Prospect Info: Blues 2024-2025 Prospect Thread

[Bye Bye Blueston]

I'm going to have to agree that Snuggy is the #2 talent on our roster. I think he makes a top 6 impact immediately. Let's see what we have in Lindstein and Jiricek. I see future top 4 guys, but they need to do something regularly here before I'm willing to go overboard. I've seen as much out of Lukas Fischer and Quinton Burns as leaders on the ice as I've seen out of Jiricek at the Junior level. Night in night out Burns has the Senneckes and toughest assignments and I'm not sure if he is just a top 6 or what. Canada sure could've used him. So I'm just not ready to have Jiricek knighted yet.....

Are we all ready to agree that in spite of what national guys think, we have one of top 10 systems in league?

 

[DatDude44]

Snuggy has the best shot among the group I would say, but also we are getting an influx of that attribute. Dvorsky, Bolduc, Stancl can all rip it from that right circle (and in general) the same way Snuggy can. Stenberg can shoot as well they were using him multiple times in their shootout (and he damn near won them the silver medal but Sale scored). That's not Snuggy's fault that we have more of the attribute in the pipeline so it's not a knock, just an observation.

Having a legitimate 1st round prospect at every position but goalie (which we shouldn't use one on) gives us a ton more versatility in the trade market in the "trade for a major player" category, which often involves a prospect at the same position going back (but doesn't have to).

Snuggys the only righty tho. So that 1-T is on the other side.

A snuggy and Dvo PP with thomas distributing is gonna be scary someday.

Are we all ready to agree that in spite of what national guys think, we have one of top 10 systems in league?

I'd need to research other teams depth players more before i'm certain, but i'd certainly put us in the conversation

 

[bleedblue1223]

Are we all ready to agree that in spite of what national guys think, we have one of top 10 systems in league?

I think it ultimately depends on how much you weight high-end guys vs depth and how high-end you view our high-end guys. If people don't view Dvorsky and Snuggerud as high-end prospects, then I understand why they don't rank our prospect pool as high. With the way Stenberg gets ranked by some, it's easy to see which people are stat watchers and which people watch each prospects more closely. In fairness, it's very hard to keep up on all prospects, so there will always be a significant amount of stat watching and continuing to view them as they were in their draft year.

I think our prospect pool will prove quality enough to turn us into a playoff team in the near future, the question is going to be, is it strong enough to make us into contenders, through a combo of the prospects developing into Blues players and being used as trade pieces to acquire NHL talent.

 

[PerryTurnbullfan]

Are we all ready to agree that in spite of what national guys think, we have one of top 10 systems in league?

We have to be getting close. I do remember looking at some of the teams in the 7-10 range still being stacked like the Sabres and Utah. They have gotten a lot of high picks the past couple years.

 

[ToastedRavioli]

Last time I did a prospects list for the Blues was a top ten right after the draft. Here is my updated top 15 after the WJC. I consider Bolduc a graduate

1. Dalibor Dvorsky (-)
2. Adam Jiricek (-)
3. Jimmy Snuggerud (-)
4. Theo Lindstein (+1)
5. Otto Stenberg (+1)
6. Colin Ralph (+3)
7. Lukas Fischer (+3)
8. Aleksanteri Kaskimaki (Not in top ten in July)
9. Juraj Pekarcik (-1)
10. Jakub Stancl (Not in top ten in July)
11. Zach Dean (-4)
12. Michael Buchinger (Not in top ten in July)
13. Adam Jecho (Not in top ten in July)
14. Tomas Mrsic (Not in top ten in July)
15. Ondrej Kos (Not in top ten in July)

Biggest standouts this year so far have to be Kaskimaki, Stancl, and Ralph. Kaskimaki has far exceeded my expectations for his first year in the AHL. He looks like a legitimate future NHLer and someone who I suspect we will see a lot earlier than we all expected before he had this great first half of the season. Stancl has had two fantastic WJC performances back to back and has also put together a good year in the CHL for his draft position. Ralph has done everything right and is progressing very nicely. Dean is the most noticeable drop this year. This was a very important year in his development to get back on track and the injury certainly will not help.

 

[PerryTurnbullfan]

Snuggy has the best shot among the group I would say, but also we are getting an influx of that attribute. Dvorsky, Bolduc, Stancl can all rip it from that right circle (and in general) the same way Snuggy can. Stenberg can shoot as well they were using him multiple times in their shootout (and he damn near won them the silver medal but Sale scored). That's not Snuggy's fault that we have more of the attribute in the pipeline so it's not a knock, just an observation.

Having a legitimate 1st round prospect at every position but goalie (which we shouldn't use one on) gives us a ton more versatility in the trade market in the "trade for a major player" category, which often involves a prospect at the same position going back (but doesn't have to).

I'm going to disagree with you on the goalie. The best player on the Thunderbirds is Colten Ellis. That guy keeps them in games night in and night out. He is the most NHL ready prospect that we have no exceptions. He is every bit the goalie Hofer is. I'm not sure why he isn't in conversation of our top 5 prospects as well.

 

[PocketNines]

I'm going to disagree with you on the goalie. The best player on the Thunderbirds is Colten Ellis. That guy keeps them in games night in and night out. He is the most NHL ready prospect that we have no exceptions. He is every bit the goalie Hofer is. I'm not sure why he isn't in conversation of our top 5 prospects as well.

for me no knock on Ellis I longstandingly don't rank goalies alongside skaters.

they are way too variable even when they look phenomenal at the AHL level, or even during the regular season for awhile in the NHL. Like Husso

 

[ezcreepin]

Prospect tier list (based on some viewings, stat-watching, and other poster's reviews). Tier names are only to reflect potential outcome, not necessarily how I view them currently.

Tier 1 (Superstar) - Dvorsky
Tier 2 (top line/pairing) - Lindstein, Snuggerud
Tier 3 (middle 6/2nd pair) - Stancl, Jiricek, Pekarcik, Kaskimaki, Ralph, Stenberg, Mrsic, Dean(?)
Tier 4 (bottom 6/3rd pair) - Buchinger, Kos, Burns, L. Fischer, Jecho, Loof, Robertsson
Tier 5 (wildcards) - Peterson, Dickinson, Korotky, Mayich, Vorobyov, Koromyslov, Susuyev

These are just based on intuition and how I feel like these guys might progress in the years to come. I'll be happy to see tier 3 guys move up to tier 2, but I think that Snuggerud and Lindstein have the only legitimate shot right now of being a top line defenseman or winger. I think Dvorsky is a sure fire 1A/1B to Thomas or he could supersede him which would be great. I think the showings from tier 3 guys have moved them up in my mind, particularly Stancl and maybe Pekarcik (I'm high on him). Jiricek just has to remain healthy for me to have a better impression of him. Kaskimaki, Stenberg, and Dean feel like a very good 3rd line if they all hit their potential (Dean specifically), but I like Mrsic's ability right now and feel like he could have a Kyrou-like rise. Ralph is a big body who skates very well, and if he can refine his defensive game, he will be a LH Parayko, so I could easily see him being a 2nd pair. All of tier 3 are guys I don't have much info about. Loof and Buchinger have fallen a lot, the others are progressing fine, but Robertsson seems to have adapted to NA hockey better than I expected. It'll be more about staying healthy and competing for him to hit the potential. Tier 5 is self-explanatory. I have zero info and they could be NHL players or never see NA ice. I like the skill of these players, but I haven't seen anything yet that says "oh yea they are definitely NHL players".

 

[STL fan in MN]

This prompted me to also do an updated prospect ranking. 6 month ago, I had a top-6 that I didn’t really see a lot of separation but now I’ve got Dvorsky in a tier by himself again with Bolduc and Kessel no longer considered prospects.

1 Dvorsky (-)

2 Lindstein (-)
3 Stenberg (+3)
4 Snuggerud (-)
5 Jiricek (-2)

6 Stancl (+13)
7 Pekarcik (+2)
8 Kaskimaki (+8)
9 Dean (-1)
10 Ellis (+11)

11 Ralph (+1)
12 Fisher (-2)
13 Burns (+2)
14 Jecho (+6)

I see possible NHL talent: Buchinger, Robertsson, Koromyslov, Peterson, Mrsic, Kos, Korotky, Susuyev, Johannesson, Zherenko

Don’t like their chances but they have an above 0 chance of making it: Vorobyov, Skinner, Mayich, McIsaac, Loof

Would be surprised they ever made the NHL: Laferriere, Gaudet, Dickinson, Abramov, Malmstrom, Dorian, Cranley

 

[Bye Bye Blueston]

This prompted me to also do an updated prospect ranking. 6 month ago, I had a top-6 that I didn’t really see a lot of separation but now I’ve got Dvorsky in a tier by himself again with Bolduc and Kessel no longer considered prospects.

1 Dvorsky (-)

2 Lindstein (-)
3 Stenberg (+3)
4 Snuggerud (-)
5 Jiricek (-2)

6 Stancl (+13)
7 Pekarcik (+2)
8 Kaskimaki (+8)
9 Dean (-1)
10 Ellis (+11)

11 Ralph (+1)
12 Fisher (-2)
13 Burns (+2)
14 Jecho (+6)

I see possible NHL talent: Buchinger, Robertsson, Koromyslov, Peterson, Mrsic, Kos, Korotky, Susuyev, Johannesson, Zherenko

Don’t like their chances but they have an above 0 chance of making it: Vorobyov, Skinner, Mayich, McIsaac, Loof

Would be surprised they ever made the NHL: Laferriere, Gaudet, Dickinson, Abramov, Malmstrom, Dorian, Cranley

This is pretty close to how I see it. I'd move Stenberg below Snuggy and Jiricek, perhaps Fisher above Ralph, but the tiers for the skaters look about right.

 

[ChicagoBlues]

This is pretty close to how I see it. I'd move Stenberg below Snuggy and Jiricek, perhaps Fisher above Ralph, but the tiers for the skaters look about right.

Kinda me too. I tend to separate goalies right away and rank only skaters.

 

[Stealth JD]

Prospect tier list (based on some viewings, stat-watching, and other poster's reviews). Tier names are only to reflect potential outcome, not necessarily how I view them currently.

Tier 1 (Superstar) - Dvorsky
Tier 2 (top line/pairing) - Lindstein, Snuggerud
Tier 3 (middle 6/2nd pair) - Stancl, Jiricek, Pekarcik, Kaskimaki, Ralph, Stenberg, Mrsic, Dean(?)
Tier 4 (bottom 6/3rd pair) - Buchinger, Kos, Burns, L. Fischer, Jecho, Loof, Robertsson
Tier 5 (wildcards) - Peterson, Dickinson, Korotky, Mayich, Vorobyov, Koromyslov, Susuyev

These are just based on intuition and how I feel like these guys might progress in the years to come. I'll be happy to see tier 3 guys move up to tier 2, but I think that Snuggerud and Lindstein have the only legitimate shot right now of being a top line defenseman or winger. I think Dvorsky is a sure fire 1A/1B to Thomas or he could supersede him which would be great. I think the showings from tier 3 guys have moved them up in my mind, particularly Stancl and maybe Pekarcik (I'm high on him). Jiricek just has to remain healthy for me to have a better impression of him. Kaskimaki, Stenberg, and Dean feel like a very good 3rd line if they all hit their potential (Dean specifically), but I like Mrsic's ability right now and feel like he could have a Kyrou-like rise. Ralph is a big body who skates very well, and if he can refine his defensive game, he will be a LH Parayko, so I could easily see him being a 2nd pair. All of tier 3 are guys I don't have much info about. Loof and Buchinger have fallen a lot, the others are progressing fine, but Robertsson seems to have adapted to NA hockey better than I expected. It'll be more about staying healthy and competing for him to hit the potential. Tier 5 is self-explanatory. I have zero info and they could be NHL players or never see NA ice. I like the skill of these players, but I haven't seen anything yet that says "oh yea they are definitely NHL players".

I think you're over-rating most of these guys by a full tier. It's very unlikely that anybody in this pool becomes a "superstar". Dvorsky should be a top-6 center, but I'd be shocked if he became more than a 65-point, two-way player. If any of our D-prospects became top-4 that would be fantastic...but top-pairing might be pushing it. I'm hoping that Lindstein, Koromyslov, Fischer & Jiricek can become full-time NHL'ers and contribute at the next level, but the odds of all four doing it aren't favorable. Fortunately with guys like Ralph, Burns, Buchinger & Mayich the Blues have some insurance but there are only so many NHL jobs to go around.

Of the non-Dvorsky forwards maybe four of those guys have legitimate careers of a few hundred games in the NHL. I'd guess Snuggy & Stenberg make it and if Stancl can play with pace he could contribute in the bottom-6; but there's simply no way that 10 prospect-forwards become NHL'ers. Kaskimaki may get a shot, but Mrsic, Dean, Pekarcik, Jecho and the rest are the very definition of long-shot. It would be cool to hit a home-run on Korotky, Vorobyov or Susuyev but that likely just takes a job away from one of the other guys listed ahead of them.

The Blues system lacks top-end talent. There's lots of depth, but only the best five to seven guys are going to have NHL careers of any note. The rest will peak as AHL'ers, see their careers derailed by injury or give up their hockey dreams when they realize they're not the best of the best. Army and Steen have a lot of lottery tickets at the moment, but as they start scratching them off as they climb the ranks most will end up discarded.

 

[LetsGoBooze]

I think we need a consensus elite top prospect that's regarded in the top 25 prospects league wide to catapult our entire system into the top 10 conversation. We just dont have any kids rated in that league-wide blue chip category. Now our depth of prospects is getting pretty insane, and i now expect 5-8 of these guys to make an impact in the nhl. Were just one major piece away from being on everyone's top 10 list.

 

[Mike Liut]

I think we need a consensus elite top prospect that's regarded in the top 25 prospects league wide to catapult our entire system into the top 10 conversation. We just dont have any kids rated in that league-wide blue chip category. Now our depth of prospects is getting pretty insane, and i now expect 5-8 of these guys to make an impact in the nhl. Were just one major piece away from being on everyone's top 10 list.

We keep blowing our tanks

 

[ChicagoBlues]

We keep blowing our tanks

Wouldn’t that help the submarine surface?

 

[PerryTurnbullfan]

I think you're over-rating most of these guys by a full tier. It's very unlikely that anybody in this pool becomes a "superstar". Dvorsky should be a top-6 center, but I'd be shocked if he became more than a 65-point, two-way player. If any of our D-prospects became top-4 that would be fantastic...but top-pairing might be pushing it. I'm hoping that Lindstein, Koromyslov, Fischer & Jiricek can become full-time NHL'ers and contribute at the next level, but the odds of all four doing it aren't favorable. Fortunately with guys like Ralph, Burns, Buchinger & Mayich the Blues have some insurance but there are only so many NHL jobs to go around.

Of the non-Dvorsky forwards maybe four of those guys have legitimate careers of a few hundred games in the NHL. I'd guess Snuggy & Stenberg make it and if Stancl can play with pace he could contribute in the bottom-6; but there's simply no way that 10 prospect-forwards become NHL'ers. Kaskimaki may get a shot, but Mrsic, Dean, Pekarcik, Jecho and the rest are the very definition of long-shot. It would be cool to hit a home-run on Korotky, Vorobyov or Susuyev but that likely just takes a job away from one of the other guys listed ahead of them.

The Blues system lacks top-end talent. There's lots of depth, but only the best five to seven guys are going to have NHL careers of any note. The rest will peak as AHL'ers, see their careers derailed by injury or give up their hockey dreams when they realize they're not the best of the best. Army and Steen have a lot of lottery tickets at the moment, but as they start scratching them off as they climb the ranks most will end up discarded.

This. That’s why I would argue we are not top 10. We have no game breakers. I agree on Dvo. So he had 5 points against the same cream puff that Pekarcik did. Watch some AHL games and tell me he dominates. I think after him and Snuggy there is a drop off. Snuggy is an about a notch below him. There is still a development curve. So hope isn’t lost. One of these guys may explode like Kaski has compared to previous seasons in the AHL. We shall see.

If you have 10 forwards add in 2 defensemen putting up 10-15 goals (some well over of course), then you are going to be tough to beat.

 

[PocketNines]

This prompted me to also do an updated prospect ranking. 6 month ago, I had a top-6 that I didn’t really see a lot of separation but now I’ve got Dvorsky in a tier by himself again with Bolduc and Kessel no longer considered prospects.

1 Dvorsky (-)

2 Lindstein (-)
3 Stenberg (+3)
4 Snuggerud (-)
5 Jiricek (-2)

6 Stancl (+13)
7 Pekarcik (+2)
8 Kaskimaki (+8)
9 Dean (-1)
10 Ellis (+11)

11 Ralph (+1)
12 Fisher (-2)
13 Burns (+2)
14 Jecho (+6)

I see possible NHL talent: Buchinger, Robertsson, Koromyslov, Peterson, Mrsic, Kos, Korotky, Susuyev, Johannesson, Zherenko

Don’t like their chances but they have an above 0 chance of making it: Vorobyov, Skinner, Mayich, McIsaac, Loof

Would be surprised they ever made the NHL: Laferriere, Gaudet, Dickinson, Abramov, Malmstrom, Dorian, Cranley

Love it. If I wind up in a face to face with Stancl next weekend I'll let him know we are discussing whether he is better than Jiricek and ask him what he thinks. He speaks English well. I will also bring a tape measure

Here's some of his post tourney comments

2025 World Juniors availability - Jakub Stancl - Jan. 5 | Canadian Hockey League

Post-game comments from Kelowna's Jakub Stancl (STL) after Czechia won bronze at the 2025 World Juniors.

chl.ca

 

[Bye Bye Blueston]

This. That’s why I would argue we are not top 10. We have no game breakers. I agree on Dvo. So he had 5 points against the same cream puff that Pekarcik did. Watch some AHL games and tell me he dominates. I think after him and Snuggy there is a drop off. Snuggy is an about a notch below him. There is still a development curve. So hope isn’t lost. One of these guys may explode like Kaski has compared to previous seasons in the AHL. We shall see.

If you have 10 forwards add in 2 defensemen putting up 10-15 goals (some well over of course), then you are going to be tough to beat.

Name me 10 better pools. Almost nobody has elite guys and depth. Our combo of both is quite good.

 

[PocketNines]

I think you're over-rating most of these guys by a full tier. It's very unlikely that anybody in this pool becomes a "superstar". Dvorsky should be a top-6 center, but I'd be shocked if he became more than a 65-point, two-way player. If any of our D-prospects became top-4 that would be fantastic...but top-pairing might be pushing it. I'm hoping that Lindstein, Koromyslov, Fischer & Jiricek can become full-time NHL'ers and contribute at the next level, but the odds of all four doing it aren't favorable. Fortunately with guys like Ralph, Burns, Buchinger & Mayich the Blues have some insurance but there are only so many NHL jobs to go around.

Of the non-Dvorsky forwards maybe four of those guys have legitimate careers of a few hundred games in the NHL. I'd guess Snuggy & Stenberg make it and if Stancl can play with pace he could contribute in the bottom-6; but there's simply no way that 10 prospect-forwards become NHL'ers. Kaskimaki may get a shot, but Mrsic, Dean, Pekarcik, Jecho and the rest are the very definition of long-shot. It would be cool to hit a home-run on Korotky, Vorobyov or Susuyev but that likely just takes a job away from one of the other guys listed ahead of them.

The Blues system lacks top-end talent. There's lots of depth, but only the best five to seven guys are going to have NHL careers of any note. The rest will peak as AHL'ers, see their careers derailed by injury or give up their hockey dreams when they realize they're not the best of the best. Army and Steen have a lot of lottery tickets at the moment, but as they start scratching them off as they climb the ranks most will end up discarded.

Disagree on this read of the system. I think it's the opposite. I think our franchise crushed two drafts in a row and it's been glum so we're guarded against optimism. I just watched the very greatest WJC the Blues have ever had. We have a large share of talent in this age grouping.

I am not saying Dvorsky = superstar, I don't agree with that one. But the idea that we have no top pairing caliber defensemen must include a belief Lindstein WILL bust and obviously writes off Jiricek which I understand why on that one. This is probably my biggest disagreement.

I also agree with you that Mrsic, Pekarcik, Jecho are longshots. But they are talented longshots.

I see real careers for Dvorsky, Lindstein, Stenberg. That alone is getting two very good top 9 scoring forwards along with a probable #2 defenseman. If that were all we had I would argue that's better than many years heading into next camp.

There's also the Snuggler.

Jiricek - I see why we have doubts, I have some doubts, but I also see what they see in him. You also probably see the "Jiricek + 1st" possibilities as a future trade move for the #1RD piece we both want.

Fischer, Ralph, Burns ... what are the chances NONE of the three develop? I think that's low.
Therefore, added to Lindstein, the Blues are putting themselves in a position when this awful Faulk-Krug era ends to have real talent coming through. And it's a fast, big bodied defensive philosophy again. As an Old Boys Charter Member, Doug gets sucked into the trends and wants to be the leader in them, and he pounced on the small sheltered expensive defenseman era – let's call it the Squirt Krug Era – with both feet, which was so dumb. Now they are drafting their way back out of it.

Finally, STANCL is the wildcard. It's more expected than not if we have this much depth then someone's going to truly achieve/overachieve. Right now we have to ask is that happening with Stancl because it might be. If it is indeed happening it argues more toward a rosier view of the system. We all know the likelihood of a 4th rounder popping big, and we see it happen for other teams. Benn was a 5th rounder because he was super raw and a project. I'm not saying Stancl = Benn, I am trying just to create room that we don't know what he's going to be but the prior judgments have to be reassessed with this one since the "project" is coming together.

Everyone's assignment is to watch Stancl. If he's real then it's Dvorsky Stancl Stenberg and Snuggy up front all right on the doorstep, plus one D anchor and a lot of guys with real NHL potential. That is a loaded amount of talent to land on an NHL roster in a short burst. That's why I disagree on the overall idea of the system.

 

[BadgersandBlues]

Disagree on this read of the system. I think it's the opposite. I think our franchise crushed two drafts in a row and it's been glum so we're guarded against optimism. I just watched the very greatest WJC the Blues have ever had. We have a large share of talent in this age grouping.

I am not saying Dvorsky = superstar, I don't agree with that one. But the idea that we have no top pairing caliber defensemen must include a belief Lindstein WILL bust and obviously writes off Jiricek which I understand why on that one. This is probably my biggest disagreement.

I also agree with you that Mrsic, Pekarcik, Jecho are longshots. But they are talented longshots.

I see real careers for Dvorsky, Lindstein, Stenberg. That alone is getting two very good top 9 scoring forwards along with a probable #2 defenseman. If that were all we had I would argue that's better than many years heading into next camp.

There's also the Snuggler.

Jiricek - I see why we have doubts, I have some doubts, but I also see what they see in him. You also probably see the "Jiricek + 1st" possibilities as a future trade move for the #1RD piece we both want.

Fischer, Ralph, Burns ... what are the chances NONE of the three develop? I think that's low.
Therefore, added to Lindstein, the Blues are putting themselves in a position when this awful Faulk-Krug era ends to have real talent coming through. And it's a fast, big bodied defensive philosophy again. As an Old Boys Charter Member, Doug gets sucked into the trends and wants to be the leader in them, and he pounced on the small sheltered expensive defenseman era – let's call it the Squirt Krug Era – with both feet, which was so dumb. Now they are drafting their way back out of it.

Finally, STANCL is the wildcard. It's more expected than not if we have this much depth then someone's going to truly achieve/overachieve. Right now we have to ask is that happening with Stancl because it might be. If it is indeed happening it argues more toward a rosier view of the system. We all know the likelihood of a 4th rounder popping big, and we see it happen for other teams. Benn was a 5th rounder because he was super raw and a project. I'm not saying Stancl = Benn, I am trying just to create room that we don't know what he's going to be but the prior judgments have to be reassessed with this one since the "project" is coming together.

Everyone's assignment is to watch Stancl. If he's real then it's Dvorsky Stancl Stenberg and Snuggy up front all right on the doorstep, plus one D anchor and a lot of guys with real NHL potential. That is a loaded amount of talent to land on an NHL roster in a short burst. That's why I disagree on the overall idea of the system.

Not to mention all that plus Broberg and Holloway, who both look like locks as Top 4/Top 6 players for the long-haul with room still to grow. Those two offer-sheets really jumped our re-whatever ahead. Big kudos to Army for getting those two for a 2nd, 3rd, 5th, and a prospect we took in the 5th. That's highway robbery and then some. Basically in the last 16 months we've added 7 first round talents (Including Dean) all 23 and under. This WJC has given a lot of hope that we've drafted well in the later rounds too.

 

[PerryTurnbullfan]

Name me 10 better pools. Almost nobody has elite guys and depth. Our combo of both is quite good.

Anaheim
Arizona
Buffalo
Calgary
Carolina
Chicago
columbus
Detroit
Minnesota
Montreal
New Jersey
Phillie
San Jose
Seattle
Utah

They are better or on par with what we have

 

[PocketNines]

Regardless of what other teams have, Blues relative to themselves have a ton of legitimate players on the cusp. Stenberg, Dvorsky, Snuggerud is a whole line of legit talent, that could easily be an NHL second line. Lindsteins don't grow on trees. They are all completing their D+2 and Snuggs is on D+3 so this is near term.

That's without talking about a single other prospect in the entire system, just those 4 guys by themselves is a really big influx of talent.

Here's my top 10 without them:
Stancl
Jiricek
Fischer
Ralph
Kaskimaki
Jecho
Pekarcik
Burns
Kos
Mrsic

Will all 10 bust and/or not be useful in trade? I feel pretty good that there are assets in that list of 10, and that's after hugely influxing the team already. I completely get the lack of flashy high end pieces that other teams have but the Blues are about to have some competitive years again.

 

[PerryTurnbullfan]

Just keep in mind, for years we were in the 20s if not later in barren prospect pools. This is about as good as we have had in a long while.

 

[ezcreepin]

I think you're over-rating most of these guys by a full tier. It's very unlikely that anybody in this pool becomes a "superstar". Dvorsky should be a top-6 center, but I'd be shocked if he became more than a 65-point, two-way player. If any of our D-prospects became top-4 that would be fantastic...but top-pairing might be pushing it. I'm hoping that Lindstein, Koromyslov, Fischer & Jiricek can become full-time NHL'ers and contribute at the next level, but the odds of all four doing it aren't favorable. Fortunately with guys like Ralph, Burns, Buchinger & Mayich the Blues have some insurance but there are only so many NHL jobs to go around.

Of the non-Dvorsky forwards maybe four of those guys have legitimate careers of a few hundred games in the NHL. I'd guess Snuggy & Stenberg make it and if Stancl can play with pace he could contribute in the bottom-6; but there's simply no way that 10 prospect-forwards become NHL'ers. Kaskimaki may get a shot, but Mrsic, Dean, Pekarcik, Jecho and the rest are the very definition of long-shot. It would be cool to hit a home-run on Korotky, Vorobyov or Susuyev but that likely just takes a job away from one of the other guys listed ahead of them.

The Blues system lacks top-end talent. There's lots of depth, but only the best five to seven guys are going to have NHL careers of any note. The rest will peak as AHL'ers, see their careers derailed by injury or give up their hockey dreams when they realize they're not the best of the best. Army and Steen have a lot of lottery tickets at the moment, but as they start scratching them off as they climb the ranks most will end up discarded.

Just want to reiterate that my tier ranking reflects potential outcome and not how I view them currently.

 

[taylord22]

What is 'elite'? Or what is a 'gamebreaker'? I would argue those terms have become overused, muddled and practically meaningless when it comes to prospects. If it actually held any meaning, the league would be littered with gamebreaking talent across the entire roster. There at least a 10 pundit labeled "gamebreakers" walking into the league every year.

I know there was The Athletic article from last year that ranked teams draft performance. I believe the Blues finished 8th with the big caveat that we shipped out a lot of high end talent during and immediately post SC. The way in which that was graded, and the timeframe (15 years) used wasn't really all that valuable, but it did reinforce some of what we constantly hear at the national level - STL is really good at drafting productive NHL players.

We don't take as many offensive home run swings as other teams. And there are some, e.g. Dallas, Tampa, and more recently Minnesota that are great at both. That certainly feeds the narrative that we don't have a lot of high end talent, but: Jake Neighbors almost scored 30 goals last year. Thomas will be a 100pt player. Kyrou is a perineal 30 goal scorer. Snuggerud is sleepwalking at the top of the NCAA. Dvorsky is producing (agree with Perry, 'producing' not dominating) in the AHL as much as some "Wheeler/Pronman labeled high end prospects that are 1-2 years older. Stenberg has torched the WJC 2 years in a row, and Stancl nearly led this years WJC in scoring.

My point in all of this: Our scouts are better than ones writing articles and doing rankings to a compounding degree. They have been for a long time. And our prospects seem to consistently outperform their peers and/or pundit expectations. Too much of a prospect rankings are swayed with pre-draft pedigree, accessible geography, and post-draft game style noisiness vs. just simply production and performance.

I think what everyone is really talking about when they say 'elite' (IMO) are "play drivers". The problem is that you can't have a whole team, or even a whole line of play drivers. There just aren't that many of them. Less and less at every level leading into the NHL. Outside of the lottery, you draft for top-6 production and you hope for play-drivers.

Dvorsky has a good shot at being a play driver, but he's also got a very high floor. Much higher than guys like (e.g. Benson, Perreault, Eiserman, Moore, etc.) who are generally ranked higher than him for nebulous reasons. Him having a high floor (i.e. a detailed 2-way game, and smart puck control) seems to somehow obstruct the elite parts of his game. His puck control, passing and shot are and were severely underrated as 'elite' skills. I don't think it's a big leap to think he could be a 35-35 guy with (e.g.) Kyrou on his wing. 70pts, to me, is an elite outcome.

There are so few players that can break a game open on their own, yet it's written by the columnists like it's a common thing that teams like the Blues just don't have. So much of a high end prospects outcome depend on how the players around them optimize the elite talents that they do have. I mean, Snuggy could very well end up being a 'gamebreaker' on Thomas's wing.

One of my main takeaways from the WJC, given Finlands performance against the US and Sweden, was how much Dvorksy with very limited help was able to keep his team in the game as long as he did. Pekarcik had a hand in that, too, but Dvorsky was pressured in ways that (e.g.) Leonard was not due to the talent level of his whole line. And yet, Dvorsky still produced and created more chances. That's no slight on Leonard (who is one of my favorite non-Blues prospects), I just think Dvorsky is right there with him.

I'm not trying to suggest the Blues have 'the best' pipeline, but I am saying it's a good bet that when we look back on this collection of prospects...ours will outproduce and play more games than many of the teams pundits have in front of us.