By Brian Coe
He’s known around these parts as ‘Mr. Penguin,’ and rightfully so.
Tom Kostopoulos has appeared in more games (478), scored more goals (138), put up more assists (206) and recorded more points (344) than anyone to ever pull on a Pens sweater.
The 204th overall pick in the 1999 NHL Entry Draft, Kostopoulos spent parts of his first five seasons in Wilkes-Barre, while also appearing in 79 games with the Pittsburgh Penguins. During his first stint with Wilkes-Barre, he recorded 286 points (97+179) in 318 games, appeared in an AHL All-Star Game, led the Pens to the Calder Cup Finals twice, and endeared himself to hockey fans in the area thanks to a blue collar work ethic matched by none.
But for one season, hockey fans in Northeast Pennsylvania had to refrain from cheering for their beloved captain, and pull against the popular Penguin.
Following the 2003-04 campaign, which saw the Pens fall to the Milwaukee Admirals in the championship round, Kostopoulos signed a one-way NHL deal with the Los Angeles Kings. He figured to compete for a full-time spot with the Kings in 2004-05, but labor unrest between the league and players’ association wiped out the entire NHL season.
But instead of sitting on his comfy contract and waiting for the lockout to come to an end, Kostopoulos asked the Kings if he could stay in game shape by suiting up for their minor league affiliate - the Manchester Monarchs.
“I wouldn’t call myself a legitimate NHL player then,” Kostopoulos said after practice on Monday. “I was kind of in between [the NHL and AHL]. I didn’t want to be off the ice for that long.”
His short stay in New Hampshire proved to be a successful one - not only for Kostopoulos, but for the Monarchs as well. With a team packed full of NHL talent, Manchester roared to a 51-21-4-4 mark, good for 110 points, just two fewer than the total recorded by the regular season champion Rochester Americans.
“I think we started the season 22-2 or something like that. We had a lot of talent, a lot of guys who should have been in the NHL if there was no lockout,” Kostopoulos said.
Individually, Kostopoulos had a career year, recording 71 points (25+46) in 64 regular season games. He ranked second on the team in assists and third in goals and points.
“We had two lines that were kind of competing with each other to be the top line,” he stated. “It was fun, every night we would push each other. I played with Yanick Lehoux and Noah Clarke, they were great players. We were pushing against (Mike) Cammalleri, (Dustin) Brown and Brad Smyth. So it was two fun lines.”
The Monarchs entered the Calder Cup Playoffs as the top seed in the Eastern Conference, but came up against a tough Providence Bruins team that featured a hot goaltender in Hannu Toivonen. The Bruins pulled the first round upset over Manchester, 4-2, and Kostopoulos’ stay in New Hampshire came to an end. But he has fond memories of his time in the granite state even to this day.
“My wife liked it, I liked it. We got our dog [Charlie, a yellow lab] from there,” he said.
The Penguins face the Manchester Monarchs in the second round of the Calder Cup Playoffs. The series starts on the road in Manchester on Wednesday, May 6 and Thursday, May 7, before moving to Wilkes-Barre for Games 3 and 4 on Saturday, May 9 and Monday, May 11. Game 5, if necessary, will take place in Wilkes-Barre on Tuesday, May 12.
Individual tickets for all home playoff games are on sale now and available at the Mohegan Sun Arena Box Office, by calling the Penguins at 570-208-7367, or online here.
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