Confirmed with Link: Blues add 6 depth players

izzy

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Apr 29, 2012
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walker will be great for san antonio and a decent call up if need be. the situation that he played for washingtons ahl club and then they drafted him in the 3rd was quite weird

pouliot same basic thing, tho id guess he will probably spend most time as the #7

lappin is a good all around ahler and must be a good leader since he seems to get a letter wherever he goes

dotchin could surprise a lot of people. just a few years ago he was playing top pairing minutes and didnt look out of place. if he puts the work in and gets in shape, who knows.


the other two seem to just be pure ahl guys.

looks like they learned to have a few fringe type players in the club and not just leave san antonio to die like last year.
 

Brian39

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Apr 24, 2014
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dotchin could surprise a lot of people. just a few years ago he was playing top pairing minutes and didnt look out of place. if he puts the work in and gets in shape, who knows.

Had to check his hockey reference page because this didn't square with my memory. While I don't fully agree with your statement, he was getting 18:30 a night as a 22 year old through 35 games. He was sheltered (60% offensive zone starts), but had pretty good possession stats (overall and relative) and a positive expected +/-. Not bad for a 22 year old rookie. As a 23 year old, his possession numbers and ice time weren't as impressive, but his zone start time actually swung to 52% in the D zone. He was a dumpster fire with the Ducks last year, but then again who wasn't? Giveaway/takeaway ratio is concerning, but all in all he is closer to being an NHL fill in option than I initially thought. He's not call-up #1, but he could get a call up if we have a rash of D injuries all at once. That's honestly exceeding my initial thought that he is nothing but a guy to keep San Antonio competitive when we call up a bunch of guys down the stretch.
 

Brian39

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Apr 24, 2014
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Mikkola-Reinke
Pouliot-Dotchin
Walman-Schmaltz

We’ve got A LOT of depth on the back end now. Wonder if Eddy gets moved..

Army loves his D depth. I wouldn't move Eddy based on the guys nibbling at the edges of the NHL. If Eddy isn't being packaged for an upgrade at the position, I'd rather give him (at least the start of) this season to try and get back to the level we have already seen from him. Call up the D prospect you think is most ready to make the jump in December if Eddy hasn't turned it around.
 
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izzy

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Had to check his hockey reference page because this didn't square with my memory. While I don't fully agree with your statement, he was getting 18:30 a night as a 22 year old through 35 games. He was sheltered (60% offensive zone starts), but had pretty good possession stats (overall and relative) and a positive expected +/-. Not bad for a 22 year old rookie. As a 23 year old, his possession numbers and ice time weren't as impressive, but his zone start time actually swung to 52% in the D zone. He was a dumpster fire with the Ducks last year, but then again who wasn't? Giveaway/takeaway ratio is concerning, but all in all he is closer to being an NHL fill in option than I initially thought. He's not call-up #1, but he could get a call up if we have a rash of D injuries all at once. That's honestly exceeding my initial thought that he is nothing but a guy to keep San Antonio competitive when we call up a bunch of guys down the stretch.

he was paired with hedman for a good amount of that season

if he gets in shape, he will be a fine #7
 

kimzey59

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Aug 16, 2003
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Vecchione is actually the one I'm intrigued with.
Runner up for the Hobey Baker and one of the most highly sought after College UFA's in 2016/2017.
Then sent to a bad Phantoms team that had no forward depth, a revolving door in net(The Phantom's used 8 different goalies last season) and went through a coaching change mid-year.

I'm really curious to see if he still has any of that potential left from a few years ago. Could be a really nice find if he does.
 

MortiestOfMortys

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Jun 27, 2015
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Vecc is a little old to be a prospect, but Luke Skywalker was a little short to be a stormtrooper, so sometimes you just gotta roll with it.

All of these guys are getting fresh starts. I really hope they take that for what it is, and especially Dotchin, Vecchione, and Pouliot come into camp looking to steal someone’s job.
 

simon IC

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Mikkola-Reinke
Pouliot-Dotchin
Walman-Schmaltz

We’ve got A LOT of depth on the back end now. Wonder if Eddy gets moved..
I am not confident that any of the above can play in the NHL, nevermind replace Edmundson. If Eddy is traded, we need a top 4 LD coming back.
 

BlueDream

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Aug 30, 2011
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I am not confident that any of the above can play in the NHL, nevermind replace Edmundson. If Eddy is traded, we need a top 4 LD coming back.
Well 3 of them have already played in the NHL.

And at least 2 more of them are prospects with decent potential. Walman may be a lost cause but I wouldn’t be surprised to see anyone from those 3 pairings called up at some point during the season. Can’t remember the last time I said that about our AHL defense.
 

CaliforniaBlues310

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Apr 9, 2013
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I am not confident that any of the above can play in the NHL, nevermind replace Edmundson. If Eddy is traded, we need a top 4 LD coming back.

Gunnarsson would be on Petro’s pairing in this scenario, with those guys filling in for injuries.

I wouldn’t be shocked if we added another NHL capable guy if we did trade Eddy though.
 
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Ted Hoffman

The other Rick Zombo
Dec 15, 2002
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Mikkola-Reinke
Pouliot-Dotchin
Walman-Schmaltz

We’ve got A LOT of depth on the back end now. Wonder if Eddy gets moved..

I am not confident that any of the above can play in the NHL, nevermind replace Edmundson. If Eddy is traded, we need a top 4 LD coming back.

Well 3 of them have already played in the NHL.

And at least 2 more of them are prospects with decent potential. Walman may be a lost cause but I wouldn’t be surprised to see anyone from those 3 pairings called up at some point during the season. Can’t remember the last time I said that about our AHL defense.
Peter Sejna once played in the NHL, too.

I would say that we've definitely got better depth at SA than we have had in our short stint being affiliated with the Rampage, but I would agree with simon that none of those guys scream "NHL ready" at the moment. You basically have 3 guys who are back-pairing caliber, a 6/7 guy at best [and more likely a lesser version of Chris Butler], a "maybe he could be a 2nd-pairing guy, but he's still not close to that yet" and a wild card who needs to show up in shape and motivated before you can make any kind of judgment about him.

Yeah, potentially 3-5 of them could play a short stint in the NHL this season, but if anyone thinks that any of those guys can replace Edmundson today, ... I know we just won the Cup and everyone is euphoric still about it, but please - lay off the sauce some.
 
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execwrite1

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Really intrigued to see what Evan Polei can do. Great size, drops the mitts, has some skill. Final year of juniors - Red Deer - 33 G 29 A 64 games.
 

MortiestOfMortys

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Jun 27, 2015
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Peter Sejna once played in the NHL, too.

I would say that we've definitely got better depth at SA than we have had in our short stint being affiliated with the Rampage, but I would agree with simon that none of those guys scream "NHL ready" at the moment. You basically have 3 guys who are back-pairing caliber, a 6/7 guy at best [and more likely a lesser version of Chris Butler], a "maybe he could be a 2nd-pairing guy, but he's still not close to that yet" and a wild card who needs to show up in shape and motivated before you can make any kind of judgment about him.

Yeah, potentially 3-5 of them could play a short stint in the NHL this season, but if anyone thinks that any of those guys can replace Edmundson today, ... I know we just won the Cup and everyone is euphoric still about it, but please - lay off the sauce some.

San Antonio is better than it was two days ago. That’s what these moves are about. We’re happy and comfortable with our vet leadership and young supporting cast, and we’re going into next season with (mostly) the same lineup as we took to the top of Mt. Stanley.

Nevertheless, out of all of our signings, I would say only Lappin, Walker, and Polei are definite locks for the AHL. Pouliot, Vecchione, and Dotchin can all compete for a spot. I don’t think it’s particularly likely that any of them are full-time regulars, and I don’t think it’s fair to assume that they’ll magically solve all of their shortcomings in one summer. But they’re strong signings for what they are: injury call-ups and leadership for the team in San Antonio.

You also never know what a better system and a better fit can unlock in a player. Pouliot went from buried in Pittsburg to playing too much on a horrid Vancouver team. Can he grow into Shatty-lite here? Doubt it, but maybe. Dotchin got too fat to play in Tampa, but we play a big game, so if he hits the bike hard this summer and shows up in game shape, maybe he pushes Bortz for ice time. Vecchione was a Hobey Baker finalist, and played through some rough years in Lehigh, but still produced fine. Can he push Blais, Sanford, and MacEachern for ice time? I’m not sure, but he’ll get a chance to. We like our college players.

I don’t think anybody expects these guys to win the Norris or Hart next season, but just *playing* for the Blues next season is absolutely in reach for each of them. They will have to be better than they have been in the past. But Binnington was aging out of prospect status too, and none of Sundqvist, Sanford, Blais, or MacEachern were especially young when they broke in.

But you’re right: you don’t trade Edmundson on the hope and prayer that these guys can be better. They’ll either prove that, or they won’t. No big deal either way
 
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execwrite1

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Mar 30, 2018
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Oh look, it's a day ending in "y." Time to trade Edmundson.

Clearly the word is out with borderline NHL players and agents that St. Louis is a strong organization that will give players a real shot. Strengthens the depth chart enormously.

No more placeholders in San Antonio just to fill out the roster. Good job.
 

STL fan in MN

Registered User
Aug 16, 2007
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Looks like some good depth adds with the 6 guys signed to NHL/AHL deals and the 3 guys signed to AHL deals.

The two intriguing names IMO are Pouliot and Dotchin. Both have NHL caliber skill but question marks surrounding their off-ice work. Hopefully they have figured out what’s needed to fulfill their potential.
 
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