I haven't gotten to watch much of Jiricek - I suppose nobody has seen much of his game lately - he's obviously still VERY raw, but there's a lot to like in his game. He plays much bigger than he is, both in the sense of his physical engagement and his overall ranginess. Very cerebral game, and has more deceptiveness with the puck than any d-man we've had in our system in a long time.
Aside from staying healthy, his physical maturing seems like it's the key cog in unlocking, or improving his downstream skills. That's kind of stating the obvious when it comes to a defensive prospect, but in the case of Jiricek, if he had more power/strength on his edges, it would eliminate a lot of the other deficiencies in his game. The thing I've noticed most is he can be a bit choppy responding to lateral pressure; however, he's quick enough that he can make up for that more times than not.
I suspect in the mens league, that issue combined with still being lanky (therefore easy to bump off the puck) put him in a spot where he was forcing or behind on plays. He's got a good frame - I'm optimistic these are deficiencies he can round out.
I am having a difficult time keeping Snuggy ranked above Stancl in my current rankings. Snuggy is just holding his spot down. But Stancl being a center and his 200' game and details already where they are, he is doing that awesome thing where a prospect just levels up right in front of you, that's why we watch Blues prospects during their development between the draft and NHL. You know the presents you're getting!
Like, I'm just comfortable with him on the ice, and I think coaches must be. He generates so much, he is in everything. His hands are so damn quick for such a big player. That shot, it feels like it could go in every time almost. Sale is their most dynamic force pushing the offense but Stancl is such bread and butter for them it's ridiculous. His points I think are going to take off in the second half of his season here with Cristall, who is an absurd, absurd Canadian WJC omission.
Stancl is a middle 6er on a good team, like a strong 3C, possible 2C
Feels like Stancl is a guy that's going to be able to truly
drive a 3rd line, whereas Snuggy's future with the Blues is almost certainly tied to how much chemistry he can generate with Thomas. If he can't be a 30+ guy on Thomas's wing, he instead becomes a middle-6 luxury.
Not to play line-maker this far out, but, Dvorsky and Kyrou's games compliment each other rather well (obviously, in a vacuum). Having Kyrou on that 2nd line is and has been an offensive accelerant that I suspect Monty keeps leaning into. Also, the 'OZ wheeling' play that Kyrou likes -and is pretty damn good at- is practically tailor made for someone like Dvorsky. Point being - having two triggermen and a guy in Kyrou who can masquerade as a sniper all on the same line borders on the absurd.
Snuggy has a well rounded game, but I don't see a future in which we keep a guy with that much offensive upside on the 3rd line. If it doesn't work with Thomas, I think it's likely he gets packaged while the value is still there. We have to find that sniper for Thomas, whichever prospect ends up being the biggest luxury is almost assuredly getting packaged if it's not someone internal.
Stancl, by contrast, is someone with a much broader range of outcomes.
