All Things AHL 2018-2019

[CaliforniaBlues310]

I’ve honestly never been that impressed with Blais and don’t get the infatuation with him. He’s good in the preseason like Jaskin. Here’s to hoping this ends up being a bad take on him though.

 

[Bluesnatic27]

Blais = 9 games, 0 points, -3
Sanford = 3 games, 2 points, +3

Blais has been good at drawing penalties, but has otherwise looked entirely lost. Sanford has looked confident, has been in the right spots, has checked effectively, and made smart, quick, tape-to-tape passes. It isn’t hard to understand why one is in St. Louis and the other is in San Antonio.

I hope Blais takes ownership of the Rampage and activates some offense down there. He’s certainly more than capable of doing that. Just not in St. Louis, not right now.

I'm not getting into this because it will make it sound like I'm trying to belittle Sanford, but it's been three games where he's been playing with the best player on the Blues and arguably the second best player. Congrats to him for shooting a puck from the slot and making a touch pass to Perron to get those points. Sanford has played well even when not on that line, but forgive me for keeping some element of skepticism for a player after three games.

As for Blais, I see you're focusing on the results of his play, i.e. drawing penalties, instead of focusing on how he got to that point. I mean, you just argued Sanford put's himself in good positions, checks effectively, and makes smart plays. Seems a bit incongruous to say Sanford does all of that and then suddenly not say that for a guy you just said "draws penalties", because I would assume all are needed to draw a penalty. I don't even agree Blais is good at that because it was really only one game where that occurred, but if you're going to make all of those arguments for Sanford, might as well be consistent.

I don't think Blais has set the world on fire, nor do I think Sanford has been worse. But it just seems Blais is a guy that does things that no one cares to notice except when he screws up. The guy does lead the team in hits, which I thought some people on this board would actually like to have. Personally, I'm a guy that hates that stat but I know plenty of people here who have been arguing the Blues need to end this "softness" the Blues have developed. In the end, it's a move that happened and hopefully this does more good for all of those involved.

 

[Stealth JD]

Blais has late-bloomer written all over him. His hockey sense is generally pretty good (save for finding the redline before dumping the puck in) and he has a knack for finding soft spots in the defense. The production hasn't been there, but it's not because he's in the wrong place or making poor choices with the puck. He'll get it eventually and the production will come...it's just going to take him time to build confidence and figure out the league. He's coachable and talented, and I could see him being a guy Seattle would target in the expansion draft. He looks no worse than any of the other recent rookies we've seen broken in over the past decade.

 

[Celtic Note]

My only real complaints about Blais are defensive positioning and (the biggest of all) his passing. He has good vision, he just can’t seem to land pucks on sticks. But, the passes he misses on are tough to make to begin with. Before someone says he should make simpler passes, he tries to make plays that are good plays to make. If he lands any number of those passes, they are grade A scoring opportunities. I really think this is more of a skill development issue, not an uncorrectable one.

 

[BlueDream]

I'm not getting into this because it will make it sound like I'm trying to belittle Sanford, but it's been three games where he's been playing with the best player on the Blues and arguably the second best player. Congrats to him for shooting a puck from the slot and making a touch pass to Perron to get those points. Sanford has played well even when not on that line, but forgive me for keeping some element of skepticism for a player after three games.

As for Blais, I see you're focusing on the results of his play, i.e. drawing penalties, instead of focusing on how he got to that point. I mean, you just argued Sanford put's himself in good positions, checks effectively, and makes smart plays. Seems a bit incongruous to say Sanford does all of that and then suddenly not say that for a guy you just said "draws penalties", because I would assume all are needed to draw a penalty. I don't even agree Blais is good at that because it was really only one game where that occurred, but if you're going to make all of those arguments for Sanford, might as well be consistent.

I don't think Blais has set the world on fire, nor do I think Sanford has been worse. But it just seems Blais is a guy that does things that no one cares to notice except when he screws up. The guy does lead the team in hits, which I thought some people on this board would actually like to have. Personally, I'm a guy that hates that stat but I know plenty of people here who have been arguing the Blues need to end this "softness" the Blues have developed. In the end, it's a move that happened and hopefully this does more good for all of those involved.

Until you compare all of their NHL games with the Blues, in which Sanford now has 7 points in 16 games. Pretty good.

Blais has 3 points in 19 games.

Still not a huge sample size but Sanford has, pretty clearly, shown he has way better hands than Blais - and a better shot too.

It's not like Sanford has had a huge advantage in linemates either. Blais has seen plenty of time with Schenn and Schwartz. And Sanford's first time up here, he was playing with guys like Barbashev and Berglund a lot from what I remember.

The Blues made the right choice here. Sanford is bigger, a bit older, and has made things happen when the puck is on his stick. Blais throws a lot of hits but aside from that did nothing offensively.

 

[Bluesfan54]

Until you compare all of their NHL games with the Blues, in which Sanford now has 7 points in 16 games. Pretty good.

Blais has 3 points in 19 games.

Still not a huge sample size but Sanford has, pretty clearly, shown he has way better hands than Blais - and a better shot too.

It's not like Sanford has had a huge advantage in linemates either. Blais has seen plenty of time with Schenn and Schwartz. And Sanford's first time up here, he was playing with guys like Barbashev and Berglund a lot from what I remember.

The Blues made the right choice here. Sanford is bigger, a bit older, and has made things happen when the puck is on his stick. Blais throws a lot of hits but aside from that did nothing offensively.

So you're saying that Blais is a lot like Sobotka?

 

[MortiestOfMortys]

Until you compare all of their NHL games with the Blues, in which Sanford now has 7 points in 16 games. Pretty good.

Blais has 3 points in 19 games.

Still not a huge sample size but Sanford has, pretty clearly, shown he has way better hands than Blais - and a better shot too.

It's not like Sanford has had a huge advantage in linemates either. Blais has seen plenty of time with Schenn and Schwartz. And Sanford's first time up here, he was playing with guys like Barbashev and Berglund a lot from what I remember.

The Blues made the right choice here. Sanford is bigger, a bit older, and has made things happen when the puck is on his stick. Blais throws a lot of hits but aside from that did nothing offensively.

EXACTLY. I feel like it’s a lot less complicated than people are making it. I get that people have formed an emotional bond with Blais, and have hated Sanford since he got here, but the objective reality is that Sanford has just been better. Which I’ve been trying to tell people from the beginning, but I got called an Armstrong apologist, and told I didn’t know what I was talking about. Well, crows just about ready to eat boys.

 

[Majorityof1]

Until you compare all of their NHL games with the Blues, in which Sanford now has 7 points in 16 games. Pretty good.

Blais has 3 points in 19 games.

Still not a huge sample size but Sanford has, pretty clearly, shown he has way better hands than Blais - and a better shot too.

It's not like Sanford has had a huge advantage in linemates either. Blais has seen plenty of time with Schenn and Schwartz. And Sanford's first time up here, he was playing with guys like Barbashev and Berglund a lot from what I remember.

The Blues made the right choice here. Sanford is bigger, a bit older, and has made things happen when the puck is on his stick. Blais throws a lot of hits but aside from that did nothing offensively.

Why ignore half Sanford's NHL sample size? Its not like Washington was a bad team, or didn't give him a chance. He had 26 games there. Everyone who talks about him positively just ignores this.

Blues made the wrong choice in who to send down. Blais was doing a lot of little things that helped the team even if he didn't show on the scorecard, so he shouldn't have been sent down. Sanford is producing points (for now - I have not been able to really watch either of his games closely, so I can't comment on how else he has looked), so he shouldn't be sent down. Kyrou is showing his speed and could break out any day, so he shouldn't be sent down. Thomas is wasted in Juniors so he shouldn't be sent down. Jakub Jerabek is f***ing mistake we should never have traded for. Kick his ass to the minors and hope he flees to the KHL or gets claimed.

 

[Majorityof1]

EXACTLY. I feel like it’s a lot less complicated than people are making it. I get that people have formed an emotional bond with Blais, and have hated Sanford since he got here, but the objective reality is that Sanford has just been better. Which I’ve been trying to tell people from the beginning, but I got called an Armstrong apologist, and told I didn’t know what I was talking about. Well, crows just about ready to eat boys.

Are you really bragging and telling people to eat crow after 3 games and 2 points? I'll happily eat crow if Sanford becomes a decent player. I am more than willing to admit when I am wrong. But I aint reaching for the fork yet.

 

[BlueDream]

EXACTLY. I feel like it’s a lot less complicated than people are making it. I get that people have formed an emotional bond with Blais, and have hated Sanford since he got here, but the objective reality is that Sanford has just been better. Which I’ve been trying to tell people from the beginning, but I got called an Armstrong apologist, and told I didn’t know what I was talking about. Well, crows just about ready to eat boys.

I do think Sanford is an underrated prospect.

If any of our other young guys were producing at almost a 40-point pace through their first 15 or whatever games I feel like they'd be getting a lot more hype. Sanford does kind of get overlooked. But he has talent. I like him and am interested to see what he becomes.

Why ignore half Sanford's NHL sample size? Its not like Washington was a bad team, or didn't give him a chance. He had 26 games there. Everyone who talks about him positively just ignores this.

Blues made the wrong choice in who to send down. Blais was doing a lot of little things that helped the team even if he didn't show on the scorecard, so he shouldn't have been sent down. Sanford is producing points (for now - I have not been able to really watch either of his games closely, so I can't comment on how else he has looked), so he shouldn't be sent down. Kyrou is showing his speed and could break out any day, so he shouldn't be sent down. Thomas is wasted in Juniors so he shouldn't be sent down. Jakub Jerabek is ****ing mistake we should never have traded for. Kick his ass to the minors and hope he flees to the KHL or gets claimed.

From what I saw of him in Washington he was playing on the 4th line. I don't think he ever really got moved up. I could be wrong but I don't really care about what he did in Washington straight out of college because I don't think he should have been there. I think they should have kept him in the AHL.

 

[Majorityof1]

I do think Sanford is an underrated prospect.

If any of our other young guys were producing at almost a 40-point pace through their first 15 or whatever games I feel like they'd be getting a lot more hype. Sanford does kind of get overlooked. But he has talent. I like him and am interested to see what he becomes.


From what I saw of him in Washington he was playing on the 4th line. I don't think he ever really got moved up. I could be wrong but I don't really care about what he did in Washington straight out of college because I don't think he should have been there. I think they should have kept him in the AHL.

He played with Washington the same year he played by far most of his games with us. So he was still straight out of college. Ignore what he did a week prior because he wasn't ready then, or because you can boost his averages with a couple lucky points in a much smaller sample size? Also Lars Eller was his most common line-mate in Washington and Eller is a definite 3rd liner.

 

[Stupendous Yappi]

I’ve honestly never been that impressed with Blais and don’t get the infatuation with him. He’s good in the preseason like Jaskin. Here’s to hoping this ends up being a bad take on him though.

Blais makes more smart little plays and puck decisions than I've ever see out of Jaskin. But he isn't effective enough right now.

 

[BlueDream]

He played with Washington the same year he played by far most of his games with us. So he was still straight out of college. Ignore what he did a week prior because he wasn't ready then, or because you can boost his averages with a couple lucky points in a much smaller sample size? Also Lars Eller was his most common line-mate in Washington and Eller is a definite 3rd liner.

Dude you really cannot have an objective conversation about this guy. What exactly makes his points "lucky"? He's made good plays. It's not like he's lost out there and the pucks are just going in off his butt.

This is what I mean. If Thomas or Kyrou were putting up the numbers Sanford was, even in a small sample size, they'd be getting hype. Heck, even Sammy Blais would. But when Sanford does it, people like you just chalk it up to luck and don't bat an eye.

So whatever. My comparison between Sanford and Blais is absolutely fair. I'm comparing what they have done on the same team, in a similar amount of games, with similar ice time. 100% fair and square but you don't like it because Sanford has been better. Sanford's Washington tenure 2 whole years ago isn't all that relevant anymore, sorry.

 

[Majorityof1]

Dude you really cannot have an objective conversation about this guy. What exactly makes his points "lucky"? He's made good plays. It's not like he's lost out there and the pucks are just going in off his butt.

This is what I mean. If Thomas or Kyrou were putting up the numbers Sanford was, even in a small sample size, they'd be getting hype. Heck, even Sammy Blais would. But when Sanford does it, people like you just chalk it up to luck and don't bat an eye.

So whatever. My comparison between Sanford and Blais is absolutely fair. I'm comparing what they have done on the same team, in a similar amount of games, with similar ice time. 100% fair and square but you don't like it because Sanford has been better. Sanford's Washington tenure 2 whole years ago isn't all that relevant anymore, sorry.

One of his assists he tried to shoot, got knocked off the puck and it went right to Berlgund for the goal. The rest of the game he was being rag-dolled in the corner. So that qualifies as luck to me. And that one lucky point is 15% of his total point production over your sample. Because its such a tiny sample size. I remember a few more I thought were fortunate, but not the specifics of them.

Luck might not be the exact right word as he did make some good plays and has some skill. But its quite possible for AHL-caliber players to put up a few points in a small sample size in the NHL when playing with competent line mates. Whether they can do that over a long haul is questionable. Jaskin's rookie season was a perfect storm of the right situation and he put up good goal totals, but the guy has shown over a much bigger sample that he is not an NHL goal scorer. Consequently, I would never hype any prospect based solely on points over a small sample size. I will continue to keep an open mind about Sanford. I just want to look at as big of a sample size as possible. That includes NHL games for a different team. It also includes AHL numbers, which aren't impressive either. He put up .35 ppg over 20 games in San Antonio last year. Are you saying a guy producing at below 30-point pace in the AHL 6 months ago is a 35+ point NHL player today?I also like to use the eye test to determine how the player is scoring as much as I can. I happened to watch a lot of Caps when he was with them, as well as every Blues game. He was not impressive and that's why ended up benched despite scoring.

I will keep an open mind with Sanford this season because he has had time to get stronger and learn where he should be without the puck. If he continues to play well, I'll revise my opinion. Some players break out later than others. But 16 games doesn't mean shit in the grand scheme of things.

 

[BlueDream]

One of his assists he tried to shoot, got knocked off the puck and it went right to Berlgund for the goal. The rest of the game he was being rag-dolled in the corner. So that qualifies as luck to me. And that one lucky point is 15% of his total point production over your sample. Because its such a tiny sample size. I remember a few more I thought were fortunate, but not the specifics of them.

Luck might not be the exact right word as he did make some good plays and has some skill. But its quite possible for AHL-caliber players to put up a few points in a small sample size in the NHL when playing with competent line mates. Whether they can do that over a long haul is questionable. Jaskin's rookie season was a perfect storm of the right situation and he put up good goal totals, but the guy has shown over a much bigger sample that he is not an NHL goal scorer. Consequently, I would never hype any prospect based solely on points over a small sample size. I will continue to keep an open mind about Sanford. I just want to look at as big of a sample size as possible. That includes NHL games for a different team. It also includes AHL numbers, which aren't impressive either. He put up .35 ppg over 20 games in San Antonio last year. Are you saying a guy producing at below 30-point pace in the AHL 6 months ago is a 35+ point NHL player today?I also like to use the eye test to determine how the player is scoring as much as I can. I happened to watch a lot of Caps when he was with them, as well as every Blues game. He was not impressive and that's why ended up benched despite scoring.

I will keep an open mind with Sanford this season because he has had time to get stronger and learn where he should be without the puck. If he continues to play well, I'll revise my opinion. Some players break out later than others. But 16 games doesn't mean **** in the grand scheme of things.

I agree he was not impressive in the 2016-2017 season he was traded to us. I watched him a few games with the Caps as well. Didn't like him being the centerpiece of the trade at the time because when I saw him, I didn't think he looked like a guy with a high ceiling. But I viewed him like I do Tage Thompson currently - the guy wasn't even NHL ready at that point so I'm not sure how much can be judged of that. Should have just played a lot in the AHL. It's tough to judge his 20-game season in SA last year too. Again, he was coming off a major shoulder injury so I didn't expect him to light it up. Not trying to make excuses but he has had some bad luck and unfortunate circumstances so far. He had 2 goals in 4 games there this year, and 16 points in 25 games with Hershey so I don't question that he can produce in the minors.

But yeah, I'm not saying he's gonna be a stud or anything. There are still some things about his game I want to keep an eye on. But the more I watch him, I think he does have some natural skill that could be useful moving forward so here's to hoping he puts it together.

 

[CaliforniaBlues310]

Blais makes more smart little plays and puck decisions than I've ever see out of Jaskin. But he isn't effective enough right now.

You’re definitely right, I just meant as far as playing really well in preseason and not doing much after after.

 

[Ranksu]

Is Blais playing AHL against Rockhogs?

 

[CaliforniaBlues310]

Is Blais playing AHL against Rockhogs?

I believe him, Fabbri, and Soshnikov will all be in the lineup.

 

[Ranksu]

I believe him, Fabbri, and Soshnikov will all be in the lineup.

are they all going to play tonight?

 

[Ranksu]

are they all going to play tonight?

anyone?

 

[CaliforniaBlues310]

are they all going to play tonight?

Didn’t realize they played tonight. Soshnikov and Blais are a for sure thing to play, but not sure about Fabbri and Gunnarsson(who also got sent down).

 

[Ranksu]

Didn’t realize they played tonight. Soshnikov and Blais are a for sure thing to play, but not sure about Fabbri and Gunnarsson(who also got sent down).

I only saw this, so Fabbri is for sure playing, but others too?

 

[The Note in MI]

I’m out of town tonight but will be back home tomorrow. Will be recording the game then

 

[Coach Nate]

17 is Blais. I'd guess he's in

 

[Coach Nate]

Gunnarsson hasn't officially been assigned per AHL transaction wire. I imagine he plays Fri/Sun at home