Prospect Info: Blues Top 20 Prospect List #7

[Bluesnatic27]

To my surprise, Jordan Schmaltz takes the #6 spot fairly decisively. Who will take #7?

Blues Prospect List:
1) Robert Thomas (92.1%)
2) Jordan Kyrou (87.4%)
3) Ville Husso (56.4%)
4) Klim Kostin (52.0%)
5) Dominik Bokk (73.4%)
6) Jordan Schmaltz (36.8%)

Click to read more...

 

[The Note]

Walman for me here. Hoping for a big step forward from him this season.

 

[PiggySmalls]

Walman again for me.

 

[Oberyn]

Walman has the highest upside, but Foley and Stevens might be safer bets to make the NHL. I'll take Walman though, as he has the potential to be a game breaker although his development has been stunted due to our poor AHL situation. I hope to see him have a big season in SA next year.

 

[STL fan in MN]

Walman.

He had a rough year in a bad situation. I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt.

He still has good offensive instincts, a bomb of a shot and is a very good skater. He just needs some more consistency and to round out his D game. His D game was fine in college but I think the pro game helped expose that he only switched to the D position in his draft year. He has all of the tools to be a top-4 NHL d-man. Just needs to round out his game.

I can only hope that in addition to the gym, he’s spending a lot of time this summer with the development coaches, particularly Jax.

 

[MissouriMook]

I was on the fence between Walman and Mikkola, but the tipping point for me was the information about Mikkola's progression and the fact that we saw some regression from Walman. I could easily flip these two a month into the season, but for now I went with Mikkola.

 

[Ranksu]

Niko Mikkola

Lurking old polls Mikkola has climbed nicely in the rankings. Heh, Edmundson and Mikkola has same type of 'late bloom' hype in their progress.

 

[Splatter]

I've got the Providence Friars back to back. Walman, and then Foley.

 

[LGB51]

Perunovich again.

 

[Blueston]

Foley over Walman. And both over Schmaltz, fwiw.

 

[Mike Liut]

Axel over LaMont for me. Then Walman

 

[simon IC]

1. Mikkola
2. Walman
3. Foley
4. Sanford
5. Fitzpatrick

 

[Blanick]

Going off the board here with Fitzpatrick. I just really liked what I saw from him during the prospect camp.

 

[Stealth JD]

Foley's got 3rd/4th-liner upside according to the Blues:

"I see him as a third-, fourth-line guy that really brings a lot of energy to the game, and is hungry on the puck and never gives up on pucks, and creates turnovers,” Taylor said. “I guess Scottie Upshall would be a guy that we’re hoping that he could play like, because he’s got that structure.
“He just has to get his speed to (that level). That’s the new wave of the third- and fourth-line guys, is they have to be able to skate. They have to create energy on the ice and you have to be able to trust them and put them in situations. And at the same time, you have to score some goals.”

Blues prospect Foley aims to polish his game

 

[STL fan in MN]

I’m curious where Reinke should be in the rankings. I don’t have much of a read on him yet. I never watch Michigan Tech so all I’ve seen of him was that 1 NHL game he was thrown into. I’m curious, where do others have him ranked?

 

[izzy]

sammy blais

 

[TheBluePenguin]

Went with Foley again, Sammy B will be my next vote, that being said I really want to vote for Toropchenko solely for the reason his name, the way I pronounce it in my head, is so much fun!

 

[Majorityof1]

These polls are a lot less fun when you over-rate a guy who loses multiple polls in a row. I don't have to decide if I like Walman or Schmaltz or Foley better. I have been voting for Blais the last 3 polls and it looks like I will for the next one at least as well.

 

[The Note in MI]

These polls are a lot less fun when you over-rate a guy who loses multiple polls in a row. I don't have to decide if I like Walman or Schmaltz or Foley better. I have been voting for Blais the last 3 polls and it looks like I will for the next one at least as well.

Blais will go next I think. Walman certainly has a higher ceiling so I can see the argument there. Blais is a great prospect who is such an underdog and that’s probably partially what’s holding him back here.

 

[STL fan in MN]

These polls are a lot less fun when you over-rate a guy who loses multiple polls in a row. I don't have to decide if I like Walman or Schmaltz or Foley better. I have been voting for Blais the last 3 polls and it looks like I will for the next one at least as well.

So...you’re saying you’re overrating Blais? Not trying to be snarky but that’s how that sentence reads to me, which doesn’t match the rest of your post.

For me, I have Blais ranked lower because I simply don’t see him carving out much of an NHL career. I don’t see him being quite skilled enough to beat out other guys we have in terms of skill and don’t see him having enough intangibles to push out others in a 3rd-4th line role. He’s a classic tweener to me.

He’s come a long way from the raw 5’10” kid he was when drafted and he seems like a nice person so I hope I’m wrong and he makes it but my honest opinion is he won’t have much of a career and if he does, it’ll be fairly short and have to be on a lesser team with bad depth. Harsh but that’s how I see it.

 

[Stealth JD]

I actually like Blais here, and think he's more talented than most...but any success he's going to have is likely going to come after being traded from this organization, so...

 

[Majorityof1]

So...you’re saying you’re overrating Blais? Not trying to be snarky but that’s how that sentence reads to me, which doesn’t match the rest of your post.

For me, I have Blais ranked lower because I simply don’t see him carving out much of an NHL career. I don’t see him being quite skilled enough to beat out other guys we have in terms of skill and don’t see him having enough intangibles to push out others in a 3rd-4th line role. He’s a classic tweener to me.

He’s come a long way from the raw 5’10” kid he was when drafted and he seems like a nice person so I hope I’m wrong and he makes it but my honest opinion is he won’t have much of a career and if he does, it’ll be fairly short and have to be on a lesser team with bad depth. Harsh but that’s how I see it.

That's exactly what I am saying. Apparently, I am over-rating him when compared to the prevalent opinion of the board, which has him much lower than I do. Whether I am over-rating him vs what actually happens, we shall see. He has IQ for days over almost any other prospect we have. Outside Thomas, I put him as top hockey IQ. He has size, decent speed and good hands, vision and shot. He has dominated in the AHL and looked good better than any of our other current prospects in the NHL. He was blocked last year as a pure LW, but was far better than Thompson or other guys who got ice time. Given decent time on the third line, I see him as a good middle 6 option.

What intangibles does he need to push out a 3rd liner? He is better offensively than Soshnikov, Jaskin, Sundqvist. He is better defensively than Maroon. And he has a ton more upside than any of them. I take him in the top 9 over any of those guys. With consistent minutes and decent line mates, I'd project him as a 30-35ish point guy this year, and he actually would start driving the play on the back-half of the season. To me, that is worth more than intangibles.

 

[Majorityof1]

I actually like Blais here, and think he's more talented than most...but any success he's going to have is likely going to come after being traded from this organization, so...

Yep, pretty much. Is the same not true for Schmaltz as well though?

 

[Brian39]

I drank that Ranksu koolaid on Mikkola. From the brief video I have watched on him, I like his skating for someone his size.

 

[Novacain]

Yep, pretty much. Is the same not true for Schmaltz as well though?

I mean, I think he's going to be 3rd pairing for decent stretches of the year at minimum personally.