Prospect Info: 2019 - 2020 Top 20 Blues Prospect List - #2

[Bluesnatic27]

Top 20 Blues Prospect List:
1) Jordan Kyrou - 91.9%

Well, probably to the surprise of no one, Jordan Kyrou takes the number 1 spot. The mix of high end offensive ability and NHL readiness is just too enticing to any fan. The good news is that I do think that Kyrou isn't some "best of the rest" prospect. I think he would be a top prospect in most pools. To have a talent like his in the wings to accompany a Stanley Cup winning team is a great situation to have.

Now for the next poll. Again, I think this will be over rather quickly, seeing as Bokk was the only other prospect that was voted for last pool. But, maybe people look more skeptically at his overall play and choose to side with a prospect like Perunovich, Reinke, Husso, etc. I'm choosing Bokk because of his high end talent. I've always viewed him as the anti-Kyrou because both have similar offensive upside but accomplish it in different ways. Instead of elite skating, Bokk has great hands. Instead of scoring off rushes, Bokk scores off the cycle. That's not to say both don't, or can't, score similarly. I just view their talents being specialized in different areas.

Click to read more...

 

[Vincenzo Arelliti]

I disagree about Kyrou’s offense coming off the rush. While his speed is a huge asset in transition and I suppose some of his assists and goals do come that way, Kyrou does have good work behind the net and decent to good work around the boards to create offense. He’s not Barzal along the boards, but he does have a bit of Barzal-lite. A lot of Bokk’s cycle work is more evident on the powerplay, while Kyrou can work the boards 5-on-5 and then dish.

I think Bokk has the better hands and shot, but Kyrou has the better skating, passing (good god does this go underrated due to his skating being phenomenal), speed, and IQ.

Even with some leg injuries, Kyrou’s skill set should still be excellent, which is why I easily voted for him over Bokk. However, Bokk is a very promising prospect in his own right and deserves to be talked about as one of the better prospects in the league.

Bokk still needs to work on consistency, 5-on-5 play, and of course defense, but he has a lot of offensive talent. If he can improve on those, his ceiling is a Mike Hoffman-esque player with better playmaking and hands (maybe there’s a better comparison?).

Kyrou needs to polish those same aspects, but I wouldn’t label them as a weakness like some do. I think Kyrou’s ability to steal the puck will surprise most as he acclimates to the NHL. Kyrou’s biggest weakness by far is his inability to skate stop-start, and skate in hard straight lines to engage the puck carrier. Too much of his speed advantage is left on the table because he curves toward his destination instead of engaging more directly. If Kyrou can work on that and improve upon his shot, Barzal is his ceiling.

 

[izzy]

kyrou
bokk
kostin

seems like the easy first 3 in a row then we have a pretty massive drop off (though reinke had an impressive year)

 

[STL fan in MN]

I see Kyrou as in a tier by himself and then a next tier of Bokk, Reinke and Perunovich. All 3 have pretty high potential but also plenty of shortcomings/weaknesses which could derail their development.

Bokk is very skilled but he’s still incredibly raw and still needs to put it all together. I think the move to Rogle this season will be good for him and it sounds like he’s adding muscle mass, which is good, but he’s far from a complete package, needs to work a lot on his D game/positioning/play without the puck. If he improves there, I think it’d actually improve his offense too as he’d get the puck more, cause more turnovers etc.

Reinke had a fantastic AHL rookie season but he’s still shaky defensively and small. He could be a good asset in time if he’s able to shore up his D game a bit.

Perunovich is similar but likely a little father away than Reinke. His skating and stick skills are more dynamic though. But he also needs to work on his D game a bit and is even smaller at 5’9”. A very intriguing prospect though.

 

[Vincenzo Arelliti]

My tiers:

2019-20 Blues prospects

Elite
Kyrou

Very Good Top-6/Top-4/Good Starter
Bokk
Kostin
Husso

Good Middle-6/Bottom-4/Starter
Reinke
Alexandrov
Perunovich
Fitzpatrick
Ellis
Walman

Depth/Role Bottom-6/Bottom Pairing/Backup
Toropchenko
Mikkola
Foley
Hofer

Don’t know enough about/Non-NHL
Stevens
Washkurak
Tucker
Laferriere
McGing

I don’t put much value into replacement-level players, value offense over defense due to the difficulty in acquiring real offensive talent, defense being relatively concentrated around the league with good/decent options in abundance, and anything other than star/super star goalies being relatively easy to acquire each year. I’m also less partial to NHL-readiness than some. MacEachern to me isn’t really worth putting on here, for instance, for the same reason we don’t include someone like Sanford — we have a pretty good idea as to what their capabilities are. Being replacement-level while NHL-ready isn’t better than having a higher ceiling but further away, in my opinion; not to say that having a good floor doesn’t count, but that floor has to be more than replacement-level for me to really factor it in.

I still hold out hope for Kostin, Husso, Walman, while have less hope for Foley than most seem to around here.

 

[Ranksu]

Please guys don't review all guys. I know its just opinion, but somebodys maybe might follow your opinion and I believe nodoby doesn't want to make a influance in these polls. It does lost it meaning.

And I would say this.

HIDE RESULT in poll and after its closed we can see result. @Bluesnatic27 I bet we're going to see different and not manipulated result.

 

[STL fan in MN]

Please guys don't review all guys. I know its just opinion, but somebodys maybe might follow your opinion and I believe nodoby doesn't want to make a influance in these polls. It does lost it meaning.

And I would say this.

HIDE RESULT in poll and after its closed we can see result. @Bluesnatic27 I bet we're going to see different and not manipulated result.

Well that would pretty much eliminate just about all commentary in these polls, no? To me, the commentary and how/why folks opinions differ and how they value different players is the best part of these polls.

If others change their opinions based on the writings of others, they likely didn’t have a strong opinion to begin with IMO.

 

[MortiestOfMortys]

My tiers:

2019-20 Blues prospects

Elite
Kyrou

Very Good Top-6/Top-4/Good Starter
Bokk
Kostin
Husso

Good Middle-6/Bottom-4/Starter
Reinke
Alexandrov
Perunovich
Fitzpatrick
Ellis
Walman

Depth/Role Bottom-6/Bottom Pairing/Backup
Toropchenko
Mikkola
Foley
Hofer

Don’t know enough about/Non-NHL
Stevens
Washkurak
Tucker
Laferriere
McGing

I don’t put much value into replacement-level players, value offense over defense due to the difficulty in acquiring real offensive talent, defense being relatively concentrated around the league with good/decent options in abundance, and anything other than star/super star goalies being relatively easy to acquire each year. I’m also less partial to NHL-readiness than some. MacEachern to me isn’t really worth putting on here, for instance, for the same reason we don’t include someone like Sanford — we have a pretty good idea as to what their capabilities are. Being replacement-level while NHL-ready isn’t better than having a higher ceiling but further away, in my opinion; not to say that having a good floor doesn’t count, but that floor has to be more than replacement-level for me to really factor it in.

I still hold out hope for Kostin, Husso, Walman, while have less hope for Foley than most seem to around here.

You’re sleeping hard on Hofer and Ellis

 

[Ranksu]

Well that would pretty much eliminate just about all commentary in these polls, no? To me, the commentary and how/why folks opinions differ and how they value different players is the best part of these polls.

If others change their opinions based on the writings of others, they likely didn’t have a strong opinion to begin with IMO.

Well just hide result of poll. Talk anything what you want, but hide result.

 

[Shwabeal]

Went with Bokk and don't think it's particularly close. Think he has the highest potential out of anyone in the pool and the only one remaining that I think has a chance of being a game breaking talent.

 

[Vincenzo Arelliti]

You’re sleeping hard on Hofer and Ellis

I knew you would say that. I don't think they're capable of being top-10/15 starters in the league, but I do admit that Ellis intrigues me. Hofer's numbers don't impress me in the WHL, and never have. I'll admit I don't have a ton of info on Hofer, but those numbers are concerning. I'm interested in hearing your opinion, as well as anyone else who regularly watches the Q and Hofer (which I admittedly do not).

 

[JoshFromMO]

Is Bokk a smaller version of what Tage Thompson was expected to be?

 

[STL fan in MN]

Is Bokk a smaller version of what Tage Thompson was expected to be?

No. I don’t see their strengths/weaknesses overlap much to be honest.

 

[Stupendous Yappi]

Please guys don't review all guys. I know its just opinion, but somebodys maybe might follow your opinion and I believe nodoby doesn't want to make a influance in these polls. It does lost it meaning.

And I would say this.

HIDE RESULT in poll and after its closed we can see result. @Bluesnatic27 I bet we're going to see different and not manipulated result.

What the hell is the point of the entire exercise if not to generate discussion about the prospect pool along the way? I don’t actually care at all about the poll results. I just want to hear different perspectives about the guys in the pool.

 

[Ranksu]

What the hell is the point of the entire exercise if not to generate discussion about the prospect pool along the way? I don’t actually care at all about the poll results. I just want to hear different perspectives about the guys in the pool.

Maybe just hide result.

You guys understood wrong my vision. I Want to hear opinions, but not list players who you guys are going to vote next etc.

Feels like you are attacking in my every posts nowadays.

 

[converseman54]

Went with Reinke. Feels safe to say he's surpassed Schmalz on the depth charts and once Bobby B goes down with his inevitable injury I could see Reinke being the one called up. With that being said, isn't Schmaltz still considered a Blues prospect? I was surprised to see his name omitted from this list as I believe he still meets the poll qualifications of being a prospect

Edit: He's 25 so maybe that disqualifies him from the polls

Edit 2: And he's (surprisingly) played 42 NHL games. Thanks Google

 

[Stupendous Yappi]

Maybe just hide result.

You guys understood wrong my vision. I Want to hear opinions, but not list players who you guys are going to vote next etc.

Feels like you are attacking in my every posts nowadays.

That wasn’t an attack.

 

[Ranksu]

Sounds like Reinke is Brad Hunt 2.0

 

[ChicagoBlues]

I voted for Mikkola because of his skating ability and toughness.

He will most likely be a bottom-pairing guy, but I think he will have a bigger impact on the roster than Bokk.

My reasoning is that one defenseman equals 1/6 of the defensive corps, while one forward is only 1/12, with the understanding that elite forwards can have a greater impact on the outcome.

Granted, Bokk could become an impact player scoring at a rate that weighs the ratio in a different manner, but I think Mikkola is the safe bet.

I think it’s been mentioned before, but I think we should separate prospect polls per position because of the relative impact and TOI per position.

 

[Thallis]

Surprised at how many people are talking about Kostin over Husso.

 

[Klank Loves You]

Husso then Mikkola for me.

Hopefully we will look at this list and be suprised how low Foley is ranked.

 

[kimzey59]

Looks like Bokk is running away with this one.

Not that I expect him to rank overly high; but add Evan Polei. I know it was lost in the shuffle of the first day of UFA signings and didn't get any real hype, but we signed Polei to a 2 year ELC which IMO makes him as much a prospect as an undrafted College UFA like Reinke.

 

[kimzey59]

Is Bokk a smaller version of what Tage Thompson was expected to be?

Not even remotely similar.

Thompson was supposed to be a developmental PF/goal scorer.
Bokk is a multi-purpose finesse winger like a Schwartz or Perron.

 

[simon IC]

As I posted in another thread, there is so much different criteria on which to base one's pick. If it was based on NHL readiness, I would have picked Mikkola. If we're using most highly skilled, then I pick Bokk. Then we get into the highly subjective category of value to the team, which includes positional importance, readiness, toolkit, IQ/trainability and inclination. I struggled, (probably more than I should have ), with this one, but I chose Husso, because if he develops as planned, will likely have the biggest impact on the success of the team.

 

[simon IC]

Sounds like Reinke is Brad Hunt 2.0

Eeeew ... hopefully not!