Prospect Info: Blues 2021 draft

[Bye Bye Blueston]

It's hard to predict, we don't know if teams prioritize a specific position. Every year there are also a couple of teams that really like a specific player and are willing to draft that player higher then they are projected (ex. Moritz Seider). You could be right, on the other hand no one expected Chychrun to still be on the board when Arizona picked him at 16 in 2016 because other teams had other priorities. Same goes for Barzal in 2015 (what was Boston thinking?!).

Who knows what strategy the teams are going to deploy. If we're specifically looking at defenseman almost all scouting agencies are expecting Power, Clarke, Hughes and Edvinsson to go top 10. After that it's a crapshoot. Lambos is ranked from 3rd to not even being drafted in the first round at all. Ceulemans is mostly ranked between 15 and 31, however because this draft hardly has any high ranked right defensemen (only Brandt?) I wouldn't be surprised at all if a team will reach for him.

Lets summarize (IMO):

Potential top 15 defensemen:
Power, Clarke, Hughes Edvinsson, Ceulemans, Lambos

Potential top 15 forwards:
Beniers, Guenther, Eklund, McTavish, Lysell, Johnson, Sillinger, Svechkov, Coronato, Lucius, Olausson, Raty

Potential top 15 goalies:
Wallstedt, Cossa


Any of the bolded players could be in our range.
Not a fan of Raty though.

EDIT:
We also don't know if the teams will draft differently due to not been able to heavily scout a lot of the North American-prospects. Due to this we could see a boost to the stock of some European players, for example, catapulting Svechkov to the top 10. Also we don't know how much issue teams are going to take into potential injury problems (Lambos, Lucius, Wallstedt). If the former is true, I wouldn't even be surprised if teams are relunctant to draft Wallstedt (apparantly he has back problems and had multiple minor concussions) and pick Cossa over Wallstedt.

You mentioned Brandt but should add him to list of top 15 D.

 

[simon IC]

You mentioned Brandt but should add him to list of top 15 D.

I believe he was referring to Brandt Clarke when he mentioned Clarke in his list of top 15D.

 

[TK 421]

It's hard to predict, we don't know if teams prioritize a specific position. Every year there are also a couple of teams that really like a specific player and are willing to draft that player higher then they are projected (ex. Moritz Seider). You could be right, on the other hand no one expected Chychrun to still be on the board when Arizona picked him at 16 in 2016 because other teams had other priorities. Same goes for Barzal in 2015 (what was Boston thinking?!).

Who knows what strategy the teams are going to deploy. If we're specifically looking at defenseman almost all scouting agencies are expecting Power, Clarke, Hughes and Edvinsson to go top 10. After that it's a crapshoot. Lambos is ranked from 3rd to not even being drafted in the first round at all. Ceulemans is mostly ranked between 15 and 31, however because this draft hardly has any high ranked right defensemen (only Brandt?) I wouldn't be surprised at all if a team will reach for him.

Lets summarize (IMO):

Potential top 15 defensemen:
Power, Clarke, Hughes Edvinsson, Ceulemans, Lambos

Potential top 15 forwards:
Beniers, Guenther, Eklund, McTavish, Lysell, Johnson, Sillinger, Svechkov, Coronato, Lucius, Olausson, Raty

Potential top 15 goalies:
Wallstedt, Cossa


Any of the bolded players could be in our range.
Not a fan of Raty though.

EDIT:
We also don't know if the teams will draft differently due to not been able to heavily scout a lot of the North American-prospects. Due to this we could see a boost to the stock of some European players, for example, catapulting Svechkov to the top 10. Also we don't know how much issue teams are going to take into potential injury problems (Lambos, Lucius, Wallstedt). If the former is true, I wouldn't even be surprised if teams are relunctant to draft Wallstedt (apparantly he has back problems and had multiple minor concussions) and pick Cossa over Wallstedt.

Good summary Beuterham, I agree this 1st Rd could be all over the place.

Sounds like you agree with me regarding defense options being a bit scarce but it isn't just RD it's all D around our pick. The big 4 you mentioned will all be gone leaving Lambos, Ceulemans and perhaps Svozil or Chayka who most scouting services have as late 1st to early 2nd. As much as I'd like to start rebuilding our defense pool this draft I think that's less likely to happen with our 1st. Edvinsson could drop but I feel very confident he won't be there at 16.

You mentioned a lack of viewings by scouts and how that may alter teams approach and that is indeed going to be a factor. Will that mean teams lean on consensus more than they normally would? I'm sure it will for some teams. Will it boost some European trained players stock due to more games played to draw conclusions from? I'm sure we'll see some of that as well. Fortunately several top NA players played in Europe to avoid missing out on exposure.

Regarding Wallstedt I saw those same reports but as far as I can tell that was from one poster. The only verified report I saw was that he had one minor concussion and evidently a company was designing a mask specifically for him. The back problems report I'm aware of but it doesn't appear to be a major issue from what I can tell. It's not like Lambos being shut down for the whole season and requiring a procedure to fix for instance. I have seen some suggest Cossa could go ahead of Wallstedt and I agree that's a distinct possibility.

This draft is going to be very interesting to watch unfold particularly the 1st round.

 

[Beauterham]

You mentioned Brandt but should add him to list of top 15 D.

I believe he was referring to Brandt Clarke when he mentioned Clarke in his list of top 15D.

I meant Brandt Clarke indeed, bit weird that I mentioned him by his first name, I haven't got a clue why I did that to be honest.

Good summary Beuterham, I agree this 1st Rd could be all over the place.

Sounds like you agree with me regarding defense options being a bit scarce but it isn't just RD it's all D around our pick. The big 4 you mentioned will all be gone leaving Lambos, Ceulemans and perhaps Svozil or Chayka who most scouting services have as late 1st to early 2nd. As much as I'd like to start rebuilding our defense pool this draft I think that's less likely to happen with our 1st. Edvinsson could drop but I feel very confident he won't be there at 16.

You mentioned a lack of viewings by scouts and how that may alter teams approach and that is indeed going to be a factor. Will that mean teams lean on consensus more than they normally would? I'm sure it will for some teams. Will it boost some European trained players stock due to more games played to draw conclusions from? I'm sure we'll see some of that as well. Fortunately several top NA players played in Europe to avoid missing out on exposure.

In the rankings the scouting agencies produced defensive options seem scarce at first glance indeed, but that could also be a result of the mentioned lack of viewings. Teams could very well rank a defenseman a lot higher then most of us/the scouting agencies would. We will definetly see a few surprises at the draft.

An example of a potential surprise could be Olen Zellweger. Small left shooting defender, highly mobile. Problem is that he only played 11 games with his team in the WHL, which is probably why he isn't on any lists. If he played more games and continued to produce points at the pace he did he could've been a top 15 candidate. If a team really likes him he could be a reach. He played with Canada in this years U18 WJC and pointwise was on par with Clarke and Ceulemans. Aidan Hreschuk and Sean Behrens are also 2 defensive examples of players that could've made most agencies 1st round lists in a 'normal season'. Xavier Bourgault is an interesting forward in that regard.

To be honest, this would've been a really good year to have a 2nd round pick.

 

[Bye Bye Blueston]

I believe he was referring to Brandt Clarke when he mentioned Clarke in his list of top 15D.

You are right. My bad.

 

[Mike Liut]

Would you guys be upset with : Nikita Chibrikov? He’s my choice

 

[simon IC]

Would you guys be upset with : Nikita Chibrikov? He’s my choice

Eeeeh, a little small, but I guess he could still have a growth spurt. High octane offense, doesn't shy away from contact, which is good! Doesn't seem to pay any attention whatsoever to defense. He looks like a Russian Fabbri to me. I wouldn't be upset if we chose him, but he wouldn't be my first choice.

 

[jbron]

Chi

Would you guys be upset with : Nikita Chibrikov? He’s my choice

Chibrikov would bring an element to the Blues with his elite speed and shot. However, his defense needs a lot of development. Would prefer
Fyodor Svechkov as he is a gifted two way center. This seems to be the criteria for Blues top prospects in playing a 200 foot game. Coronato as a pure shooter, who also plays a 200 foot game, would be a nice addition as well.

 

[sfvega]

Guys I like who are projected to go around our pick, in order:

Carson Lambos
Cole Sillinger
Fydor Svechkov
Matthew Coronato
Zachary Bolduc

The scouting reports on Ceulemans and Chayka worry me, because they're very offense-heavy. With Faulk, Krug, Parayko, Perunovich, and possibly still Dunn, offense on D is the last of my concerns. As much as I think defensemen needs to be a drafting priority, I would not pass on someone like Svechkov or Coronato for what I feel is not only a less talented prospect, but a lesser need as well in offensive skill players vs. offensive defensemen. Lambos, if he checks out, is my top pick by a lot. Everything about him seems like a completely suitable J-Bo replacement.

 

[The Note]

Coronato is the guy I want assuming he’s there when we pick. Lambos and Svechkov are two others I would be fine with.

 

[Ranksu]

Would be so neat if we somehowe could get 2022 2nd + 3rd round pick. Trade Dunn away.

 

[The Note]

Would be so neat if we somehowe could get 2022 2nd + 3rd round pick. Trade Dunn away.

I would definitely be on board for acquiring more picks in next year's draft, however that may come to be.

 

[sfvega]

Would be so neat if we somehowe could get 2022 2nd + 3rd round pick. Trade Dunn away.

Still so gross that we traded away two 2nds for Marco Scandella.

 

[TK 421]

Still so gross that we traded away two 2nds for Marco Scandella.

We traded a 2020 2nd and a conditional 4th in 2021 for Scandella. Was that conditional 4th upgraded to a 2021 2nd when we extended him?

 

[The Note]

We traded a 2020 2nd and a conditional 4th in 2021 for Scandella. Was that conditional 4th upgraded to a 2021 2nd when we extended him?

You are right, the 4th was conditional. Him signing or the team winning two rounds and he appeared in half the games. When he re-signed we kicked the 4th in.

2021 NHL Draft - CapFriendly - NHL Salary Caps

 

[sfvega]

We traded a 2020 2nd and a conditional 4th in 2021 for Scandella. Was that conditional 4th upgraded to a 2021 2nd when we extended him?

Maybe the site I read was wrong.

 

[Bluesnatic27]

The 2021 2nd round pick was traded in the O'Reilly trade.

For as much as it sucks to lose picks in the top-2 rounds, I don't think anyone should complain about that one.

 

[TK 421]

Maybe the site I read was wrong.

But you weren't wrong about it sucking that we gave up a 2nd, yuck.

 

[The Zombonis]

Haven't read all the replies here, but would the Blues be interested in dealing pick 16 to Detroit for picks 22 and 69? Would seem to be fair value, Wings have a dozen picks this year and 10 next year! Wouldn't hurt to pick up another pick in the top 3 rounds.

 

[Blueswin]

We have not picked this low for the last decade #16. I would have no interest at all in getting a 3rd rounder to drop to #22nd. It could be the difference from a great player to average.

 

[TK 421]

Haven't read all the replies here, but would the Blues be interested in dealing pick 16 to Detroit for picks 22 and 69? Would seem to be fair value, Wings have a dozen picks this year and 10 next year! Wouldn't hurt to pick up another pick in the top 3 rounds.

0 interest.

 

[Bye Bye Blueston]

Haven't read all the replies here, but would the Blues be interested in dealing pick 16 to Detroit for picks 22 and 69? Would seem to be fair value, Wings have a dozen picks this year and 10 next year! Wouldn't hurt to pick up another pick in the top 3 rounds.

Would want more than that to move back. I would entertain something like 22 and their 2nd for 16.

 

[The Note]

Haven't read all the replies here, but would the Blues be interested in dealing pick 16 to Detroit for picks 22 and 69? Would seem to be fair value, Wings have a dozen picks this year and 10 next year! Wouldn't hurt to pick up another pick in the top 3 rounds.

I’m more open to trading back than others, but I’d at least want one of the Red Wings 2nds, probably the NYR pick at worst.

 

[TK 421]

I just want to take a moment and thank the country of Sweden for its strong contribution to making this draft fun to research. I don't know what you're doing over there but keep it up. It's way better than what Finlands doing.

Hands down my favorite player in this draft is Rogle BK LW William Stromgren from the aforementioned Sweden. 6'3, 176 lbs, brilliant skater with plus speed, stick handles in traffic like a boss, toys with defenders wielding deception as a precision tool to pick the opposition apart. Did I mention he scores goals too? He projects as a puck possesion nightmare for opposing defenses to handle. We're talking high end translatable pro skills in a big body and I'm mystified by where some scouting agencies have him ranked. I'm guessing they had more info to go on than a handful of highlights and a few written scouting reports.

Late 1st to mid 2nd is where he's currently projected to go but I think he could potentially end up a top 5 forward in this draft. He played with Modo's senior team against men and made far more experienced players look foolish. Really excited to track this guys development and some team is getting a crazy good LW they can get really excited about.

 

[LetsGoBooze]

Haven't read all the replies here, but would the Blues be interested in dealing pick 16 to Detroit for picks 22 and 69? Would seem to be fair value, Wings have a dozen picks this year and 10 next year! Wouldn't hurt to pick up another pick in the top 3 rounds.

I would drop back in the 1st for no less than a 2nd. And specifically I am waiting till were on the clock, as its possible top 10 talent might fall to us that we shouldnt be missing.