Prospect Info: Who is the Blues #4 Prospect - 2023

[Stupendous Yappi]

Added Noah Beck. I think Susuyev is the only guy not on the list yet. I hadn't mentioned before, but Jeremy Michel is not listed as 'active' according the HF, although he played college hockey last season. I'm not planning to rank him unless someone thinks we should.

Blues Prospects by Forum Ranking
1) Dalibor Dvorsky - 82%
2) Jimmy Snuggerud - 93%
3) Joel Hofer - 38.5%

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[CaliforniaBlues310]

Went with Dean again.

Bolduc definitely has more high end talent, but his chances at being a bust are higher.

I see Dean as the 3C behind Thomas/Dvorsky in a few years, but imo he will be someone capable of handling 2C duty if either of those two get injured.

 

[DatDude44]

Went with Dean again.

Bolduc definitely has more high end talent, but his chances at being a bust are higher.

I see Dean as the 3C behind Thomas/Dvorsky in a few years, but imo he will be someone capable of handling 2C duty if either of those two get injured.

agreed

 

[Linkens Mastery]

Honestly. For me I have to pick Bolduc or Stenberg. I think both have 2nd line upside. Neighbours and Dean I don't think will ever be more than 3rd liners. I went Stenberg because I think he's safer to hit his floor than Bolduc.

 

[Memento]

Went with Bolduc, again. Honestly, I'm shocked at how far he's fallen, and how much people are expecting - perhaps unrealistically - of him. Let's not forget that he's only twenty and contributed to a huge Memorial Cup win with his team. He should've been on Team Canada, and though he didn't have the best reaction, he was a literal teen. Bolduc's got offensive skill you just can't teach (starting with thirty goals in his then-rookie season at Rimouski), is a potential top-line left wing, and, what we're not talking about, he has played on the penalty kill before (yes, it was when he was younger, but he's had experience with it), so I don't see as much bust potential as people say. Even if he's not your top left wing, he could certainly be a solid middle-sixer who can go on special teams and be good. Then again, I vote ceiling over floor, so that's just my opinion, and I could very well be wrong.

Next five I'll be voting for will be Stenberg, Lindstein, Neighbours, Dean, then Buchinger. I feel that both Stenberg and Lindstein are elite prospects in terms of upside; Stenberg is a top six left wing, a lot like Steen was for us in his prime, except maybe even faster, while Lindstein could be a top two defenseman (yes, I feel that his skating is fantastic, his outlet passes are something we've missed, and that, call me crazy, he has a ton of offensive projection remaining. He just has to improve his shot.).

Neighbours, I feel has potential second line upside as a middle-sixer; Dean could fill in at second-line center in case of an injury, and will likely do well. Neighbours could very well surprise in his next season; I think forty points isn't out of the question.

Buchinger (along with the two other left-handed defensemen in his draft) is the guy I feel gets slept on the most; I feel that he definitely has top four defenseman potential, and would be able to run a powerplay extremely well while being competent in his own zone. I feel that he's a lot like Vince Dunn, who has found his footing in Seattle.

If we're adding prospects to the list, go with Nikita Susuyev; he may never come over (he's signed with his club until the end of 2026/2027) but if he does, he has oodles of offensive potential in a potential middle-six package. Defense isn't there, and may never be there, but he's probably a better prospect than Mayich, Sim, Ellis, Skinner, Abramov, Washkurak, Cranley, and Malmstrom.

 

[Blueston]

Went with neighbours again. But I get Bolduc. Hofer as 3rd is just silly.

 

[Celtic Note]

I have Bolduc here. He has the highest ceiling of the players left IMO.

Honestly. For me I have to pick Bolduc or Stenberg. I think both have 2nd line upside. Neighbours and Dean I don't think will ever be more than 3rd liners. I went Stenberg because I think he's safer to hit his floor than Bolduc.

I went Bolduc here, Stenberg is next for me.

 

[simon IC]

Stenberg. A balance between ceiling and NHL readiness.

 

[Blanick]

Went Neighbors again.

 

[LGB]

I don't think Bolduc has massive upside because I don't see a lot of creativity, but above average skating, above average hands, and a great shot is still a very nice package. I think the way he becomes a really valuable player is if his motor goes up a few levels. Like Memento referred to he was a PKer on Rimouski and played with more tenacity when he was a less established player. Hopefully he can bring that to the AHL and NHL.

 

[Majorityof1]

Went with Bolduc again. For all the reasons in my lengthy post in the last thread.

Went with neighbours again. But I get Bolduc. Hofer as 3rd is just silly.

To each their own. I think Neighbours at 4 is sillier than Hofer at 3. That is why we vote, to see where the consensus sits. Any list of top prospects based on majority opinionis going to have stuff that ends up looking silly, either immediately or definitely in retrospect.

 

[sfvega]

Honestly. For me I have to pick Bolduc or Stenberg. I think both have 2nd line upside. Neighbours and Dean I don't think will ever be more than 3rd liners. I went Stenberg because I think he's safer to hit his floor than Bolduc.

This is exactly where I'm at, but Lindstein after Bolduc/Stenberg.

 

[Linkens Mastery]

This is exactly where I'm at, but Lindstein after Bolduc/Stenberg.

I honestly have Lindstein and Buchinger in the same teir of "3rd d-man" but Lindstein being the Defensive guy and Buchinger being the Offensive guy. Kinda like Parayko and Faulk.

 

[kimzey59]

As I said in the previous poll:
The next 4 are interesting.
Bolduc probably has the most upside, but he's got a lot of bust potential also.
Neighbours is clearly the most NHL ready, but probably has the lowest ceiling.
Dean has position in his favor, but the upside is questionable.
Stenberg might be the best all-around player of the bunch, but he's the furthest from the NHL.

For me: I go 4- Neighbours, 5- Bolduc, 6- Dean, 7-Stenberg
I'd really like to put Stenberg higher, but I don't know that I can justify it.

IMO we could literally throw these four names into a hat and draw them that way and it would be just as accurate.

 

[BadgersandBlues]

I think it's nuts that Hofer went third, but there ya go. I went Bolduc again, I value Debrincat on an ELC/bridge more then I value like Tristan Jarry on a regular contract, which is where we might be in two years with these two.

 

[LetsGoBooze]

Stenberg choo choo

 

[STL fan in MN]

I’m going to vote Bolduc here but Dean is right there with him IMO. Stenberg too.

I’m surprised how little support Dean is getting. This is just a hypothesis but I feel like his equipment getting lost until the last day of Prospect Camp is going to cost him a couple spots on this poll as some folks just aren’t that familiar with his game yet.

 

[HighNote]

When talking about prospects, the discussion revolves almost entirely around potential. Because that's what prospects are: potential NHL'rs. So for me, I lean heavily towards players with the most potential. The next thing I lean towards is how close they are to the NHL. This is why Bolduc and Neighbours are very close to me, because Bolduc has the higher ceiling, but Neighbours is closer to being an NHL regular.

The way I look at it, Bolduc projects to be the better player until proven otherwise, so he's my guy. He also doesn't appear to be too far off from the NHL (assuming he comes close to his ceiling), so it's not like he's way behind Neighbours in that category. But with boom/bust prospects like Bolduc, they can drop down my rankings fast if their development stalls, and that's certainly a possibility. This training camp/preseason he needs to be pushing for a roster spot at the very least. I'm not saying he needs to make the team, but if he looks meh then that's a bad sign.

Also, goalies are really hard to get a good read on, and they should almost be ranked separately from skaters in my opinion. It's so hard to compare goalies with skaters, especially when it comes to projecting an NHL career.

 

[Bluesguru]

Zach Dean. Who else?

 

[Beauterham]

I hadn't mentioned before, but Jeremy Michel is not listed as 'active' according the HF, although he played college hockey last season. I'm not planning to rank him unless someone thinks we should.

As we never signed Michel to a ELC, his rights expired after the 20/21 season. He's not a Blues prospect anymore. Same with Tyson Galloway who's rights expired after last season.

 

[Mike Liut]

Zach Dean. Who else?

I think Dean is going to be really good. Maybe not a super high ceiling, but a really good player. Perfect 3C

 

[Bluesnatic27]

Bolduc for me.

He has the highest offensive profile out of anyone left. I like all of his tools and he adds a finishing element to the pool, and even potential roster, that no other player has (or proven to have at this point). I think his inefficiencies are a tad overblown. He's progressed every year since his draft and I still stand by my initial assessment that Bolduc was a raw prospect when he was drafted.

 

[Stupendous Yappi]

I hope I'm wrong, but I think Bolduc is going to disappoint us.

 

[Frenzy31]

Bolduc for me. Fans can state he didn't make the Canadian WJC team, but that was a very stacked top 6. Per the head of scouting, Bolduc has worked on the areas of his game they wanted him to, which to me says he is coachable and wants to make it to the NHL.

I get other people going with Neighbors, who will be in the NHL next season, but I feel he is more of middle six, support player. I think Bolduc can fill in very similar to Tarasenko when he breaks into the NHL.

 

[Blueston]

I hope I'm wrong, but I think Bolduc is going to disappoint us.

that is where i am at. i think he will be nhl player, but he will always leave us wanting more. and not just more production, more engagement.