GDT: Super Late Last Minute Prospect Showdown GDT

[Linkens Mastery]

Man I missed hockey

 

[Linkens Mastery]

ROBERTSSON!!!!

 

[kimzey59]

ROBERTSSON with the OT winner.
Great individual effort getting his own rebound.

 

[BrokenFace]

Ok, time to redo the entire offseason prospect rankings now that we've seen this game.

 

[BleedBlue14]

Am I crazy, or is Dvorskys skating not bad like people like to label it?

I think it was late 1st period or in the 2nd he got the puck at the top of his own zone, or in the NZ and looked like he turned on the jets to create a scoring chance.

I’m not trying to say he had a fantastic game. But I feel like you see this every once in a while where he can turn on the jets but generally looks like he skates a little more conservatively.

 

[kimzey59]

Am I crazy, or is Dvorskys skating not bad like people like to label it?

I think it was late 1st period or in the 2nd he got the puck at the top of his own zone, or in the NZ and looked like he turned on the jets to create a scoring chance.

I’m not trying to say he had a fantastic game. But I feel like you see this every once in a while where he can turn on the jets but generally looks like he skates a little more conservatively.

His first step isn't the greatest but he has very solid speed once he gets going.
It really doesn't help the perception that he is a bit of a "slow the game down" type that does a lot of things without having to move his feet.

 

[BleedBlue14]

His first step isn't the greatest but he has very solid speed once he gets going.
It really doesn't help the perception that he is a bit of a "slow the game down" type that does a lot of things without having to move his feet.

That’s the same take I’ve gotten from him over the past year or so. I can’t tell if he’s kind of sluggish on the first step, if he’s digesting the game, or if the slow down the game is kind of an effortless look vs a bad skater look.

 

[STLegend]

So nice to watch hockey again, this is how I rank performances.

Top player: Bolduc

Next best: Dean, Dvorsky, Buchinger

Good: Robertsson, Dickinson, Peterson, Kaskimaki, Zherenko (other than the 2nd goal)

Not bad: Gudelj, Burns, Fischer, Mayich

Unnoticeable: Jecho, Pekarcik, Mrsic, McISaac

Bad: Gaudet, Stancl

 

[Bobby Orrtuzzo]

 

[ds774622]

So nice to watch hockey again, this is how I rank performances.

Top player: Bolduc

Next best: Dean, Dvorsky, Buchinger

Good: Robertsson, Dickinson, Peterson, Kaskimaki, Zherenko (other than the 2nd goal)

Not bad: Gudelj, Burns, Fischer, Mayich

Unnoticeable: Jecho, Pekarcik, Mrsic, McISaac

Bad: Gaudet, Stancl

Agreed on Bolduc, and it wasn’t even close. I’ve been trying to temper my expectations with Dean but I thought he was solid tonight. Didn’t watch him in the A last year but seemed to have that hockey sense tonight to go to the right spots. Familiarity with Bolduc on that line no doubt helps. And was it just me or did Dvorsky win like three quarters of his faceoffs?

 

[STLegend]

Agreed on Bolduc, and it wasn’t even close. I’ve been trying to temper my expectations with Dean but I thought he was solid tonight. Didn’t watch him in the A last year but seemed to have that hockey sense tonight to go to the right spots. Familiarity with Bolduc on that line no doubt helps. And was it just me or did Dvorsky win like three quarters of his faceoffs?

Dean started slow but got better as the game went on, he had a hat trick of posts. Dvorsky was solid on the dot and playing smart with getting in passing lanes, my criticism for him was that when it got physical it seemed to knock him off his game.

 

[Davimir Tarablad]

Even when it's just prospects, it's always great to beat the Hawks

 

[taylord22]

Dvorsky picked it up in the 3rd. Really strong stick and good body positioning on the forecheck.

He made difficult plays and passes so easily that there was an element of surprise from his line mates. Dean and Bolduc looked much more comfortable reading off him than anyone else.

He’s absolutely going to need more speed to truly thrive but he’s got plenty of other tools to work with in the meantime.

My biggest knock him tonight is that he could be more selfish, more assertive. Which is practically ironic given the draft criticisms of “doesn’t use his teammates as well as he should”.

 

[Reality Czech]

Yes indeedy

How crowded was it there? I'd like to go Sunday and just wanted to know what to expect.

 

[Blanick]

I just finished watching the game. Love Robertsson following his shot on the game winner. Need to see more of that at the NHL level, no driveby's. Bolduc was very noticeably the best player on the ice for the Blues. I loved watching him attack the middle of the ice, something that he shied away from in the past. Playing in the dirty areas is going to earn him a NHL spot.

 

[STL fan in MN]

Loved that hockey was back. First impression though was that the crowd size was a little disappointing. Hockey’s back and it was free and they filled maybe 1/5 to 1/4 of the seats? Disappointing. I watched the Blues/Hawks here in MN a year ago and the Wild practice rink was at max capacity. Standing room only with people standing along the glass. And at least 75% of people appeared to be Wild fans so didn’t even have a vested interest in that game.

Anyway, as for the actual game, both teams looked decent. Lots of sloppy play but that’s to be expected from youngsters, especially ones that have had 2ish days to practice together.

Bolduc, Dean and Buchinger were the best players for the Blues. I wasn’t a huge fan of Buchinger for the Storm last season but he was poised and played hard. Good showing for him.

Dvorsky was ok for me. Clearly one of the better players and as usual, very good on the dot, but he seemed to rush plays a bit. He was good but didn’t stand out as much as I was hoping he would.

Burns and Fisher were good too. Mayich made some nice plays. I liked what I saw from Robertsson, not as much from Kaskimäki. Great individual effort by Robertsson to get his own rebound on the OT winner.

Pekarcik wasn’t as effective as I was hoping he’d be and Jecho looked downright lost and tentative at times.

On the Hawks side, Nazar was the best player on the ice. He’s going to be an assist machine for the Hawks for years assuming he can handle the physicality. Slaggert, Allen and Commesso looked good for them too.

 

[Celtic Note]

Loved that hockey was back. First impression though was that the crowd size was a little disappointing. Hockey’s back and it was free and they filled maybe 1/5 to 1/4 of the seats? Disappointing. I watched the Blues/Hawks here in MN a year ago and the Wild practice rink was at max capacity. Standing room only with people standing along the glass. And at least 75% of people appeared to be Wild fans so didn’t even have a vested interest in that game.

Anyway, as for the actual game, both teams looked decent. Lots of sloppy play but that’s to be expected from youngsters, especially ones that have had 2ish days to practice together.

Bolduc, Dean and Buchinger were the best players for the Blues. I wasn’t a huge fan of Buchinger for the Storm last season but he was poised and played hard. Good showing for him.

Dvorsky was ok for me. Clearly one of the better players and as usual, very good on the dot, but he seemed to rush plays a bit. He was good but didn’t stand out as much as I was hoping he would.

Burns and Fisher were good too. Mayich made some nice plays. I liked what I saw from Robertsson, not as much from Kaskimäki. Great individual effort by Robertsson to get his own rebound on the OT winner.

Pekarcik wasn’t as effective as I was hoping he’d be and Jecho looked downright lost and tentative at times.

On the Hawks side, Nazar was the best player on the ice. He’s going to be an assist machine for the Hawks for years assuming he can handle the physicality. Slaggert, Allen and Commesso looked good for them too.

Let me pre-throw up in my mouth before saying this, but Chicago has some promising prospects/young players.

 

[Snubbed4Vezina]

Bolduc's transformation over the last 12 months has been so impressive to me. He's gone from being a tentative passenger to attacking every chance he gets.

If he continues this trajectory, he's going to earn a spot in the top 6.

 

[542365]

Blues Youtube page has the highlights for those interested.

 

[PerryTurnbullfan]

Let me pre-throw up in my mouth before saying this, but Chicago has some promising prospects/young players.

It’s a good showing versus a top 5 prospect pool.

 

[ScratchCatFever]

Did Bolduc look like he's filled out a decent amount over the off-season?

 

[PerryTurnbullfan]

Loved that hockey was back. First impression though was that the crowd size was a little disappointing. Hockey’s back and it was free and they filled maybe 1/5 to 1/4 of the seats? Disappointing. I watched the Blues/Hawks here in MN a year ago and the Wild practice rink was at max capacity. Standing room only with people standing along the glass. And at least 75% of people appeared to be Wild fans so didn’t even have a vested interest in that game.

Anyway, as for the actual game, both teams looked decent. Lots of sloppy play but that’s to be expected from youngsters, especially ones that have had 2ish days to practice together.

Bolduc, Dean and Buchinger were the best players for the Blues. I wasn’t a huge fan of Buchinger for the Storm last season but he was poised and played hard. Good showing for him.

Dvorsky was ok for me. Clearly one of the better players and as usual, very good on the dot, but he seemed to rush plays a bit. He was good but didn’t stand out as much as I was hoping he would.

Burns and Fisher were good too. Mayich made some nice plays. I liked what I saw from Robertsson, not as much from Kaskimäki. Great individual effort by Robertsson to get his own rebound on the OT winner.

Pekarcik wasn’t as effective as I was hoping he’d be and Jecho looked downright lost and tentative at times.

On the Hawks side, Nazar was the best player on the ice. He’s going to be an assist machine for the Hawks for years assuming he can handle the physicality. Slaggert, Allen and Commesso looked good for them too.

I’m glad Buchinger has put in some work to become a better prospect. Perhaps the Blues drafts made him look over his shoulder and realize he better step up and take a spot before there isn’t one to take.

 

[Bluesnatic27]

How crowded was it there? I'd like to go Sunday and just wanted to know what to expect.

Parking was awful on Friday but the seats were only half filled so plenty of seating. I can’t say how it will be later in the weekend. But I’d wager Sunday would be a lighter crowd.

 

[stl76]

So pissed I missed this game. Totally forgot it was last night and would be streamed live.

Already watched the highlights, but if anyone sees a full replay posted anywhere please share a link here.

 

[BlueDream]

Did Bolduc look like he's filled out a decent amount over the off-season?

He was interviewed on the radio the other day and said he only added a few pounds since he feels comfortable playing at 195 right now. But he said he definitely feels like he got stronger over the offseason.