For all MTL fans, to clarify:
1. I think Guhle is a great young player who has high trade value.
2. I hear you, he is not available! But he is the caliber of defensive prospect we are looking to add to our hockey team. That is the goal we are setting out to accomplish. Consider how reasonable that is, and how also we only care about getting high end quality, just like you.
Purely on Blues player evaluations:
Neighbours is the Blues' leading scorer and plays on the top line and over the last month has persuaded plenty of us that we are looking at a future Blues captain. He is a throwback, wise beyond his years, and he goes to the blue paint like it's a mission. Now those of you who aren't watching the Neighbours story unfold this year, that is no crime! But just listen to us, it is indeed actually happening. To me this player is flat untouchable and if you were watching what we are watching you would feel the same way. I'll give you an example, it's how you feel about Guhle.
Robert Thomas is one of the NHL's truly elite players now and it wasn't the case before this year but he made a huge leap this year. Full stop.
Kyrou is the kind of player who is boom or bust and there is a ton of bust in there. He has talent. You know how there are the kind of players you win with? He is the kind you lose with. I want to have him on the Blackhawks if the Blues were playing them in the playoffs.
Zach Bolduc is a 17th overall pick by a franchise who has crushed forward picks in the mid-late first round recently (Thompson 26, Thomas 20, Snuggerud 23, Neighbours 26 - Bokk at 25 the exception). He developed strongly and led Quebec to the Memorial Cup title just last year. I would think you would remember this. We fretted he would be too one-dimensional as a shooter to play in the NHL compared to some of our other prospects. (We've been distracted a little by Snuggerud and Dvorsky and last year's bounty.)We thought, ah, he's not tearing up the AHL, maybe he's just ok. They called him up and he has showed he plays a 200' game. It looks like the time he spent with his coach Patrick Roy on that Memorial Cup team has informed him how to be an NHLer. Last night he got time on the Blues' PP2. He scored another goal. He looks like a guy just settling in and figuring it out but one who has an NHL shot and release from distance and who takes care of the puck first. Nothing is proven yet with him but he's stepping the right steps. We can't confidently say he will be one thing or the other, but his value is very real to the Blues right now.
