Okay, I wrote about the defense yesterday, now onto the forwards!
Simon Robertsson:
Robertsson might have been the most frustrating player at camp for me. He had, by far, the most professional tool set out of all of the forwards in camp. He is deceptively strong in both physicality and on the puck. He seems on the shorter side but has a lot of mass in the lower half. He had great balance and utilized his edge work well. He's not a speedster but does have a strong first few strides and has average agility. His shot is a thing of beauty as the mechanics are fluid and the shot is hard. The only physical aspect of his game that was lacking was his handling of the puck as he would lose possession any time he had to make cuts or was hounded for pressure. Despite that, his one-on-one skill was in a class with Bolduc and Dvorsky. He will apply a press and move his way around a defending player efficiently. When Robertsson is in the slot, there are very few prospects that are more dangerous. However, and this is why he was frustrating, he tries to apply his one-on-one strength in ALL situations. It's the Logan Cooley problem of thinking he can move around 2+ defending players to find his scoring lanes. He needs to utilize his teammates more to find success because he is not MacKinnon no matter how hard he wants to be. In fact, his best plays in the scrimmages were from him passing instead of shooting. He has good vision and patience. He should be able to contribute in all facets of the game but tries to carry the world on his back. Like I said, he's frustrating because I see an NHL player that can contribute in the top-9 if he changes his game to use his one-on-one strengths more organically instead of forcing those plays. Classic tunnel-vision hockey that only works if the player has multiple elite skills. Besides his shot, Robertsson does not have that. Still, I saw plenty to like and have hopes he can be a 20-goal, 40 point contributor with proper guidance and a more humble game.
Prognosis: Top-9 NHL goal scorer or top line AHL scoring winger
Aleksanteri Kaskimaki:
From most frustrating, to the player I had the worst impression of from any of the Blues property. Robertsson's game was frustrating because he was trying to force his game into scenarios that didn't allow for such. But the strengths Robertsson has are at least good enough to find success. Kaskimaki doesn't have that. I said in a brief overview that watching Kaskimaki was like watching a highly skilled player in slow motion. He wishes to create these astounding plays with creativity and finesse. The issue are all his skills are far too slow to allow for those plays unless he was given A LOT of space. For example, he would attempt these beautiful spinning passes across ice to generate scoring opportunities. They did have some success and were cool to watch. The issue was how he needed to slow down tremendously to gain the necessary space to swing the puck around. This wasn't done from quick stop and starts but rather him physically slowing down, or just stopping, when approaching the slot. He can't handle the puck well enough at speed so these attempts are done more to show off than create unpredictable plays. While Robertsson wants to be MacKinnon, Kaskimaki wants to be Kovalev with none of what made Kovalev good. I might be too harsh on Kaskimaki. But trust me when I say that he needs to accept he can't play the way he wants with his average toolset. It doesn't help that he lacks the defensive motivation to make some of his antics tolerable. Kaskimaki has enough skill to be an NHL talent if he can start playing like Sobotka. He has good vision and a good hockey mind. But until he humbles his game, he's not making it.
Prognosis: Career Euro talent
Juraj Pekarcik:
I think this guy has been talked about a lot and for good reason. He will become a fan favorite if he can develop the way I hope he can. His frame made him seem like a man amongst boys. But his speed and edge work made him fly around the ice. His shot was firm and he utilized his body to generate a lot of torque on his stick. His puck movement was simple but he utilized his reach to keep the puck away from defending sticks. All-in-all, he was impressive. He was also incredibly clumsy and awkward. I don't recall him being bad in any particular area besides balance. But everything about his skillset was underdeveloped. He would lose pucks easily, he would fall over with no pressure, he would get caught stuck trying to corral pucks at any speed, he would put himself out of position to hound pucks, etc. All of his skills are there. But he's fresh out the slaughterhouse raw. So raw, in fact, that I couldn't get a read on his hockey IQ. He's a relentless player that will stick to opposing players like glue in order to snag the puck. But I couldn't get a good read on vision, positioning, tempo control, and creativity when he was damn near throwing himself every where on the ice. I think he could model his game after fellow Slovak, Honzek. I see a lot of similarities in frame and skill set. Honzek is just further along in development and has a better understanding of how to use his skills/talent. At the very top-end, I see a good middle-six forward that teams drool over. But even at the low end, I see a more skilled Toropchenko for the bottom-six. Definitely not as fast, but the same aggressive big-body that can be dynamite on the forecheck.
Prognosis: Middle-six power forward
Ivan Vorobyov:
The other talk of the town for the prospects camp was Vorobyov. I've seen a lot of takes on his impressive camp from others on this board and I can't disagree with most of what I read. The only two points I like to add are how he strikes me as a player that is much greater than the sum of his parts due to his offensive intelligence and his elite hand-eye coordination. He didn't have any particular physical tool that made him stand above the others at camp. I'd say his shot and passing strength were above average. But that would be about it. However, when the game starts, he is an offensive catalyst. He was up there with Dvorsky in terms of offensive danger he brought on the ice for team MacInnis. He would generate scoring opportunities at will by drawing attention from defending players or finding passing lanes through coverage. His firm puck movement surely helped. But Vorobyov has a special mind to make Peterson look like an offensive threat. In conjunction with his intelligence, Vorobyov had one skill that stood above all of his peers. He could swat a fly out of the air with a paper clip considering how superb his hand-eye is. The number of pucks he deflected or batted down mid air was eye opening. Definitley a translatable skill at higher levels, albeit a niche one. It's also downright strange too because the weakest aspect of his game, besides defensive engagement, his is handling of the puck. His hands looked like they were made of stone any time he tried receiving a pass. And, as others have pointed out, he likes to cheat in the defensive zone for breakouts. I hope that's because of the nature of 4-on-4/3-on-3 where space is in abundance. If not, then he will need a lot of work to become a contributing NHL player. From what I saw, he might become a Patric Hornqvist like player if he can fix his defensive issues and soften his hands a tad. I saw NHL talent and I am going to be keeping a closer eye on him from here on out.
Prognosis: Top-9 winger or top-6 AHL scorer
Tanner Dickinson:
I'll start this write up by saying that my expectations for Dickinson was different for all of the other prospects. I always thought he had NHL talent because his game at speed is top notch. He surveys the ice and makes every stride seem effortless. His East-West game is the most dangerous in camp as he can circle the wagons better than anyone there. He finds passing lanes and cuts in deep to the slot for shooting opportunities. He's not going to beat many with his shot as it lacks velocity from distance. But it's quick enough to beat goalies if he gets well within the slot. All-in-all, he showed the same talent I saw in him from his draft year. I was curious is if he had to change anything in his game after his long term injury. I didn't see any lingering side-effects to his mobility and puck handling. He didn't seem to have made any improvements since the injury. But I'll take the lack of regression as a positive sign. In that regard, he has met my expectations leaning into this camp. Though, I have no insights into if he can be an NHL contributor. He's pretty much a "top-6 or bust player" as I think his injuries prevent him from taking the bottom-6 unless paired with protection for him to play his game. Unlike Robertsson, who has sneaky strength, what you see of Dickinson is what you get. Probably the best skating Blues prospect that relies on his speed to avoid serious confrontations. The only test that matters will be if he can play at the professional level next year. Stay healthy for the year and I think he can be looking toward a potential top-9 spot. If not, then he joins the Perunovich bus. Talented can't handle the cutthroat game at the highest level.
Prognosis: Top-9, 40 point playmaking winger
Unfortunately, this weekend looks too busy to give all of my write-ups for the forwards. I'll try and add more throughout the weekend when I can. I have a bout 7 more to do. I'm leaving the 1st rounders for last (minus Dean as I don't have any notes on him).
Please ask any questions!
Exceptional analysis on these players! Thanks
