Sergei Kostitsyn Sergei Kostitsyn ( born March 20 , 1987 in Navapolatsk , Byelorussian SSR , Soviet Union ) is a Belarus ian professional ice hockey winger currently playing for the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League ( NHL ) along with his older brother , Andrei . Playing career . Junior hockey . Like his older brother , Sergei excelled in the Belarusian junior hockey program . Sergei was one of the leading scorers for HK Gomel in Belarus and was drafted in the Canadian Hockey League ( CHL ) Import Draft by the Ontario Hockey League ( OHL ) ' s London Knights . Sergei was also drafted in the seventh round , 200th overall in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft by the Montreal Canadiens , the team that also had drafted Andrei in the first round ( 10th overall ) in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft . Kostitsyn moved to North America in 2005 – 06 to play with the Knights and recorded 26 goals , 52 assists and 78 points , leading all OHL rookies in scoring during the 2005 – 06 season . The 19 - year - old was the second runner - up for the Emms Family Award , as OHL Rookie of the Year , behind Logan Couture of the Ottawa 67 ' s and 15 - year - old winner John Tavares of the Oshawa Generals . Sergei was instrumental in the London Knights ' 2006 playoff run , which saw them lose to the Peterborough Petes in the OHL final . In his first ever OHL playoff game against the Sault Ste . Marie Greyhounds , Sergei had 6 points , a goal and 5 assists , in a 6 – 1 London win . In the semi - finals , Kostitsyn scored the series - clinching goal against the Guelph Storm , a power - play goal in the first overtime of game five . In addition to being named team rookie of the year , the Knights named him the playoff performer of the year , finishing the post - season with 37 points in 19 games . Joining the Montreal Canadiens ' 2006 – 07 training camp , Kostitsyn was returned to London for a second OHL season . He was placed on a line with young superstars Patrick Kane and Sam Gagner and was named an alternate captain . Kostitsyn finished third in OHL and CHL scoring behind teammate Patrick Kane and Oshawa ' s John Tavares , tallying 40 goals and 131 points in only 59 games . His 91 assists led the CHL and broke the London Knights franchise record of 89 set in 1972 – 73 by Dennis Ververgaert . Montreal Canadiens . On May 1 , 2007 , Kostitsyn was signed to an amateur tryout contract with the Canadiens ' American Hockey League ( AHL ) affiliate , the Hamilton Bulldogs , to assist the team in its Calder Cup - winning playoff run . However , after not being inserted in the lineup , he returned home to Belarus to see his family . On May 26 , Kostitsyn signed with the Montreal Canadiens to a 3 - year , entry - level contract . Kostitsyn began the 2007 – 08 season with the Bulldogs . On December 12 , 2007 , while leading the Bulldogs in scoring , Kostitsyn was called up by the Montreal Canadiens . He played his first career NHL game against the Philadelphia Flyers on December 13 and played on the top - line with captain Saku Koivu and Christopher Higgins . Sergei recorded his first career NHL point , an assist , in the next game , a 4 - 1 win against the Toronto Maple Leafs on December 15 . Five days later , in his fourth game on December 20 , Sergei scored his first career NHL goal , a power - play marker in a 5 - 2 win against the Washington Capitals . He finished his rookie season with 27 points in 51 games and added 8 points in 12 playoff games . The following season , Kostitsyn was reassigned to Hamilton on February 19 , 2009 . After earning 14 points in 16 games while in the AHL , he was called back up a little over a month later on March 22 . International play . As a junior , Kostitsyn has participated in four World Under - 17 tournaments , three World Junior Under - 18 Championships , and two World Junior Championships , one of which was with his brother Andrei . In the 2006 World Junior Championships , he was named tournament MVP of the B - pool , leading Belarus to a promotion to the top - tier . Playing in pool - A in 2007 , he scored a goal and two assists in the first game of the tournament , a 4 - 3 upset victory against Finland . He finished the tournament with 5 points in 6 games . After his rookie season with the Montreal Canadiens , Kostitsyn competed in the 2008 World Championships with Belarus . He played in four games , recording one assist . Off the ice . In February 2009 , La Presse reported that Sergei , along with his brother Andrei and defenceman Roman Hamrlík , had links with Pasquale Mangiola , a member of an organized crime group , who was arrested as part of " Operation Axe " during the month and charged with firearms and drugs offense . According to [ ESPN , the NHL will send security officials to investigate the links between the players and Mangiola , though La Presse also reported that the three players were not involved in any criminal activities and no investigation against them is planned .