Prospect Info: Scott Perunovich (2018 Draft - 45th overall)

[Brian39]

Yeah, this is the problem with prospect tournaments. Some will either just have way more talent and/or much further along in development because of age. Perunovich should be dominating out there, so it's good that he is, but it doesn't really mean much. This tourney did nothing to tell us about his decision making, does he force plays in bad situations because he believes he has the talent to do so, or will he take what the opposition gives him? That's a big difference between the high-end offensive defensemen and the guys that flame out, even if they are productive offensively. Knowing when he can push it and not get burned will be a big factor in his success.

Worth noting that every clip in that video is on the PP except for one play where he recognized that we had one or two forwards going for a change. I don't think that this is really a flaw in evaluating prospect tournaments, but simply the reality of a hockey writer putting together a highlight package of an offensively gifted D man. It's just going to focus on the offensive skill, not the mundane defensive plays/mistakes that will ultimately determine whether he can be good enough as a defender for the good to outweigh the bad.

I will say that the 1 non-PP clip we got was a fantastic decision to push the play. His decision to join the rush along the boards opened up the ice and created a clean zone exit rather than a chip to the neutral zone. He drastically increased the chances of a clean line change and did so knowing that if the puck quickly went the other way he would have support coming off the bench. That was the exact time you want an offensive D man jumping up ice.

 

[bleedblue1223]

Worth noting that every clip in that video is on the PP except for one play where he recognized that we had one or two forwards going for a change. I don't think that this is really a flaw in evaluating prospect tournaments, but simply the reality of a hockey writer putting together a highlight package of an offensively gifted D man. It's just going to focus on the offensive skill, not the mundane defensive plays/mistakes that will ultimately determine whether he can be good enough as a defender for the good to outweigh the bad.

I will say that the 1 non-PP clip we got was a fantastic decision to push the play. His decision to join the rush along the boards opened up the ice and created a clean zone exit rather than a chip to the neutral zone. He drastically increased the chances of a clean line change and did so knowing that if the puck quickly went the other way he would have support coming off the bench. That was the exact time you want an offensive D man jumping up ice.

My comment has nothing to do with twitter clips and highlight reels. To a similar point, I have the same opinion when it comes to people that watch Tarasenko in training and proclaiming his shot is back and he looks 100%. Perunovich dominating inferior level players is something I would expect, as I imagine he was the best player on the ice many times, and his decision making among that group is probably near the top as well. Going against NHL or even AHL quality players is a different environment that he hasn't faced before, and that will be the bigger test on how he sees the game and makes decisions.

 

[Quinnisinoverhishead]

Hey guys! Was wondering how Perunovich has looked in the preseason....
Any chance he projects to be a PPQB in the future?

 

[bleedblue1223]

Hey guys! Was wondering how Perunovich has looked in the preseason....
Any chance he projects to be a PPQB in the future?

Likely he'll be a PPQB in the future, since we have Krug though, it's hard to know how those minutes will be split up, even once Perunovich becomes an established NHL player.

He's looked good in pre-season, enough to have a genuine shot to make the club, but we have 7 other dmen that are not waiver exempt, so a good chance he starts in the minors, but I imagine he sees time with the big club at some point.

 

[Spektre]

He’s too skilled to keep off the roster

 

[Ranksu]

I havet seen these pre-season games. How his skating was looking at?

 

[EL Bandito]

Aside from Walman's goal tonight he looked pretty poor. If that continues it has to be a potential opening for Perunovich.

 

[ezcreepin]

I havet seen these pre-season games. How his skating was looking at?

Honestly his skating looks fine if not pretty good. Keeps up with play just fine. His real strength is skating in the o-zone, which is elite. He's gonna be a really good player next year when he gets full time.

 

[PerryTurnbullfan]

I can see the Blues may dress 7 defenseman and skate him on the 4th line and use him on the power play. I think he is a top 6-9 forward before it is all over.

 

[Deam78]

I can see the Blues may dress 7 defenseman and skate him on the 4th line and use him on the power play. I think he is a top 6-9 forward before it is all over.

Is that just you saying or there's actual talk around the team that he might be used at both position?

 

[EL Bandito]

I can see the Blues may dress 7 defenseman and skate him on the 4th line and use him on the power play. I think he is a top 6-9 forward before it is all over.

I don't see that happening at all. He's basically Quinn Hughes-lite. I think 20-30 games in the AHL would be good for him, especially since he missed basically the entire year last year. He's a minimum 3rd pairing left or right d and powerplay specialist imo.

 

[BleedBlue14]

I’m really glad that they are streaming most of these preseason games. Perunovich already looks like a difference maker. The way he handles and moves the puck is so crisp. I’d really like to see him have a spot this season, I really think he could be a difference maker out there.

 

[Bye Bye Blueston]

I can see the Blues may dress 7 defenseman and skate him on the 4th line and use him on the power play. I think he is a top 6-9 forward before it is all over.

I don’t see any scenario barring temporary extreme forward shortage where they would play him at forward. He is a defenseman and looks to potentially be a very good one.

 

[PerryTurnbullfan]

Is that just you saying or there's actual talk around the team that he might be used at both position?

I can see if our PP isn't popping that they may bring him up and dress 7 defenseman...like they did Walman last year. Walman took a few shifts on the wing. I just think Perunovich would be a better as a hybrid winger/defenseman PP specialist. He may have more talent than the forward we dress, so....why not?

 

[EastVillageBlues]

Honestly his skating looks fine if not pretty good. Keeps up with play just fine. His really strength is skating in the o-zone, which is elite. He's gonna be a really good player next year when he gets full time.

I think he will soon make most people forget Dunn. He will probably be better than any recent LHD that we have had, barring Jbow, by a good margin.

 

[PerryTurnbullfan]

I think he will soon make most people forget Dunn. He will probably be better than any recent LHD that we have had, barring Jbow, by a good margin.

I hope a year off and training with the Blues that Perunovich has made a huge jump defensively....Let's see him get tested defensively against pros before we have him bronzed. I watched a lot of college hockey to know he is pretty meh defensively. He was OK. That isn't a bad thing as he is dynamic offensively...not too many Bobby Orrs or Ray Bourque's or even Petros out there. Don't get me wrong. He can look like Phil Housley on offense AND defense and that is a very good comparable, but there was a part of the game that Phil definitely needed an awesome back up plan for. Krug is going to be hard for him to be better than, but if we get that out of him....I'm fine with it.

 

[Bye Bye Blueston]

Perunovich is a year older than Quinn Hughes. I don't know that time in the AHL is gonna teach him how to defend NHL skill. He may make mistakes, but he should be up with the big club. He brings far more to the table right now than any of the other candidates for 3rd pairing.

 

[Stupendous Yappi]

Perunovich is a year older than Quinn Hughes. I don't know that time in the AHL is gonna teach him how to defend NHL skill. He may make mistakes, but he should be up with the big club. He brings far more to the table right now than any of the other candidates for 3rd pairing.

I expected him to get big AHL minutes and then be called up. But if he's good enough to play in the NHL now, then he's ready now. Its pretty impressive to basically miss a year and still be in the mix for an NHL role.

The team has projected him to be this good for a long time, and I think this was reflected in not going through any contortions to try and keep Dunn. I am certain the front office aren't surprised Perunovich is pushing for a spot. It was just the injury year that threw a wrench into the works. I still tend to think he'll get some AHL time while someone like Walman or Mikkola gets a roster spot and then ends up getting pushed out by Perunovich in a few months. But I hope instead he comes up and has buzz for the Calder, becoming a bright spot for this team.

 

[BadgersandBlues]

I watched the game last night - I know it's pre-season, but I see no reason why he can't fill Dunn's role. Give him sheltered minutes with a massive slant towards Ozone starts and let him run the second or even third PP.

 

[DatDude44]

I watched the game last night - I know it's pre-season, but I see no reason why he can't fill Dunn's role. Give him sheltered minutes with a massive slant towards Ozone starts and let him run the second or even third PP.

There’s basically no such thing as a 3rd PP but he should 100% QB PP2.

Here’s my takeaways after watching him in two traverse city games and now 1 preseason game(last night, I’m out of state sadly)

Perunovich is smart, filthy with the puck and very proactive defensively in coverage without the puck rather than being reactive (thanks to his hockey sense and ability to anticipate and read plays before they happen) but his skating still isn’t where it needs to be. Like he’ll be fine in a sheltered 3rd pair role, but anything more could be rolling the dice a little bit.
His edgework is very good but his stride/ straight ahead skating ain’t there yet, he’s not lehtera but for his size it’s an issue still.
I still personally will take him and his brain over Walman and his skating though.

 

[mratch19]

Hey Blues fans, can anyone who watches the Thunderbirds chime in on how Perunovich has looked? The stat line looks nice, but I'm curious as to what his overall games been like down in the AHL.

 

[blueper]

I watched for a short time that first weekend. SP looks smooth and confident like he did in preseason games. But I was switching back and forth between Springfield and the Blues during intermission of the Blues game and the speed of the game is so different that it's hard to compare. I didn't get to watch SP actually defend enough to give an assessment but of course he looked good on the power play and carrying the puck on the rush.

 

[tfriede2]

9 points in 5 games after 3 assists in a 4-1 win today.

 

[BlueDream]

This guy is absolutely dominating.

 

[Mike Liut]

Is Perunovich LD only?