Prospect Info: Blues 2023-2024 Prospect Thread

[Caser]

Thanks for the input Caser, it's appreciated. Regarding Koromyslov, I thought he was playing at least 10 minutes a game last year in the KHL, but I'm guessing he wasn't even getting that. I saw he'd played over 20 games and assumed they were at least using him a decent amount. What are your thoughts on draft eligible Nikita Artamonov? He could be being played in a role that suits him, but you don't just score 17 points in 35 games off of sheer luck. Does he look as good as his stats look?

Technically if we look at the stats last season Koromyslov was playing 9 minutes of icetime on average over 29 KHL games, but the issue is that additionally there were also 27 KHL games where he was dressed for the game, but didn't play at all (those didn't count against that average).

About Artamonov I recently had a discussion on the similar topic where I sort of had to counter a rather frequent opinion that a lot of it has to do with Larionov's trust in young players, but here we have to consider couple of things: one is that Larionov doesn't trust like everyone and second is that it is rather easy to disappoint him if the right type of performance isn't there. Apparently so far Artamonov was looking good to him, as for an average observer I think he looks totally legit. But obviously the Blues aren't getting him, as they spend only lower round picks on the guys with active KHL contracts.

 

[Quaz]

Perunovich on waivers today!

Perunovich on waivers today!

My bad. Miss read the tweet. Waivers pickup for fantasy!

 

[Linkens Mastery]

Perunovich on waivers today!


My bad. Miss read the tweet. Waivers pickup for fantasy!

SMH

 

[Snubbed4Vezina]

 

[Damian Frerker]

snugs thomas neighbors
stenberg davorsky kyrou
bolduc dean kaskimäki
torpedo stancl pekarcik

i know, trades and stuff. just bored at work

 

[Mike Liut]

snugs thomas neighbors
stenberg davorsky kyrou
bolduc dean kaskimäki
torpedo stancl pekarcik

i know, trades and stuff. just bored at work

Our #8 pick this year is going to knock somebody off

Our #8 pick this year is going to knock somebody off

Oh shit, Nevermind. It’s going to be a Dman

 

[ezcreepin]

Our #8 pick this year is going to knock somebody off



Oh shit, Nevermind. It’s going to be a Dman

Unless there is a can't miss forward AND we have another 1st rounder, but I'd prefer if there were a potential #1 defenseman in the top 10

 

[Linkens Mastery]

 

[Frenzy31]

Now just imagine if he can improve his skating.

 

[ScratchCatFever]

Now just imagine if he can improve his skating.

Remember how ugly Oshie's choppy strides looked when he first got here? He's still not a great looking skater but he improved enough for it not to be a deficiency. I'd expect by the time Dvo gets here that his will be greatly improved and will continue to get better with power skating and agility training over the next couple summers.

 

[ezcreepin]

Remember how ugly Oshie's choppy strides looked when he first got here? He's still not a great looking skater but he improved enough for it not to be a deficiency. I'd expect by the time Dvo gets here that his will be greatly improved and will continue to get better with power skating and agility training over the next couple summers.

I'm not familiar with what type of skating coaches are best, but it could do the Blues well to find someone that helped train Skinner. When he first came into the league he had insane edges and could move around in awkward ways because he had been training basically as a figure skater. I don't know if you build enough power and acceleration that way, but it's still pretty interesting.

 

[STL fan in MN]

Solid article. Didn’t seem possibly right that this was his 4th WJC but I guess technically correct if you want to count both the 2022 WJC that was canceled after 2 games and then the one that actually happened 6 months later.

I missed the SVK-CZE game (DVR deleted it before I could get to watching it) but watched the others. He was good. Not amazing but clearly one of their more dangerous players. He appeared to lack chemistry with his wingers the first few games of the tourney. I’ll be interested to see if he returns for his last WJC next season.

Regarding his skating, it’s been discussed ad nauseam but it’s clearly his main weakness. He’s pretty jacked for an 18 year old so I wouldn’t be surprised if perhaps a bit too much focus was placed on beefing up and that’s hampered his agility a bit. It might not be the cool thing for an 18 year old to do but he’d benefit from getting into pilates or yoga. I’m sure the Blues, Wolves or both are having him work on his flexibility, balance and agility but I’d hope it’s a great focus as if he can make marked improvements in those areas, he can absolutely be a star level player.

 

[taylord22]

Solid article. Didn’t seem possibly right that this was his 4th WJC but I guess technically correct if you want to count both the 2022 WJC that was canceled after 2 games and then the one that actually happened 6 months later.

I missed the SVK-CZE game (DVR deleted it before I could get to watching it) but watched the others. He was good. Not amazing but clearly one of their more dangerous players. He appeared to lack chemistry with his wingers the first few games of the tourney. I’ll be interested to see if he returns for his last WJC next season.

Regarding his skating, it’s been discussed ad nauseam but it’s clearly his main weakness. He’s pretty jacked for an 18 year old so I wouldn’t be surprised if perhaps a bit too much focus was placed on beefing up and that’s hampered his agility a bit. It might not be the cool thing for an 18 year old to do but he’d benefit from getting into pilates or yoga. I’m sure the Blues, Wolves or both are having him work on his flexibility, balance and agility but I’d hope it’s a great focus as if he can make marked improvements in those areas, he can absolutely be a star level player.

This could be the strongest argument for putting him in a professional enviornment sooner than later. You would know more than me on what resources are available at the Jr level, but the Ian Mack/Movement Science trend seems to be moving the needle for guys much faster than some of the older models. I believe Mack's is an Adam Oates type election for a player, but I would imagine some subcontracting is starting to be done at the team level given the success McDavid, Kane, Josi, EK, etc. have had. Their situations are a bit different than a younger player, but I would have to believe starting early would have even greater impact than reconditioning.

I would assume you would need to be at the professional level before the resources necessary to facilitate "sports science" (e.g. AI-Image Processing analysis) could become available. You obviously don't want to rush development, but if this is his main weakness...bringing a scalpel to the problem vs. hammer makes a lot of sense.

 

[Thallis]

Solid article. Didn’t seem possibly right that this was his 4th WJC but I guess technically correct if you want to count both the 2022 WJC that was canceled after 2 games and then the one that actually happened 6 months later.

I missed the SVK-CZE game (DVR deleted it before I could get to watching it) but watched the others. He was good. Not amazing but clearly one of their more dangerous players. He appeared to lack chemistry with his wingers the first few games of the tourney. I’ll be interested to see if he returns for his last WJC next season.

Regarding his skating, it’s been discussed ad nauseam but it’s clearly his main weakness. He’s pretty jacked for an 18 year old so I wouldn’t be surprised if perhaps a bit too much focus was placed on beefing up and that’s hampered his agility a bit. It might not be the cool thing for an 18 year old to do but he’d benefit from getting into pilates or yoga. I’m sure the Blues, Wolves or both are having him work on his flexibility, balance and agility but I’d hope it’s a great focus as if he can make marked improvements in those areas, he can absolutely be a star level player.

I think the article kind of hints at a couple other weaknesses that led to his lack of success in the SHL. The first is his decision making. Too often in the SHL he cut through the neutral zone only to fire a low % shot into the goalie's breadbasket killing any chance of setting up a better opportunity or a good possession. His quote about liking smaller ice because he can throw it on net from anywhere and have a chance come out of it is not going to continue at the professional level. That leads to killed possessions and exits for the other team. The second is his reliance on his body for puck protection. It works for him at the Jr level because he's straight up bigger and stronger than his peers, but at the professional level guys are much stronger and have been able to knock the puck free from him and keep him to the outside. You expect it from that kind of age mismatch, but other players his age have been able to have success at the level he couldn't hang around at. To me that shows he might need to focus on reinventing his game a bit as he gets to the professional level if he is to become a top line scorer in the NHL

 

[joe galiba]

Solid article. Didn’t seem possibly right that this was his 4th WJC but I guess technically correct if you want to count both the 2022 WJC that was canceled after 2 games and then the one that actually happened 6 months later.

I missed the SVK-CZE game (DVR deleted it before I could get to watching it) but watched the others. He was good. Not amazing but clearly one of their more dangerous players. He appeared to lack chemistry with his wingers the first few games of the tourney. I’ll be interested to see if he returns for his last WJC next season.

Regarding his skating, it’s been discussed ad nauseam but it’s clearly his main weakness. He’s pretty jacked for an 18 year old so I wouldn’t be surprised if perhaps a bit too much focus was placed on beefing up and that’s hampered his agility a bit. It might not be the cool thing for an 18 year old to do but he’d benefit from getting into pilates or yoga. I’m sure the Blues, Wolves or both are having him work on his flexibility, balance and agility but I’d hope it’s a great focus as if he can make marked improvements in those areas, he can absolutely be a star level player.

Being jacked doesn't affect your agility, look at Tyreek Hill for example, he is total jacked and is among the quickest athletes in the world

 

[execwrite1]

From the Athletic article

“He’s such a pro for a young guy,” Papineau said. “Everything he does is mature. On the ice, off the ice, he’s a first-class human and everybody loves watching him. He’s just going to be such a great St. Louis Blue.”

 

[STL fan in MN]

Being jacked doesn't affect your agility, look at Tyreek Hill for example, he is total jacked and is among the quickest athletes in the world

No idea who that is but just looked him up. He’s 29 so has had 11 additional years of training. And I never said you can’t be jacked and also be agile. But he’s only 18. Obviously just a guess on my part as I have absolutely no idea what Dvorsky has done in the gym over the years but given his age and current physique, it’s certainly within the realm of possibility he’s neglected that part of training a bit. And for the record, that’d be a good thing. If agility, balance and flexibility have been at the forefront of his training for years and it’s still his biggest weakness, that’d be a concern.

 

[STL fan in MN]

I think the article kind of hints at a couple other weaknesses that led to his lack of success in the SHL. The first is his decision making. Too often in the SHL he cut through the neutral zone only to fire a low % shot into the goalie's breadbasket killing any chance of setting up a better opportunity or a good possession. His quote about liking smaller ice because he can throw it on net from anywhere and have a chance come out of it is not going to continue at the professional level. That leads to killed possessions and exits for the other team. The second is his reliance on his body for puck protection. It works for him at the Jr level because he's straight up bigger and stronger than his peers, but at the professional level guys are much stronger and have been able to knock the puck free from him and keep him to the outside. You expect it from that kind of age mismatch, but other players his age have been able to have success at the level he couldn't hang around at. To me that shows he might need to focus on reinventing his game a bit as he gets to the professional level if he is to become a top line scorer in the NHL

These are fair critiques IMO. Wheeler seemed to gush over his hockey sense but honestly I see it as average to a touch above average, not notably above average like say Thomas or Lindstein. It’ll be interesting to see if he can still protect the puck as well against men.

Army seemed to hint at this too by saying his game is currently tilted towards offense. Clearly the Blues see he needs to round out some things first to be able to be effective at the pro level.

He absolutely needed to get out of Oskarshamn and Sudbury was the best option at the time BUT if we’re going to play the hindsight game, I think he should’ve stayed in the Allsvenskan. He appears to be beyond Jr hockey but wasn’t ready for the SHL. A tier below would’ve been best IMO but I think he/his agent bit off more than he could chew. Hopefully it doesn’t end up impacting him at all but I’ll be curious where he plays next season.

 

[STL fan in MN]

This could be the strongest argument for putting him in a professional enviornment sooner than later. You would know more than me on what resources are available at the Jr level, but the Ian Mack/Movement Science trend seems to be moving the needle for guys much faster than some of the older models. I believe Mack's is an Adam Oates type election for a player, but I would imagine some subcontracting is starting to be done at the team level given the success McDavid, Kane, Josi, EK, etc. have had. Their situations are a bit different than a younger player, but I would have to believe starting early would have even greater impact than reconditioning.

I would assume you would need to be at the professional level before the resources necessary to facilitate "sports science" (e.g. AI-Image Processing analysis) could become available. You obviously don't want to rush development, but if this is his main weakness...bringing a scalpel to the problem vs. hammer makes a lot of sense.

Wasn’t familiar with this Mack guy but one of the first results on google was him working with the Team Illinois AAA program so clearly he works with amateurs too but regardless, whether it’s this guy or some other trained professional, hopefully Dvorsky is getting specialized work in regards to movement science.

Side note: I have a friend with a MS in Kinesiology and I recall him once saying how he felt his degree was obsolete as soon as he got it. I never really understood that but after your post I now understand why, so thanks.

 

[Celtic Note]

Being jacked doesn't affect your agility, look at Tyreek Hill for example, he is total jacked and is among the quickest athletes in the world

Being jacked absolutely can affect your speed, agility and endurance if you don’t train and build correctly. If you just bulk (and your body isn’t built well to accommodate it) you can sacrifice many other traits. But, if you train and build correctly it likely won’t come to that and likely will help.

 

[Celtic Note]

Is Snuggy now on the 4th line for USA?

 

[jjniner]

Missed the previous game because he was ill. 4th line to get his energy back. Will be back on top line today.

 

[stl76]

Ellis named ECHL goalie of the month:

Ellis named ECHL goaltender of the month for December | St. Louis Blues

Colten Ellis of the Orlando Solar Bears has been named the Warrior Hockey ECHL Goaltender of the Month for December. Ellis went 5-0-0 with one shutout, a 1.58 goals-against average and a save percentage of .954 in five appearances during the month. The 23-year-old allowed two goals or less in

www.nhl.com

I’m not super high on Ellis but would be awesome if he can develop into a valuable piece for the Blues.

 

[Brian39]

Ellis named ECHL goalie of the month:

Ellis named ECHL goaltender of the month for December | St. Louis Blues

Colten Ellis of the Orlando Solar Bears has been named the Warrior Hockey ECHL Goaltender of the Month for December. Ellis went 5-0-0 with one shutout, a 1.58 goals-against average and a save percentage of .954 in five appearances during the month. The 23-year-old allowed two goals or less in

www.nhl.com

I’m not super high on Ellis but would be awesome if he can develop into a valuable piece for the Blues.

Good for him, but I will be pretty surprised if he ever becomes a valuable piece. He's a small (by goalie standards) 23 year old who hasn't been able to get himself out of the ECHL yet. We have a 23 year old on our NHL roster and a 22 year old who is excelling in the AHL. Even if we decide to ditch Subban and bring Ellis up to split time with Zherenko, we will clearly be prioritizing the development of Hofer and Zherenko for the forseeable future.

At this point, his biggest goal/priority needs to be earning an AHL job and a contract that pays him 6 figures.

 

[Blueswin]

World Juniors 2023 Media All-Stars​

• Forwards: Jonathan Lekkerimaki (Sweden), Cutter Gauthier (USA), Jiri Kulich (Czechia)
• Defensemen: Theo Lindstein (Sweden), Lane Hutson (USA)
• Goalie: Hugo Havelid (Sweden)