LD Vince Dunn - Niagara IceDogs, OHL (2015, 56th, STL)

[The Winter Soldier]

Was just reminded just how under the radar Dunn has been as a rookie D man this year. Saw him recently in a game and he was terrific, named the game's first star. Great value at #56. Was impressed by his IQ and puck moving ability in Niagara.



Blues fans please feel free to add comments on Dunn. Definitely won't be a prospect much longer if he keeps this up.

 

[Halak Ness Monster]

Quietly excellent from what I’ve seen. Very good passer and skater, great stick, extremely smart. If he was a couple inches taller...

Hey Duncan Keith was a 6'0" 2nd round pick. Actually taken 54th while Dunn was 56th! A guy can dream!

But seriously, Dunn is going to be in the league for 12+ years. No reason he couldn't be. All the tools are there and he is already a quality 3rd pairing d-man at age 21.

Yes he has been quite sheltered but it is nice to see he can excel in those situations. Just needs to add weight and get stronger on his skates. Speed, smarts, hands are definitely all there. I really don't know what his ceiling is. It seems like we haven't begun to see what he can really do.

 

[Oberyn]

Dunn has been a revelation for the Blues with his skating and puck moving ability. The point totals aren't there, but he has been terrific at generating offense from the left side where the Blues are pretty barren (Edmundson, Gunnarsson, Bouwmeester don't bring much offensive upside). His defensive game is also better than I had expected it to be. I love the swagger that he plays with when he's on the ice. He's a confident kid and will make plays that you wouldn't expect from a rookie defenseman.

 

[The Winter Soldier]

Dunn has been a real revelation. Admittedly I didn't have him as high as others I had prior the the 2015 draft.
But I recall watching a game where London played Niagara to scout Dvorak, Marner and Tkachuk and others and instead was left with making one foretelling comment considering how much talent played in this game. Dunn was the best player in the game.

http://hfboards.mandatory.com/posts/113226207/

Are we surprised he is this good? Maybe, but perhaps we shouldn't be all that surprised.

 

[DatDude44]

The thing i like about dunn outside of his skating(especially his edge work, and ability to mohawk and protect the puck). Is his toughness, he'll hit, he'll take hits and he's not gonna back down from anyone. His d-zone is improving by the game, I've noticed his stick detail has vastly improved from the beginning of the year. Very impressed w/ him. Wouldn't be surprised to see him paired w/ parayko in the near future.(eddy w/ petro)

 

[The Note]

He’s such an exciting young player and a breath of fresh air from the left side of the Blues defense. Edmundson, Gunnarsson, and Bouwmeester do a lot of things well. Generating offense and slick skating aren’t among those, so Dunn is just what the doctor ordered. He’s better in his own zone than I was expecting in his first year also. He has the occasional misstep, but that’s to be expected. I hope he’s in a Blue Note for a long time with Edmundson, Petro and Parayko.

 

[AustonsNostrils]

The Blues are about the best team at drafting so not a shock they got a gem in the 2nd round who's already graduated to the NHL in his draft +2 season. A dman no less.

 

[93LEAFS]

The Blues are about the best team at drafting so not a shock they got a gem in the 2nd round who's already graduated to the NHL in his draft +2 season. A dman no less.

Its his D+3. Your draft season culminates with you being drafted. Impressive none the less. The only D from that class currently in the NHL are Hanifin, Provorov, Werenski, Chabot, Dermott, Carlo, Dunn, and Nutivarra. Dermott doesn't have a cemented spot quite like the others yet though. Quite a few have seen a couple games like Larsson (4), Carlsson (16), Guhle (5), Andersson (2), Kylington (1), Capobianco (1), Andrei Mironov (10), Carrier (2), and Jaros (2). Nutivarra and Mironov were both triple re-entries and Jaros was a first-time re-entry.

D= 2014-15
D+1= 2015-16
D+2= 2016-17
D+3= 2017-18

 

[The Winter Soldier]

Delete

 

[The Winter Soldier]

Hard to believe coming out of a known developmental league that the OHL is, Dunn was the 17th D man picked in the 2015 draft. I wouldn't be surprised if Dunn passes D men that were picked before him. Infact at this stage it is pretty much guaranteed.

I would put him in the late first rd catagory. In the Juulsen tier. That is incredible value the Blues got for Dunn. Terrific young player, and a pleasure to watch his progress in this his rookie season.

Hanifin
Provorov
Werenski

Zboril
Chabot

(Where I have Dunn in this grouping right now)
Juulsen
Larsson
Carlsson

Roy
Dermott
Carlo
Cernak
Spencer
Guhle
Lauzon
Andersson
Dunn

 

[The Winter Soldier]

The thing i like about dunn outside of his skating(especially his edge work, and ability to mohawk and protect the puck). Is his toughness, he'll hit, he'll take hits and he's not gonna back down from anyone. His d-zone is improving by the game, I've noticed his stick detail has vastly improved from the beginning of the year. Very impressed w/ him. Wouldn't be surprised to see him paired w/ parayko in the near future.(eddy w/ petro)

That would be a great future pairing. Parayko and Dunn. +1

 

[Vincenzo Arelliti]

I wouldn't be surprised if Dunn passes D men that were picked before him. Infact at this stage it is almost guaranteed.

I would put him in the late first rd catagory. In the Juulsen tier. That is incredible value the Blues got for Dunn. Terrific young player, and a pleasure to watch his progress in this his rookie season.

Hanifin
Provorov
Werenski

Zboril
Chabot

Juulsen
Larsson
Carlsson

Roy
Dermott
Carlo
Cernak
Spencer
Guhle
Lauzon
Andersson

I watch a lot a lot of Sens games, and I would argue he’s in the Chabot tier. He’s every bit as dynamic, but just had a harder time cracking the left hand side when we had Bouwmeester, Gunnarsson, and essentially Shattenkirk on the left before he was traded. We also prefer to have a very physical bottom pairing, and Hitch made things complicated with pulling up rookies on D.

Dunn was amazing last year as a rookie in the AHL with 45pts/72 games, leading the Wolves defense on the first pairing. I believe we are talking about Duncan Keith-lite, and he projects as high as a #2. He’s currently a #4 ahead of JBo - who is getting older, but is still great defensively. Dunn can play both sides of the puck really well already, and I’m confident that he and Edmundson will be on our left side for a long time.