2024-2025 Blues Multi-Purpose Thread.

[PocketNines]

Kyrou needs to more consistently bury chances like the one last night and continue his recently adopted understanding that defense is part of winning. Consistency is the mantra and he has definitely not been that yet. He has a group of people geared up to give him the benefit of the doubt and immediately declare him good all along too.

He's a special, delicate player who just needed an incredible amount of salary, time and losing hockey games for it to begin to dawn on him. Slow learner, underwhelming finisher. Should have been a career Blackhawk.

 

[SirPaste]

I can easily. Maxim Lapierre

lol he was the first player that came to mind for me as well

Am I the only Kyrou fan left?

Nah there are plenty still out there, even if the detractors are always gonna be the loudest ones. I think Kyrou has easily been the Blues MVP so far this season.

 

[BrokenFace]

Am I the only Kyrou fan left?

Not by a long shot. He's got holes (frustrating ones) in his game like anyone but he looks like a consistent 70ish point producer, which is already worth his contract and will only look better as the cap increases. Not his fault we don't have a true #1 D and only 3 legit top 6 forwards, but he has a "big contract" so he'll take the fall for a team missing the playoffs.

Then again, I can't look into a player's soul and identify him as a cancer doomed to never improve or win a cup. Seems like an easy prediction to make being that most players never win a cup but, again, I don't have this ability.

 

[Xerloris]

Am I the only Kyrou fan left?

I love Kyrou and I have no issue with his skill or work ethic but his poor decision making worries me.

 

[Frenzy31]

I love Kyrou and I have no issue with his skill or work ethic but his poor decision making worries me.

His turnovers tend to be trying to do to much. I think now that Thomas is back, some of the weight have been lifted off his shoulders.

He was the only difference maker on the ice for the past few weeks. Buch has been pretty useless. Schenn scores on break aways, but that is it. I think he will look better going forward with regards to the turnovers.

 

[joe galiba]

TURNOVERS
Kyrou 24 total, 5 d-zone, 416 minutes TOI
Buch 27 , 9 , 434
Schenn 21 , 11 , 413
Holly 19 , 5 , 351
Jakey 16 , 6 , 381
Bolduc 13 , 4 , 198
Saad 13 , 2 , 308
Thomas 13 , 4 , 228


so it doesn't appear to me that Kyrou turns the puck over more than anyone else, very similar rate to Thomas but with fewer d-zone turnovers

also, you can tell the players that carry the puck will have more turnovers vs those that dump and chase the puck

 

[Linkens Mastery]

TURNOVERS
Kyrou 24 total, 5 d-zone, 416 minutes TOI
Buch 27 , 9 , 434
Schenn 21 , 11 , 413
Holly 19 , 5 , 351
Jakey 16 , 6 , 381
Bolduc 13 , 4 , 198
Saad 13 , 2 , 308
Thomas 13 , 4 , 228


so it doesn't appear to me that Kyrou turns the puck over more than anyone else, very similar rate to Thomas but with fewer d-zone turnovers

also, you can tell the players that carry the puck will have more turnovers vs those that dump and chase the puck

My issues with his turnovers is less the amount it's the quality. Tho since his bad turn over a week or 2 ago he's been better.

 

[Mike Liut]

Can anybody think of a Bolduc best case scenario comp….. within reason

 

[Linkens Mastery]

Can anybody think of a Bolduc best case scenario comp….. within reason

After is offensive zone penalties yesterday... Perron. Lol jkjk

 

[Mike Liut]

After is offensive zone penalties yesterday... Perron. Lol jkjk

Perron actually comes to mind

 

[Stealth JD]

Can anybody think of a Bolduc best case scenario comp….. within reason

Peak-Barbie.

 

[Mike Liut]

Peak-Barbie.

I’m thinking a little less physical and a little more scoring.

 

[ChicagoBlues]

Can anybody think of a Bolduc best case scenario comp….. within reason

For me, it's hard to type Bolduc because we haven't seen enough. With consistent deployment, Bolduc will start to differentiate in certain skills and categories and then we'll see a suitable comp.

Zack was a like a beast who was finally unchained. I expect energy, focus and drive each and every game, but, realistically, he will not be such a force all the time. He showed snarl and the ability to focus on driving toward the net. Dare I say, there's a teensy bit of Brady?

 

[Xerloris]

For me, it's hard to type Bolduc

Should just call him Boldy

 

[taylord22]

Can anybody think of a Bolduc best case scenario comp….. within reason

DeBrusk

Winger that you can trust on the defensive side that doesn’t shy away from contact and can beat you from medium range.

 

[Reality Czech]

TURNOVERS
Kyrou 24 total, 5 d-zone, 416 minutes TOI
Buch 27 , 9 , 434
Schenn 21 , 11 , 413
Holly 19 , 5 , 351
Jakey 16 , 6 , 381
Bolduc 13 , 4 , 198
Saad 13 , 2 , 308
Thomas 13 , 4 , 228


so it doesn't appear to me that Kyrou turns the puck over more than anyone else, very similar rate to Thomas but with fewer d-zone turnovers

also, you can tell the players that carry the puck will have more turnovers vs those that dump and chase the puck

The issue with Kyrou's turnovers is that they often happen at inopportune times and many of them are unenforced errors. He just loses the puck off his stick without even being pressured. Just like the last game, he was at the point on the power play stick handling and the puck flipped over his stick across the blue line. It's probably not even counted as a turnover since he got the puck back but we still had to reset and re-enter the zone. Like the Philly game when he was skating up ice and the puck flipped off his stick leading to the GWG against.

Feel like he averages 1-2 of those per game where he just loses the puck while stick handling. You'd think he would have cleaned that up by now as it's a fairly basic mistake most NHLers don't make so often. I'm sure it's partly because his hands move faster than most guys but it's still not an excuse to just cough up the puck at random times. Just like an NFL running back, you gotta protect the ball/puck when you've got it.

But my criticism doesn't mean I dislike him overall. He's a very good player overall and does seem to be rounding out his game to be a more complete player.

 

[Celtic Note]

DeBrusk

Winger that you can trust on the defensive side that doesn’t shy away from contact and can beat you from medium range.

I generally don’t agree with some of the names thrown around as comparisons, especially Perron. But, DeBrusk is a name I would have to think deeper about.

 

[Frenzy31]

The issue with Kyrou's turnovers is that they often happen at inopportune times and many of them are unenforced errors. He just loses the puck off his stick without even being pressured. Just like the last game, he was at the point on the power play stick handling and the puck flipped over his stick across the blue line. It's probably not even counted as a turnover since he got the puck back but we still had to reset and re-enter the zone. Like the Philly game when he was skating up ice and the puck flipped off his stick leading to the GWG against.

Feel like he averages 1-2 of those per game where he just loses the puck while stick handling. You'd think he would have cleaned that up by now as it's a fairly basic mistake most NHLers don't make so often. I'm sure it's partly because his hands move faster than most guys but it's still not an excuse to just cough up the puck at random times. Just like an NFL running back, you gotta protect the ball/puck when you've got it.

But my criticism doesn't mean I dislike him overall. He's a very good player overall and does seem to be rounding out his game to be a more complete player.

His turnovers tend to be trying to do too much himself. Again, for the past month he has had to be our best offensive player. There is no real puck carrier on the top two lines when Thomas is out. Schenn, Buch, and Nieghbor and Saad are not going to take the puck into the offensive zone to creat a chance off the rush.

Good dump and chase, but not going to take on 1-2 players.

 

[BleedBlue14]

Perron actually comes to mind

I’d agree on Perron.

Bolduc is a really high skill player, with a pretty good shot. He’s doing a lot of what you’re wanting to see from him at this age.

I think he’s got a pretty clear path to being a 50-60 point winger with some bite in his game. I think he’s got the skill to be a bit more, but it’s hard to really buy into that without a decent stretch of consistency in production.

 

[Reality Czech]

His turnovers tend to be trying to do too much himself. Again, for the past month he has had to be our best offensive player. There is no real puck carrier on the top two lines when Thomas is out. Schenn, Buch, and Nieghbor and Saad are not going to take the puck into the offensive zone to creat a chance off the rush.

Good dump and chase, but not going to take on 1-2 players.

Well for his salary he should be our best offensive player while Thomas is out. He needs to earn that $8 mil per year somehow.

 

[Frenzy31]

Well for his salary he should be our best offensive player while Thomas is out. He needs to earn that $8 mil per year somehow.

Buch is also paid to be a difference maker and so is Schenn. Atleast JK is trying. When was the last game you noticed Buch do anything of note.

 

[Brian39]

Well for his salary he should be our best offensive player while Thomas is out. He needs to earn that $8 mil per year somehow.

Just so we're all on the same page, he very much was.

He led our forward group in goals, assists, points, shots, shot attempts, unblocked shot attempts, scoring chances, and high danger chances while Thomas was out. He was the leader in those categories at both 5 on 5 and all situations.

I don't disagree that the bobbled pucks are frustrating and tend to lead to more chaos/danger against than other types of turnovers. But it is also true that they are (at least partially) a result of him both carrying the puck more than other players and being asked/expected to be more creative/explosive with the puck on his stick than anyone else.

I do think the speed at which he plays with the puck is a big factor. The thing that makes McDavid's speed so special is his ability to play at that speed with the puck. It is much more difficult than it looks and McDavid has his share of ugly looking bobbles too. Kyrou tries to execute the same plays and (expectedly) isn't nearly as successful at it. I'd like to see Kyrou do a better job of recognizing when his hands can't keep up with his feet, but may of his successful chance generation comes from plays where he tries the same type of play and his hands are able to keep up with his feet. Cleaning up those turnovers by throttling that explosive element of his game is going to reduce his chances for.

 

[Randy Butternubs]

How has POJ been?

 

[PocketNines]

How has POJ been?

temporary filler, fringe NHLer

 

[kimzey59]

How has POJ been?

Noticeable both good and bad.
Definitely a good skater(he's broken up a lot of odd-man rushes with his feet) and not even remotely afraid to shoot the puck; but he tends to play a bit on the soft side(first guy to stand up for a teammate but does not like to throw hits) and doesn't like to block shots.

Overall, I'd say he's been fine as a 3rd pairing guy but he's been asked to play up in the lineup due to injuries and that seems like it's beyond his skill level.
He's not bad as a 3rd pairing puck mover, just not sure he's capable of more than that(it would help if he had a more stable partner).