Prospect Info: Blues 2021-2022 Prospects Thread Part 2

[SergeConstantin74]

1 goal and 2 assists for LW Zach Bolduc, who would have thought?

 

[tfriede2]

Bakanov reportedly had a hat trick. Still seems as though he’s unsigned. Could be a good depth option in the AHL.

 

[Kylester]

Bakanov reportedly had a hat trick. Still seems as though he’s unsigned. Could be a good depth option in the AHL.

I believe he was just signed to a PTO either yesterday or today

 

[STL fan in MN]

Bakanov reportedly had a hat trick. Still seems as though he’s unsigned. Could be a good depth option in the AHL.

Yes, he got his 3rd one with just a few seconds left in the game on a partial break.

On the page where the Blues posted the roster, they have a * next to the guys that are on tryouts. Maybe it’s an error but there isn’t a * by Bakanov’s name.

Blues prospects to compete in Traverse City from Sept. 15-18

So maybe he was signed to an AHL deal?

He’s also on the main camp roster as well and there aren’t any other invites on the list. At least not yet. My guess is he was signed to an AHL deal and it just wasn’t publicized.

 

[Kylester]

Bakanov reportedly had a hat trick. Still seems as though he’s unsigned. Could be a good depth option in the AHL.

Here's the scoop on him

 

[DatDude44]

Sim is the Danny AMendola off our prospects……

 

[Kylester]

Sim is the Danny AMendola off our prospects……

Still a longshot...but worth keeping an eye on

 

[STL fan in MN]

Still a longshot...but worth keeping an eye on

Sim currently leads the tourney with 5 points (3G, 2A).

He’s certainly looked good in both games so far and looked good in prospects camp back in July too. Maybe they found something?

I’m not saying Sim will make it but I do think it’s likely we’ll see more mid to late round gems come out of the 2021 and 2022 drafts than normal. Particularly out of the OHL. Why? Because the 2020-21 season was completely impacted by covid. And the OHL completely canceled their season. Imagine it’s your draft year and the entire season is canceled. Bananas. The scouts had way less data to go on than usual and a lot more of it was via video than live.

So maybe Sim has the goods but he wasn’t really able to display it in Jrs before being draft eligible. I’ll be interested to see how he performs this season.

 

[execwrite1]

Here's the scoop on him

The link doesn't seem to work - what did it say about Barkanov?

Very excited about this kid - great work by the scouting department - could be a real find.

Another invite - Andrei Bakanov - LW - 6'2" 213 20 years old Sochi KHL

GP 24

G 3

A 1

PTs 4

PIMS 6

-5

Kid has bounced back and forth between Russia and North America. One year in USHL, one year in OHL, back to Russia last two years. Committed to Michigan, didn't go.

Bakanov, a six-foot-two, 192-pound forward, spent the 2017-18 season with the Oakland Jr. Grizzlies, totaling an impressive 112 points (57G, 55A) in 77 total games between the program's HPHL schedule and U16 AAA schedule.

... his best trait, a deadly accurate, hard shot. His goal scoring capabilities, his patience with the puck, and his NHL sized frame will be highly coveted.”

 

[BlueOil]

I believe he was just signed to a PTO either yesterday or today

Blues sign Russian forward to a professional tryout contract | Markerzone.com

no idea how reputable this site is but they reference an elite prospects tweet at least

 

[Robb_K]

With the caveat that that It's 1 exhibition game and shouldn't read oto much into it (and I can't spell), some quick hits on game today:

I thought Laferrier and McGing looked good. McGing I thought showed something last season, but I had nearly written Laf off but he was noticeable. Cranley looked good. Tucker I thought was pretty solid. Washkurak flashed a bit.

Kessel was quite noticeable but more bad than good. Luce and Lyle looked like AHLers. Galloway should be glad he still has junior eligibility. Ellis was bad. Not that any goals were specifically cringeworthy, but he looked small and slow to react. Defenselively we struggled, but he didn't give himself best chance too often.

As to our top prospects, I know Bolduc was on the ice for several against, but he just oozes skill out there. As I said in another post, I figure they have him playing center more as a development tool than thinking he is actual center bc he looks to me like he could be a 1st line winger in time.

Neighbours, on the other hand, I don't know. His physical presence was noticeable but I would like to see more offensive instincts and puck skill out of him. I expect he will be NHLer, but how good? I'm getting Dallas Drake vibes.

Thanks for the report. Not happy to hear this about Neighbours and Ellis.

 

[Robb_K]

The link doesn't seem to work - what did it say about Barkanov?

Very excited about this kid - great work by the scouting department - could be a real find.

Another invite - Andrei Bakanov - LW - 6'2" 213 20 years old Sochi KHL

GP 24

G 3

A 1

PTs 4

PIMS 6

-5

Kid has bounced back and forth between Russia and North America. One year in USHL, one year in OHL, back to Russia last two years. Committed to Michigan, didn't go.

Bakanov, a six-foot-two, 192-pound forward, spent the 2017-18 season with the Oakland Jr. Grizzlies, totaling an impressive 112 points (57G, 55A) in 77 total games between the program's HPHL schedule and U16 AAA schedule.

... his best trait, a deadly accurate, hard shot. His goal scoring capabilities, his patience with the puck, and his NHL sized frame will be highly coveted.”

I have some hopes for this guy to develop into a decent NHL player. Let's hope he continues on a nice upward trajectory. He seems to have some good basic skills and instincts.

Neighbours with a good deflection on the PP to make it 2-0.

4 penalties for the Blues in the 1st but they killed them all off and even had the better opportunities while being shorthanded.

The Blues seem to be better prepared for this game after more time playing together, and another practice. Let's hope they hold on and win this, and play well in Game 3, too.

 

[STL fan in MN]

I’ll just copy and paste what I wrote elsewhere in what I’ve seen from the first 2 games:

I watched all but the first 5 minutes, so missed Sim’s first goal. But saw it otherwise. The Blues looked better but it was still a bunch of Jr slop on both sides. The Blues simply had more offensive weapons and a transition game. I have no idea how this Toronto team beat the Wings team the previous day as they were bad.

Bolduc was back at wing and looked better in this game but not really dominant. The shot is obviously there but he still needs to round out the rest of his game.

Neighbours clearly thinks the game well and has had lots of opportunities in both games but hasn’t shown much finishing ability. Scored the deflection goal on the PP yesterday and rang one off the crossbar 10 seconds into the CBJ game. All of his other prime scoring opportunities I can think of, he either shot wide of the net or stuffed it right into the goalie’s pads.

The two players that have really stood out to me in a good way are McGing and Bakanov. If McGing was 6’0” or taller, I’d project him as a clear bottom-6 NHL talent all day long. He has lots of heart, hustle and is a smart player. Brings a decent amount of skill too. Does all the little things right. But at 5’10” does he do all of those things well enough to make it? Not sure. But I suspect he’ll earn himself a call-up either this season or next.

Bakanov is a young guy that already has 2 seasons in the KHL under his belt. He’s never scored much at any level but he also keeps playing up levels where it’d be hard for someone his age to score a ton so it’s hard to tell. Seems to be a future bottom-6 guy. Has good all-around skill and size. My guess is he ends up with the T-Birds this season.

Kessel has also stood out a bit. Some good, some bad but clearly seems to be the best d-man the Blues have there. He’s shown more offensive instincts than I expected. But also a few lazy plays. It’s just so hard to tell in games like this where the structure is thrown out the window because the talent and experience range is so wide. I’ll look for him to take big steps in Springfield this season.

Sim has also looked good. Actually currently leads the tourney in pts with 5 in 2 games (3G, 2A). And he looked good in prospect camp back in July too. Maybe they found something late in the draft? He didn’t score much in the OHL this past season but he also didn’t play prime minutes for his Jr team so maybe he’ll explode this season with getting top line minutes. The OHL season was canceled the season before that so that had to kill his development a bit. So maybe he’s getting back on track now and the Blues were able to find a late round gem because this kid wasn’t able to show his true talents because of the pandemic.

 

[STL fan in MN]

I have some hopes for this guy to develop into a decent NHL player. Let's hope he continues on a nice upward trajectory. He seems to have some good basic skills and instincts.


The Blues seem to be better prepared for this game after more time playing together, and another practice. Let's hope they hold on and win this, and play well in Game 3, too.

The game ended about 14 hours ago, Robb. But yes, they were able to hold on and won 8-3. Bakanov with the hat trick and Sim with 2 goals, 2 assists.
Boxscore

 

[Kylester]

The link doesn't seem to work - what did it say about Barkanov?

Very excited about this kid - great work by the scouting department - could be a real find.

Another invite - Andrei Bakanov - LW - 6'2" 213 20 years old Sochi KHL

GP 24

G 3

A 1

PTs 4

PIMS 6

-5

Kid has bounced back and forth between Russia and North America. One year in USHL, one year in OHL, back to Russia last two years. Committed to Michigan, didn't go.

Bakanov, a six-foot-two, 192-pound forward, spent the 2017-18 season with the Oakland Jr. Grizzlies, totaling an impressive 112 points (57G, 55A) in 77 total games between the program's HPHL schedule and U16 AAA schedule.

... his best trait, a deadly accurate, hard shot. His goal scoring capabilities, his patience with the puck, and his NHL sized frame will be highly coveted.”

Sorry about the link not working. It was from Facebook. However, it said almost exactly what you said in your post, except for that part in red.

It's only one game, but it seems as though this kid is worth an extended look...and he's 20 years old, so he can be sent to Springfield with no problems.

He also has some experience playing in North America, which is something Kostin should have done.

 

[ChicagoBlues]

The game ended about 14 hours ago, Robb. But yes, they were able to hold on and won 8-3. Bakanov with the hat trick and Sim with 2 goals, 2 assists.
Boxscore

Such a spoiler! Boo!

I have a good buddy who watches his Dodgers games on delay. If I mention any scores, he gets pissed.

 

[execwrite1]

Blues sign Russian forward to a professional tryout contract | Markerzone.com

no idea how reputable this site is but they reference an elite prospects tweet at least

Good find on Bakanov - thanks. I believe I also saw it somewhere else.

 

[Chojin]

Ellis is having quite the tournament.

 

[542365]

Tuning in for the first time this year and pleasantly surprised at the quality of the stream and announcers. Not so much the Blues' play...

EDIT: Good movement on the PP. Bolduc with what looked like a pass back door to Neighbours found it's way into the net without ever touching Jake's stick, so Zach gets credit for it.

Neighbours with a bull in a china shop type shift creates a couple of good scoring chances for his linemates, but they don't score.

Kessel certainly skates like an NHL Dman. Doesn't do much else like one though.

Kyrou scores...4-1 Stars.

 

[Robb_K]

The game ended about 14 hours ago, Robb. But yes, they were able to hold on and won 8-3. Bakanov with the hat trick and Sim with 2 goals, 2 assists.
Boxscore

Glad they were able to hang on, and win by such a big margin. I guess they just hadn't played enough with each other to be ready for Game 1.

Tuning in for the first time this year and pleasantly surprised at the quality of the stream and announcers. Not so much the Blues' play...

EDIT: Good movement on the PP. Bolduc with what looked like a pass back door to Neighbours found it's way into the net without ever touching Jake's stick, so Zach gets credit for it.

Neighbours with a bull in a china shop type shift creates a couple of good scoring chances for his linemates, but they don't score.

Kessel certainly skates like an NHL Dman. Doesn't do much else like one though.

Kyrou scores...4-1 Stars.

Thanks for the report. As usual, not a lot can be deduced from these games, as the players are all new to each other, and haven't played enough together to mesh at all. But, it would have been nice to watch the games, anyway. I hope I can squeeze in the time to watch them in delayed form.

 

[DatDude44]

neighbours has sneaky distributing skill. But he's definitely closer to a dallas drake type than a robert thomas as i'm sure most if not all of us know.

Obviously we all hope he becomes a W version of Backes, my best guess. Is he becomes something in between Drake and Backes as a heart and soul fan favorite type that produces in the 50+ pt range bouncing around our middle 6, PK and potential net front PP type.

Bolduc and Snuggerud have higher ceilings, but neighbours is a very safe bet to make it and be a solid player. You're going to be dissapointed if u watch these prospect games and expect neighbours to do what thomas and kyrou were doing when they were here.

Either way, i'm excited to see what happens with these kids. I think Neighbours eventually works in as a barbashev esque replacement, but brings a different type of skillset with the puck, that i believe could be higher end than barbs potentially.

 

[STL fan in MN]

Ellis played 64 minutes over the 3 games and allowed 9 goals. 8.44 GAA, .710 SV%.

Cranley was about twice as good but still not good. 4.14 GAA, .869 SV% over 116 minutes.

However, the Blues team defense was atrocious. But the goaltending was also very very bad. Even in the win against TOR, the team defense wasn’t that good. But TOR couldn’t get convert and Cranley played well in that game.

The guy that stood out the most to me in this tourney was McGing. No elite skills but he has some decent offensive instincts but what shone through for him was he absolutely played a pro game coaches love. Made all the smart plays, didn’t panic, lots of heart and hustle and was everywhere on the ice. You could tell Coach Bannister completely trusted him.

Alexandrov was also pretty good defensively but wasn’t much of a factor in the offensive zone.

Bolduc and Neighbours were ok. Bolduc has the shot but he used it too much for my liking. If he had the puck, he’d shoot it. Not even look to make a play a lot of the time. He scored the lone goal today but it was a pretty weak goal to be honest. I think he was just trying to get it on net on the PP so Neighbours could deflect it but it snuck under the goalie’s pads. 4 pts in 3 games for Bolduc.

Neighbours showed a good all-around game but neither guy ever really dominated. Neighbours probably had the most scoring opportunities over the 3 games but he definitely didn’t show a scorer’s touch. Just the 1 goal on the deflection against TOR, his only point in the 3 games.

Overall, hard to evaluate the guys much as the team defense and goaltending were atrocious. They needed some more stops.

 

[TK 421]

Nothing against these prospect tourneys but we'll learn a lot more in terms of useful info during main camp where the top guys are playing with actual NHLers and NHL hopefuls closer to NHL level play. That's where we find out if they have enough of what they need to be useful to the Blues this coming season.

 

[STL fan in MN]

Blues sign Russian forward to a professional tryout contract | Markerzone.com

no idea how reputable this site is but they reference an elite prospects tweet at least

Just noticed this from a TC recap from the Blues themselves - Bakanov is signed to an AHL deal.

Blues get several standout performances in Traverse CIty

 

[STL fan in MN]

And here’s an article introducing Zherenko and somewhat of an explanation as to why he didn’t see the ice in TC.

In the US for the first time, Russian goalie Vadim Zherenko joins fellow Blues prospects

“I don’t know the whole story of it, but I don’t think he’s skated a lot in the last little while here,” said Blues’ prospects coach Drew Bannister. “So I think we’ll kind of take it day to day with him. And try and get him on the ice as much as we can and get him as comfortable as we can with the guys around here and our training staff. Just let him see a few more pucks here before any decisions are made with him if he’s going to play or not (in Traverse City).”

Not sure why he wouldn’t have been skating much lately. Busy trying to get his visa? Hiding out to make sure he wasn’t abducted by Putin’s thugs and forced into Russian military service?

Regardless, glad he’s here and hopefully he’ll be fully ready to go on Thursday.