Guess who’s back. Back again. Tom is back. Tell a friend.
That embarrassing lead aside, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins have re-signed forward and captain Tom Kostopolous to another one year contract. Retirement isn’t coming just yet.
Kostopolous led the WBS Penguins in scoring during the regular season, with 24 goals for 54 points in 74 games. He primarily played on the top line with Kevin Porter.
Even at the age of 38, Kostopolous feels he can continue that production.
“I think I can compete at this level, and I still enjoy it,” Kostopolous said. “I’m happy to re-sign and play for another year.”
As for the reason why he chose to come back? “I think the way [the season] ended was kind of disappointing,” Kostopolous said. “We had a great regular season, it’s something to finish first place with all the changes and movement on the team this year, and to go out [in the] the first round is kind of disappointing.”
“I kind of didn’t want to leave the game that way,” Kostopolous would add. He mentioned that the support from Pittsburgh management, his teammates and his family also gave reason for him to play for another year.
If you want to watch the full video where these quotes came from, check out the always magnificent WBS Penguins beat writer for the Times Leader, Tom Venesky, on twitter.
Lehigh Valley Phantoms reporter Tony Androckitis also reported that a player from the 2015-16 Phantoms team called Kostopolous the “Jagr of the AHL.” Perhaps not in skill, but the comparison is perhaps obvious in its reasoning.
Kostopolous is a leader, a mentor, and an icon that will forever be associated with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. And David Straub, WBS writer for Pensburgh, probably put it best:
I truly think now the only way TK will ever retire is when he gets WBS the Calder Cup.
— David Straub (@dps2002) May 8, 2017
Thanks for reading!
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
