Russian captain chucks helmet, swears at crowd after loss to USA
Was it as legendary as tossing a perfectly good (and not to mention innocent) silver medal into the stands after losing a close game against Canada? Probably not.
If we’re being honest, that stunt by Sweden’s Lias Andersson following his side’s defeat at the world juniors in Buffalo last year is one that’s tough to top. However, if Russia’s captain Klim Kostin would have received some hardware following his squad’s 2-1 loss at the hands of the Americans in the semifinals of 2019 tourney on Friday, he would have likely pitched it much further into the crowd.
(What can I say? He looks like a pretty strong dude).
As is par for the course following elimination games at the world juniors, the team that is punted from the tourney has their top three players named. Surprisingly, most of these individuals usually aren’t too thrilled about their selection in the immediate moments following one of the most heartbreaking losses of their young lives.
After his name was called on Friday, Kostin made absolutely no effort to hide his emotions and told the crowd exactly how he felt about their jeering.
There are so many small, petty things that happen here in so little time. Let’s review, shall we?
The 2017 first-round pick of the St. Louis Blues fired his helmet across the ice as he skated forward to accept his watch. He then quickly gave it to a member of his training staff on the bench.
(Get real. There’s no way he’s tossing a Tissot into the stands. He’s a little angry, not insane.) Next, he decided to not look at the camera for the photo.
And then, to wrap it all up in style, he shared some words with the crowd that was giving him and his team a bit of a hard time.
All in all, that’s a pretty good attempt to dethrone the aforementioned Lias Andersson of Sweden.
In all seriousness, though, we get it.
You’re disappointed that you no longer have a chance to leave the tournament with gold around your neck. On a large international stage such as this, and for mere teenagers in the heat of competition, it’s understandable.
It’s just too bad no one in the crowd got a free medal out of it this time around.
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