Prospect Info: Springfield Thunderbirds Roster

[bleedblue1223]

Although I disliked the partnership the Blues had with the Chicago Wolves, one thing I did like is that since they were close, they visited Des Moines a lot. The T-birds will visit Des Moines precisely 0 times this season.

But it totally makes sense when you think about the travel costs.

Yeah, I was hoping to catch a game when we visit family in Ankeny throughout the year, but it is what it is.

 

[Jersey Fan 12]

Nathan Todd with seven goals in eight games to start the year? Anything to see in terms of a "late bloomer" or is this more a case of a minor league scorer missing the prerequisite skills to score like that in the NHL?

 

[izzy]

Nathan Todd with seven goals in eight games to start the year? Anything to see in terms of a "late bloomer" or is this more a case of a minor league scorer missing the prerequisite skills to score like that in the NHL?

More like a Wade Megan situation. Good circumstances on a team firing well offensively.

 

[ChicagoBlues]

Toropchenko is playing his first game back with SPR.

And scored a goal. That's a good sign.

 

[Moose and Squirrel]

Toropchenko is playing his first game back with SPR.

And scored a goal. That's a good sign.

think it's more of a sign of how much different the A is from the Bigs

 

[ChicagoBlues]

think it's more of a sign of how much different the A is from the Bigs

Agree, but I am more concerned with his shoulder.

If he can continue to produce, then it will alleviate my concerns and demonstrate that I was wrong. I sure hope I am.

 

[Moose and Squirrel]

Agree, but I am more concerned with his shoulder.

If he can continue to produce, then it will alleviate my concerns and demonstrate that I was wrong. I sure hope I am.

I don't recall him favoring his shoulder or anything.. and he was still taking the body like he has.. just couldnt seem to get into the flow of a play.. well, rarely anyways

 

[ChicagoBlues]

I don't recall him favoring his shoulder or anything.. and he was still taking the body like he has.. just couldnt seem to get into the flow of a play.. well, rarely anyways

I don't recall that either, but it scared me in a big way that he came back so soon and then looked bad.

Happy to eat crow on this.

Keep going Toro! I had faith in you post-draft.

 

[BleedBlueForever]

Looks like Tbirds are on a 7 game win streak and are sitting in a playoff spot. It looks like the top 6 teams from their division get into the playoffs.

Will be interesting to see them make it and possibly add Bolduc, Snuggerud (if he turns pro), Beck (if he turns pro), Gaudet added to the lineup. In addition to Alexandrov, and Neighbours going down once the NHL season is over.

 

[DatDude44]

It depends on what you are looking for. We have a mix of everything you could potentially be excited about. There are promising young players with talent that need seasoning. There are the AHL guys who will never make the pros for any length of time, but they will be steady players for fan's of the AHL team to be excited about. Finally, there are guys who are borderline NHL players who lost the numbers game. They can often have success when dropping to the AHL but will probably jump between the AHL and NHL often. We have at least a couple of each.

Young Guys with Talent: 1) Perunovich - He is number one on this list. He is a good skater and puck handler with great offensive instincts, but his defense needs work. He'll be an exciting player for you.
(2) Hofer - He is our best goalie prospect. Goalies are hard to predict, so he might not do much this year or ever. But he has the potential to be really good. He is a big kid, who plays a sound positional game and doesn't get flustered. Our other goalie prospect Ellis will be loaned out or start in the ECHL, and he is almost as good as Hofer. Keep an eye out for him if he gets called up.
(3) Brown - I put this in begrudgingly. He has playmaking skill for days and days and days. But he has a low compete level and zero physicality. If he puts forth the effort he did in Blues camp, he will struggle even in the AHL. But he will still make some exciting plays now and again.

Good AHL Lifers: Sam Anas - He was a point per game player in the AHl the last 2 years (last year was only 20-something games). He has 220 points in 282 games in the AHlL. He is super quicj and a good playmaker, but he is teeny tiny. So he'll never be an NHLer, but he can impress at the AHL level.

NHL Bottom 6 players screwed by deep roster: Mackenzie MacEachern - Solid NHL 4th liner with speed, a bit of skill and plays physical. He has been in the AHL for the past 2 years, so i'm not sure if he'll put up good points in Springfield. He doesn't in the NHL. But he is an NHL 4th liner.
2) Dakota Joshua - Similar to MacMac. He is a 4th line NHL player. He is a little more skilled, a little bigger, but a little slower.

I am not a fan of Alexandrov. I could be wrong. I am not listing him. I think he will struggle against men. He is too slow, and not strong enough to play like he has in the past.

My sleeper pick is Laferriere. He never put up stunning numbers in juniors (1.1-1.2 ppg range) but I like his game and think it could translate. He can pick the corners well with his shot. Its a long shot pick, which is why I didn't list him above. But keep an eye out and let me know what you think.

Glad u were wrong on Nikita

Kids a player

 

[ChicagoBlues]

Glad u were wrong on Nikita

Kids a player

I had him in my top-5 all along.

 

[DatDude44]

I had him in my top-5 all along.

u sly dog

 

[ChicagoBlues]

u sly dog

After the main three prospects, I had Toropchenko and then Alexandrov.

 

[Majorityof1]

Glad u were wrong on Nikita

Kids a player

Was I? The OP was asking about the 2021-22 season. All of the guys I listed (except my sleeper pick Laf) put up better points per game than Alexandrov that season. I wasn't saying he would never be a good AHL player or eventually make the show. Just that he wouldn't be one of the guys to get excited about LAST season.

He's progressed probably faster than I thought. But I still don't see the high end skill from him. I still don't think he'll be much more than a bottom-6 player. For me, its a wasted pick if you only get a 4th line/low end 3rd liner out of a 1st or 2nd round pick. I'd rather go for boom/bust guys that can be middle to top 6, and fill my bottom 6 holes with cheap vets. So Alexandrov still has to develop a lot to be considered a good pick (for me, I know others value cheap, young depth),

 

[ezcreepin]

Was I? The OP was asking about the 2021-22 season. All of the guys I listed (except my sleeper pick Laf) put up better points per game than Alexandrov that season. I wasn't saying he would never be a good AHL player or eventually make the show. Just that he wouldn't be one of the guys to get excited about LAST season.

He's progressed probably faster than I thought. But I still don't see the high end skill from him. I still don't think he'll be much more than a bottom-6 player. For me, its a wasted pick if you only get a 4th line/low end 3rd liner out of a 1st or 2nd round pick. I'd rather go for boom/bust guys that can be middle to top 6, and fill my bottom 6 holes with cheap vets. So Alexandrov still has to develop a lot to be considered a good pick (for me, I know others value cheap, young depth),

He's a prototypical 3rd line center with decent skill and pretty good defense. And to be fair to Alexandrov, he was the last pick of the 2nd, so let's just call him a 3rd round pick.

 

[Majorityof1]

He's a prototypical 3rd line center with decent skill and pretty good defense. And to be fair to Alexandrov, he was the last pick of the 2nd, so let's just call him a 3rd round pick.

I don't think he does have decent skill, at least not for a 3rd liner. He is a hard worker with a good IQ. But I don't think his size, shot, puckhandling, vision, passing, faceoff skill etc are anything to project him as a solid 3rd liner. His defense might be alright for a rookie and it will improve, but we are severely limiting his minutes for a reason. He's currently a low end 4th liner, which is fine because our 3rd line doesn't even have all high end 4th liners. Alexandrov needs to improve a lot in some areas to be a prototypical 3rd line C. That's not impossible, but also not a sure thing.

Good point on being the last pick of the 2nd. I just thought of him as a 2nd rounder but I forgot he was THAT YEAR's 2nd rounder. So I guees at #62 or whatever, a 3rd/4th liner with upside isn't that bad value.

 

[DatDude44]

Was I? The OP was asking about the 2021-22 season. All of the guys I listed (except my sleeper pick Laf) put up better points per game than Alexandrov that season. I wasn't saying he would never be a good AHL player or eventually make the show. Just that he wouldn't be one of the guys to get excited about LAST season.

He's progressed probably faster than I thought. But I still don't see the high end skill from him. I still don't think he'll be much more than a bottom-6 player. For me, its a wasted pick if you only get a 4th line/low end 3rd liner out of a 1st or 2nd round pick. I'd rather go for boom/bust guys that can be middle to top 6, and fill my bottom 6 holes with cheap vets. So Alexandrov still has to develop a lot to be considered a good pick (for me, I know others value cheap, young depth),

I think he's gonna end up a high end 3C. His brain, angling/physicality and puck control are what i really like about him.

By physicality i don't mean just hits or big hits....He's very smart at angling and cutting hands and consistently finishing checks/creating turnovers both in the O & D-zones just by doing that alone, I think he has a nice middle six swiss army knife type ceiling but ideally is your 3C on a playoff team....

He's a very good forward skater, his biggest issue to me is when he comes out of tight turns, especially on or around the walls offensively, he stands straight up out of them and loses all his speed, which doesn't allow him to actually manipulate and use the pockets of space he creates.

 

[ChicagoBlues]

Scoring goals is what we want. Niki does lots of little things right and is on pace for 13 goals. And this is with relatively little TOI. I think he will end up slightly better than Barbashev.

 

[ezcreepin]

I don't think he does have decent skill, at least not for a 3rd liner. He is a hard worker with a good IQ. But I don't think his size, shot, puckhandling, vision, passing, faceoff skill etc are anything to project him as a solid 3rd liner. His defense might be alright for a rookie and it will improve, but we are severely limiting his minutes for a reason. He's currently a low end 4th liner, which is fine because our 3rd line doesn't even have all high end 4th liners. Alexandrov needs to improve a lot in some areas to be a prototypical 3rd line C. That's not impossible, but also not a sure thing.

Good point on being the last pick of the 2nd. I just thought of him as a 2nd rounder but I forgot he was THAT YEAR's 2nd rounder. So I guees at #62 or whatever, a 3rd/4th liner with upside isn't that bad value.

Sure, at the NHL level he's not the 3rd line center I think he can be, but in the AHL, he has proven to be a very good player. He's smart on both sides, plays pk and pp, last year in his first full AHL season he had 12 goals and this year he's on pace to eclipse 30. Is that not good skill? He might not be flashy like Thomas or Kyrou, but he has the tools to be on pace with Sobotka point-wise. Defensively I haven't seen enough in general for me to make a guess where he'll end up, but for 22 year old I think he will be a good complimentary player on this team.

 

[Fez Whatley]

Scoring goals is what we want. Niki does lots of little things right and is on pace for 13 goals. And this is with relatively little TOI. I think he will end up slightly better than Barbashev.

I hope he's the barbie replacement

 

[Bobby Orrtuzzo]

I honestly hope we keep the AHL team in Springfield for awhile. The kids are seeing a lot of ice time, and also the isotopes jerseys are sick

 

[bleedblue1223]

Over different stretches, but 9 goals over his last 12 AHL games. And in that same stretch he had 14 NHL games with 7 points. We might've been a little down based on his start and ultimately not being completely ready and really not being on a line allowing him to do much offensively, but there's definitely solid upside in him, even if it doesn't match Bolduc and Snuggerud.

 

[ezcreepin]

Over different stretches, but 9 goals over his last 12 AHL games. And in that same stretch he had 14 NHL games with 7 points. We might've been a little down based on his start and ultimately not being completely ready and really not being on a line allowing him to do much offensively, but there's definitely solid upside in him, even if it doesn't match Bolduc and Snuggerud.

The most important thing with Neighbours is he needs ice time and confidence. After his call up he started to get some points, but in that same vein he needs better line mates. Can't really say who fits well with his style, but he isn't pushing the pace up at the NHL level (yet) and needs people to create offense for him. If we had Perron, I would've stuck him on the wing with ROR and Perron, but he's just going to have to find chemistry somewhere else. I'm hoping he can breakout a bit more offensively after the All Star break because he'll likely get more opportunities to make mistakes assuming we sell off some players.

 

[ChicagoBlues]

Glad to see Peca is back at it. Dude is crushing it since being reactivated from the IR.
14 points in 11 games.

We need to get McGing and Laffy Taffy up here for a spell.

Weren't we supposed to be kinda excited about Bakanov? He has 0 points in 18 games and is now inactive.

 

[ChicagoBlues]

Thunderbirds have a weird schedule. The AHL just came off its All-Star break with the T-Birds playing their first game last night. But now they don't play until next Friday.