Okay, here I go with mine:
1. Dalibor Dvorsky. (Dvorsky is the easiest choice of the lot. We're talking a big and skilled high-end first-line center who can provide offense and defense. Only question is when he comes here, not if.)
2. Jimmy Snuggerud. (Second easiest choice. Snuggerud's a big, physical scoring winger, potentially first line 30+ goal scorer who provides a solid penalty kill as well.)
3. Zachary Bolduc. (Now it gets harder. It's tempting to put Stenberg or Lindstein here, but Bolduc's shine hasn't worn off for me; we're talking a potential 40+ goal scorer at his peak with his ability, and he's proven that he can penalty kill as well.)
4. Otto Stenberg. (I see a bit of Steen in Stenberg, but more skilled. Went back and forth between him and Lindstein, but I went with a for-sure second-line winger who wouldn't look the least bit out of place on the first line, who plays a 200 foot game.)
5. Theo Lindstein. (Lindstein's a potential low-end number one or high-end number two defenseman. Easy choice for me to put here. Reminds me of a smaller Bouwmeester with his skating and defensive utility coming out.)
6. Jake Neighbours. (While I love Dean, and while Buchinger is nipping at their heels, Neighbours wins out for his solid all-around game and his solid lunchpail attitude, and I'm rather bullish on his offense improving with more time.)
7. Zach Dean. (It's a toss-up between Dean and Buchinger, but the former wins out; he could very well win a middle-six center job. He's physical, skilled, just a solid middle-six center.)
8. Michael Buchinger. (This is the last of the potential blue-chip tier - sorry, not sorry for not including Hofer as of yet; I don't trust goalies - prospects. Buchinger could be an offensive dynamo, a potential powerplay quarterback, and were he to improve defensively, potentially a number three defenseman.)
9. Joel Hofer. (Okay, I can't delay any further; Hofer's got more potential to be a number one goalie than the others have to reach theirs. He's solid positionally and knows how to handle the puck. Would be an easy upgrade over Binnington, and if it were up to me, I'd jettison Binnington's contract into the sun and go with him and Zherenko.)
10. Nikita Alexandrov. (Alexandrov has absolutely nothing left to prove in the AHL; he's a potential middle-six center on a worse team, but a bottom-six center with offensive skill on a good team.)
11. Simon Robertsson. (Robertsson is boom or bust, but I'm going with the boom. He has an excellent shot, middle-six potential, but most likely an offensively-oriented bottom-six winger. Will he come over is the question.)
12. Juraj Pekarcik. (Pekarcik is just so damn young; he won't turn eighteen until mid-September. He could be anything from a top-line winger to a bottom-six, so I don't feel comfortable ranking him above most others. But I'm going to bank on him improving.)
13. Leo Loof. (Loof is criminally underrated. He could be a potential number four defenseman once he learns the American rinks. He's physical, mean, will not give ground, and while he'll likely never provide much offensive firepower, a career as a Hjarmalsson player wouldn't be out of the question.)
14. Arseny Koromyslov. (Koromyslov's only here because I'm not sure if he comes over, but if he does, I'll be the happiest girl in the world. He's a great skater, has solid offensive potential, and is responsible defensively. Could end up being a number three defenseman at his peak.)
15. Vadim Zherenko. (Now I'll rank Zherenko. Honestly think we hit a home run in the seventh with him; I like him almost as much as Hofer, but he's proven less. He'll stick in the NHL as long as he wants.)
16. Marc-Andre Gaudet. (MAG's a very savvy offensive-defenseman. He has a great shot, sees the ice very well. He's an older prospect, so he'll need to make his mark in the AHL first. I don't think he'll break out with us, though; we're too deep.)
17. Quinton Burns. (Burns is like most of the mid picks in last year's draft: far too young to see what he can really do. He had a promising u18 season, but I'll wait and see what he does. He has solid offensive potential, and I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if he ends up breaking out this year.)
18. Nikita Susuyev. (Susuyev was rated a third round talent with his offensive skills. He has high offensive IQ, a ridiculous shot, knows where his teammates are. He won't come over until 26/27, if he comes over at all, but if he does, and if he improves his lackadaisical defense, he could be a steal.)
19. Aleksanteri Kaskimaki. (Kaskimaki's a bottom-six center with some skill. He'll need to figure out what role he'll have to be if he comes over, but he's definitely someone to keep an eye on.)
20. Paul Fischer. (Like Burns, Fischer is far too young as a defenseman to see what he'll bring to the table. He's solid defensively, allowed his teammates to take more risks, and he maybe has a bit of offensive potential. We'll see what he does at college.)
21. Tyler Tucker. (Yes, Tucker has nothing left to prove in the AHL, but unlike Alexandrov, I don't see much potential in Tucker. He's not the best skater, he doesn't have the offensive chops for a bigtime role in that department, and while he's extremely tough to play against, I don't think his defensive ability is better than someone like Loof or Koromyslov.)
22. Jakub Stancl. (Stancl is a big kid with room to grow. He's also a very young mid-round pick, and thus, I can't rate him too highly, but I love his defensive utility. Maybe he ends up climbing the rankings if his offense improves? Who knows?)
23. Tanner Dickinson. (Dickinson's always been fast, and he was having a breakout year in the OHL before his leg injury. Now he's back, but will he have the speed that made him so highly touted? If he answers that question positively, I could see him rise. If not, he'll wash out; he simply doesn't have many more translatable skills.)
24. Ivan Vorobyov. (I love what Vorobyov has done in the team camp, but while he's got offensive skill, he's still a liability defensively, and his offensive skills aren't nearly as good as Susuyev's or some of the others to justify it. Maybe he ends up being an offensively-oriented bottom-sixer, but I don't see it with us. I'd be glad to be wrong, though!)
25. Matt Kessel. (Kessel is also close to the NHL like Tucker, but while he's the best right-handed defensive prospect in our system, that really isn't saying much; we're very weak there. He has solid offensive ability, but I don't think he's good enough defensively to make it very far with our team.)
26. Noah Beck. (Beck is just below Kessel. Offensively, he may be even better than Kessel; he's put his college team on his back with many timely goals. But I worry about his defense, and of course, the NHL - even the AHL - is very much different than the NCAA. He'll be one to keep an eye on.)
27. Dylan Peterson. (Peterson may not even be signed; he's been a disappointment as a third round pick in his college career. Still, his team's very deep, and he's been utilized as a solid defensive bottom-six center so maybe that's the reason why? We may or may not sign him, but it's going to take an exceptional year for him to get consideration.)
28. Mattias Laferriere. (Laferriere has been a good soldier for our organization, a solid bottom six winger with decent offense, but he's never going to make the NHL unless he gets a cup of coffee with us or some other team like McGing got. Still, you need those types in your organization, so I have no problems with him.)
29. Keann Washkurak. (Washkurak suffers from "jack-of-all-trades, master-of-none" syndrome. He's okay at everything, but doesn't have one trait like the ones above him to really propel him to the NHL. He's your average fourth line center, maybe only a bottom six career AHLer. It's certainly not a horrible thing, but it's not going to get him listed here.)
30. Anton Malmstrom. (While Malmstrom did get an ELC, I don't see much potential in him. I really don't. He's a big kid, good defensively, but we have so many better players ahead of him, and so many better players coming up behind him that I don't see much potential in him to stick with us for very long. Even if we didn't have those players, I just don't see the defensive potential like Loof, Koromyslov, or even Fischer.)
31. Jeremie Biakabutuka. (Biakabutuka is a big right-handed shot who looked atrocious at prospect camp. Somehow, we signed him to an ELC, which, I suppose, does no harm, but I don't really see him as a serious prospect unless he drastically improves in all facets of the game. Still, he was gotten for basically free, so let's just see what he can do, even though I don't expect much?)
32. Landon Sim. (Sim was a nepotism pick in the sixth round, a flyer. Thus far, he really hasn't broken out with his team like I thought he could, so he's staying down here. He hasn't really put up points, hasn't stood out, and probably will not be signed to an ELC by us. But he's got one overage year left.)
33. Matthew Mayich. (I'm gonna be frank: I hated this pick, even as a sixth round flyer. Mayich simply doesn't do anything well other than fighting, and pure enforcers, especially pure defensive enforcers, are being slowly squeezed out of the game. I wanted Aiden Celebrini and/or Dylan Roobroeck, both of whom showed far more potential and fit a far bigger need (a physical right-handed defenseman or a 6'7" center). Just a frustrating pick, and unless he shows me something more than just taking fighting penalties, I'll continue to rank him around the bottom.)
34. Mikhail Abramov. (A throw-in by Toronto in the O'Reilly trade, Abramov really is nothing more than a career AHL winger, maybe even less. Maybe he gets a cup of coffee with some team eventually, but I really don't see it with him.)
35. Hunter Skinner. (The throw-in for the Tarasenko trade, he has a cool name, but is probably even more of an AHLer than Abramov. He's a right-handed defenseman, sure, but not exactly the type to go goo-goo eyes over. I don't think he re-signs with us at the end of his contract, and I wouldn't be surprised if he bounced around the AHL.)
36. Colton Ellis. (Goalies. Can't live with them, can't live without them, right? Ellis is an ECHL goalie right now, and he'll never be something with us. Hell, I don't think he's going to be something at all, but hey, Binnington made it from the ECHL. Maybe he succeeds due to past junior success?
37. Will Cranley. (Cranley is at the bottom of my rankings. He's never really had success in juniors, never really stood out at camp. He's just...there, and isn't really that good.)
Now as a wild card, you have Isaac Ratcliffe: a 6'6" former second round winger for the Flyers. He has a PTO with us, and a backup contract with the Chicago Wolves. If he makes it on our fourth line, I'd sandwich him between Vorobyov and Kessel, prospect-wise; you can't teach 6'6", and he's close to making the NHL. Maybe he didn't have the offense that Philly wanted, but he's not a bad player.
So, yeah, that's my admittedly-amateur take on all 37 (38?) Blues prospects. Next year, with more picks added to the system (thus far, we have a first, two seconds, two thirds, a fourth, a fifth, and a seventh, with potentially more being added with trades in Vrana, Kapanen, and potentially others - possibly a defenseman?), so it's a very, very exciting time to be a Blues fan, even if we don't win a Stanley Cup this year.
