Prospect Info: 17-18 Blues Top Prospect #11

[Ranksu]

At this stage, I rank Mikkola ahead of Lindbohm. I don't see Lindbohm having any future in Blues. Maybe he don't get even new contract in here and he'll come back to Europe.

Mikkola has upside to be stud 3rd pair defensive dman who has ability to play future hockey in transition game.

 

[MortiestOfMortys]

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.

I agree with this. A Wade Megan career would be a good result for Blais. He's not really that skilled that he's going to push anyone in our forward group for time, but he's a really good player who sticks to his game and does it well. At best, he'll be a decent injury fill-in. If somehow he unseats Steen, Fabbri, Schwartz, Paajarvi, Sanford, etc., it will be a crazy day indeed. Never say never, but yeah I see the likelihood of him hitting 300 games in the NHL being pretty low. I could see several other guys on this list making it to that mark.

 

[Memento]

Voted for Sundqvist. He's likely going to make the team, and at this point, that's all you can hope for with a prospect.

Next player will likely be Niko Mikkola because he has top-four defensive defenseman potential. I want to include Toropchenko, but I want to see how he does in juniors first before I vote for him.

After Mikkola, it's likely going to be Musil and Stevens.

 

[Caser]

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.

To be fair, if talking about the stats, one more assist at the U18WJC got brutally stolen from him by the IIHF. Overall I think Toropchenko got a very impressive size*skating combination, but I see the biggest issue in his hands - looks a bit of stone to me. Hard to tell where all this can get him.

 

[STL fan in MN]

To be fair, if talking about the stats, one more assist at the U18WJC got brutally stolen from him by the IIHF. Overall I think Toropchenko got a very impressive size*skating combination, but I see the biggest issue in his hands - looks a bit of stone to me. Hard to tell where all this can get him.

Yeah, I don't like evaluating players on stats much as so much of the game is won/lost because of aspects of play that aren't goals and assists but that's really all I have on Toropchenko at this point. So thanks for a bit of a scouting report on him. Would you project him to reach the NHL? If so, what sort of player? Big, fast but stone hands suggests maybe 3rd or 4th line winger? That fair?

 

[simon IC]

I voted Mikkola. (Again!) I think he could be Lindbohm +.

 

[Caser]

Yeah, I don't like evaluating players on stats much as so much of the game is won/lost because of aspects of play that aren't goals and assists but that's really all I have on Toropchenko at this point. So thanks for a bit of a scouting report on him. Would you project him to reach the NHL? If so, what sort of player? Big, fast but stone hands suggests maybe 3rd or 4th line winger? That fair?

Depends on how his development will go, I'd say those hands could be worked on to reach at least 'not that bad' level and if he adds some more defensive component to his game he can become a quality middle-six winger.

 

[PiggySmalls]

I went with Lindbohm, I still think he can make it as a NHL'er, just not with the Blues. Too many other LHD has past him up. But I could have selected many others that are just as high as Lindbohm.

 

[EL Bandito]

Sundqvist for me.

Then Blais, Mikkola and Toropchenko to follow.

 

[BlueDream]

If Samuel Blais, a 6th round pick and our 12th best prospect currently, becomes an extra forward that can fill in on the 3rd line and provide some skill when needed, I'll consider that a success. Even a Rattie-type career would be fine for him. Rattie was a 2nd rounder.

I really don't see anyone projecting him to be a top 6 forward. And we don't need him to be.

It's tough to project anyone else on this list to be one yet either.

 

[Ranksu]

I voted Mikkola. (Again!) I think he could be Lindbohm +.

No he'll be this guy. www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=10429

 

[Vincenzo Arelliti]

Depends on how his development will go, I'd say those hands could be worked on to reach at least 'not that bad' level and if he adds some more defensive component to his game he can become a quality middle-six winger.

I agree about the hands. He can move the puck around because he has at least decent vision, but his hands seem stiff to me. He can surprise at times though. Kind of like Barbashev can - even if he isn't know for his hands

 

[Linkens Mastery]

Blais. I think he's gonna shock a lot of people in the next few years.

 

[kimzey59]

As I said last poll; this group is where the NHL ready guys should land.
I voted Lindbohm but also see the argument for Sundqvist.

I get where some guys are coming from with "upside chasing", but IMO proven NHL ability trumps upside at this stage. Lindbohm has shown that he is more than passable as a 3rd pairing D man. He may not ever be more than that, but there are plenty of teams in the NHL that would be using Lindbohm as a regular on their 3rd pairing. Given that we're to the point in our rankings where nobody is a lock to even make the NHL, I can't overlook NHL readiness. Lindbohm and Sundqvist both have NHL experience under their belt and neither did poorly in that experience. That puts them at a different level than the rest of our pipeline, and I think this is the area where that level should be placed.

 

[Celtic Note]

As I said last poll; this group is where the NHL ready guys should land.
I voted Lindbohm but also see the argument for Sundqvist.

I get where some guys are coming from with "upside chasing", but IMO proven NHL ability trumps upside at this stage. Lindbohm has shown that he is more than passable as a 3rd pairing D man. He may not ever be more than that, but there are plenty of teams in the NHL that would be using Lindbohm as a regular on their 3rd pairing. Given that we're to the point in our rankings where nobody is a lock to even make the NHL, I can't overlook NHL readiness. Lindbohm and Sundqvist both have NHL experience under their belt and neither did poorly in that experience. That puts them at a different level than the rest of our pipeline, and I think this is the area where that level should be placed.

Lindbohm has regressed in the AHL by quite a bit and in the NHL his GP and ice time decreased in three consecutive seasons. He will need to flip a switch if he wants to be an NHLer at this point.

 

[EastonBlues22]

Between Sundqvist and Musil for me. I went with Musil, as I like his intangibles better and I think he's ahead of the development curve that Sundqvist set 3 years ago.

 

[Bobby Orrtuzzo]

Sundqvist, Mikkola, and Blais are my next three. In that order.

 

[shpongle falls]

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.

Woah I didn't realize that Musil was 6'3", that's good to know.

Going with Sundqvuist here.

 

[Blanick]

Voted for Toropchenko. It was between him and Sundqvist for me and Toropchenko really impressed me at prospect camp.

 

[Robb_K]

This is a really tough choice, pitting current distance from NHL readiness, and high floor vs. further away but higher ceiling. It's really a paint the ceiling with peanut butter and toss up noodles and see which one sticks.

I went with Mikkola, as I think he has the tools to eventually be a very solid 3rd pairing NHL defenceman, and, with a lot of hard work and dedication, he might eventually top out as an adequate #4. Despite Lindbohm being a lot closer, already show he can play well (at times-though inconsistently so far) on The NHL level, he looks to top out as only a low-end regular 3rd pairing player. While Mikkola looks to become a strong #5, or even sneak into a regular #4 position. So, he gets the nod.

His higher ceiling beats out the more NHL ready Sundqvist, who should be a good 4th Liner, but not too likely to be anything better. I don't see Blais being more than an AHL/NHL tweener, at best. Binnington is iffy enough just being a young goaltender. But he's been too inconsistent to hang one's hat upon.

Musil and Toropchenko could be right up there with Mikkola for different reasons.

Musil looks to have a high floor, having several talents in different areas of the game (good at defence, forecheck, cycling, doesn't shy from physical game, halfway decent shot, decent puck skills, decent hockey sense, and can play all forward positions). He looks to become an excellent 4th Line NHL centre, and with hard work and continued dedication, might top out as an adequate 3rd Line forward.

Toropchenko has very good offensive sense and adequate skills (decent puckhandling, decent passer, decent shot, good skater). He could be an offensive diamond in the rough, if he improves his puckhandling, passing and shooting to the next higher level. To me, he's got the highest ceiling potential of anyone left. That puts him up with Musil and a hair below Mikkola (only because evenly competent defencemen are worth more than their counterpart forwards).

 

[EastonBlues22]

Only 70 votes, but we've been stuck on a large gap for awhile.

New poll is up.

Closed.