Prospect Info: 2024 Blues Prospect Poll #9

[STL fan in MN]

Kessel takes Poll #8 pretty convincingly.

1. Dalibor Dvorsky (89.8%)
2. Jimmy Snuggerud (48.8%)
3. Theo Lindstein (73.1%)
4. Adam Jiricek (41.2%)
5. Zack Bolduc (65.2%)
6. Otto Stenberg (94.4%)
7. Juraj Pekarcik (35.5%)
8. Matt Kessel (58.8%)
9. ?

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[Beauterham]

Went with Dean. After this poll it probably gets more interesting

 

[MissouriMook]

Kessel takes Poll #8 pretty convincingly.

1. Dalibor Dvorsky (89.8%)
2. Jimmy Snuggerud (48.8%)
3. Theo Lindstein (73.1%)
4. Adam Jiricek (41.2%)
5. Zack Bolduc (65.2%)
6. Otto Stenberg (94.4%)
7. Juraj Pekarcik (35.5%)
8. Matt Kessel (58.8%)
9. ?

Can you please add Colton Ellis starting with the next poll?

 

[SirPaste]

Dean for me here and then thats the end of the last tier IMO. Not sure where I am going to go next, it will get very interesting for sure.

 

[Bluesguru]

Dean

 

[ezcreepin]

You could probably justify most prospects at this spot right now. I went with Dean, but this is largely due to him already playing in the AHL and the NHL and he looked pretty engaged and not necessarily out of place playing on the 4th line. Took him a while to get going in the AHL, but he started to come around in the 2nd half. When I compare him to someone like Alexandrov, I felt like Alexandrov had a higher chance to succeed because of his two-way play, but he looked really lost against NHL players. I thought he looked fine his first few appearances, but trailed off a lot after that. I'm hoping that Dean has the drive to be a contributor on this team, because that's going to set him apart from guys like Alexandrov, McGing, Gaudette, etc. Dean feels like a Barbashev type player that is less physical, but more creative offensively. Hoping for big things from him this year.

My opinion could change dramatically in January, but my next few spots will be a combo of potential and where they're at in their development. Buchinger seems like the obvious choice, but I think guys like Susuyev, Fischer, and Mrsic are sleeper prospects because their potential is so high, but we can't really know their trajectory. Any one of them could blossom into a big piece for this team, or they could end up as a Bokk, Shields, or Rattie. I'll be curious to see the year these players have in 2024.

Note: Zherenko is probably a top 5 prospect in our system but he's a goalie so who tf knows.

 

[stl76]

Kessel takes Poll #8 pretty convincingly.

1. Dalibor Dvorsky (89.8%)
2. Jimmy Snuggerud (48.8%)
3. Theo Lindstein (73.1%)
4. Adam Jiricek (41.2%)
5. Zack Bolduc (65.2%)
6. Otto Stenberg (94.4%)
7. Juraj Pekarcik (35.5%)
8. Matt Kessel (58.8%)
9. ?

Think we should add Dylan Peterson soon. I’d take him over several guys already listed as options.

 

[Brian39]

Note: Zherenko is probably a top 5 prospect in our system but he's a goalie so who tf knows.

My eyes like him as a prospect, but there really aren't any non-Blues fan/writer opinions of him that match my eye test. And he does have genuine holes in his form/technique/positioning that need to be fixed in order to get to the NHL.

I'll probably be voting for him in these polls moving forward because I don't have huge opinions on any of the remaining prospects after Dean wins this poll. But I wouldn't consider him a top 5 prospect in our system (or the vast majority of systems).

A lot of my like of Zherenko comes from the fact that his 'potential NHL-readiness' timeline lines up pretty damn well with Binner's contract. I'll be pretty surprised if we extend Binner for his age 34+ seasons. And depending on how things go with Hofer's development, I don't think it is out of the question that Binner is moved before his contract naturally expires in 3 years. I don't view Zherenko as a guy with a big chance of ever being a legit #1 here. For me, a lot of his value as a prospect comes from his potential to be a cheap backup (or potentially the 1B in a tandem) to Hofer whenever the time comes to move on from Binner.

There is real value in a guy that you think can be the 2nd piece of a good goalie duo, but I wouldn't rate that as a top 5 prospect in the large majority of NHL organizations.

 

[Linkens Mastery]

Buchinger, I think we are highly underrating his offensive skills and I think he will be much better defensively than we are giving him credit for.

 

[Memento]

Voted Nikita Susuyev for the third consecutive time. I think he's got far more potential than Dean, Kessel, and Pekarcik (think Susuyev is a top six winger at his best); his only question is if he comes over. High risk? Sure, but very high reward.

Again, Susuyev, Kessel, Dean, Pekarcik, and Buchinger fall under the same umbrella for me. After those five, it gets a little bit tricky, but I'd put Lukas Fischer (who barely missed the cut because he's just so young and we haven't seen a lot of him. Still, he's got sky-high potential.) Adam Jecho (same reason as Fischer; not many 6'5" centers who can skate like he can), Aleksanteri Kaskimaki (closer to the NHL than the others), Simon Robertsson (also closer to the NHL, just a tiny smidgeon below Kaskimaki because Kaskimaki is a potential center), Arseni Koromyslov (dynamic skater and offensive defenseman from everything I've heard), and Paul Fischer (love his defensive skills) in a tier below.

Also, please add Koromyslov next. I know someone suggested Ellis, but I do not vote for goalies in these polls, as everyone well knows.

 

[ezcreepin]

My eyes like him as a prospect, but there really aren't any non-Blues fan/writer opinions of him that match my eye test. And he does have genuine holes in his form/technique/positioning that need to be fixed in order to get to the NHL.

I'll probably be voting for him in these polls moving forward because I don't have huge opinions on any of the remaining prospects after Dean wins this poll. But I wouldn't consider him a top 5 prospect in our system (or the vast majority of systems).

A lot of my like of Zherenko comes from the fact that his 'potential NHL-readiness' timeline lines up pretty damn well with Binner's contract. I'll be pretty surprised if we extend Binner for his age 34+ seasons. And depending on how things go with Hofer's development, I don't think it is out of the question that Binner is moved before his contract naturally expires in 3 years. I don't view Zherenko as a guy with a big chance of ever being a legit #1 here. For me, a lot of his value as a prospect comes from his potential to be a cheap backup (or potentially the 1B in a tandem) to Hofer whenever the time comes to move on from Binner.

There is real value in a guy that you think can be the 2nd piece of a good goalie duo, but I wouldn't rate that as a top 5 prospect in the large majority of NHL organizations.

Since he's a goalie, it's literally a crapshoot in evaluating him, so I definitely grant that. I think the fact that other writers don't mention him often is largely because they don't care enough to view all of the Blues prospects, and maybe they stat watch like a lot of us here. I take what writers say with a grain of salt and if I need a quick opinion, then I'll defer to the people who have been watching prospects longer.

However, I've been following him since we drafted him, he's put up insane numbers in the Russian junior leagues (which I understand doesn't say a ton), and I'll grant he struggled in Finland, whether that was the team or language barrier, I'm not sure. Then he comes over, get shelled every night, has nearly an even win-loss record on an arguably not great team, puts up league average/above league average sv% while getting lit up for over 3 goals a game. He's been put through the wringer, but when I watch him, he seems pretty calm in net, he's athletic, and he obviously battles hard to make a save. He does have some holes in his game, but I've been really high on him for awhile, so my perception of him is quite skewed compared to posters here. So I understand your assessment of him as a prospect.

 

[Reality Czech]

Voted Nikita Susuyev for the third consecutive time. I think he's got far more potential than Dean, Kessel, and Pekarcik (think Susuyev is a top six winger at his best); his only question is if he comes over. High risk? Sure, but very high reward.

Again, Susuyev, Kessel, Dean, Pekarcik, and Buchinger fall under the same umbrella for me. After those five, it gets a little bit tricky, but I'd put Lukas Fischer (who barely missed the cut because he's just so young and we haven't seen a lot of him. Still, he's got sky-high potential.) Adam Jecho (same reason as Fischer; not many 6'5" centers who can skate like he can), Aleksanteri Kaskimaki (closer to the NHL than the others), Simon Robertsson (also closer to the NHL, just a tiny smidgeon below Kaskimaki because Kaskimaki is a potential center), Arseni Koromyslov (dynamic skater and offensive defenseman from everything I've heard), and Paul Fischer (love his defensive skills) in a tier below.

Also, please add Koromyslov next. I know someone suggested Ellis, but I do not vote for goalies in these polls, as everyone well knows.

I picked Dean but it's largely based on the fact that he's more established. I am intrigued by Fischer and Jecho for the reasons you listed. They might be much higher on the list next year. And I don't know what we have in Buchinger and Susuyev, but it would be great if they could establish themselves this season as well

 

[Beauterham]

Not planning to vote for him just yet, but I was wondering... Do we consider Nikita Alexandrov graduated or will he become an option in this poll eventually down the line? (eventhough he hasn't signed yet, but we still retain his rights). Guess I can ask the same question about Abramov. Both Alexandrov and Abramov are younger then Kessel. Alexandrov just has a couple more games under his belt.

 

[542365]

Voted Dean for the safest floor. Hope he gets more premium minutes in Springfield this year. He was very productive once he was getting top minutes and linemates towards the end of the year.

 

[LogosBlue]

Sorry, Dean gives me the "ghost of Senjas past" feels.

 

[STL fan in MN]

Not planning to vote for him just yet, but I was wondering... Do we consider Nikita Alexandrov graduated or will he become an option in this poll eventually down the line? (eventhough he hasn't signed yet, but we still retain his rights). Guess I can ask the same question about Abramov. Both Alexandrov and Abramov are younger then Kessel. Alexandrov just has a couple more games under his belt.

We decided to consider Alexandrov and Tucker graduated.

Abramov would technically be eligible but unless he’s got more support than I think he does, then I don’t expect him to be much of a factor in these polls.

 

[Frenzy31]

I went with Z. He has accomplished more and been a much better player in the AHL than Dean.

I believe his upside is higher and he has a much better change of reaching it. Dean, 3rd line/4th line player.