Prospect Info: Scott Perunovich (2018 Draft - 45th overall)

[ChicagoBlues]

I was assuming that if they are attached at hip they only count as 1 guy?

Dood, you're not rolling with your own joke. C'mon now!

 

[Johnny Hoxville]

@Johnny Hoxville. All I know, is that Scott Perunovich is my favourite for the Calder.

Besides Kylington, he’s msg favourite player in the NHL.

 

[Blueston]

Dood, you're not rolling with your own joke. C'mon now!

when you have a bit that works you gotta return to it.

 

[Mike Liut]

I’m not sure our defense will be better, but he’ll be fun to watch

 

[Robb_K]

Or even Gostisbehere when he first came up. I don't like people claiming Makar, Hughes, or Byram when there are more realistic comps that came up and made an instant impact.

One big thing is making the #2 PP more potent. We have enough forwards for 2 deadly PP units, so now when healthy we have Krug and Perunovich as QBs for those units, that's quite an upgrade over Faulk/Parayko. And stylistically, Perunovich will be a more seamless replacement for Krug.

ABSOLUTELY! Perunovich should really help The 2nd Power Play Unit. I'm looking forward to that. I just hope he'll be able to be, at least near average on defence, unlike a lot of the power play specialists.

 

[Brian39]

Copy and pasting my long-winded Perunovich post from the Arizona GDT:

Perunovich sure looked like an NHL-caliber player last night. He was heavily sheltered, but he dominated possession the way you want him to in that usage. He chased guys around a bit much for my liking in the defensive zone, but he looked great with the puck on his stick in our own zone. From pure eye test, he was the best player on the team at getting the puck out of our zone with control last night. His puck skills are more than just offense and his ability to get the puck out of trouble in our own zone will offset some of his deficiencies related to defending. It would absolutely not fair to describe him as a defensive liability last night and he was a clearly above average D man through the neutral zone and in the attacking zone. I thought that his game last night was better than anything I've seen out of Walman (this year). He got rewarded with 18:26 in ice time, PP usage and he was on the ice at the end when we were trying to tie the game at 6 on 5. Having 2 small offense-first LHD in the lineup creates a matchup/pairing headache for the coaching staff, but he was too good to be kept out of the lineup based on that. Walman is stylistically a better fit for the blueline, but has not played well enough to hold off Perunovich even with that inside track.

We gave Walman a month to earn the #6 spot and we told Perunovich to go earn his call up in the AHL. Perunovich demolished expectations and Walman took a step backwards. Berube hasn't trusted Walman to play PK at all and he has essentially just been an "even" player with pretty damn sheltered usage. That's fine to stick around as a 6th/7th D man, but it isn't good enough to keep Perunovich out of the lineup. Unless the other #6 D candidate can effectively contribute in a defensive role, Perunovich needs to be in the lineup. Mikkola might be that guy, but he is still on the COVID list and based on Perunovich's game last night we shouldn't be in a rush to remove him from the lineup.

Perunovich should be in the lineup Thursday and until he plays himself out of it. That gets Faulk/Parayko off the PP and theoretically should allow them to be better rested for serious 5 on 5 and PK usage. It's time to get creative with the pairings and find a way to spread the ice time around. We saw 4+ minutes of Perunovich/Parayko while we were chasing a lead last night and they performed well in this absurdly small sample. I don't think that this D group is good enough to win consistently playing low event hockey. Let's go all in on playing high event hockey, see how it looks for a month or so and then take that data and figure out exactly what shaped hole we have to plug.

 

[Xerloris]

Copy and pasting my long-winded Perunovich post from the Arizona GDT:

Perunovich sure looked like an NHL-caliber player last night. He was heavily sheltered, but he dominated possession the way you want him to in that usage. He chased guys around a bit much for my liking in the defensive zone, but he looked great with the puck on his stick in our own zone. From pure eye test, he was the best player on the team at getting the puck out of our zone with control last night. His puck skills are more than just offense and his ability to get the puck out of trouble in our own zone will offset some of his deficiencies related to defending. It would absolutely not fair to describe him as a defensive liability last night and he was a clearly above average D man through the neutral zone and in the attacking zone. I thought that his game last night was better than anything I've seen out of Walman (this year). He got rewarded with 18:26 in ice time, PP usage and he was on the ice at the end when we were trying to tie the game at 6 on 5. Having 2 small offense-first LHD in the lineup creates a matchup/pairing headache for the coaching staff, but he was too good to be kept out of the lineup based on that. Walman is stylistically a better fit for the blueline, but has not played well enough to hold off Perunovich even with that inside track.

We gave Walman a month to earn the #6 spot and we told Perunovich to go earn his call up in the AHL. Perunovich demolished expectations and Walman took a step backwards. Berube hasn't trusted Walman to play PK at all and he has essentially just been an "even" player with pretty damn sheltered usage. That's fine to stick around as a 6th/7th D man, but it isn't good enough to keep Perunovich out of the lineup. Unless the other #6 D candidate can effectively contribute in a defensive role, Perunovich needs to be in the lineup. Mikkola might be that guy, but he is still on the COVID list and based on Perunovich's game last night we shouldn't be in a rush to remove him from the lineup.

Perunovich should be in the lineup Thursday and until he plays himself out of it. That gets Faulk/Parayko off the PP and theoretically should allow them to be better rested for serious 5 on 5 and PK usage. It's time to get creative with the pairings and find a way to spread the ice time around. We saw 4+ minutes of Perunovich/Parayko while we were chasing a lead last night and they performed well in this absurdly small sample. I don't think that this D group is good enough to win consistently playing low event hockey. Let's go all in on playing high event hockey, see how it looks for a month or so and then take that data and figure out exactly what shaped hole we have to plug.

I thought he looked really good and this was the first time I have been able to see him play. I was not disappointed.

 

[HighNote]

I don't think that this D group is good enough to win consistently playing low event hockey. Let's go all in on playing high event hockey, see how it looks for a month or so and then take that data and figure out exactly what shaped hole we have to plug.

I've toyed with this idea for a while. I've wondered how this team would look if we said screw it and went all in as far as offense on the back end. Give Krug, Faulk, and Perunovich the green light and tell our forwards to use their defenseman in the o-zone more often. That can really stretch the other teams' defense out and leave holes in the middle, but the centers have to be ready to play more conservative and fall back when the time is right. O'Reilly is great at it, and so are guys like Bozak, Sundqvist, and Barbashev. If you can get teams worrying about your defenseman at the point, it's going to start giving your forwards much more time and space elsewhere.

 

[ChicagoBlues]

The rest concern has been on my radar as well. Poor Scandella is getting worked over (misused but admirable job) and I'm sure he's tired. Same for Parayko. Right now, Colt is not a #1 D in this League, but if we can take off the pressure, then maybe he can get some rest between shifts and he can start playing like a #1.5 D.

Parayko looked better last night, thanks to Perunovich.

 

[ChicagoBlues]

I've toyed with this idea for a while. I've wondered how this team would look if we said screw it and went all in as far as offense on the back end. Give Krug, Faulk, and Perunovich the green light and tell our forwards to use their defenseman in the o-zone more often. That can really stretch the other teams' defense out and leave holes in the middle, but the centers have to be ready to play more conservative and fall back when the time is right. O'Reilly is great at it, and so are guys like Bozak, Sundqvist, and Barbashev. If you can get teams worrying about your defenseman at the point, it's going to start giving your forwards much more time and space elsewhere.

It looked to me that this was the direction in which the Blues were going. We blasted out to a 5-0 start and then run and gun became duds.

We have Krug back and Perunovich certainly has some chops. Getting back Schenn will help and we should have our personnel in place to run and gun again.

 

[Meatball]

The days of "size n toffnuss" on the backend are over.

Perunovich is legit.

Perunovich-Parayko
Scandella-Faulk
Krug-Bortuzzo

Balance and firepower from the backend.

Time to embrace our new identity.

 

[MissouriMook]

The days of "size n toffnuss" on the backend are over.

Perunovich is legit.

Perunovich-Parayko
Scandella-Faulk
Krug-Bortuzzo

Balance and firepower from the backend.

Time to embrace our new identity.

For all the talk about needing an upgrade to our "shutdown pairing", how often do you really need two guys on the ice that are nails in their own end. Why not ask one guy on the pairing to work on getting the puck up ice and jumping in on the rush while the other guy stays at home and minds the house? Always having one of Parayko, Scandella or Bortuzzo on the ice defending the zone and protecting the net front when the puck is in our end, while simultaneously always having someone on the ice like Krug, Faulk or Perunovich there to transition the puck up ice, join the rush and put pressure on the other team in their end, might just be the way to balance the pairs and avoid the defensive brain farts that have burned us so much in the last 10 games. Everyone knows their role and we have offense and defense from all three pairings. Personally, I think a lot of Parayko's struggles lately are from him jumping up in the O-Zone too often and either getting caught trying to recover coming back or just wearing himself out too much covering that much ice on a shift.

 

[Meatball]

For all the talk about needing an upgrade to our "shutdown pairing", how often do you really need two guys on the ice that are nails in their own end. Why not ask one guy on the pairing to work on getting the puck up ice and jumping in on the rush while the other guy stays at home and minds the house? Always having one of Parayko, Scandella or Bortuzzo on the ice defending the zone and protecting the net front when the puck is in our end, while simultaneously always having someone on the ice like Krug, Faulk or Perunovich there to transition the puck up ice, join the rush and put pressure on the other team in their end, might just be the way to balance the pairs and avoid the defensive brain farts that have burned us so much in the last 10 games. Everyone knows their role and we have offense and defense from all three pairings. Personally, I think a lot of Parayko's struggles lately are from him jumping up in the O-Zone too often and either getting caught trying to recover coming back or just wearing himself out too much covering that much ice on a shift.

Agree 100%.

 

[mratch19]

CMON Scotty P!!! Such a nice assist

 

[542365]

CMON Scotty P!!! Such a nice assist

Had an even better pass in the first period that Sundqvist couldn’t convert. Had everyone in the building thinking shot and then put a dime on Sunny’s stick.

 

[mratch19]

Had an even better pass in the first period that Sundqvist couldn’t convert. Had everyone in the building thinking shot and then put a dime on Sunny’s stick.

Nice! Glad to hear it. Been lucky enough to catch most of his games since being called up but could only catch the third period tonight. I'll see if youtube has that play

Edit: yeup, found it! You're right.. beautiful fake and a rocket of a pass, haha

 

[Skinnyjimmy08]

Hows he been doing? Just strictly stat watching he hasn't been putting up many points at all(1 point in last 10 games)... will he stay up with the Blues? Or is there a chance he gets sent back down to AHL ?

 

[542365]

Hows he been doing? Just strictly stat watching he hasn't been putting up many points at all(1 point in last 10 games)... will he stay up with the Blues? Or is there a chance he gets sent back down to AHL ?

He's been injured for quite a bit of the time and only playing 13ish minutes when he's healthy, so he hasn't really had much ice time to make an impression. His passing and skating have been quite impressive, his defensive reads less so, Basically as advertised thus far. If he was thrust into a substantial power play role or something I think you'd see him shine more, but overall he's been pretty solid. As for going down to the AHL, I don't really know what the point would be. I guess after his injury he could use some game time to get back up to speed, but we know he can carry the load offensively in the AHL. He doesn't really have much to prove at this point at that level. He needs to be playing here, but LHD is probably the area that the Blues are most likely to reinforce at the trade deadline, so his big shot might not come until next season(or with another team in the event that he's traded).

 

[BlueDream]

lol… “Pretty solid” is a major overstatement. He’s been flat out bad defensively and has majorly cooled off after his first handful of games. He’s provided virtually no offense at even strength.

Just say it like it is. He hasn’t been very good. That’s why he can’t crack the lineup.

 

[LGB]

lol… “Pretty solid” is a major overstatement. He’s been flat out bad defensively and has majorly cooled off after his first handful of games. He’s provided virtually no offense at even strength.

Just say it like it is. He hasn’t been very good. That’s why he can’t crack the lineup.

He definitely needs to improve defensively, but I think that he's moved the puck really well. According to the team he's been out with an injury, but I expect and hope he'll be back in the lineup soon.

 

[BlueDream]

He definitely needs to improve defensively, but I think that he's moved the puck really well. According to the team he's been out with an injury, but I expect and hope he'll be back in the lineup soon.

Unlikely. He doesn’t supplant anyone in our top 6 because he’s so bad defensively. We already have a better version of him in Krug so he doesn’t really add anything we need. Since what we need is to get better in our own zone.

 

[LGB]

Unlikely. He doesn’t supplant anyone in our top 6 because he’s so bad defensively. We already have a better version of him in Krug so he doesn’t really add anything we need. Since what we need is to get better in our own zone.

Disagree he doesn't add anything we need. Our third pairing is terrible in transition. He is a downgrade defensively, but at least they won't always be trapped in their own zone. Also think it would be dumb to stunt his development by playing guys like Bortuzzo and Scandella over him who are marginally better at best.

 

[DatDude44]

Unlikely. He doesn’t supplant anyone in our top 6 because he’s so bad defensively. We already have a better version of him in Krug so he doesn’t really add anything we need. Since what we need is to get better in our own zone.

Part of why were bad in our own zone is due to our inability to exit the zone thanks to 6,41,55 and 77’s lack of puck moving ability.

48 helps us more then he hurts, especially in sheltered minutes. He’s not terrible defensively at all and I love his process and brain defensively. He needs 2 things to happen over time and he’ll be Krug 2.0 if not better and that’s physical maturation/strength and experience. He needs to play, learn, fail and succeed etc…. To eventually get to where Krug is.

6 has been nothing but a liability this year, even on the PK

 

[BlueDream]

Disagree he doesn't add anything we need. Our third pairing is terrible in transition. He is a downgrade defensively, but at least they won't always be trapped in their own zone. Also think it would be dumb to stunt his development by playing guys like Bortuzzo and Scandella over him who are marginally better at best.

Part of why were bad in our own zone is due to our inability to exit the zone thanks to 6,41,55 and 77’s lack of puck moving ability.

48 helps us more then he hurts, especially in sheltered minutes. He’s not terrible defensively at all and I love his process and brain defensively. He needs 2 things to happen over time and he’ll be Krug 2.0 if not better and that’s physical maturation/strength and experience. He needs to play, learn, fail and succeed etc…. To eventually get to where Krug is.

6 has been nothing but a liability this year, even on the PK

Nope. Scandella plays extremely heavy defensive minutes and has been doing pretty good considering that. He’s much more comfortable on the 3rd pairing. Perunovich starts over 80% of the time in the o-zone, he gets extremely easy minutes and he still gets caved in defensively.

So clearly Perunovich’s “transition” has not helped us and that’s why he got taken out of the lineup. We are also a Cup contending team, not a rebuilding team. We are going to play the best lineup, not just give ice time to young guys. That’s why Bortuzzo and Scandella remain in. PK’ing, blocking shots and being good defensively are important to winning games. Having both Krug and Perunovich in there, who can’t PK, isn’t how winning teams are built.

 

[DatDude44]

Nope. Scandella plays extremely heavy defensive minutes and has been doing pretty good considering that. He’s much more comfortable on the 3rd pairing. Perunovich starts over 80% of the time in the o-zone, he gets extremely easy minutes and he still gets caved in defensively.

So clearly Perunovich’s “transition” has not helped us and that’s why he got taken out of the lineup. We are also a Cup contending team, not a rebuilding team. We are going to play the best lineup, not just give ice time to young guys. That’s why Bortuzzo and Scandella remain in. PK’ing, blocking shots and being good defensively are important to winning games. Having both Krug and Perunovich in there, who can’t PK, isn’t how winning teams are built.

Scandellas been atrocious and his minutes can’t be that duffucult if he’s on the 3rd pair and 77-55 our getting top line matchups and 47-72 are playing 20+ minutes