KOSICE – Andrei Kostitsyn will join the Belarusian national team at the 2011 IIHF World Championship. The forward lost the series with the Montreal Canadiens against the Boston Bruins in Game 7 on Wednesday.

It was agreed that he will join the team “shortly”. He is expected to play his first game either on Friday against Canada or on Sunday against Switzerland. The third opponent in Group B in Kosice will be France.

Kostitsyn will be the second NHL player on the roster after Mikhail Grabovski. The Toronto forward has already appeared in two exhibition games leading up to the World Championship.