Andrei Kostitsyn - International Play

International Play

Kostitsyn represented Belarus extensively at the under-18 and -20 levels. He first played internationally at the 2000 World U18 Championships as a fifteen-year-old, but Belarus would struggle in the top division, finishing last. The next year, Kostitsyn competed with Belarus' under-20 team in the 2001 World Junior Championships' top division. Later that year, having been relegated for the 2001 World U18 Championships, Kostitsyn returned to record a tournament leading 14 points in five games within the second-tier to win the Division I championship.

Kostitsyn made his second under-20 appearance at the 2002 World Junior Championships and scored 3 goals to help Belarus stay in the top division. Later that year, Kostitsyn returned to the top division at the 2002 World U18 Championships, recording 10 points in 8 games and helping lead Belarus to a fifth place finish. Competing in his third under-20 tournament at the 2003 World Junior Championships, Kostitsyn recorded two goals and one assist, but was relegated with Belarus to Division-I for 2004. Playing in the second-tier, he notched five goals and ten points in five games to help Belarus return to the top division in 2005, where he scored five points in his fifth and final World Juniors.

In 2004, Kostitsyn had also made his senior international debut as a nineteen-year-old at the World Championships in Division-I. He scored six points in five games. The following year in 2005, however, he did not record a point in six games playing in the top division. Following his rookie season in the American Hockey League (AHL) in 2006, he played in his third consecutive World Championships and recorded five points in six games. At the 2008 World Championships, Kostitsyn managed three points in five games.

On December 23, 2009, Kostitsyn was selected along with his younger brother Sergei, Mikhail Grabovski and Ruslan Salei as the only four current NHL players to represent Belarus in the 2010 Olympics.