Andrei Kostitsyn

Andrei Olegovich Kostitsyn (Belarusian: Андрэй Алегавiч Касціцын; Russian: Андрей Олегович Костицын; born 3 February 1985) is a former Belarusian professional ice hockey forward.

The media have nicknamed him "AK-46", a play on his initials (AK) and player number (46) in reference to the Soviet AK-47 rifle. He and his younger brother Sergei played together on the Montreal Canadiens and Nashville Predators.

Beginning in 2000–01, Kostitsyn spent the first two seasons of his early career with Polimir Novopolotsk, competing in several leagues, including the Eastern European Hockey League (EEHL). In the summer of 2002, he signed with CSKA Moscow and moved to Russia. He split his time with the organization between CSKA 2 of Russia's developmental league, and also continued to play in the Belarusian league with Yunost Minsk.

After his first season with CSKA, he was selected by the Montreal Canadiens in the first round, tenth overall, of the 2003 NHL entry draft. Kostitsyn drew favourable scouting reports from his strong showing at the 2003 World U-18 Championships and was expected to be taken even higher in the draft; it is speculated that health concerns with his back caused teams to pass him over.

In the summer of 2004, he was invited to the Canadiens' training camp and signed a three-year deal with the club. He was subsequently assigned to the Canadiens' American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Hamilton Bulldogs, for the 2004–05 season. He scored his first goal with Hamilton in his first game, on 15 October 2004,^{[citation needed]} and finished the season with 23 points in 66 games.

Midway through the 2005–06 season, he was called up by the Canadiens and played his first National Hockey League (NHL) game on 1 December 2005, but was limited to just one shift in a 3–2 overtime loss to the Buffalo Sabres. He was called up again later in December and scored his first career NHL goal on 13 December against Curtis Joseph in a 5–2 win over the Phoenix Coyotes.

Kostitsyn had a breakout season in 2007–08, playing on the Canadiens' most productive line alongside Alexei Kovalev and Tomáš Plekanec. He amassed 53 points in 78 games and was joined by his younger brother Sergei, who had been called up from Hamilton, midway through the season. Entering the playoffs with the Canadiens as the first seed, Andrei and Sergei both scored in their NHL postseason debuts against the Boston Bruins less than two minutes apart. They also both finished with eight points each in 12 playoff games. However, the Canadiens were defeated by the Philadelphia Flyers in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. On 1 July 2008, he signed a three-year extension worth an annual salary of $3.25 million with the Canadiens.

Several games into the 2008–09 season, he suffered a concussion when he was checked into the boards by Kurt Sauer of the Phoenix Coyotes. Kostitsyn laid on the ice for several minutes before needing to be helped off the ice. He returned to the team after missing two games. In December 2008, he missed another two games due to a minor leg injury, then returned to notch his first career NHL hat-trick on 27 December, in a 3–2 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins.