Prospect Info: Who is the Blues #11 Prospect - 2023

[Stupendous Yappi]

Blues Prospects by Forum Ranking
1) Dalibor Dvorsky - 82%
2) Jimmy Snuggerud - 93%
3) Joel Hofer - 39%
4) Zachary Bolduc - 59%
5) Otto Stenberg - 42%
6) Jake Neighbors - 45.5%
7) Zach Dean - 64%
8) Theo Lindstein - 82%
9) Nikita Alexandrov - 39%
10) Michael Buchinger - 60%

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[LGB]

Tough call here but I'm gonna go with Tucker. His package of IQ, decent puck skills, and physicality I think can make him a pretty useful defenseman.

 

[Stealth JD]

Vorobyov or Pekarcik for me. Chose the former.

 

[Linkens Mastery]

I forgot Abromov was in the system

 

[tfriede2]

Koromyslov and then Pekarcik. One has top 4 upside, the other top 6. Pekarcik is such a wildcard given how young he is - so much more developing to do, which isn’t a bad thing - lot of runway there.

 

[Bluesguru]

I’ll stick with Loof even though he won’t win for a while.

 

[stl76]

I like Tucker’s high floor here, but there’s about a half dozen guys that have a legit shot here IMO. It’s awesome looking at our prospect list at #10 and still seeing a lot of guys with a legit shot to play some NHL games.

 

[BlueOil]

zherenko again

 

[LogosBlue]

Pekarcik and then Zherenko next for me. I think these two have the next highest ceiling.

 

[STL fan in MN]

Probably going to go with Pekarcik as he has the raw skills to make an impact. I’ll be interested to see how he does in Dubuque this season. I’m sure the Blues are annoyed Acadie-Bathurst drafted him after his agent told AB he wouldn’t report there.

Zherenko has increased his stock more and more each year though and is now poised to be the AHL starter. I see no reason why he can’t follow the same path Hofer did. Zherenko’s athleticism is obvious and he adapted to the smaller N.A. rink very well (different angles and generally more traffic in front).

Tucker is likely an NHLer this season. He earned a one-way deal and Army has already said they’re likely to keep 8 d-men so Tucker likely makes the team IMO. I’d probably value both Pekarcik and Zherenko slightly more though, but it’s close.

 

[Blueston]

Still burns. Although wouldn’t argue with Pekarcik. He is next for me.

 

[Brian39]

I went with Tucker based on what he has accomplished as a pro so far. I don't think he has as high of a ceiling as a few remaining guys, but all of the remaining high ceilings seem like massive long shots to me. FWIW, while I don't think Tucker will ever be a clear top 4 option, I do think that he has it in him to be a #4/5 tweener on a good team. Given the floor and his age 22 season, I'm comofortable putting that type of upside ahead of the remaining lottery tickets.

 

[542365]

Tucker for me.

 

[Bluesnatic27]

I'm going with Pekarcik as a pure "going out on a limb" pick. I see a great translatable skillset with potential as a complimentary middle-six option. He is incredibly clumsy and raw, but the tools he possess show flashes of brilliance. I think he has the best combination of higher end ability and translatable talent of who is left.

 

[PerryTurnbullfan]

Tough here. Pull name out of a hat Zehrenko, Burns Loof Kaskimaki or Pekarcik

 

[Majorityof1]

I went with Tucker based on what he has accomplished as a pro so far. I don't think he has as high of a ceiling as a few remaining guys, but all of the remaining high ceilings seem like massive long shots to me. FWIW, while I don't think Tucker will ever be a clear top 4 option, I do think that he has it in him to be a #4/5 tweener on a good team. Given the floor and his age 22 season, I'm comofortable putting that type of upside ahead of the remaining lottery tickets.

I'm curious on your thoughts about Zherenko. You voted Hofer early, so you don't shy away from goalies. Do you not think he's good? Too risky? Not as valuable with Hofer in the system?

 

[Beauterham]

Still going for upside, so Pekarcik here.

 

[Celtic Note]

I'm curious on your thoughts about Zherenko. You voted Hofer early, so you don't shy away from goalies. Do you not think he's good? Too risky? Not as valuable with Hofer in the system?

You didn’t ask me, but I tend to fall a similar way. My answer is that Hofer has charted well and has shown he can take the ball and run with it in a starters role in the AHL. I think he can be a plus level starter.

Zherenko has showed well but is further behind in development mainly because he was blocked by Hofer and may continue to be. But like a few other prospects, I am sort of waiting to see what happens this year before I move them up (or don’t). While that’s sort of true for all of them, there are some that I am an the fence on but this year will solidify my view.

 

[Brian39]

I'm curious on your thoughts about Zherenko. You voted Hofer early, so you don't shy away from goalies. Do you not think he's good? Too risky? Not as valuable with Hofer in the system?

I don't dislike him at all. He will probably be my vote once Tucker is off the board. I wouldn't downplay how impressive it is for him to be in conversation as our 11th best prospect. 7 of the 10 guys currently ranked ahead of him are 1st round picks that are younger than him. Plus you have Hofer, who is only 8 months older than him and outplayed him in the AHL last year. Our prospect pool is really deep and he is still in the running to be top 12. Given that talent assessment, he could be top 8 in a lot of groups. That's damn impressive for a just-turned 22 year old 7th round goalie.

I haven't watched a ton of him playing. The numbers intrigue me and the athleticism is there. But in my limited viewings, I haven't liked his patience or positioning. But again, this is based on a very limited sample of actually watching him. I wish he was a bit taller, but his size doesn't concern me.

With all that said, demonstrating that you can be "the guy" over 40+ games in a season at the pro level is a major, major milestone for my ranking/evaluation of goaltending prospects. Preferably I want to see a goalie prospect do it over 50+ games in a year, but 40 is kind of my cutoff to start demonstrating an ability to handle a starter's workload. There are only a small handful of goalie prospects that I view as having separated themselves from the pack in their teens and early 20s before they hit this milestone.

I like what I've seen out of Zherenko as a whole, but he hasn't shown me anything (yet) to have him as one of the truly elite talents under 23. He should be the guy in the AHL this year and I'm really excited for that. He could shoot up my rankings with a good season, just like Hofer did for me this year.

 

[mab894]

Went with Zherenko but almost went with Tucker

 

[Blueswin]

top 10 prospects - MSN

 

[LGB]

Don't really get the Pekarcik love. Freshly drafted 3rd round pick and a player we took in front of him is still on the board.

 

[Blueston]

Don't really get the Pekarcik love. Freshly drafted 3rd round pick and a player we took in front of him is still on the board.

Burns is i think is hindered here by his injury. Folks seem much more comfortable voting for someone they saw perform well in relatively meaningless prospect camp.

 

[Reality Czech]

Tough here. Pull name out of a hat Zehrenko, Burns Loof Kaskimaki or Pekarcik

Tucker getting less respect than Neighbours and Alexandrov did.

 

[Blueston]

Tucker getting less respect than Neighbours and Alexandrov did.

they can both skate at nhl level.