instinctively. Stan, you like that he’s trying to do these things, but it probably takes away from his game. I think his game is beginning to be a little bit more defined of what he’s going to be as a pro.

How has implementing Adam Oates’ system been going? And if the NHL season starts in a few weeks, what should Caps fans expect?

Some of our success as of late… I think it takes time to implement a new system. Like I talked about with Stan, guys are trying to understand this new system, but they’re not reacting to it. We’re getting to the point where guys know it now, they know what they need to do. So I think it takes some time. I think the NHL player can maybe make the jump a little bit quicker. You know, it’s a proven system. New Jersey used it last year and went a long ways. I think there’s some really good parts. I think it’ll play really well into some of the Capitals more skilled players for sure.

What kind of upside do you see with Cameron Schilling and Mattias Sjogren? Over the next year or two, are they going to be knocking on the door at the NHL level?

Let’s start with Sjogren. We’ve seen an improvement in his game. I think he’s a checking forward. He’s a big body guy. With our team he’s been put in a checking role, and that’s where I think he transitions to at the NHL level. I think he’s more comfortable playing the North American game. With Schilling, he can skate at the NHL level right now. He’s got a real good work ethic and compete level about him. I think he’s just got to mature a little bit. He’s benefiting from his time down here and I can certainly see him as a guy that transitions to the NHL at some point.

Team USA won the World Junior Championships on Saturday. I’m not sure if you can get a guy like Riley Barber on the team this year. But what type of player do you think he is?

I’m like everybody. He kinda jumped out at me during the World Juniors. I think he’s probably going to stay in college a few more years to develop but he’s certainly a guy who can play with pace and got some real good skill to him.

Do you think Barber could grow up to be a Top 6 guy?

I’d have to see him play a little bit more but I was certainly encouraged by what I saw at the World Juniors.

Last question. When I went to Development Camp I got a lot of good reports about goaltending prospect Sergey Kostenko… about how well he played even with a bum shoulder. He told RMNB that he could barely hold his goalie stick before he got surgery. I don’t know how much tape you’ve seen of him– he recently got his first win, but are you guys excited about him as a player?

I think it was good to get him over to North America. I think with Reading especially, if there’s an NHL season, with Philipp getting moved up to the AHL, he jumps into a situation where he’s playing more. Like you, I was pleasantly surprised by what I saw at Development Camp and I certainly — from what Dave Prior and Olie believe — I think he might be a good diamond in the rough.

Riley Barber is in the second row, directly to the left of the cup. (Photo credit: Andre Ringuette/HHOF-IIHF Images)

Washington Capitals prospect Riley Barber and Team USA upset Filip Forsberg and Christian Djoos of the defending champion Team Sweden 3-1 on Saturday to win the 2013 World Junior Championships. This is the first time that the USA has won the tournament since 2010, when some guy named John Carlson scored in sudden-death overtime.

Team USA was led in the title game by John Gibson, named best goalie of the tournament with a .955 save percentage, and Rocco Grimaldi, who scored two goals. Former Caps defenseman Phil Housley, in his first year coaching Team USA, was the victorious head coach. Assistant Grant Potulny, who scored 19 goals in 50 games during the 2007-08 season for the Hershey Bears, also won gold as an assistant coach.

Highlights are below.

None of the three Caps prospects who played in the game figured into the score sheet. Forsberg, the Caps talented 2012 first-round pick, was named to the tournament’s all-star team and finished the World Junior Championships with three goals and two assists. Djoos finished the tournament with three assists; Barber had six points (3 goals, 3 assists).

Via @romao83, since 2006, the Capitals have had a prospect on each WJC-winning team.

2006 – Sasha Pokulok, Team Canada
2007 – Karl Alzner, Team Canada
2008 – Karl Alzner (captain), Team Canada
2009 – Stefan Della-Rovere, Team Canada
2010 – John Carlson, Team USA
2011 – Evgeny Kuznetsov and Dmitry Orlov, Team Russia
2012 – Filip Forsberg, Team Sweden
2013 – Riley Barber, Team USA

Congrats, Riley!

Unbelievable ……. Gold sure tastes good #USAWJChampions

— Riley Barber (@rileybarber94) January 5, 2013

Additional Photos

Barber shoots. (Photo credit: Richard Wolowicz)

Barber almost scores. (Photo credit: Andre Ringuette)

Barber, all the way to the left, poses with his teammates and the American flag. (Photo credit: aftonbladet.se)

The Swedes: sad. (Photo credit: aftonbladet.se)

Barber, right, with his gold medal. (Photo credit: @rileybarber94)

Housley and Potulny pose with the cup. (Photo credit: @Potulny)

Team USA sings the national anthem.

On Saturday morning, Filip Forsberg and Team Sweden will face off against Riley Barber and Team USA in the World Junior Championships. In the photo above, taken by Grantland’s Katie Baker, you see Forsberg (second from right) and his teammates holding up a newspaper reading, “No More Miracles For You.”

We’ll see about that. Not to be partisan, but I’m firmly on #teamusa come Saturday morning at 8 am. Sweden’s great and everything– with their fish and chefs and Jens Lekman, but it’s USA’s game to lose.

Riley Barber scores his second goal of the game. (Photo credit: Andre Ringuette/HHOF-IIHF Images).

At 4am EST Wednesday morning, on the other side of the globe, the United States junior national team blew out the Czech Republic, 7-0. Caps prospect Riley Barber had his second big game of the tournament, this time scoring two goals after being held off the scoreboard for the previous three.

Video of his goals are below.

Barber’s goals are at 2:18 and 3:00 marks.

In the second period with Team USA already up 3-0, Barber scored both of his goals three and a half minutes apart. First, he used a perfect pass from Alex Galchenyuk to one-time the puck into a half-open net. Next, towards the end of a penalty kill on his very next shift, Barber poke-checked the puck away from Czech defenseman David Musil at the blue line, then raced in alone on a breakaway. After a deke, Czech goalie Matej Machovski fell over, giving Barber the layup. It pushed Team USA to a 5-0 advantage. The goal did not count as a shorty because the penalty expired first.

Team USA also got goals from Johnny Gaudreau (hat trick), Ryan Hartman, and JT Miller.

Barber, who led Team USA with five shots, could have easily had four goals. In the first period, he had a yawning net, but Czech forward Tomas Hertl blocked his shot with his body.

Photo credit: Andre Ringuette/HHOF-IIHF Images

In the third period, Barber and his teammates had a three-on-one, but Machovski made a big stop on the Miami University freshman.

Team USA will play against Canada in a semifinal Thursday at 4AM. In the other semifinal game, Russia will play defending champion Sweden (featuring Caps prospects Filip Forsberg and Christian Djoos) at 8AM. Both games will be on the NHL Network.

Wake up early. These games will be worth watching.

Riley Barber celebrates Sean Kuraly’s goal. (Photo credit: Andre Ringuette/HHOF-IIHF Images).

Caps prospect Riley Barber has been one of the biggest surprises of college hockey this year and on Thursday, the 2012 sixth-round draft pick scored a goal and added two assists in his first career WJC game for the United States, an 8-0 rout of Germany.

Video of his big day is below!

Barber’s assists are at the beginning of the video and at the 1:13 mark. His goal is at 1:50.

Just nineteen seconds into the game, Barber, who played on a line with his Miami University teammate Sean Kuraly and America’s best young player, Alex Galchenyuk, made an unselfish play and scored his first point, recording an assist on Kuraly’s goal.

Midway through the first period, Barber also assisted on Galchenyuk’s tally that put America up by three. Fourteen seconds after the second period started, Barber then scored his first goal to make it 4-0 – taking advantage of a sweet assist from Galchenyuk.

With three points in the game, Barber, who won the U-18 WJC with America last season, is now tied for the second place in tournament points, trailing only Canada star and 2011 number-one overall pick, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins.

GIF created by welshhockeyfan.

Riley Barber against Brandon Anselmini of Ferris State. (Photo credit: Rachel Lewis / Triple Deke Photography)

It’s easy to be overlooked when you’re a sixth-round pick in the NHL draft. From 2000 to 2011, only one in five sixth-round selections ever suited up for a NHL game. But for Washington Capitals prospect Riley Barber, being the underdog seems to work in his favor.

After missing a 45-man Evaluation Camp roster in August, Barber, on Monday, was named to the United States’ preliminary 27-man roster for the 2013 World Junior Championships.   These 27 players will meet in Tarrytown, New York on December 16-18th to determine who will represent the US in Ufa, Russia this year.

Barber, a first overall pick by the Dubuque Fighting Saints at the 2010 USHL Draft, made this giant leap in the depth chart by putting on a show playing for the third-ranked Miami University RedHawks of the CCHA this season. The 18-year-old right wing currently leads all freshmen in college hockey with 18 points in 14 games, also good for third amongst NCAA players drafted by NHL teams. Barber has been held off the scoresheet just twice in those fourteen contests.

RedHawks’ coach Enrico Blasi recently described Barber’s play to CollegeHockeyNews: “Riley has very good vision and anticipates plays well. He also has a pretty good touch around the net.”

Barber’s goal against Alaska is at 1:20.

The Capitals’ director of amateur scouting, Ross Mahoney, talked about Barber’s play to Hockey Prospect Radio on NHL radio: “We’re really happy with his play [so far this year],” he said. “Not only is he up there in the freshman scoring, he’s also up there in [overall]. Riley has gone off to a tremendous start.”

Mahoney also talked about Barber’s style of play and past achievements: “He’s very good from the top of the circles,” Mahoney said. “He’s got really good hands, and he’s very strong on the puck, and he has the ability to score. We’re happy with his development.”

Hosts Russ Cohen, also praised Barber’s play: “The one thing I’ve noticed is that he’s not afraid to shoot the puck,” Cohen said. “He’s really good on the power play, good in both ends. You’ve gotta like his skating and even when he plays in the system where he cycles the puck he does very well in that, too.”

Barber’s powerplay goal against Northern Michigan is a shining example of how valuable he can be with the man advantage:

Barber’s goal at the 0:43 mark.

In November, Barber talked to The Pipeline Show.

“It feels great,” said Barber about leading freshmen in points. “I can’t thank my coaches enough for giving me this opportunity. I worked really hard this summer to get in shape to be able to do this, so I’m really excited”.

Just like another Caps top college prospect, Patrick Wey, Riley Barber grew up in a Pittsburgh area. As a Penguins fan.

“It’s pretty ironic,” Barber said of his getting drafted by his favorite team’s rival. “My uncle loves the Penguins, has season tickets, he said ‘Please, don’t get drafted by Philly or Washington.’ I get drafted by Washington, and now he’s getting gear and coming down, hopefully, to watch a game one day. It changed my whole family’s favorite team to the Capitals.” Barber continued, “It’s pretty hard seeing the Penguins now, but I have so much Penguins gear from back when I was little, I don’t even think I can wear it around, [and I won't wear it at training camp] for sure.”

Gert, three weeks before his owner was selected by the Capitals. (Photo credit: Riley Barber’s twitter)

“My style of play is to work hard and make plays,” Barber said when asked how he describes himself as a player. “When you’re moving and hitting, you make a lot of stuff happen. That’s what I’m trying to do this year. Trying to be in the shape where I can just go hard for 45 seconds and buzz around and make stuff happen.”

Riley Barber (left) won gold with Team USA on U18 Worlds last year. (Photo credit: Jana Chytilova / IIHF)

Riley Barber (#11) to Alex Guptill of University of Michigan: “I must break you”. (Photo credit: Rachel Lewis via USCHO)

The teams shake hands following the game. (Photo credit: Chris Gordon)

As has become tradition, Kettler Capitals Iceplex was packed to capacity Saturday for the final scrimmage of the team’s Development Camp and annual Fanfest. On a mid-July morning, hundreds were jammed into the team’s practice facility to watch prospects and college and free-agent invitees duke it out for the last time. Fans also took advantage of autograph sessions with Caps prospects and new Capitals center/rapper Mike Ribeiro, who met the media for the first time yesterday.

As for the game itself, Team Red won in thrilling fashion, pulling out a 4-3 victory in overtime. After red pulled their goaltender, T.J. Syner scored in the final minute of the third period. In overtime, Max Iafrate set-up free-agent invitee Greg Miller for a slam-dunk one-timer in the slot. Stan Galiev and Riley Barber also scored for the red team. Daniel O’Donoghue, Taylor Stefishen, and David Vallorani tallied white’s three goals.

Below, check out my shots from the final day of camp.

Photos from Fanfest

Adam Oates addresses the crowd.

P.A. man Wes Johnson unleashes the fury.

Garrett Haar walks out of the locker room.

Sergei Kostenko warms up.

Ribeiro signs for a fan.

Caps great Ron Langway signs autographs.

Puck drop.

Galiev fires off a shot.

Filip Forsberg (right) fights for the puck.

Patrick Wey delivers a crushing check.

Red celebrates Galiev’s goal.

Red celebrates another goal, this time from Riley Barber.

O’Donoghue scores White’s first goal.

Caps GM George McPhee speaks to reporters during the first intermission.

Ribeiro talks to the media.

A t-shirt toss from the Red Rockers at Kettler.

Radio play-by-play man John Walton calls the game for a live video stream on the team’s website.

Red celebrates Syner’s late goal.

Miller wins it.

Tom Wilson and Galiev embrace.

Max Iafrate (right) after the win.

Haar smiles after the victory.

Coach Adam Oates laughs after calling Ribeiro a “rapper.”

Caps draft pick Thomas DiPauli.(Photo credit: Dave Sanford)

After trading their second round pick and Cody Eakin to the Dallas Stars in exchange for center Mike Riberio, Washington did not move any of their other ten picks in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft. In the first round, they acquired talented winger Filip Forsberg and rough-and-tumble power forward Tom Wilson; through the next six rounds, they would go on to acquire four US players, a Canadian player, a Swedish player, and a Russian.

Notably, the Caps selected three players from the U.S. developmental team, and one player recently of the U.S. developmental team. “I asked [the scouts] ‘What are we doing here?” said McPhee about this trend. “Are we drafting the whole team?’”

“We made a lot of picks today,” McPhee said of the second day overall. “I don’t know those kids very well. [...] It’s nice to sort of restock this year, and we’ll see how they are in a couple of years.”

Chandler Stephenson, 3rd Round, 77th Overall

With the 77th selection in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft, the Washington Capitals selected Chandler Stephenson of the Regina Pats. Stephenson is a center/left wing and is known as a creative, skilled forward. In two years with Regina, Stephenson has scored 29 goals and notched 61 points, including a 22-goal performance this year. Stephenson’s stat line is very similar to Cody Eakin’s in his two years in the WHL before the draft, however Stephenson has more than 10 pounds of weight over Eakin already. He is 5’10 and 192 lbs.

Thomas DiPauli, 4th Round, 100th Overall

With the 100th selection in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft, the Washington Capitals selected center Thomas DiPauli of the US developmental program. In three years with US developmental program, DiPauli has scored 21 goals and had 62 points. He is 5’11 and 188 lbs. “Best moment of my life,” DiPauli said of the draft. “Dream come true. It was incredible.”

Austin Wuthrich, 4th Round, 107th Overall

With the 107th selection in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft, the Washington Capitals selected Austin Wuthrich. Wuthrich is a right wing formerly of the US developmental program, now playing college hockey for Notre Dame. In 36 games with Notre Dame, Wuthrich scored 7 goals and had a total of 17 points. He is 6’1 and 190 lbs.

Connor Carrick, 5th Round, 137th Overall

With the 137th selection in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft, the Washington Capitals selected Connor Carrick of the U.S. developmental program. Carrick is a defenseman who is known for his skating and work ethic. In two years with U.S. developmental program, Carrick scored 8 goals and had 18 points. He is 5’11 and weighs 185 lbs. “Yeah, it’s got to make going to camp and things like that easier, to see familiar faces and such,” Carrick said of having his teammates drafted alongside him. “As far as the future, I hope we can all make the team, that would be great.”

Riley Barber, 6th Round, 167th Overall

Photo credit: Dubuque Fighting Saints’ flickr

With the 167th selection in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft, the Washington Capitals selected Riley Barber of the U.S. developmental program. Barber is a right wing and projects to be a skill player with good size. In two years in the USHL, Barber scored 34 goals and notched 63 points. He is 6’0 and 194 lbs. You can follow Barber on twitter at @rileybarber94.

Christian Djoos, 7th Round, 195th Overall

With the 195th selection in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft, the Washington Capitals selected Christian Djoos of the Swedish under-18 league. Djoos is a defenseman who projects to be a defensively responsible player with some offensive punch. In three years in Swedish junior leagues, Djoos has scored 23 goals and had 99 points overall. He is 5’11 and weighs 158 lbs.

Jaynen Rissling, 7th Round, 197th Overall

Photo credit: Brendan Miller

With the 197th selection in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft, the Washington Capitals selected Jaynen Rissling of the Calgary Hitmen. Rissling had 10 goals, 52 points, and 238 PIM with the Hitmen. His uncle, Gary Rissling, played for the Capitals from 1978-81, before being traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins. Rissling is 6’4 and 223 lbs.

Sergei Kostenko, 7th Round, 195th Overall

The Capitals picked their only Russian and their only goaltender of the draft with their last pick of the day, selecting Sergei Kostenko at 203rd overall. Kostenko is a goaltender playing for Kuznetskie Medvedi in the Russian junior league, and was the third-string goalie for the World Juniors tournament this year. He is also apparently friends with Dmitry Orlov.