GDT: Bring on the kids

[MissouriMook]

Ellis picking up where Zherenko left off.

Edit: and now Cranley comes in and makes a beauty.

 

[Linkens Mastery]

Well, I'm done watching for the night. lol

 

[jura]

bedard's 1st, but not the last goal for hawks

 

[Linkens Mastery]

bedard's 1st, but not the last goal for hawks

I mean.... It could be.....

 

[STLegend]

I feel like Bedard should be controlling this game much much more than he is.

Yea definitely not getting "generational talent" vibes from him

Luckily they gifted them that PP after clean hit from Dean. Got the guy in his side close to the boards and Hawks players jump Dean and it's only a penalty on our guy?

 

[STL fan in MN]

I feel like Bedard should be controlling this game much much more than he is.

He’s been pretty fantastic from my vantage point.

Blues not keeping up with the Hawks’ speed.

 

[PerryTurnbullfan]

Thru two, Ellis looked real good. Loof looks like a player. Not much to say otherwise that isn’t in a red jersey.

 

[STL fan in MN]

Bolduc and Alexandrov have looked the best to me so far. Good heads up plays from both. Not a lot standing out so far though. At least the pace picked up once Chicago scored.

 

[Linkens Mastery]

He’s been pretty fantastic from my vantage point.

Blues not keeping up with the Hawks’ speed.

Well, the Blues shouldn't be able to keep up with the Hawks Speed or Skill in this. Blues are missing Snuggy, Dvorsky, Lindstein, and Stenberg. Out of the Athletics Top 10 Blues prospects (Pronman) Blues only have 3 of them in the Prospect showcase.

 

[Mike Liut]

I hope the Hawks finish with 90 points. Just outside the playoffs. Don’t want them to have any have anymore high picks to add to Bedard.

 

[Linkens Mastery]

Bedard after the 1st intermission played much closer to what I expected him to.

 

[Thallis]

Bedard after the 1st intermission played much closer to what I expected him to.

Idk he was pretty good in the first too, but we just blocked his shots. It'll be interesting to see how his passing game looks like at the NHL level because he seemed to be looking for a second or two and then just shooting from anywhere if he didn't see anything. The shot is as advertised, but idk how successful he'll be shooting from the blue line. He is clearly just better than everyone here too, so it'll be interesting to see him with and against NHL talent.

 

[STL fan in MN]

Well, the Blues shouldn't be able to keep up with the Hawks Speed or Skill in this. Blues are missing Snuggy, Dvorsky, Lindstein, and Stenberg. Out of the Athletics Top 10 Blues prospects (Pronman) Blues only have 3 of them in the Prospect showcase.

Yeah, based simply on the rosters going into this tourney, Chicago has the best roster. But I’m talking very specifically about speed. Look back at the last handful of drafts and it’s very clear Chicago highly prioritizes speed. They took arguably the two fastest skaters in the draft his last June - Moore and Lardis. They were clearly pushing the pace tonight and the Blues prospects couldn’t match it. And it wasn’t just their top guys.

 

[STL fan in MN]

Idk he was pretty good in the first too, but we just blocked his shots. It'll be interesting to see how his passing game looks like at the NHL level because he seemed to be looking for a second or two and then just shooting from anywhere if he didn't see anything. The shot is as advertised, but idk how successful he'll be shooting from the blue line. He is clearly just better than everyone here too, so it'll be interesting to see him with and against NHL talent.

He was pretty impressive in the 1st too. Could’ve had a couple of assists if his teammates converted or didn’t flub a pass.

That was a pretty shitty outing from a Blues perspective but I guess I can say I at least saw Bedard’s first game as a pro. I hate to say it but he lived up to the hype IMO. The crowd audibly gasped at his 2nd goal, an absolute snipe. 3rd goal was also impressive.

 

[Thallis]

He was pretty impressive in the 1st too. Could’ve had a couple of assists if his teammates converted or didn’t flub a pass.

That was a pretty shitty outing from a Blues perspective but I guess I can say I at least saw Bedard’s first game as a pro. I hate to say it but he lived up to the hype IMO. The crowd audibly gasped at his 2nd goal, an absolute snipe. 3rd goal was also impressive.

This blues squad was pretty clearly outclassed, but the positive we can take is that all their goals were scored on our 3rd goalie. I really liked Dean's game as well

 

[PerryTurnbullfan]

Yeah, based simply on the rosters going into this tourney, Chicago has the best roster. But I’m talking very specifically about speed. Look back at the last handful of drafts and it’s very clear Chicago highly prioritizes speed. They took arguably the two fastest skaters in the draft his last June - Moore and Lardis. They were clearly pushing the pace tonight and the Blues prospects couldn’t match it. And it wasn’t just their top guys.

It seemed as if they closed on the Blues immediately in the offensive zone. They had no time or space to do anything other than react. No good looks. Just on top of them. If you can sustain that type of pressure of throughout, then it is going to be a LONG night.

I liked the spirit out of Burns, Mayich, and Loof. I didn't necessarily like the slue foot Loof threw at the end, but he sent a message. Burns and Mayich didn't backdown.

I think we may be overlooking Ellis a bit. Maybe like we did Binnington, which may work in our favor in the future. He actually played very well.

The Blues are going to have to have a plan for Bedard or he will just pick them apart. If you are on the power play, then a Sunny or whomever may be able to keep up with him is just going to have to shadow him with no space. It reminds me of when Gretzky had the puck when he was younger. If you give him an inch, then it will be in one of the upper corners.

 

[Stealth JD]

I feel like Bedard should be controlling this game much much more than he is.

This aged well

 

[Moose and Squirrel]

Bolduc and Alexandrov have looked the best to me so far. Good heads up plays from both. Not a lot standing out so far though. At least the pace picked up once Chicago scored.

if Alexandrov is one of our bright points, that says a lot to me. he was not impressive with the big club last year.

 

[Mike Liut]

I think Alexandrov keeps getting better and better.

 

[Blueston]

if Alexandrov is one of our bright points, that says a lot to me. he was not impressive with the big club last year.

I think Alexandrov keeps getting better and better.

Challenge in event like this is he is nearly 23 and playing with and against lots of teenagers. He SHOULD dominate. Him looking really good out there isn’t all that telling.

 

[rumrokh]

if Alexandrov is one of our bright points, that says a lot to me. he was not impressive with the big club last year.

He had his moments, but it was mostly when he was causing havoc around the net. The Blues need that so badly he'll be useful if he continues to elevate and round out his game along just a normal unimpressive curve.

He's hard on pucks, but I still think he looks lost at times in transition. He takes a slow-ish first couple strides and either misses dishing it to a linemate or skates right into a check and loses the puck. Or gets caught from behind. That's a weird quality for a center and I don't expect him to get more explosive or more skillful to get around those defenders, so the change has to come in the brain. I think he can do it, but we know what it's like to hold our breath for players to figure out a mental aspect of their game.

 

[Mike Liut]

We are drafting and stockpiling lots of talent, but it seems most are bottom 6 players with the exception of Dvorsky and Snuggs. And our D pool is thin. Lots of work left to do before we are legit contenders. Probably 3 years away.

 

[Blueston]

We are drafting and stockpiling lots of talent, but it seems most are bottom 6 players with the exception of Dvorsky and Snuggs. And our D pool is thin. Lots of work left to do before we are legit contenders. Probably 3 years away.

Bolduc has a chance to be top 6 guy. Dean and neighbours look like they could be able to play in top 6 and not be out of place ( in time). finding guys who can drive top 6 lines is really hard, especially where we have been picking. We have Thomas, Kyrou, and buchy already. If snuggles and dvo are as good as we all think, our forward core should be quite strong even if we dont add another impact guy. but it will take a bit of time for young guys to hit their level.

 

[STL fan in MN]

Challenge in event like this is he is nearly 23 and playing with and against lots of teenagers. He SHOULD dominate. Him looking really good out there isn’t all that telling.

Agreed. He played 28 games in the NHL last season. Not too many players with that many games in the Show still play in this tourney. He was among the best in this age group but that was the expectation so that’s good he at least stood out.

Bolduc showed the most skill in the two games IMO. Played head up hockey. There was also a play last night where Bolduc covered for a d-man and ended up defending Bedard on the rush. I was like oh boy, this could be bad. But Bolduc played it very well and forced Bedard outside to where the Blues were able to regain numbers and nothing came of it. Good play by him.

None of the Blues D overly stood out to me in either a good or bad direction. Loof with the pretty blatant knee on knee late and Kessel rocked, I think it was Gavin Hayes. Popped his helmet off his head. Wouldn’t be surprised if that resulted in a concussion.

Ellis did look good. Cranley got a rude welcome to pro hockey. He gets the dubious honor of giving up Bedard’s first hat trick.

 

[Blueston]

Agreed. He played 28 games in the NHL last season. Not too many players with that many games in the Show still play in this tourney. He was among the best in this age group but that was the expectation so that’s good he at least stood out.

Bolduc showed the most skill in the two games IMO. Played head up hockey. There was also a play last night where Bolduc covered for a d-man and ended up defending Bedard on the rush. I was like oh boy, this could be bad. But Bolduc played it very well and forced Bedard outside to where the Blues were able to regain numbers and nothing came of it. Good play by him.

None of the Blues D overly stood out to me in either a good or bad direction. Loof with the pretty blatant knee on knee late and Kessel rocked, I think it was Gavin Hayes. Popped his helmet off his head. Wouldn’t be surprised if that resulted in a concussion.

Ellis did look good. Cranley got a rude welcome to pro hockey. He gets the dubious honor of giving up Bedard’s first hat trick.

Bolduc impressed me. Not the skill, which we knew he had, but the rest. He looked engaged and was playing the way we want him to play.

Cranley looked like he was struggling to pick up puck. Which I think is par for the course. He has nice size and some lateral quickness, but he hasn’t exactly wowed in juniors.