Confirmed with Link: Blues sign NCAA FA Anton Malmstrom to entry level deal

[m1a2lt]

6-4ft 22 year old defenseman. He will finish the season on an AHL tryout contract to play in Springfield and in the AHL playoffs. Interesting fact: He was a Business Analytics and Intelligence Major.

Decent AHL depth.


Blues sign Malmstrom to two-year entry-level contract

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[AjaxManifesto]

Like it

If he's a SHUTDOWN Dman I'm happy. We've seemed to have lost that skill as an organization.

 

[m1a2lt]

Like it

If he's a SHUTDOWN Dman I'm happy. We've seemed to have lost that skill as an organization.

Seems like how he is billed but sounds like he's a bit of a project:

"The hulking 6’4″ defenseman from Österhaninge, Sweden, is an undrafted free agent signing out of Bowling Green State University, one of the first college signings of the 2023 season. Andy Strickland of Bally Sports Midwest reported last month that Malmstrom was drawing some NHL interest and named the Blues as the frontrunner to sign him after he attended their development camp in 2022.

This season with Bowling Green, Malmstrom served as an alternate captain and registered three goals and six points in 33 contests, along with a -8 rating. Those both were career-highs for Malmstrom at Bowling Green, and even considering his junior production in Sweden, his point production has never been where you’d expect an NHL-level prospect to be. Even if his defensive game is the appeal behind his signing, Malmstrom must work on his offensive awareness in Springfield for a shot at the NHL."

 

[PerryTurnbullfan]

Seems like how he is billed but sounds like he's a bit of a project:

"The hulking 6’4″ defenseman from Österhaninge, Sweden, is an undrafted free agent signing out of Bowling Green State University, one of the first college signings of the 2023 season. Andy Strickland of Bally Sports Midwest reported last month that Malmstrom was drawing some NHL interest and named the Blues as the frontrunner to sign him after he attended their development camp in 2022.

This season with Bowling Green, Malmstrom served as an alternate captain and registered three goals and six points in 33 contests, along with a -8 rating. Those both were career-highs for Malmstrom at Bowling Green, and even considering his junior production in Sweden, his point production has never been where you’d expect an NHL-level prospect to be. Even if his defensive game is the appeal behind his signing, Malmstrom must work on his offensive awareness in Springfield for a shot at the NHL."

If he can become a gunnarsson, then we have a job for you. Killed the blues losing guns and Jbo. Saved Colton and Petros rears when they took off with the forwards

 

[AjaxManifesto]

Defense First!!!

 

[Frenzy31]

He looks like an LHD. Not sure where he fits in with Loof, Tucker, Beck, Buchinger, Gaudette... Granted he is a stay at home guy, so maybe not Beck/Buchinger, Gaudette.

 

[bleedblue1223]

He looks like an LHD. Not sure where he fits in with Loof, Tucker, Beck, Buchinger, Gaudette... Granted he is a stay at home guy, so maybe not Beck/Buchinger, Gaudette.

I mean, I'd say only one of those guys has a safe NHL future in Buchinger, we can probably throw Tucker in too, but quantity of decent prospects doesn't mean we have a NHL logjam in the position.

 

[ezcreepin]

He looks like an LHD. Not sure where he fits in with Loof, Tucker, Beck, Buchinger, Gaudette... Granted he is a stay at home guy, so maybe not Beck/Buchinger, Gaudette.

I mean, I'd say only one of those guys has a safe NHL future in Buchinger, we can probably throw Tucker in too, but quantity of decent prospects doesn't mean we have a NHL logjam in the position.

The big issue is going to be ok, who gets the ice time in Springfield? If Galloway is signed then he and Gaudet will graduate to the AHL, then you have Beck who is having a good season and could graduate as well. Not to mention Perunovich, Samorukov, Loof, and then finally Malmstrom. This isn't even taking into account the right shot defenseman or people Springfield has decided to sign.

The competition is nice; I'm happy that there will be competition on the left side, but this is shaping up to be a situation where we are going to trade 1 or 2 guys in a deal to get possibly another pick, forward prospect, or a legitimate NHL defender in our age window. I think Tucker has graduated to the NHL as at least a 7th defenseman, as he's been a bright spot on this dumpster fire of a team. Perunovich should be graduated, but he gets hurt so often and he might just slide into the AHL to get reps, idk.

I guess these would be the defensive pairings if we assume they work out the way they should (with trades as well)

Leddy-Parayko
Perunovich-Faulk
Loof/Tucker-Bortuzzo

In the AHL we would likely have this with only our prospects and signed players
Samorukov-Lyle
Malmstrom-Kessel
Gaudet/Beck/Galloway-Skinner

So we can fill out both rosters more than comfortably with the trades of Krug and Scandella, but I think that's asking a lot of guys like Prunovich, Loof, and not asking enough of guys like Samorukov, Kessel, and Lyle to a lesser extent. I just don't want a situation like we have now where people are getting rotated out like every 3rd game because another guy needs to get in. I'd rather just have a set lineup and an extra defenseman in case of injuries. I'm not sure how Armstrong is going to handle this situation, but I think it needs to be discussed because we have no options right now for the left side in the future since lots of these guys project as 5, 6 and 7th d-men instead of that 1, 2, or 3rd man.

 

[Bye Bye Blueston]

The big issue is going to be ok, who gets the ice time in Springfield? If Galloway is signed then he and Gaudet will graduate to the AHL, then you have Beck who is having a good season and could graduate as well. Not to mention Perunovich, Samorukov, Loof, and then finally Malmstrom. This isn't even taking into account the right shot defenseman or people Springfield has decided to sign.

The competition is nice; I'm happy that there will be competition on the left side, but this is shaping up to be a situation where we are going to trade 1 or 2 guys in a deal to get possibly another pick, forward prospect, or a legitimate NHL defender in our age window. I think Tucker has graduated to the NHL as at least a 7th defenseman, as he's been a bright spot on this dumpster fire of a team. Perunovich should be graduated, but he gets hurt so often and he might just slide into the AHL to get reps, idk.

I guess these would be the defensive pairings if we assume they work out the way they should (with trades as well)

Leddy-Parayko
Perunovich-Faulk
Loof/Tucker-Bortuzzo

In the AHL we would likely have this with only our prospects and signed players
Samorukov-Lyle
Malmstrom-Kessel
Gaudet/Beck/Galloway-Skinner

So we can fill out both rosters more than comfortably with the trades of Krug and Scandella, but I think that's asking a lot of guys like Prunovich, Loof, and not asking enough of guys like Samorukov, Kessel, and Lyle to a lesser extent. I just don't want a situation like we have now where people are getting rotated out like every 3rd game because another guy needs to get in. I'd rather just have a set lineup and an extra defenseman in case of injuries. I'm not sure how Armstrong is going to handle this situation, but I think it needs to be discussed because we have no options right now for the left side in the future since lots of these guys project as 5, 6 and 7th d-men instead of that 1, 2, or 3rd man.

Agreed. Can’t imagine we want 5 first year pros at Springfield on d. Wouldn’t be surprised if we don’t sign Galloway. kinda feels like maybe we chose malmstrom over him. And Loof may not be ready to come over.

 

[ezcreepin]

Agreed. Can’t imagine we want 5 first year pros at Springfield on d. Wouldn’t be surprised if we don’t sign Galloway. kinda feels like maybe we chose malmstrom over him. And Loof may not be ready to come over.

Yea it's hard to say if Loof will be able to make the transition from Liiga to NHL. Last year he played around 16 minutes/game and this year he is about 14:30/game. He doesn't look like he's missed time either, but he's been a positive player in a lot of the games. Could that be because Ilves is a good team? It could be, but he could also be anchoring a really good d-group. Both of their goalies are top 10 in gaa and both are top 15 in sv% for qualified goalies. If he can come in an be a solid 3rd pairing guy or just have some sort of magic with Faulk, then I think we're golden, but a lot of it rests on if he's ready to make that jump. And unfortunately for the Blues, we don't have many options ready to take that step if we decide to get rid of Scandella and Krug.

 

[stl76]

Yea it's hard to say if Loof will be able to make the transition from Liiga to NHL. Last year he played around 16 minutes/game and this year he is about 14:30/game. He doesn't look like he's missed time either, but he's been a positive player in a lot of the games. Could that be because Ilves is a good team? It could be, but he could also be anchoring a really good d-group. Both of their goalies are top 10 in gaa and both are top 15 in sv% for qualified goalies. If he can come in an be a solid 3rd pairing guy or just have some sort of magic with Faulk, then I think we're golden, but a lot of it rests on if he's ready to make that jump. And unfortunately for the Blues, we don't have many options ready to take that step if we decide to get rid of Scandella and Krug.

Are you talking about next season? I would bet a lot that Loof stays in Sweden at least 1 more year. If he did come over next season, he would almost certainly be in the AHL (pretty much zero chance he would be in the NHL IMO).

As far as other D go, I don't see the same log jam people seem concerned about. I see zero reason guys like Galloway or Skinner couldn't spend time in the ECHL. Heck, Skinner already has. Samorukov is a RFA but doesn't have a contract after this season currently. Wouldn't be shocked if he decided to give Europe a try. Beck is a wild card, as he remains unsigned and can become a UFA if he wants. We can always loan players to other teams as well. It will be interesting to see how things shake out, but I'm not worried about too much defensive depth or not enough ice time in regards to signing Malmstrom.

 

[bleedblue1223]

We don't really have a logjam, so I don't understand all the concern. Lyle and Samorukov are both RFAs, and Skinner has spent a good chunk of this season in ECHL. If we want to prioritize our own drafted prospects or guys that we feel have a brighter future, it's pretty easy to do that. It's no guarantee that Lyle or Samorukov are brought back, and Skinner can be moved or sent to ECHL. Not even a guarantee that Loof comes over either. Even Galloway can start in ECHL, he's not that great of a prospect.

 

[STL fan in MN]

Are you talking about next season? I would bet a lot that Loof stays in Sweden at least 1 more year. If he did come over next season, he would almost certainly be in the AHL (pretty much zero chance he would be in the NHL IMO).

As far as other D go, I don't see the same log jam people seem concerned about. I see zero reason guys like Galloway or Skinner couldn't spend time in the ECHL. Heck, Skinner already has. Samorukov is a RFA but doesn't have a contract after this season currently. Wouldn't be shocked if he decided to give Europe a try. Beck is a wild card, as he remains unsigned and can become a UFA if he wants. We can always loan players to other teams as well. It will be interesting to see how things shake out, but I'm not worried about too much defensive depth or not enough ice time in regards to signing Malmstrom.

Agree with this.

I would be absolutely shocked if Loof came over and made the Blues out of camp. Decent defensive d-man prospect that I could see being an NHL 3rd pairing guy in time but not next season. Maybe he’s an option for the AHL next season though.

I agree with the general sentiment that we don’t want the T-Birds D to be all rookies but I think it’ll be something that’ll sort itself out. We’ll need a few established vets and then a couple of the guys can play ECHL if need be. Or there can be minor league trades to even out rosters.

 

[ezcreepin]

My impression was that Loof was pretty well seasoned and could probably come and participate at the AHL level, maybe NHL level. I’d prefer if Beck didn’t spend another year in college, but that’ll be ultimately he and Army’s decision to make. I’d be surprised if we didn’t retain Samorukov or Lyle, but I’ve seen weirder things happen. In the. Case that the pending UFA and RFA’s aren’t resigned and everyone stays put where they’re at right now, then sure, we’d be ok logjam wise, but I think that would mean the AHL has a d-core younger than like 24. I don’t see Armstrong doing something like that and I would prefer if our guys didn’t play in the ECHL, but I guess we’ll have to see how this off-season shakes up to really be concerned about where players will be.

 

[Bye Bye Blueston]

My impression was that Loof was pretty well seasoned and could probably come and participate at the AHL level, maybe NHL level. I’d prefer if Beck didn’t spend another year in college, but that’ll be ultimately he and Army’s decision to make. I’d be surprised if we didn’t retain Samorukov or Lyle, but I’ve seen weirder things happen. In the. Case that the pending UFA and RFA’s aren’t resigned and everyone stays put where they’re at right now, then sure, we’d be ok logjam wise, but I think that would mean the AHL has a d-core younger than like 24. I don’t see Armstrong doing something like that and I would prefer if our guys didn’t play in the ECHL, but I guess we’ll have to see how this off-season shakes up to really be concerned about where players will be.

I’m not worried about too many d in Springfield. My worry is too many rookie d there. But I guess spending some time in echl ain’t end of world.

 

[ezcreepin]

I’m not worried about too many d in Springfield. My worry is too many rookie d there. But I guess spending some time in echl ain’t end of world.

There’s going to be at least 4 guys who are below 24 years old. Don’t know how the rest shakes up, but that is a super young defense

 

[Bye Bye Blueston]

There’s going to be at least 4 guys who are below 24 years old. Don’t know how the rest shakes up, but that is a super young defense

It’s not age to me it’s experience. Lyle, samukov, Kessler all will have experience. Beck, gaudet, malmstrom, Galloway, and even loof won’t have NA pro experience. That would be my concern.

 

[ezcreepin]

It’s not age to me it’s experience. Lyle, samukov, Kessler all will have experience. Beck, gaudet, malmstrom, Galloway, and even loof won’t have NA pro experience. That would be my concern.

True, I’ll agree with you there

 

[stl76]

My impression was that Loof was pretty well seasoned and could probably come and participate at the AHL level, maybe NHL level.

Yeah Loof is probably going to need a LOT more seasoning. He’s only 20 (turns 21 in April) and has played a little over 100 pro games between SHL and Liiga. Heck, he was playing in world juniors just a couple months ago haha. I’d bet he will need at least another 2 years of development playing pro games in Europe and/or AHL before he’s ready for an NHL cup of coffee, but you never know

 

[bleedblue1223]

It’s not age to me it’s experience. Lyle, samukov, Kessler all will have experience. Beck, gaudet, malmstrom, Galloway, and even loof won’t have NA pro experience. That would be my concern.

Is your concern about lack of experience for Springfield or for callups? To me, for Springfield, talent plays and talent trumps experience. Yes, career AHL guys do perform very well and bring value to those clubs, but prospects with genuine NHL upside are always able to come in as rookies and perform well, so I wouldn't be worried about Springfield suddenly becoming a team that can't compete for the playoffs.

And for NHL callups, I have a feeling Army won't be as worried about ensure that he has NHL experience guys in the minors for next season. For a playoff team like we were, it makes sense to have guys like Rosen and Santini, so they can at least tread water when injuries hit and you are trying to win games. Next season, it's less about winning games, so getting those guys with NHL upside minutes is going to be more important.

 

[Bye Bye Blueston]

Is your concern about lack of experience for Springfield or for callups? To me, for Springfield, talent plays and talent trumps experience. Yes, career AHL guys do perform very well and bring value to those clubs, but prospects with genuine NHL upside are always able to come in as rookies and perform well, so I wouldn't be worried about Springfield suddenly becoming a team that can't compete for the playoffs.

And for NHL callups, I have a feeling Army won't be as worried about ensure that he has NHL experience guys in the minors for next season. For a playoff team like we were, it makes sense to have guys like Rosen and Santini, so they can at least tread water when injuries hit and you are trying to win games. Next season, it's less about winning games, so getting those guys with NHL upside minutes is going to be more important.

it's for springfield. need vets down there for many of same reasons we need them in st louis. to provide leadership and structure and not get blown off ice. if they have all rookies their d could be so bad that players can't develop (and goalies get shelled). i don't really care if springfield wins games, but they need to be competitive so that we can nurture (and evaluate) our talent there.

 

[Robb_K]

The big issue is going to be ok, who gets the ice time in Springfield? If Galloway is signed then he and Gaudet will graduate to the AHL, then you have Beck who is having a good season and could graduate as well. Not to mention Perunovich, Samorukov, Loof, and then finally Malmstrom. This isn't even taking into account the right shot defenseman or people Springfield has decided to sign.

The competition is nice; I'm happy that there will be competition on the left side, but this is shaping up to be a situation where we are going to trade 1 or 2 guys in a deal to get possibly another pick, forward prospect, or a legitimate NHL defender in our age window. I think Tucker has graduated to the NHL as at least a 7th defenseman, as he's been a bright spot on this dumpster fire of a team. Perunovich should be graduated, but he gets hurt so often and he might just slide into the AHL to get reps, idk.

I guess these would be the defensive pairings if we assume they work out the way they should (with trades as well)

Leddy-Parayko
Perunovich-Faulk
Loof/Tucker-Bortuzzo

In the AHL we would likely have this with only our prospects and signed players
Samorukov-Lyle
Malmstrom-Kessel
Gaudet/Beck/Galloway-Skinner

So we can fill out both rosters more than comfortably with the trades of Krug and Scandella, but I think that's asking a lot of guys like Prunovich, Loof, and not asking enough of guys like Samorukov, Kessel, and Lyle to a lesser extent. I just don't want a situation like we have now where people are getting rotated out like every 3rd game because another guy needs to get in. I'd rather just have a set lineup and an extra defenseman in case of injuries. I'm not sure how Armstrong is going to handle this situation, but I think it needs to be discussed because we have no options right now for the left side in the future since lots of these guys project as 5, 6 and 7th d-men instead of that 1, 2, or 3rd man.

Where is Rosen???? Was he injured in a recent game I didn't watch? Is he out for the rest of the season? I hope not.

 

[ChicagoBlues]

Where is Rosen???? Was he injured in a recent game I didn't watch? Is he out for the rest of the season? I hope not.

He played last night. I think it was more about getting Tucker into a good string of games than anything else.

 

[ezcreepin]

Where is Rosen???? Was he injured in a recent game I didn't watch? Is he out for the rest of the season? I hope not.

If you mean where is he in regards to next year, I'm not sure the Blues keep him around. Maybe they do, but I wouldn't count on it. If you just mean the past few games, Berube made a comment about getting Tucker some games because it seems he wants to push these younger guys to get reps and develop. Rosen played last night against San Jose so he may be in for another game or 2.

 

[Robb_K]

If you mean where is he in regards to next year, I'm not sure the Blues keep him around. Maybe they do, but I wouldn't count on it. If you just mean the past few games, Berube made a comment about getting Tucker some games because it seems he wants to push these younger guys to get reps and develop. Rosen played last night against San Jose so he may be in for another game or 2.

I only brought him up because you left him off your predicted Top 7 defencemen for The Blues to start next season. Is it realistic for them to play BOTH Lööf AND Tucker, rather than keeping Rosen and starting Lööf immediately in The NHL, without having him play a little in The AHL first? I like Rosen's play, and he seems to be improving steadily (albeit slowly). But he's proven he can play adequately on the 3rd pairing. Do you think Tucker is better than Rosen right now? Are you basing this on saving money from getting rid of Rosen's Cap hit?