Prospect Info: Blues 2021-2022 Prospects Thread Part 2

[DatDude44]

Don’t disagree. But when was the last time we had 18 year old defenseman with that kinda skill? Vince Dunn? He needs to get stronger and I have no idea if he can defend, but his strengths are intriguing. And do we really think any other d on ice today is likely to be legit NHLer?

Dunn is the last one I can think of. Like I said before I like him as a project with his feet and puck skills. Just not sure if it’s as high end enough to make up for his defensive side of the game in terms of projecting him at the pro level. I don’t see the same talent in him as Dunn personally. I think if I had to place a bet, I’d wager he becomes a nice AHL PP QB that gets a call up here and there.

But I’d love to be wrong lol. He’s the type of D that the NHL is continuing to make more and more room for. Would love to see him pan out

 

[STL fan in MN]

Good chart tracking off-season moves

Maybe Hofer and Zherenko as Springfield goalies???

This says Zherenko will be loaned out to Ilves next season - Vadim Zherenko at eliteprospects.com

But maybe the T-birds know something we don’t know?

 

[Linkens Mastery]

I was expecting Hofer-Ellis for the T-Birds

 

[STL fan in MN]

Here’s my thoughts on today’s scrimmage.

Clearly I saw things differently than others with Beck but oh well.

Just watched the scrimmage and Suggerud and Bolduc really stood out. But Furry, Sim and Buchinger also stood out as being impressive. There were also a number of quality D breakups and outlet passes but the video only showed the front of the player so for some of those, I wasn’t able to tell who made those good plays. So there’s likely some d-men that stood out more but I just couldn’t tell who was who some of the time.

Snuggerud first stood out to me as he blazed down the middle past a guy, then had that guy draped on his back (would’ve been a penalty if they were calling penalties). Snuggerud took it to the blue paint and a scramble ensured and a trailer knocked it in for a goal. His lateral skating needs improvement and he’s not great from a standstill but his top line speed is just fine. I’m less concerned about his skating than I was a week ago. He knows it’s a weakness and will be working on it in college. He was also one of the few out there that was clearly putting effort into back checking and defensive awareness. He scored a few goals himself, showing off that shot he’s known for but also some very nifty hands faking out and then deking around a guy for another goal.

Bolduc scored at least 4 goals that I saw. It was essentially Bolduc vs the white team. His offensive skills and in particular his shot, are impressive. He and Sim worked really well together. I noticed no deficiencies in skills. Only negative I can say is he didn’t backcheck as well as Snuggerud but it was also hard to evaluate that much as when he was on the ice, he either had the puck or his team (blue) had it in the offensive zone a large majority of the time.

Sim worked very well with Bolduc. They found each other a lot and had lots of chances. I think Sim scored once from a pass from Bolduc but otherwise, Sim was being a great support player with Bolduc. So not sure if Sim just looked good because he won the draw at getting to be linemates with Bolduc or if he’s actually good but he definitely stood out in a good way.

Furry also stood out a lot. Every time I’d go “who was that??” it was almost always #74. Very fast and shifty and showed some good skill and awareness. Never heard of him before. He scored a pt/game in college (MSU-Mankato, same school as Backes) as a sophomore last season. He’s certainly worth keeping an eye on.

Buchinger stands out with his hockey sense. Head is always up and he has good offensive instincts. He made lots of solid plays. He also crunched Bolduc into the boards good but it didn’t look like he really even hit Bolduc, just anticipated where Bolduc was going and angled him off well behind the net. Bolduc turned and his head/shoulder crumpled into the boards a bit. They stopped play, Bolduc flexed his shoulder a bit and then went and scored a few more times before the white team won it in OT on a breakaway.

The only player that stood out to me in a somewhat negative way was Noah Beck. Would make poor decisions with the puck, passed up a few wide open passing opportunities to make a much more dangerous or less likely to succeed play and fell down a few times. He’s big but he looked like Bambi out there.

 

[Stupendous Yappi]

Here’s my thoughts on today’s scrimmage.

Clearly I saw things differently than others with Beck but oh well.

Just watched the scrimmage and Suggerud and Bolduc really stood out. But Furry, Sim and Buchinger also stood out as being impressive. There were also a number of quality D breakups and outlet passes but the video only showed the front of the player so for some of those, I wasn’t able to tell who made those good plays. So there’s likely some d-men that stood out more but I just couldn’t tell who was who some of the time.

Snuggerud first stood out to me as he blazed down the middle past a guy, then had that guy draped on his back (would’ve been a penalty if they were calling penalties). Snuggerud took it to the blue paint and a scramble ensured and a trailer knocked it in for a goal. His lateral skating needs improvement and he’s not great from a standstill but his top line speed is just fine. I’m less concerned about his skating than I was a week ago. He knows it’s a weakness and will be working on it in college. He was also one of the few out there that was clearly putting effort into back checking and defensive awareness. He scored a few goals himself, showing off that shot he’s known for but also some very nifty hands faking out and then deking around a guy for another goal.

Bolduc scored at least 4 goals that I saw. It was essentially Bolduc vs the white team. His offensive skills and in particular his shot, are impressive. He and Sim worked really well together. I noticed no deficiencies in skills. Only negative I can say is he didn’t backcheck as well as Snuggerud but it was also hard to evaluate that much as when he was on the ice, he either had the puck or his team (blue) had it in the offensive zone a large majority of the time.

Sim worked very well with Bolduc. They found each other a lot and had lots of chances. I think Sim scored once from a pass from Bolduc but otherwise, Sim was being a great support player with Bolduc. So not sure if Sim just looked good because he won the draw at getting to be linemates with Bolduc or if he’s actually good but he definitely stood out in a good way.

Furry also stood out a lot. Every time I’d go “who was that??” it was almost always #74. Very fast and shifty and showed some good skill and awareness. Never heard of him before. He scored a pt/game in college (MSU-Mankato, same school as Backes) as a sophomore last season. He’s certainly worth keeping an eye on.

Buchinger stands out with his hockey sense. Head is always up and he has good offensive instincts. He made lots of solid plays. He also crunched Bolduc into the boards good but it didn’t look like he really even hit Bolduc, just anticipated where Bolduc was going and angled him off well behind the net. Bolduc turned and his head/shoulder crumpled into the boards a bit. They stopped play, Bolduc flexed his shoulder a bit and then went and scored a few more times before the white team won it in OT on a breakaway.

The only player that stood out to me in a somewhat negative way was Noah Beck. Would make poor decisions with the puck, passed up a few wide open passing opportunities to make a much more dangerous or less likely to succeed play and fell down a few times. He’s big but he looked like Bambi out there.

nm

 

[bleedblue1223]

Furry is also 24, so he should look good out there.

I know Leddy was a 1st round pick, so I'm not expecting the same sort of upside of Leddy's best years, but I'm sort of hoping that's what Buchinger becomes. A 2nd pairing guy, that we can feel comfortable with in all-situations that skates wells, reads plays well. If he can take over for Leddy's role when Leddy's deal is done, that would be a home run.

Snuggs sounds like a perfect fit for us and if he can develop into that top 9 scorer/swiss-army knife with the comps that were discussed by Brock and some others that have watched him, that would be great.

 

[Bye Bye Blueston]

Here’s my thoughts on today’s scrimmage.

Clearly I saw things differently than others with Beck but oh well.

Just watched the scrimmage and Suggerud and Bolduc really stood out. But Furry, Sim and Buchinger also stood out as being impressive. There were also a number of quality D breakups and outlet passes but the video only showed the front of the player so for some of those, I wasn’t able to tell who made those good plays. So there’s likely some d-men that stood out more but I just couldn’t tell who was who some of the time.

Snuggerud first stood out to me as he blazed down the middle past a guy, then had that guy draped on his back (would’ve been a penalty if they were calling penalties). Snuggerud took it to the blue paint and a scramble ensured and a trailer knocked it in for a goal. His lateral skating needs improvement and he’s not great from a standstill but his top line speed is just fine. I’m less concerned about his skating than I was a week ago. He knows it’s a weakness and will be working on it in college. He was also one of the few out there that was clearly putting effort into back checking and defensive awareness. He scored a few goals himself, showing off that shot he’s known for but also some very nifty hands faking out and then deking around a guy for another goal.

Bolduc scored at least 4 goals that I saw. It was essentially Bolduc vs the white team. His offensive skills and in particular his shot, are impressive. He and Sim worked really well together. I noticed no deficiencies in skills. Only negative I can say is he didn’t backcheck as well as Snuggerud but it was also hard to evaluate that much as when he was on the ice, he either had the puck or his team (blue) had it in the offensive zone a large majority of the time.

Sim worked very well with Bolduc. They found each other a lot and had lots of chances. I think Sim scored once from a pass from Bolduc but otherwise, Sim was being a great support player with Bolduc. So not sure if Sim just looked good because he won the draw at getting to be linemates with Bolduc or if he’s actually good but he definitely stood out in a good way.

Furry also stood out a lot. Every time I’d go “who was that??” it was almost always #74. Very fast and shifty and showed some good skill and awareness. Never heard of him before. He scored a pt/game in college (MSU-Mankato, same school as Backes) as a sophomore last season. He’s certainly worth keeping an eye on.

Buchinger stands out with his hockey sense. Head is always up and he has good offensive instincts. He made lots of solid plays. He also crunched Bolduc into the boards good but it didn’t look like he really even hit Bolduc, just anticipated where Bolduc was going and angled him off well behind the net. Bolduc turned and his head/shoulder crumpled into the boards a bit. They stopped play, Bolduc flexed his shoulder a bit and then went and scored a few more times before the white team won it in OT on a breakaway.

The only player that stood out to me in a somewhat negative way was Noah Beck. Would make poor decisions with the puck, passed up a few wide open passing opportunities to make a much more dangerous or less likely to succeed play and fell down a few times. He’s big but he looked like Bambi out there.

Agreed. Beck showed good size and mobility, but little awareness.

 

[Halak Ness Monster]

It really is interesting what the Blues are doing with their draft picks. I don’t know if it’s intentional that they’ve avoided a defenseman in the first round for 10 years or if a forward has just always been BPA.

Regardless, the Blues seem to be successfully continuously building a revolving forward core in St. Louis.

It was Oshie, Perron, Backes, Steen, Berglund from 2010-2016.

Then it was Schwartz, Tarasenko and later Schenn, ROR, and Perron again from 2016-2021.

Now it seems to be Thomas, Kyrou, Buchnevich, Saad for this next phase (with Schenn and maybe ROR still here).

Next up in 2-3 years: Neighbours, Snuggerud, Bolduc, and perhaps Robertsson

Each young core group provided crucial cheap depth for the previous veteran core group before stepping into a bigger role. You gotta love how well it has worked out at forward for so long. #Blessed

 

[STL fan in MN]

Furry is also 24, so he should look good out there.

I know Leddy was a 1st round pick, so I'm not expecting the same sort of upside of Leddy's best years, but I'm sort of hoping that's what Buchinger becomes. A 2nd pairing guy, that we can feel comfortable with in all-situations that skates wells, reads plays well. If he can take over for Leddy's role when Leddy's deal is done, that would be a home run.

Snuggs sounds like a perfect fit for us and if he can develop into that top 9 scorer/swiss-army knife with the comps that were discussed by Brock and some others that have watched him, that would be great.

Good call on Furry being 24 as yeah, that makes a huge difference. Snuggles, Buchinger and Sim standing out at age 18 and Bolduc at 19 is impressive.

I really liked what I saw from Snuggerud. It’s harder to evaluate things on video than in person (I only get to see what the camera shows me) but from that limited visibility, Snuggerud is the only player that stood out to me with his awareness and hockey sense without the puck. He and others made smart plays with the puck but he seemed to anticipate things very well which led to him breaking up plays, causing turnovers etc.

This was overall a pretty low level of competition though so I’ll be interested to see how he looks in college hockey. But I’m liking this draft pick a lot more than I was a week ago.

 

[Bye Bye Blueston]

It really is interesting what the Blues are doing with their draft picks. I don’t know if it’s intentional that they’ve avoided a defenseman in the first round for 10 years or if a forward has just always been BPA.

Regardless, the Blues seem to be successfully continuously building a revolving forward core in St. Louis.

It was Oshie, Perron, Backes, Steen, Berglund from 2010-2016.

Then it was Schwartz, Tarasenko and later Schenn, ROR, and Perron again from 2016-2021.

Now it seems to be Thomas, Kyrou, Buchnevich, Saad for this next phase (with Schenn and maybe ROR still here).

Next up in 2-3 years: Neighbours, Snuggerud, Bolduc, and perhaps Robertsson

Each young core group provided crucial cheap depth for the previous veteran core group before stepping into a bigger role. You gotta love how well it has worked out at forward for so long. #Blessed

I think it’s unintentionally intentional. Their model seems to undervalue defensemen versus forwards at the top since first round forwards seemingly have better chance to become quality NHLer. So unless there is can’t miss defenseman, like Petro was, they pick forwards. As you go further down list the forwards aren’t sure thing either, so we end up taking defensemen outside of top 40 picks.

I don’t know this, but observationally this appears to have been happening for years under DA. So while we take top guy on our list regardless of position, our list is constructed in such a way that on first round that will disproportionally be a forward. And we also don’t seem to discount wingers as much versus centers as some clubs do, so it will generally be a winger that we pick too. This is why when others thought we would take a D, I projected week ahead of draft that we would take Rutger, the guy wild took ahead of us, or snugs this year. They all had what we value more than many other clubs do.

 

[STL fan in MN]

It really is interesting what the Blues are doing with their draft picks. I don’t know if it’s intentional that they’ve avoided a defenseman in the first round for 10 years or if a forward has just always been BPA.

Regardless, the Blues seem to be successfully continuously building a revolving forward core in St. Louis.

It was Oshie, Perron, Backes, Steen, Berglund from 2010-2016.

Then it was Schwartz, Tarasenko and later Schenn, ROR, and Perron again from 2016-2021.

Now it seems to be Thomas, Kyrou, Buchnevich, Saad for this next phase (with Schenn and maybe ROR still here).

Next up in 2-3 years: Neighbours, Snuggerud, Bolduc, and perhaps Robertsson

Each young core group provided crucial cheap depth for the previous veteran core group before stepping into a bigger role. You gotta love how well it has worked out at forward for so long. #Blessed

Not sure if it’s intentional to lean forward over D in the 1st, especially since at least 4 different people were in charge over that timeframe (Ted Hampson, Jarmo, B.Armstrong and now Feltrin). Could be somewhat intentional or it could be that by and large the Blues usually draft later in the 1st round and the D they view in the same tier as some forwards are almost always gone by the time they pick. Petro was picked early (4th). Rundblad and Schmaltz were mid to later 1st rd picks…and they busted.

My sense is that in the later 1st round, there’s typically more good forward options than D options. I’d also say it’s a little harder to project 17-18 year old d-men than forwards, upping the risk factor a bit.

Or maybe the Blues are a little gunshy with selecting D at that range as they’ve largely been unsuccessful there (perhaps related to the things I wrote above). Rundblad, Schmaltz, Shawn Belle, Christian Backman…all misses. Other than Pietrangelo (picked 4th), the only other d-man the Blues have picked in the 1st that actually had a successful career was Barret Jackman.

My guess is if at some point they find themselves in a rebuild and are picking higher, we’ll see D drafted more often but for now, the wise money seems to be on going forward in the back half of the 1st round.

 

[Halak Ness Monster]

I don’t disagree with anything you guys said about selecting D-men in the first round.

I think there definitely is an organizational philosophy to limit the risk in the first round by leaning forwards, which are typically a little less risky than D-men in the back half of the first round. Unless there is a D-men we just love.

And it all plays into that revolving core the Blues have had going for 12+ years.
If you feel good about being able to continuously draft and develop good, cheap forwards to replace high paid departing vet forwards, you can use a 1st or 2nd round pick here and there to get Bouwmeester, Faulk, Leddy to help fill those holes in the defense that you weren’t able to draft.

It has been fun to watch. It’s nice rooting for a team that has a good long term plan in place.

 

[Frenzy31]

Here’s my thoughts on today’s scrimmage.

Clearly I saw things differently than others with Beck but oh well.

Just watched the scrimmage and Suggerud and Bolduc really stood out. But Furry, Sim and Buchinger also stood out as being impressive. There were also a number of quality D breakups and outlet passes but the video only showed the front of the player so for some of those, I wasn’t able to tell who made those good plays. So there’s likely some d-men that stood out more but I just couldn’t tell who was who some of the time.

Snuggerud first stood out to me as he blazed down the middle past a guy, then had that guy draped on his back (would’ve been a penalty if they were calling penalties). Snuggerud took it to the blue paint and a scramble ensured and a trailer knocked it in for a goal. His lateral skating needs improvement and he’s not great from a standstill but his top line speed is just fine. I’m less concerned about his skating than I was a week ago. He knows it’s a weakness and will be working on it in college. He was also one of the few out there that was clearly putting effort into back checking and defensive awareness. He scored a few goals himself, showing off that shot he’s known for but also some very nifty hands faking out and then deking around a guy for another goal.

Bolduc scored at least 4 goals that I saw. It was essentially Bolduc vs the white team. His offensive skills and in particular his shot, are impressive. He and Sim worked really well together. I noticed no deficiencies in skills. Only negative I can say is he didn’t backcheck as well as Snuggerud but it was also hard to evaluate that much as when he was on the ice, he either had the puck or his team (blue) had it in the offensive zone a large majority of the time.

Sim worked very well with Bolduc. They found each other a lot and had lots of chances. I think Sim scored once from a pass from Bolduc but otherwise, Sim was being a great support player with Bolduc. So not sure if Sim just looked good because he won the draw at getting to be linemates with Bolduc or if he’s actually good but he definitely stood out in a good way.

Furry also stood out a lot. Every time I’d go “who was that??” it was almost always #74. Very fast and shifty and showed some good skill and awareness. Never heard of him before. He scored a pt/game in college (MSU-Mankato, same school as Backes) as a sophomore last season. He’s certainly worth keeping an eye on.

Buchinger stands out with his hockey sense. Head is always up and he has good offensive instincts. He made lots of solid plays. He also crunched Bolduc into the boards good but it didn’t look like he really even hit Bolduc, just anticipated where Bolduc was going and angled him off well behind the net. Bolduc turned and his head/shoulder crumpled into the boards a bit. They stopped play, Bolduc flexed his shoulder a bit and then went and scored a few more times before the white team won it in OT on a breakaway.

The only player that stood out to me in a somewhat negative way was Noah Beck. Would make poor decisions with the puck, passed up a few wide open passing opportunities to make a much more dangerous or less likely to succeed play and fell down a few times. He’s big but he looked like Bambi out there.

That is funny how two people can watch the same player and come away with different perspectives. I really like his (Becks) ability to both pass and move the puck with skating. I thought he looked really good out there, especially in the 4v4.

It was very interested to me the difference in skill at forward. I love Bolduc, I don't see him as a Kyrou/Thomas type, but more of a Tage Thompson, who finds areas on the ice to get open and get his shot off. He dominated the game by finding open ice and scoring - his shot is flat wicked. He isn't going to skate around with the puck. He seemed to be content with letting Sims do that and just doing what he did best, finishing.

The drop off in skill after Bolduc, Snugs, Sims, and Robertsson was very noticeable. I liked Tucker, but if he was the Twin, then he is on the older side also - 22 I think.

 

[STL fan in MN]

That is funny how two people can watch the same player and come away with different perspectives. I really like his (Becks) ability to both pass and move the puck with skating. I thought he looked really good out there, especially in the 4v4.

It was very interested to me the difference in skill at forward. I love Bolduc, I don't see him as a Kyrou/Thomas type, but more of a Tage Thompson, who finds areas on the ice to get open and get his shot off. He dominated the game by finding open ice and scoring - his shot is flat wicked. He isn't going to skate around with the puck. He seemed to be content with letting Sims do that and just doing what he did best, finishing.

The drop off in skill after Bolduc, Snugs, Sims, and Robertsson was very noticeable. I liked Tucker, but if he was the Twin, then he is on the older side also - 22 I think.

Yeah, I guess we saw different things. And like I said, maybe I missed some stuff. I was watching on a tablet and there were a lot of quality D plays I saw but with a single camera at center ice, it was easier to identify the players once they went past the red line (usually forwards) as I could then see the number on their back than a good play in the D zone where the players’ number was obscured. So maybe some of those good D plays I wasn’t able to attribute to someone were Beck. I’ll try to re-watch it on the big screen (where I can pause and rewind better) and see if I get different impressions.

And agree with your take on Bolduc. I see him as a likely future 2nd line player. I’d put Suggs at about the same level. Neighbors is likely a touch below from an offensive potential point of view but he brings a good all-around game that should make him an effective middle-6 forward for many years.

And agree that there was definitely a separation of a handful of players from the others. But I didn’t notice Robertsson at the same level as the others.

 

[Bye Bye Blueston]

Yeah, I guess we saw different things. And like I said, maybe I missed some stuff. I was watching on a tablet and there were a lot of quality D plays I saw but with a single camera at center ice, it was easier to identify the players once they went past the red line (usually forwards) as I could then see the number on their back than a good play in the D zone where the players’ number was obscured. So maybe some of those good D plays I wasn’t able to attribute to someone were Beck. I’ll try to re-watch it on the big screen (where I can pause and rewind better) and see if I get different impressions.

And agree with your take on Bolduc. I see him as a likely future 2nd line player. I’d put Suggs at about the same level. Neighbors is likely a touch below from an offensive potential point of view but he brings a good all-around game that should make him an effective middle-6 forward for many years.

And agree that there was definitely a separation of a handful of players from the others. But I didn’t notice Robertsson at the same level as the others.

Fwiw, I didn’t notice Robertson at all when I watched on tablet but in big screen I saw he looked better. Smooth with a bit of skill. But still well below Bolduc and snugs and I think below sim and fury too.

 

[Frenzy31]

Fwiw, I didn’t notice Robertson at all when I watched on tablet but in big screen I saw he looked better. Smooth with a bit of skill. But still well below Bolduc and snugs and I think below sim and fury too.

Personally, I felt he did 2 much 1 on 1. But this 4v4 and 3v3 at 80% effort is hard to judget

 

[Stupendous Yappi]

Furry is also 24, so he should look good out there.

I know Leddy was a 1st round pick, so I'm not expecting the same sort of upside of Leddy's best years, but I'm sort of hoping that's what Buchinger becomes. A 2nd pairing guy, that we can feel comfortable with in all-situations that skates wells, reads plays well. If he can take over for Leddy's role when Leddy's deal is done, that would be a home run.

Snuggs sounds like a perfect fit for us and if he can develop into that top 9 scorer/swiss-army knife with the comps that were discussed by Brock and some others that have watched him, that would be great.

This is all I could think of when I started to read your report.

 

[AVictoryDive]

This is all I could think of when I started to read your report.

View attachment 569761

Haha always forget about this movie. Death to Smoochie is too good and Robin Williams was perfect

 

[ChicagoBlues]

This is all I could think of when I started to read your report.

View attachment 569761

What movie is this from, Galactic Dildo?

 

[Stupendous Yappi]

What movie is this from, Galactic Dildo?

You’ve never seen Death to Smoochie? It’s worth a look.

 

[ChicagoBlues]

You’ve never seen Death to Smoochie? It’s worth a look.

Never heard of it.

 

[execwrite1]

Leo Loof article

Leo Lööf is a physical defenseman who skates well, and he can occasionally produce points in the offensive end. How does the man himself describe his playing style?

– I am a two-way defenseman, I enjoy playing physical, and I can take part in the offensive play. I might need to improve my shot in the future, he says.

 

[joe galiba]

Leo Loof article

Leo Lööf is a physical defenseman who skates well, and he can occasionally produce points in the offensive end. How does the man himself describe his playing style?

– I am a two-way defenseman, I enjoy playing physical, and I can take part in the offensive play. I might need to improve my shot in the future, he says.

I know he is not Russian, but I picture him saying this in Ivan Drago’s voice

 

[Moose and Squirrel]

I saw the other day a hockey analyst said that when looking at prospect camps, if a prospect shows nice skills but doesn't look clearly better than other guys there, they ain't NHL ready. Guy who is NHL ready should dominate camp. I was hoping Bolduc would from what I saw today he didn't. Doesn't mean he won't be fine player, but makes you doubt whether he can really push for roster spot this year.

And agree with basically all of your observations above, btw. Nice writeup.

iirc, I heard (read?) something to the effect that Bolduc IS much better than everyone else and it's like he's bored or not challenged in camp
dunno if he'll be in the big team camp or not. if so, maybe he'll look different

 

[Moose and Squirrel]

I don’t disagree with anything you guys said about selecting D-men in the first round.

I think there definitely is an organizational philosophy to limit the risk in the first round by leaning forwards, which are typically a little less risky than D-men in the back half of the first round. Unless there is a D-men we just love.

And it all plays into that revolving core the Blues have had going for 12+ years.
If you feel good about being able to continuously draft and develop good, cheap forwards to replace high paid departing vet forwards, you can use a 1st or 2nd round pick here and there to get Bouwmeester, Faulk, Leddy to help fill those holes in the defense that you weren’t able to draft.

It has been fun to watch. It’s nice rooting for a team that has a good long term plan in place.

stable, and eager, ownership can't be dismissed

has played a BIG part of the teams' success