Prospect Info: Blues 2024-2025 Prospect Thread

[PerryTurnbullfan]

Getting a look at Will Cranley in person tonight as the Everblades host the Stingrays in an ECHL matchup in Estero Florida.

I checked the roster, I think Cranley’s the only Blues prospect despite the Everblades being STL’s affiliate.

Roster

www.floridaeverblades.com

What happened to Gaudet?

 

[Stealth JD]

What happened to Gaudet?

He and Malmstrom were just recalled to Springfield:

Roster

Meet the Springfield Thunderbirds team! Check out player profiles, stats, and bios for your favorite AHL hockey stars.

springfieldthunderbirds.com

 

[MortiestOfMortys]

Getting a look at Will Cranley in person tonight as the Everblades host the Stingrays in an ECHL matchup in Estero Florida.

I checked the roster, I think Cranley’s the only Blues prospect despite the Everblades being STL’s affiliate.

Roster

www.floridaeverblades.com

Yep. We traded Biakabutuka and Malmstrom is up with Springfield while everyone's got the flu.

 

[stl76]

Big game between Minnesota and Penn St. tonight. Snuggerud scored the tying goal in the 3rd to send to OT, but Penn St. was able to pull out the win.

 

[Bye Bye Blueston]

Big game between Minnesota and Penn St. tonight. Snuggerud scored the tying goal in the 3rd to send to OT, but Penn St. was able to pull out the win.

That was fun game. Moore is not a good center for Snuggy, which makes the numbers he is putting up even more impressive.

Minnesota loss gives Spartans chance to lock up Big 10 regular season title tomorrow.

 

[Beauterham]

That was fun game. Moore is not a good center for Snuggy, which makes the numbers he is putting up even more impressive.

Minnesota loss gives Spartans chance to lock up Big 10 regular season title tomorrow.

Not only that, but they're constantly giving him different linemates, contrary to Wood who always seem to be on a line with Clark and Kurth. When Snuggy had that big burst in goals a few weeks ago he had Pahlsson as his C. I wonder why they changed that and suddenly decided to play him with Moore again, who he clearly doesn't seem to have any chemistry with. Just swap Moore back to the 3rd line and play Pahlsson between Ziemer and Snuggy.

 

[greybush314]

Not only that, but they're constantly giving him different linemates, contrary to Wood who always seem to be on a line with Clark and Kurth. When Snuggy had that big burst in goals a few weeks ago he had Pahlsson as his C. I wonder why they changed that and suddenly decided to play him with Moore again, who he clearly doesn't seem to have any chemistry with. Just swap Moore back to the 3rd line and play Pahlsson between Ziemer and Snuggy.

Moore has been a huge disappointment for Minnesota. I remember when people thought he was a steal for the Blackhawks with the 19th pick. Wasn't very good in both his WJC20 appearances either

Has Pahlsson been hurt? I just see looking at the stats that he's played about 10 less games than Snuggy.

 

[ezcreepin]

Moore has been a huge disappointment for Minnesota. I remember when people thought he was a steal for the Blackhawks with the 19th pick. Wasn't very good in both his WJC20 appearances either

Has Pahlsson been hurt? I just see looking at the stats that he's played about 10 less games than Snuggy.

Really depends on what he's bringing I guess. Stats wise, sure, he didn't translate his offense to college hockey specifically goal scoring, but also it could be a massive stylistic difference between he and Snuggerud. Snuggerud will hound pucks and will go to the boards and get them, but he needs someone who is setting him up. Snuggerud has a bit of Tarasenko to him in that he is an underrated playmaker when given the opportunity to make plays, which is a huge benefit to us since it looks like we are getting a nearly identical Tarasenko clone. He also just scores from everywhere and on the rush, so he is dangerous at any time given he has the right linemates. When he is the only option on his line though, they are going to converge on him since he's really their only true offensive weapon on that team. There are talented players on the team, but last year there were nearly three 20-goal scorers and three 15-goal scorers. There's still time to make up that ground this year, but there's clearly less offense on this team compared to last year or the year before.

 

[execwrite1]

College free agent defenseman seems interesting

Caleb MacDonald, UND 6'3" 224 LHD

 

[Beauterham]

College free agent defenseman seems interesting

Caleb MacDonald, UND 6'3" 224 LHD

I don't know him, but I see he's another LHD. Where would we play him? With Burns, Buchinger, Lööf, Gaudet, Malmström, Schueneman and, potentially, Lindstein and Mayich (not even counting Koromyslov) Springfield already has quite a lot of LHD next season (although some will have to play on the right side).

 

[bleedblue1223]

Jiricek is out of the lineup again today. I still like his upside, but this is why he was on my do not draft list for basically all of last season.

 

[Davimir Tarablad]

College free agent defenseman seems interesting

Caleb MacDonald, UND 6'3" 224 LHD

Big defenseman that went from the AJHL to University of Alaska-Fairbanks. Count me as intrigued, though it definitely is a bit of a question of where he'd fit given the glut of LHD we have.

Jiricek is out of the lineup again today. I still like his upside, but this is why he was on my do not draft list for basically all of last season.

I'd hope it's just a bug given they had 4 guys(including him) listed as day to day, but it's been frustrating to watch, especially given his positional importance for the Blues.

 

[Mike Liut]

Jiricek is out of the lineup again today. I still like his upside, but this is why he was on my do not draft list for basically all of last season.

He’s 3-4 years away, I’m not too concerned.

 

[Alessandro Seren Rosso]

In the meantime, Matvei Korotky was awarded KHL Rookie of the month honors

Blues' Matvei Korotky Is Rookie of the Month in the KHL - The Hockey Writers St Louis Blues Latest News, Analysis & More

St. Louis Blues prospect Matvei Korotky is having a terrific season and earned KHL Rookie of the Month for February 2025.

thehockeywriters.com

 

[Vladys Gumption]

He’s 3-4 years away, I’m not too concerned.

You should absolutely be concerned with how injury prone he is at 18. He’s missed a ton of games at a critical time in his development.

 

[ChicagoBlues]

You should absolutely be concerned with how injury prone he is at 18. He’s missed a ton of games at a critical time in his development.

Jiricek is a Dodo.

That pick will set us back a bit, but at least we have Ralph, Burns and Fischer coming along.

 

[Vladys Gumption]

Jiricek is a Dodo.

That pick will set us back a bit, but at least we have Ralph, Burns and Fischer coming along.

To be totally clear, I hope I am wrong and he develops into a Norris winner. I am rooting for all of our prospects to do well. But I just have major concerns with the amount of important developmental time he’s missed.

 

[bleedblue1223]

To be totally clear, I hope I am wrong and he develops into a Norris winner. I am rooting for all of our prospects to do well. But I just have major concerns with the amount of important developmental time he’s missed.

Missing large portions of draft year and D+1, is not a good start.

 

[joe galiba]

To be totally clear, I hope I am wrong and he develops into a Norris winner. I am rooting for all of our prospects to do well. But I just have major concerns with the amount of important developmental time he’s missed.

I don’t think missing development time is a big deal, it just means he develops a year later in his life

 

[ChicagoBlues]

I don’t think missing development time is a big deal, it just means he develops a year later in his life

So, the pistachio shell will open eventually?

To be totally clear, I hope I am wrong and he develops into a Norris winner. I am rooting for all of our prospects to do well. But I just have major concerns with the amount of important developmental time he’s missed.

I agree with the opinion and the qualifiers and blah blah blah, but I am williing to be more hardlined against him.

 

[joe galiba]

So, the pistachio shell will open eventually?

abso-fing-lutely

maybe, I hope

 

[Bobby Orrtuzzo]

Maybe we can flip Jiricek for a pick David Rundblad style?

 

[STL fan in MN]

I don’t think missing development time is a big deal, it just means he develops a year later in his life

Not necessarily. It’s possible but next year he’s going to be 19. Should be dominating the OHL then but he’ll still be learning things he would’ve learned at 17 or 18 under normal circumstances. Then he’ll turn pro. Will he be ready from a skills standpoint? Will he have a harder time and never catch up to where he would’ve been otherwise because he’s that far behind now? Or maybe he’ll still be that much far behind physically. He’s an absolute string bean. I’m usually one of the main people not caring about weight of teenagers but he has a lot more meat to add to his bones than most. I think it’s more than fair to think his very slight frame is at least partially contributing to his injury woes. That won’t get any better once he turns pro unless he’s able to pack on some serious pounds over the next year or so.

I’m trying to give him the benefit of the doubt and I’m rooting for him but I’m also not exactly super excited with his development to date.

 

[MortiestOfMortys]

Not necessarily. It’s possible but next year he’s going to be 19. Should be dominating the OHL then but he’ll still be learning things he would’ve learned at 17 or 18 under normal circumstances. Then he’ll turn pro. Will he be ready from a skills standpoint? Will he have a harder time and never catch up to where he would’ve been otherwise because he’s that far behind now? Or maybe he’ll still be that much far behind physically. He’s an absolute string bean. I’m usually one of the main people not caring about weight of teenagers but he has a lot more meat to add to his bones than most. I think it’s more than fair to think his very slight frame is at least partially contributing to his injury woes. That won’t get any better once he turns pro unless he’s able to pack on some serious pounds over the next year or so.

I’m trying to give him the benefit of the doubt and I’m rooting for him but I’m also not exactly super excited with his development to date.

Of all the things to be concerned about with Jiricek, skill is not high on my list personally. When he’s been healthy, he’s been terrific.

His health is definitely a concern, but bad LBIs usually have a way of boomeranging. Those also can keep you out of the weight room. I would reserve judgement until he gets this next summer under his belt. This was always going to be a tough year for him.

But he’s still 18. That’s reasonably 3-4 years away from being ready in even the best of circumstances. I don’t think hockey sense or skill is going to hold him back, so it really just comes down to reps. He’ll get plenty of them next year, health allowing, so I’m not overly concerned there.

It should also again be mentioned that this is what the prototypical “high risk high reward” prospect looks like. If he hadn’t gotten injured last season, all indications were that he was going to be a top-10 pick, I.e. we wouldn’t have gotten him at 16 like we did. For a middling team like ours, those are exactly the kinds of swings we should be taking. Especially when there is a cliff in pick quality like there was after Jiricek last year. Well, this is what it looks like. You take the gamble on health because the skill is too good to pass up if it works out.

We went through this same thing with Kostin. We only got him at 31 because he was injured all year. He never bounced back to his pre-draft form, and he insisted on going pro right away when a year in the CHL would have done him well. That’s the “high risk” part. Sometimes it doesn’t work out. I don’t think Jiricek is on that path, personally, but it’s absolutely a possible outcome here. You don’t draft above your expected value without taking a couple of these swings.

 

[STL fan in MN]

Of all the things to be concerned about with Jiricek, skill is not high on my list personally. When he’s been healthy, he’s been terrific.

His health is definitely a concern, but bad LBIs usually have a way of boomeranging. Those also can keep you out of the weight room. I would reserve judgement until he gets this next summer under his belt. This was always going to be a tough year for him.

But he’s still 18. That’s reasonably 3-4 years away from being ready in even the best of circumstances. I don’t think hockey sense or skill is going to hold him back, so it really just comes down to reps. He’ll get plenty of them next year, health allowing, so I’m not overly concerned there.

It should also again be mentioned that this is what the prototypical “high risk high reward” prospect looks like. If he hadn’t gotten injured last season, all indications were that he was going to be a top-10 pick, I.e. we wouldn’t have gotten him at 16 like we did. For a middling team like ours, those are exactly the kinds of swings we should be taking. Especially when there is a cliff in pick quality like there was after Jiricek last year. Well, this is what it looks like. You take the gamble on health because the skill is too good to pass up if it works out.

We went through this same thing with Kostin. We only got him at 31 because he was injured all year. He never bounced back to his pre-draft form, and he insisted on going pro right away when a year in the CHL would have done him well. That’s the “high risk” part. Sometimes it doesn’t work out. I don’t think Jiricek is on that path, personally, but it’s absolutely a possible outcome here. You don’t draft above your expected value without taking a couple of these swings.

I’m not ready to write off the kid yet or anything but there’s valid concerns IMO. And yeah, his skill not developing to its fullest bc of the missed time is a legit concern. But the main thing I see lacking in him right now is his defensive play. And the lost time hampers his defensive development as well. He’s missing all sorts of development time. And he has 10 pts in 20 games. I wouldn’t say he’s been terrific when he’s played. I’ve seen glimpses of high potential but also a super rawness and bad defensive reads.

And I simply don’t agree with the line: “If he hadn’t gotten injured last season, all indications were that he was going to be a top-10 pick.”

Many scouts were starting to question Jiricek and move him down their lists last season BEFORE the big knee injury.

Here’s how his draft year played out:

3 assists in 5 games at the Hlinka tourney. This is what got him buzz and rankings around 10th overall going into the season.

Then he did…
0 pts in 3 Czech Jr games
4 pts in 9 games for the Czech U18 team (exhibitions)
0 pts 10 games for the Czech U20 team (exhibitions/prep/evals for the WJC)
1 pt in 19 games in the Czech Extraliga

He was also -10 in those 19 Extraliga games. The worst +/- on the team was -14 but it took 52 games for that player to get to -14. Jiricek needed only 19 games to get to -10. Suffice to say, he was getting absolutely caved in defensively. Completely outmatched. Probably shouldn’t have been playing pro hockey yet.

Then he got absolutely clobbered in the Extraliga and diagnosed with a concussion. Came back for the WJC, played a period and a half and then blew out his ACL.

So the ACL injury robbed him of the 2nd half of his draft season but he was already losing buzz before then. I recall reading at least a few scouts questioning if his lofty rankings were justified and how he’d likely drop when their mid-year rankings came out. But then he blew out his knee so he DEFINITELY dropped in the rankings. But my gut tells me he would’ve dropped anyway. Not as much but still dropped some.

Army said that the Blues scouts never dropped him. Mentioned his performance at the Hlinka tourney. So yeah, they clearly had him ranked higher than most. Will they be proven to be right eventually? Idk. Hopefully. But I have my doubts and I think there’s valid reasons to be concerned with his development and his future.