Prospect Info: 2024 Blues Prospect Poll #12

[MissouriMook]

I think it’s a little disingenuous to say Ralph just played HS hockey. Shattuck is pretty universally considered the best prep program in the nation and likely including Canada as well. They don’t play in the normal MN HS league (which is the best HS league in the world) because they’d demolish it. They play in the MN Elite league which is basically SSM and then regional all-star teams made up of the best of the best HSers (basically the ones good enough to go on and play D1 college hockey). And then they also play in a league comprised of the best prep schools in N.A. And SSM routinely does very well in both leagues. And Ralph was their best player this past season.

600ish kids try to get accepted to SSM’s hockey program each year and a very select few actually make it. Ralph isn’t just some HS kid that happens to be big and skates well.

Do you have any perspective on how this circuit might compare to the Canadian leagues like the OJHL and the AJHL? If I'm not mistaken, Cale Makar came out of the AJHL because he was taking the college route, and he turned out OK I guess.

 

[STL fan in MN]

Personally, I feel like it makes it hard on a consensus based ranking like this among fans to really see where we think he’d level in. I personally have higher hopes for him than about 3-4 guys currently ahead on the list. But I’ll admit it’s pretty blind hope based on frame, program he’s currently in and the limited reports/viewings I’ve been able to digest.

It makes it really hard for me internally to judge whether a guy like Ralph is an upside or a floor guy. Very likely could be a mix of both.

The only exposure a lot of us have had is from the dev camp, and rightfully everyone is in much different positions during a dev camp like that. For Ralph and Fischer it has to be a whirlwind so soon after the draft. For a guy like Dvorsky it’s the start of life or death trying to make the team

Yeah, we should definitely have a better read on Ralph a year from now.

 

[STL fan in MN]

Do you have any perspective on how this circuit might compare to the Canadian leagues like the OJHL and the AJHL? If I'm not mistaken, Cale Makar came out of the AJHL because he was taking the college route, and he turned out OK I guess.

Hard to say as I don’t watch a ton of either but they’re probably pretty comparable if I had to guess.

Yeah, Makar played AJHL. Oshie was drafted out of Warroad HS. And MN HS hockey is split up into large schools (AA) and small schools (A). Warroad is with the small schools. So he played quite a bit below the level Ralph played at their respective Sr seasons.

We’ll just have to see how Ralph adapts to college hockey. My guess is he transitions pretty well.

 

[TheOrganist]

I think it’s a little disingenuous to say Ralph just played HS hockey. Shattuck is pretty universally considered the best prep program in the nation and likely including Canada as well. They don’t play in the normal MN HS league (which is the best HS league in the world) because they’d demolish it. They play in the MN Elite league which is basically SSM and then regional all-star teams made up of the best of the best HSers (basically the ones good enough to go on and play D1 college hockey). And then they also play in a league comprised of the best prep schools in N.A. And SSM routinely does very well in both leagues. And Ralph was their best player this past season.

600ish kids try to get accepted to SSM’s hockey program each year and a very select few actually make it. Ralph isn’t just some HS kid that happens to be big and skates well.

Right. You’re talking about an alumni of Parise, Toews, Crosby and MacKinnon for the 16U and 18U Shattuck teams. This isn’t drafting MacKenzie Machechern out of Michigan high school. I like the Ralph pick. He’ll be fun to follow.

 

[Snubbed4Vezina]

As someone who hasn't seen Buchinger, how would you compare him to Perunovich? Seems like they are similar players in terms of style but can you or anyone else compare the two?

It's so hard to get a read on Perunovich and I honestly didn't see a lot of him before he joined the Blues so it's difficult for me to compare where they were as prospects. Buchinger has shown flashes of doing everything you want to see from a defender in the games I've watched. In every game I've seen Buchinger was a noticeable force at both ends outside of one game where he spent too much time in the box.

Buchinger should definitely be better in the defensive end than Perunovich who gets bullied at times. He's not big but he's bigger and more physical than Perunovich which allows him to position himself better (again, I'm seeing Perunovich v. pros and Buchinger v. OHLers). I'm also not sold that he's not going to be a better offensive player than Perunovich because despite the hype, Perunovich hasn't lived up to his offensive reputation. He may not be as quick as Perunovich, but he's a strong skater in his own right. I do question whether he's going to see the ice well enough at the pro level because he does make some questionable plays (both passing and skating) that he usually gets away with at his current level of competition. This is why I said that while I think he makes it to the NHL, I'm not confident enough to predict that he's able to stick long-term without cleaning that up. He's not the biggest player and his mobility isn't going to save him in the pros if he continues to make those same mistakes.

It's possible Buchinger gets exposed once the game speeds up and the pressure intensifies but I'm betting he ends up being better at both ends of the ice than anything we've seen from Perunovich thus far. He's going to be a sink or swim kind of player because he's too talented at both ends not to get a shot but he needs to clean up his game.