Observations:

January 2017 – The young Russian has been swapped from the Sarnia Sting to the Peterborough Petes in an effort to enhance the offence on a team starved for wingers to take them to the next level in the quest for a Memorial Cup appearance. The Petes are on a white-hot streak of 10 straight wins. Korostelev will likely compliment Panther draft pick Jonathan Ang on a top scoring unit. This move is expected to produce a spike in production and lift his value as other fantasy managers take notice later in the season as happens in normal, team building based, fantasy circles. Unfortunately, he was not invited to play for his nation on the World Junior squad in his final year of eligibility, he might have made a difference in the pair of games vs the North American powerhouses who they are likely going to face again if they are going to continue forward. This is a disappointment for both general Leaf fans who could have been more exposed to him at Air Canada Center, but also fantasy managers that could have scouted him against other strong talents. Don’t let his late draft status push your eyes away from this talent. Jason Banks

September 2017 – Once again Korostelev is one of the noticeable players on the Leaf rookie squad. He is showing high end puck moving skills for the second year in a row while once again being paired with another flashy player in Martins Dzierkals who seems to be feeding off the quality dishes from the Russian. Korostelev’s production dipped last season in Sarnia, and is expected to return to the OHL for a fourth and final season, but the chemistry he is showing bodes well for pro hockey, and projects to have a place in the future as a strong compliment to talented players. Expectations can be tempered for a seventh rounder, but Korostelev could be one that breaks through and becomes a modest production player. Jason Banks

September 2015 – After a very visual and involved Rookie Tournament for the Leafs, the final round pick was sent back to the Sarnia Sting of the OHL where he will try and become a dominate scorer in the league and also work on his game off the puck. With all the offensive wingers currently in camp, it was a good decision to send the 18-year-old back right away as he will get more personalized training by his junior coaching staff. Jason Banks

June 2015 – The Toronto Maple Leafs selected sharp shooting winger Nikita Korostelev with the 185th pick of the 2015 NHL Entry Draft. Considered a potenital top 60 selection, Korostelev was one of the biggest fallers on draft day. Brendan Ross

June 2015 – Arriving from Russia four years ago to chase his NHL dreams, Nikita Korostelev honed his skills in the Toronto area during his minor hockey days eventually landing with the Sarnia Sting as their 9^th overall selection in 2013. He enters the draft as one of the biggest wildcards with some considering him a potential second round selection and others dropping him to the third round or later. Armed with one of the best shooting packages of the draft, Korostelev is a feared shooter with a deceptive release. He can be a bit sporadic in his accuracy but the majority of his shooting chances turn into goals. Korostelev is a shoot-first winger who will fire off a high volume of shots. He’s improved to become an average puck-handler but lacks the separation speed to truly be a threat one-on-one. The concerns surrounding Korostelev have always been his sluggish skating stride and in order to succeed at the next level, he will need to add some jump in his fist few strides. Korostelev has struggled to remain healthy since arriving in North America which adds to his wildcard status. He owns the shot, size and smarts to develop into a middle-six forward but he’s a bit of a project with his mobility. Korostelev scored 24 goals and 53 points in 55 games with the Sarnia Sting in 2014-15, adding another goal and three points in five playoff games. Brendan Ross

Fantasy Outlook: C+

Korostelev is a natural sniper who also contains excellent vision and puck moving skils. Needs to round out the back ground of his game to be effective as he moves to the pro game. 

Footage:

Nikita Korostelev scores a hat trick in Sarnia’s 9-2 win:

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