Prospect Info: Blues 2024-2025 Prospect Thread

ChicagoBlues

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Oct 24, 2006
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Yep, I think Lindbohm is a good comp for Loof. Not even in terms of play style, but in terms of what the upside of his career looks like. A few cups of coffee, maybe a bit more if the injury bug bites or we trade off a few guys, but probably not much more than that.
If the Lööf comp is Petteri 'Scared Shitess' Lindbohm, then Leo ain gon hang. If Lööf can't slow down the game enough to carve out a NHL role, then he's not a NHLer.
 
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joe galiba

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Apr 16, 2020
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What does hitting mean? If they are an NHL, 3rd pairing or 7th D is that hitting? 3 of those doesn't help. We need at least one to hit top pair and another to be top 4.

Broberg and Lindstein have a pretty good chance to hit top 4. They have the potential to hit top pair. But the smart money would still be on them maxing out as a #3 or 4. The rest are just guys. They may be NHLers some day, some could reach a #4. But they aren't sniffing top pair. We still are missing elite talent and quantity of LHD prospects isn't going to make up for it. As you say, there are only 3 slots on the LD.
Josi, Fox, Toews, Montour, Slavin just off the top of my head are guys who would never be sniffing a top pair, and yet they are
 
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Majorityof1

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Mar 6, 2014
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Josi, Fox, Toews, Montour, Slavin just off the top of my head are guys who would never be sniffing a top pair, and yet they are
5 guys who vastly outperformed their draft pedigree out of hundreds. And their post draft stock rose quickly. Several of our guys are well past their D+1 year and nobody is projecting them as top pair. Maybe they do, but I wouldn't gameplan around it.
 

Frenzy31

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May 21, 2003
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Josi, Fox, Toews, Montour, Slavin just off the top of my head are guys who would never be sniffing a top pair, and yet they are

Dunn, Walman both lined up against top lines this past year.

Draft position is helpful but not defining. I will say that I think Broberg may pull a Dunn. Contending team not willing to let a player grow and develop in games moves to a younger team that gives him a chance.
 

ChicagoBlues

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Oct 24, 2006
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Dunn, Walman both lined up against top lines this past year.

Draft position is helpful but not defining. I will say that I think Broberg may pull a Dunn. Contending team not willing to let a player grow and develop in games moves to a younger team that gives him a chance.
Contending team not able to develop a player because their D is stuffed. Oilers fans saying Broberg isn't good enough to crack the lineup is backwards.

It is not a matter for Edmonton to be have been willing to develop Broberg. They could not. They were unable to.

The reasons for aww dat? We've gone over them plenty these last couple weeks.
 

Thallis

No half measures
Jan 23, 2010
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Dunn, Walman both lined up against top lines this past year.

Draft position is helpful but not defining. I will say that I think Broberg may pull a Dunn. Contending team not willing to let a player grow and develop in games moves to a younger team that gives him a chance.
Dunn was already a 35 point player on the Stanley Cup winning Blues at Broberg's age. That team was significantly harder to make a regular shift for and Dunn was pushing for top 4 minutes.
 
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BleedBlue14

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Dunn was already a 35 point player on the Stanley Cup winning Blues at Broberg's age. That team was significantly harder to make a regular shift for and Dunn was pushing for top 4 minutes.

Dunn the Cup season and the year following still was never trusted by the coaching staff enough to play in the top 4 except for when we needed to push for offense. Dunn's offensive game and bite were always there, his defensive responsibility and reliability just wasn't. I'm not sure if he has that yet or not. But I can see the argument for Broberg if he takes an offensive step like Dunn had to supposedly take a defensive step
 

execwrite1

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Mar 30, 2018
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Matvei Korotky C

His main contribution to his team's offense is his goal-scoring, and he's considered to be pretty clutch in this regard, with a hard, heavy wrister and a lightning-quick release. He doesn't need to always score the pretty ones though, as he will go to the net to clean up garbage as well,

Ondrej Kos C/LW​

top-notch defensive player, and he demonstrated his value in this area at the Hlinka Gretzky Tournament. He works as hard on the backcheck as he does on the forecheck, and is relentless on puck-carriers to win pucks by smothering them. Scouts love the compete on this kid- his motor never quits,
 

PerryTurnbullfan

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Sep 30, 2006
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Matvei Korotky C

His main contribution to his team's offense is his goal-scoring, and he's considered to be pretty clutch in this regard, with a hard, heavy wrister and a lightning-quick release. He doesn't need to always score the pretty ones though, as he will go to the net to clean up garbage as well,

Ondrej Kos C/LW​

top-notch defensive player, and he demonstrated his value in this area at the Hlinka Gretzky Tournament. He works as hard on the backcheck as he does on the forecheck, and is relentless on puck-carriers to win pucks by smothering them. Scouts love the compete on this kid- his motor never quits,
Really liked these picks. Two different scouting services gushed over both players as sleepers. Kos was described much like Sunny as if he could put up 10-15 goals you have a star key piece. (Sebastian high was his biggest fan)

Korotky was overshadowed by a teammate, but probably would’ve got more notoriety playing on a different team as THE guy. He was pegged as a guy to watch in 5 years as a draft steal. (I think it was the sick podcast)
 
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Thallis

No half measures
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Dunn the Cup season and the year following still was never trusted by the coaching staff enough to play in the top 4 except for when we needed to push for offense. Dunn's offensive game and bite were always there, his defensive responsibility and reliability just wasn't. I'm not sure if he has that yet or not. But I can see the argument for Broberg if he takes an offensive step like Dunn had to supposedly take a defensive step

The difference is Broberg needs to take both a defensive and offensive step. Dunn was an established NHLer who has proven he could produce over a full season. Broberg has 81 regular season games in 3 years and hasn't been able to earn a full time role in the league. The expectations for him this season are completely out of control for what he's shown in the league so far.
 

PocketNines

Cutter's Way
Apr 29, 2004
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It's easy to get a top pair defenseman

Just off the top of my head, Roman Josi. Off the top of my head!

Also Slavin

I didn't even have to work to think of it! What is all this talk of it being hard to get a top pair defenseman?
 

bleedblue1223

Registered User
Jan 21, 2011
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Hell, even just look at our scouting group, and I know I grouping multiple eras together. Over the last 20ish years, how many top pairing dmen have we drafted? And I'm going to go with pretty low requirements of a top pair guy.

Erik Johnson
Alex Pietrangelo
Colton Parayko
Vince Dunn

Petro is the only guy that you can build a true top pair around. Parayko is someone that you can build a top shutdown pair around, but it's not going to be a top pair that can bring the offense like a Petro top pair. Johnson is similar to Parayko, but a lesser version, I'm ok saying he wasn't top pair quality, but I think he had some years in Colorado where he could be the #2 on a top pair. Dunn is kind of that modern top pair in Seattle, opposite of Parayko, he'll play big minutes, but it'll be the offense, not the defense.

Even a team like us that drafts above average will not find that many outside of the very top picks. With Jiricek and Lindstein, and a heavier focus on the position in recent drafts, we'll see if it changes, because more lotto tickets, will improve your chances. But, it's not as simple as just draft more and you are guaranteed to hit.
 

Stupendous Yappi

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The difference is Broberg needs to take both a defensive and offensive step. Dunn was an established NHLer who has proven he could produce over a full season. Broberg has 81 regular season games in 3 years and hasn't been able to earn a full time role in the league. The expectations for him this season are completely out of control for what he's shown in the league so far.
The way the Blues front office has targeted Broberg even for trade prior to the offer sheet suggests the Blues pro scouts have some expectations for him. It’s an interesting story line. But it will be stunning if he doesn’t get the full season this year and plenty of ice time. Can’t develop if you don’t play.
 

Thallis

No half measures
Jan 23, 2010
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The way the Blues front office has targeted Broberg even for trade prior to the offer sheet suggests the Blues pro scouts have some expectations for him. It’s an interesting story line. But it will be stunning if he doesn’t get the full season this year and plenty of ice time. Can’t develop if you don’t play.
Sure, I just think the expectations for Broberg within the fan base this season are unrealistic. I do believe he can become a top 4 defenseman, but I don't believe he's that right now. Putting someone who's not ready in a role like that could quickly shoot his confidence, turn the fan base against him (especially when the general expectation is a playoff berth), and harm his development overall. Thinking he's at the stage in his career that Dunn was when he joined the Kraken is unrealistic and unfair to Broberg. Absolutely, have him play every day and let him make mistakes, but thrusting him directly into the top 4 seems like you're setting him up to fail.
 
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Snubbed4Vezina

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Really liked these picks. Two different scouting services gushed over both players as sleepers. Kos was described much like Sunny as if he could put up 10-15 goals you have a star key piece. (Sebastian high was his biggest fan)

Korotky was overshadowed by a teammate, but probably would’ve got more notoriety playing on a different team as THE guy. He was pegged as a guy to watch in 5 years as a draft steal. (I think it was the sick podcast)
Sunny was the first person I thought of when I looked into Kos after we drafted him. They continue to draft high-motor, motivated players. You love to see it.
 

bleedblue1223

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Jan 21, 2011
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Is this a good or a bad thing? I know it doesn't matter a whole lot in the grand scheme of things but I would prefer him playing on a better team/better situation.
I'm more neutral. In theory, he'll likely have a bigger role now, so that could help blossom his game. For him to develop though, he's going to need a more complete game, so I see more of his development coming at the AHL level for a few years, kind of like Hoffman.
 
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Frenzy31

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May 21, 2003
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Sure, I just think the expectations for Broberg within the fan base this season are unrealistic. I do believe he can become a top 4 defenseman, but I don't believe he's that right now. Putting someone who's not ready in a role like that could quickly shoot his confidence, turn the fan base against him (especially when the general expectation is a playoff berth), and harm his development overall. Thinking he's at the stage in his career that Dunn was when he joined the Kraken is unrealistic and unfair to Broberg. Absolutely, have him play every day and let him make mistakes, but thrusting him directly into the top 4 seems like you're setting him up to fail.

I don't expect Broberg to be Dunn when he moved over to the Kraken. But I do think he can develop in a similar manner as Dunn or Walman when he moved on. I watched Broberg in the playoffs and he looked solid. I thought he looked better than Nurse in the Florida series and while that was a very short span, I think his play was consistent over the course of those games.

My general overall point was - Dunn was pigeon holed here and had a limited role and goes to a team that gives him a chance and he takes off. Same with Walman - 3rd pairing dman who was moved up the lineup when another team gave him an opportunity.

I think Broberg can find a similar track where he gets more opportunity here and his development takes off. I am not saying top 4 from the beginning of the season, but I would hope that he takes off here and earns more time as he grows as a player. He was drafted 8th overall. He has skating and hockey IQ per DA so....
 

Bye Bye Blueston

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He's likely going to have less support from his linemates but a bigger chance to shine as a play driver. Medicine Hat was loaded up front.
I think this will potentially be good for his development, as he won't be able to coast and pile up points like he would on loaded MH team. He may not be up to becoming impactful WHL player on his own, but that seems like good thing to learn sooner than later. If he isn't able to produce there he likely won't ever be much of an NHLer.
 
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STLegend

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Feb 20, 2010
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I guess we'll get a pretty good idea if Mr. Sic put up all those points due to having great linemates or if he can repeat it on a lesser squad.

Gotta be a little frustrating for him leaving a team with the likes of McKenna, Lindstrom & Basha...
 
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TK 421

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Sep 12, 2007
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Sure, I just think the expectations for Broberg within the fan base this season are unrealistic. I do believe he can become a top 4 defenseman, but I don't believe he's that right now. Putting someone who's not ready in a role like that could quickly shoot his confidence, turn the fan base against him (especially when the general expectation is a playoff berth), and harm his development overall. Thinking he's at the stage in his career that Dunn was when he joined the Kraken is unrealistic and unfair to Broberg. Absolutely, have him play every day and let him make mistakes, but thrusting him directly into the top 4 seems like you're setting him up to fail.

Somebody has to play those minutes with Parayko in tough usage and Leddy is 33 years old. This is one of those "needs must" situations where we need the 6'4,212 lb 23 year old LD to step into a role right now or at least within the season. It's him or Leddy in that usage and it's just about time to start dialing back on what the Blues have been asking out of Leddy. Maybe you can push it another year out but there's a clear path to big minutes at LD1 on this team rn and I would think the plan is actually to pair him with Parayko immediately and run that as the top pairing. Leddy gets better splits on his zone starts and easier competition with Faulk and the Blues will still be leaning heavily on this 2nd pairing so it's not like Broberg/Parayko will see more than 22 minutes a game which should be easy for them to maintain. Broberg already has AHL experience and played in a G7 Cup Final game so at 23 I expect him to not only handle the transition but to thrive with more ice time. Could be that's asking too much but he appears primed to take advantage of this opportunity to me, the Blues certainly paid him like an instant top 4 option.
 

bleedblue1223

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Jan 21, 2011
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Throwing him on with Parayko under the same usage that Parayko had would be a recipe for disaster, and it's just the opposite of what Edmonton did with him. To me, you either put him with Faulk and give that pair more offensive minutes or you put him with Kessel and they get more of a balanced/defensive leaning minutes. I think I'd start with Faulk, where that pair gets significant minutes, but also relatively sheltered, so that Broberg has room to see what he has offensively and make mistakes without fear of being destroyed by the opponents top lines.

Best case scenario, he's able to take over for Leddy next season or the following season, but lets start with just giving him consistent minutes on his natural side.
 
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LGB

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I like the idea of him playing with Kessel. If Kessel takes a step forward and they end up having good chemistry maybe we're comfortable with rolling them out as our second pairing a year from now.
 

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