Prospect Info: 17-18 Blues Top Prospect #11

[EastonBlues22]

#1-Vince Dunn(67%)
#2-Ivan Barbashev(46%)
#3-Jake Walman(79%)
#4-Klim Kostin (31%)
#5-Ville Husso (31%)
#6-Robert Thomas (39%)
#7-Tage Thompson (41%)
#8-Jordan Kyrou (62%)
#9-Jordan Schmaltz (86%)
#10-Zach Sanford (83%)

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[BangarangxRufio]

In before the poll

 

[EastonBlues22]

It takes time to type all those names.

 

[BangarangxRufio]

 

[KirkOut]

no idea. went with Toropchenko because his name sounds cool and he's new and therefore fresher in my mind

 

[Alklha]

Sundqvist for me here. He looks like he should be an effective fourth liner, with some potential as a third liner after his offensive game showed signs of life in the AHL last season.

If Mikkola was a better skater, then I would have taken him. As it was he was exposed against the higher quality opposition on the Finnish national team.

 

[DatDude44]

Went with Blais, had a breakout rookie year for Chicago and could be a dark horse to crack our top 9 a couple years down the road. Probly should've went with sundqvist then Blais....but come on, u know how we HF'ers always defend the relatively unknowns lmao

 

[Caser]

This is the point where I can just go full homer voting: Toropchenko, add Sergeyev.

 

[Bluesnatic27]

Went Blais here. The guy has a hockey IQ that might rival Thomas, but just doesn't have the skills to match. Still though, managing 26 goals in the AHL as a rookie is hard for anybody, so obviously he's got enough talent to pass in the pro game. He's also been one of the last cuts in training camp for two years now.

Couldn't really ask for much more from a 6th rounder.

 

[MortiestOfMortys]

Sundqvist for me here. He looks like he should be an effective fourth liner, with some potential as a third liner after his offensive game showed signs of life in the AHL last season.

If Mikkola was a better skater, then I would have taken him. As it was he was exposed against the higher quality opposition on the Finnish national team.

I feel like that's the least of his worries, honestly. He's supposed to be a fantastic skater, and people that have been to prospect camp have said as much. He's supposed to be a Parayko-esque skater, in that he's great not "for his size," but a great skater in general. Sounds like we're listening to different people lol

 

[Splatter]

Oskar

add Tanner Kaspick, Dmitrii Sergeev, and Austin Poganski

 

[Vincenzo Arelliti]

Toropchenko. The upside he has I can't ignore any longer. I think he's going to be a steal at the least, and a major steal at most. Sundqvist, Mikkola, and Blais are the next tier for me, followed by Musil, Lindbohm, Stevens, Fitzpatrick, and Binnington, and lastly a group of Bleackley, Helt, Krag-Christensen, and MacEachern.

Tier 1
Dunn
Walman
Kostin

Tier 2
Thomas
Husso
Barbashev
Kyrou
Thompson

Tier 3
Schmaltz
Toropchenko
Sanford

Tier 4
Blais
Sundqvist
Mikkola

Tier 5
Musil
Stevens
Lindbohm
Binnington
Fitzpatrick

Tier 6
Poganski
MacEachern
Krag-Christensen
Helt
Bleackley

Tier 7
Who cares

 

[Vincenzo Arelliti]

Sundqvist for me here. He looks like he should be an effective fourth liner, with some potential as a third liner after his offensive game showed signs of life in the AHL last season.

If Mikkola was a better skater, then I would have taken him. As it was he was exposed against the higher quality opposition on the Finnish national team.

I am going to echo what Morty said. Mikkola is a damn good skater. I would compare him to a better skating Zadorov, but with less of a shot. Mikkola and Toropchenko are two guys that could really surprise

 

[Stealth JD]

I like Mikkola's upside more than anyone else here. I think he's the only one with top-4 (D) or top-6 (F) upside. Some of the others have a better chance of being bottom-line guys and are closer...but I don't value that too highly when NHL depth is not the problem.

 

[Edgar Carrow]

Danish Malkin.

 

[Itsnotatrap]

Accidentally hit Stevens instead of Blais. I am taking the approach of chasing upside at this stage. My thought is that a Musil is a safe bottom 6 bet. Blais has remote 2nd line wing potential. Mikkola has some potential to be a defensively strong #4 dman.

In the absence of a Musil, you just pay a Brodziak or Upshall type something just over 1M. To get into top 4 dman, good middle six winger, your market rate is around 3M+. So I'll chase more remote odds and uncertainty for potential to break through tougher roles.

 

[Alklha]

I feel like that's the least of his worries, honestly. He's supposed to be a fantastic skater, and people that have been to prospect camp have said as much. He's supposed to be a Parayko-esque skater, in that he's great not "for his size," but a great skater in general. Sounds like we're listening to different people lol

I am going to echo what Morty said. Mikkola is a damn good skater. I would compare him to a better skating Zadorov, but with less of a shot. Mikkola and Toropchenko are two guys that could really surprise

That's interesting. He has always had a good stride, but his pivoting and lateral skating were issues. Particularly his mohawk pivot, where he was losing most of his momentum.

 

[Jordeau]

Going with Blais here. Good to see he's getting a little love. Other good options would be Sundvist, Mikkola, Stevens, and maybe Musil. I don't really understand the Toropchenko votes, personally. Have people actually watched him play other than a few highlights on youtube? I just can't see anything that puts him ahead of the players I named above.

 

[BlueDream]

Going with Blais here. Good to see he's getting a little love. Other good options would be Sundvist, Mikkola, Stevens, and maybe Musil. I don't really understand the Toropchenko votes, personally. Have people actually watched him play other than a few highlights on youtube? I just can't see anything that puts him ahead of the players I named above.

I think they are taking the "this guy is a steal" thing too far right now, especially over guys like Sundqvist and Blais (who will be my next pick) who have already produced very well in the AHL and are either NHL ready or close to being so. In one more year I can see Blais competing for a 3rd line spot. He's a solid prospect.

 

[Vincenzo Arelliti]

I think Toropchenko has the upside to be a good 2nd liner. Blais has a very tough road ahead of him - 26 goals or not. He's not a Ty Rattie, but it takes a lot more than not being a Ty Rattie for a guy of his pedigree, size, etc. to be a 2nd liner in the NHL. I see Blais as having a realistic upside of speedy 3rd liner that can score and not look awful on defense. Toropchenko might be more effective at the NHL level, imo. Blais is right there with him, though.

Toropchenko is by no means a poor skater, but he has more work to do to be truly effective up the lineup. His big body, skill, and tenacity make him at the very least a good net-front presence that can play big. If he can get his skating to above average, he could be a good power forward. I think he still needs to be better offensively (and I think he can), and he's no slouch defensively, either.

Blais is similar to Kyrou in that he is dynamic enough to be a top 6er, but if he can't stick on the top 6 due to his flaws outside of the offense, then he won't be as effective as a 3rd or 4th liner. Toropchenko has a higher floor, and a similar ceiling, imo.

 

[STL fan in MN]

Sundqvist here. He should make the team out of camp. Good two-way abilities.

After him, I have Musil. I had Musil at 8 previously but with an infusion of talent, Musil slid, but not because of his play. Musil is all net front presence with all of the intangibles you'd want in a bottom-6 forward. He's 3 years younger than Sundqvist so he's just starting his pro career but he was very helpful for the Wolves down the stretch. I don't see Musil scoring much at the NHL level but he can score and should chip in good 4th line C production once he reaches the NHL. Where he'll be most valuable is in his defensive play, causing turnovers and generally being a pain in the butt to play against. He's got that Sobotka nastiness about him...except he's 6'3" instead of Sobi's 5'10". Lots of character, leadership, grit and determination. Not a skill guy but a guy I could see becoming a fan favorite for his blue collar play in a couple years.

 

[Daley Tarasenkshow]

Blais for me here.

 

[STL fan in MN]

Going with Blais here. Good to see he's getting a little love. Other good options would be Sundvist, Mikkola, Stevens, and maybe Musil. I don't really understand the Toropchenko votes, personally. Have people actually watched him play other than a few highlights on youtube? I just can't see anything that puts him ahead of the players I named above.

Perhaps Caser or other Russian posters that have perhaps seen Toropchenko live can chime in but I think for most of us, we've only seen some clips and perhaps a few here saw him do some drills and play pick-up style hockey out at the Mills a few weeks ago...but it's hard to project Toropchenko at this point IMO. I know I'll have a better feel for his game and potential once I see him in some OHL games for Guelph.

He apparently looked good at Prospects Camp but didn't some folks get really excited about Helt and Krag at last year's camp? I'm not trying to compare Toropchenko to either of those 7th rounds but just saying those scrimmages don't tell a lot of the story IMO.

The scouting reports suggest he has some skill and he certainly has a good frame but he's a kid that started the year with 0 pts in 5 games at the Ivan Hlinka and finished the season with 2 assists in 7 games at the World U18s. In between, he put up 31 pts in 45 games in Russia's Jr league. Until I see more from him, I simply can't rank him above some of these other more established, more known prospects.

 

[KirkOut]

Going with Blais here. Good to see he's getting a little love. Other good options would be Sundvist, Mikkola, Stevens, and maybe Musil. I don't really understand the Toropchenko votes, personally. Have people actually watched him play other than a few highlights on youtube? I just can't see anything that puts him ahead of the players I named above.

of the 3 people who voted for him, one was me who said i voted for him because he's got a cool name, and one was somebody who i think is from russia and was homer-voting.

 

[STL fan in MN]

If I'm being honest, I see Blais having a Rattie trajectory. They have different strengths/weaknesses but I just feel Blais will end up a tweener - not quite skilled enough to take someone's top-6 job and not bringing enough intangibles to take someone's bottom-6 job.