Prospect Info: Who is the Blues' #1 prospect in 2023?

[STL fan in MN]

It's 1. Dvorski, 2. Snuggerud, 3. Bolduc. Almost certainly. After that it gets fun.

Hofer, Neighbors, Stenberg, Lindstein could all make a case. Maybe even Zach Dean.

Then you've got Robertsson, Alexandrov, Loof, Pekarcik, Buchinger (I think I like him way more than most). It's all the sudden not looking so bad here.

We’ll see. I expect Snuggy to win at 2 but I think poll 3 will be interesting.

I see Dvorsky as a clear #1 but then I value the 7 guys I have in the next tier all about the same.

 

[joe galiba]

It will end tonight. Future polls will be 48h.

I don’t want to call it so fast we don’t have an individual discussion about each guy.

plus there is a lot of time to fill up before hockey starts up again

 

[Brian39]

I know the poll is open for 72 hours, but I'm pretty sure we all know who the winner is at this point.

And I'm equally sure we all know Snuggles is going to run away with the next poll.

As such; let's start the debate for #3. Personally, I say Hofer. He's pretty much being written in as the backup next year, and I think there's a very good chance that he could steal the net if Binny has another rough year. I think between his upside and NHL readiness that he should be a notch above the next rung of forwards.

That is how I will be voting for all of the same reasons.

I think he gets into 30+ games this year and has a real chance to hit 30+ starts. I think he is currently a top 10 puckhandling goalie in world which should help him get into games since our #1 is also a top 10 puckhandler. Having a backup that can help the D as much as Binner is no small thing, especially if the coaching staff is having to make hard/close decisions about who should be playing on any given night. Stylistically, it will be easier to go to Hofer than it was Greiss or Husso. That's one less roadblock.

I wouldn't be at all surprised if he's turned the net into a tandem by the end of the season (although my guess is that it doesn't happen until November or December of 2024).

Bold prediction time: Hofer is going to score his first NHL goal before ether of the guys who get ranked as our top 2 prospects.

 

[Celtic Note]

That is how I will be voting for all of the same reasons.

I think he gets into 30+ games this year and has a real chance to hit 30+ starts. I think he is currently a top 10 puckhandling goalie in world which should help him get into games since our #1 is also a top 10 puckhandler. Having a backup that can help the D as much as Binner is no small thing, especially if the coaching staff is having to make hard/close decisions about who should be playing on any given night. Stylistically, it will be easier to go to Hofer than it was Greiss or Husso. That's one less roadblock.

I wouldn't be at all surprised if he's turned the net into a tandem by the end of the season (although my guess is that it doesn't happen until November or December of 2024).

Bold prediction time: Hofer is going to score his first NHL goal before ether of the guys who get ranked as our top 2 prospects.

I think Hofer should absolutely be in the discussion for top 5 prospect in our system (if he isn’t top 10, shame on us) and that is fully acknowledging the depth and talent we have in the system. Hofer has done exactly what you would hope for in a goalie prospect. If we cannot rate him appropriately, we shouldn’t even vote for goalie prospects IMO because bias is overriding logic at that point.

 

[CaliforniaBlues310]

That is how I will be voting for all of the same reasons.

I think he gets into 30+ games this year and has a real chance to hit 30+ starts. I think he is currently a top 10 puckhandling goalie in world which should help him get into games since our #1 is also a top 10 puckhandler. Having a backup that can help the D as much as Binner is no small thing, especially if the coaching staff is having to make hard/close decisions about who should be playing on any given night. Stylistically, it will be easier to go to Hofer than it was Greiss or Husso. That's one less roadblock.

I wouldn't be at all surprised if he's turned the net into a tandem by the end of the season (although my guess is that it doesn't happen until November or December of 2024).

Bold prediction time: Hofer is going to score his first NHL goal before ether of the guys who get ranked as our top 2 prospects.

F*** yeah. I love this post because it’s exactly how I feel about Hofer. I wouldn’t be shocked either if he’s our starter in the next 6-18 months, and that’s not a slight at Binnington at all. I just think he’s going to be that good. The playstyle thing is such an underrated aspect that I don’t think many people think about as well.

Husso and Greiss handled the puck like a grenade, and there was a NOTICABLE difference during the playoffs in how well we handled the forecheck when Binner entered the Wild series, up until he got taken out by Kadri. We were being caved in by the Wild and Avs when Husso was in net. You’re absolutely right about having both goalies having world class puck handling ability being super beneficial to the team, especially if we can’t upgrade the D this offseason.

 

[Majorityof1]

I think Hofer should absolutely be in the discussion for top 5 prospect in our system (if he isn’t top 10, shame on us) and that is fully acknowledging the depth and talent we have in the system. Hofer has done exactly what you would hope for in a goalie prospect. If we cannot rate him appropriately, we shouldn’t even vote for goalie prospects IMO because bias is overriding logic at that point.

I have him 4th, and really, really , close to being 2nd or 3rd. I also have Zherenko somewhere in my 2nd tier (5-8), I agree with your premise completely. However, I could see an argument for having him outside the top 5.

He has to be 7th at worst though. You can put our recent firsts ahead of him based on pedigree and what they have done. But I cannot see a single argument for anybody else. Dvorsky, Snuggy, Bolduc, Lindstein, Stenberg and Neighbours I see an argument for, although I disagree on half of them, and vehemently on one of them. As for the rest? Nah. Hofer all day over the rest.

 

[Celtic Note]

I have him 4th, and really, really , close to being 2nd or 3rd. I also have Zherenko somewhere in my 2nd tier (5-8), I agree with your premise completely. However, I could see an argument for having him outside the top 5.

He has to be 7th at worst though. You can put our recent firsts ahead of him based on pedigree and what they have done. But I cannot see a single argument for anybody else. Dvorsky, Snuggy, Bolduc, Lindstein, Stenberg and Neighbours I see an argument for, although I disagree on half of them, and vehemently on one of them. As for the rest? Nah. Hofer all day over the rest.

We have a lot of guys I like, so I can see outside 5, but not outside 10.

I have him after Dvo and Snuggy. Those two are in their own tier. Then I have some combination of Bolduc, Stenberg and Hofer, followed by Lidsten, Neighbors and a few others.

 

[Majorityof1]

We have a lot of guys I like, so I can see outside 5, but not outside 10.

I have him after Dvo and Snuggy. Those two are in their own tier. Then I have some combination of Bolduc, Stenberg and Hofer, followed by Lidsten, Neighbors and a few others.

Tier 1 - Dvorsky
Tier 2 - Snuggy, Bolduc, Hofer
Tier 3 - Stenburg, Dean, Zherenko, Lindstein
Tier 4 - Neighbours
Tier 5 - Buchinger, Tucker, Alexandrov, Pekarcik, Vorobyov, Robertson, kessel
Tier 6 - Laff, Loof, Ellis
Tier 7: Who cares????? Dickinson if I have to pick a #20

 

[Stupendous Yappi]

OK, calling it here. Will update the poll in the next few minutes.
Dvorsky with 97 of 119 votes.

 

[Stupendous Yappi]

Feels like it might happen again. As you said, people are subjective and think differently on the topic. Something I am totally fine with...

Well, the bastards won't end it early this year, since I've taken it upon myself. I may be the only one left voting, but I don't see any reason to keep on voting down the list while there is still some interest in the players. Seeing how I'm getting requests for a couple 7th rounders, I think we have a ways to go.