Prospect Info: St. Louis Blues Prospect Camp
- Thread starter 542365
- Start date
Captain Creampuff
Registered User
- Sep 10, 2012
- 10,969
- 1,816
here are my thoughts from today
first the big four
Fabbri- everything he was billed as. best player on the ice.
Parayko- huge. very good skater if a little awkward looking. hard shot. very happy with him. very strong. saw him get tripped and while on his knees he held on to the puck and took a hard shot.
schmaltz- very polished in all three zones. able to break up a play and send it up ice quickly. good skater. very pleased with him.
barbashev- solid across the board similar to schmaltz. calm with the puck, saw him bait a defender into trying to take the puck then he just went around them. guy sitting next to me likes him better than fabbri. seems to make the right play all the time.
next the goalies
Husso- looks like a pro, solid positioning, good reflexes, squares to the shooters well. really like him.
opilka- quick in goal, doesnt make himself big when the puck is in close, leaves some holes for the pck to trickle through
Broudor- liked what i saw. good lateral movement and reflexes. never gives up.
and the defensmen in no particular order
Vannalli- good skater, good at picking off passes, didnt get to see him in his own zone much. reads plays well on both sides of the puck
mikkola- good size, average skater, poor shot for his size. smart in his own zone and surprised me in the offensive zone. had some great cross ice passes to get great scoring opportunities.
walman- very unimpressed with him. good skater and stick handler. poor passes consistently the few times he decides to pass. caries the puck himself far too much and ruins breakouts by refusing to pass. has the tools just needs to add some variety to his game and make the smart play rather than the fancy play.
dunn- may have been the most impressive player to me because i knew what i was getting from the big four. jumped into the rush very well, and very sneaky at getting into scoring areas. got back on defense very well and broke up several plays with his stick. good skater and did not seem to tire as his shift went on
finally the forwards in no order
musil- strong on his skates, good hand eye coordination, nasty player some guys took offense to him. i dont see him having much offence, but could be a good energy guy that gets to the front of the net and gets dirty goals.
descheneau- good hands, needs more agility, tends to stay in one spot when he turns and could get clobbered in the nhl. has a nice shot and good offensive instincts. has nhl level offence, i don't know if he will have the elusiveness to survive at his size however
Blais- did not notice anything good or bad from him. just very average. seems to have the knowledge of what to do but lacks the skill to pull it off.
dunda- positives- big and protects the puck negatives- everything else.
poganski- wasnt looking for him but noticed him make several nice plays at high speed.
Maceahern- great skater, drives play foward, creats oppurtuinities for himself and his team mates. liked him quite a bit.
yakimowicz- plus hands, average skater, with a weak shot. has some skill but lacks finishing ability. could be a nhl energy foward.
tschantz- poor skater, poor hands, hard shot. 4th line upside.
selman- good skater and good hands. i would sign him as organizational depth.
first the big four
Fabbri- everything he was billed as. best player on the ice.
Parayko- huge. very good skater if a little awkward looking. hard shot. very happy with him. very strong. saw him get tripped and while on his knees he held on to the puck and took a hard shot.
schmaltz- very polished in all three zones. able to break up a play and send it up ice quickly. good skater. very pleased with him.
barbashev- solid across the board similar to schmaltz. calm with the puck, saw him bait a defender into trying to take the puck then he just went around them. guy sitting next to me likes him better than fabbri. seems to make the right play all the time.
next the goalies
Husso- looks like a pro, solid positioning, good reflexes, squares to the shooters well. really like him.
opilka- quick in goal, doesnt make himself big when the puck is in close, leaves some holes for the pck to trickle through
Broudor- liked what i saw. good lateral movement and reflexes. never gives up.
and the defensmen in no particular order
Vannalli- good skater, good at picking off passes, didnt get to see him in his own zone much. reads plays well on both sides of the puck
mikkola- good size, average skater, poor shot for his size. smart in his own zone and surprised me in the offensive zone. had some great cross ice passes to get great scoring opportunities.
walman- very unimpressed with him. good skater and stick handler. poor passes consistently the few times he decides to pass. caries the puck himself far too much and ruins breakouts by refusing to pass. has the tools just needs to add some variety to his game and make the smart play rather than the fancy play.
dunn- may have been the most impressive player to me because i knew what i was getting from the big four. jumped into the rush very well, and very sneaky at getting into scoring areas. got back on defense very well and broke up several plays with his stick. good skater and did not seem to tire as his shift went on
finally the forwards in no order
musil- strong on his skates, good hand eye coordination, nasty player some guys took offense to him. i dont see him having much offence, but could be a good energy guy that gets to the front of the net and gets dirty goals.
descheneau- good hands, needs more agility, tends to stay in one spot when he turns and could get clobbered in the nhl. has a nice shot and good offensive instincts. has nhl level offence, i don't know if he will have the elusiveness to survive at his size however
Blais- did not notice anything good or bad from him. just very average. seems to have the knowledge of what to do but lacks the skill to pull it off.
dunda- positives- big and protects the puck negatives- everything else.
poganski- wasnt looking for him but noticed him make several nice plays at high speed.
Maceahern- great skater, drives play foward, creats oppurtuinities for himself and his team mates. liked him quite a bit.
yakimowicz- plus hands, average skater, with a weak shot. has some skill but lacks finishing ability. could be a nhl energy foward.
tschantz- poor skater, poor hands, hard shot. 4th line upside.
selman- good skater and good hands. i would sign him as organizational depth.
After a third viewing, I walk away a bit indifferent towards Vannelli. He's a good skater, but he never really seems to be 'the guy' who makes plays happen. His pairing (with Dunn) was getting hemmed in their own zone a lot during the scrimmage, although the forwards weren't exactly helping. I would rank him in terms of potential behind Parayko, Schmaltz, Walman, and Dunn. He's not bad, but he doesn't seem that great either.
------------------------------
other thoughts from day 4:
Fabbri: A beast
Descheneau: He played pretty well. It probably helps that he's always with Fabbri but he can at least keep up.
Musil: Continues to show promise. Will be interesting to see how he progresses in the next 3 years
Selman: He had the nastiest play of the day. Dangled the **** out of one of the defensemen (I don't remember who) then went in an scored on the 1 on 0. I still think he should get a tryout with the Wolves.
Yakimowicz: Scored some nice goals today, one on a great wrist shot bar down
Parayko: He's pretty much the commander of the forces. If this team went to a prospect tournament he would be the captain. he also showed some skill today such as stickhandling and deking close to the goal.
Schmaltz: Another strong showing. He looks ready for the jump to the AHL. He's very calm out there.
Walman: After a rather meh Tuesday, he was back to being noticeably good. He seems like a very smart player. Broke up 2 2-on1 's, and showed off his good shot as well.
Dunn: Had a nice goal on a 2 on 1, joined the rush a lot. He and Vannelli were getting worked over a bit behind their own net though.
Captain Creampuff
Registered User
- Sep 10, 2012
- 10,969
- 1,816
Dbrownss
Registered User
- Jan 5, 2014
- 31,359
- 8,734
Meatwagon
Blues=Overrated
For me it was Dunn or Descheneau.
Dunn is like a 4th forward on the ice.
Jadeon is probably the only other forward prospect with the skill to play with Fabbri. Barbs was on the other team.
Fabbri is ready, his skill is just light years above everyone. Best player by a really large margin. He was just toying with guys today, really interested to see what he does against NHLers in the preseason. If he can do half of what he showed today on the Blues, he will be a 1st liner before the seasons over.
Parayko flashed some skill today, his skating is still pretty awkward, but he's plenty mobile, very bright future. Really surprised with some of his stick handling around the net during drills, made some slick moves that only someone with an 8 foot stick could pull off. He's going to be a beast, I just hope he's mean, because he could be a Weber type player.
Vanelli looks like he has speed to burn, very smooth skater, never seemed like he had to skate hard. 2 strides and he was up to speed with any forward attacking him, including Fabbri. He's very intriguing to me. Very deft with the puck, could stick handle in a phone booth. He's a project, but if he puts it all together he could be a keeper.
Schmaltz-just a super smooth player in all facets. Never seemed to panic, made good reads all day, is good sized. Definitely a top 4 nhler eventually.
Dunn honestly looks like a faster Shattenkirk. Kid can fly and execute at top speed, but when he was paired with Vanelli, they both looked lost.
Then they paired Schmaltz and Vanelli together and no one could get around them. It was pretty cool watching them play together even for a little while. They are pretty similar really and I could see them playing together in the AHL. It was almost like watching 2 vets play together, they knew each other's spacing, neither had to venture to cover up the others mistakes and in a blink they could clear the zone. It was pretty cool, I hope they get some time in Chicago, because that would be a ready made 2 pairing. 2 big swift skaters with great sticks and clean passing ability that had the necessary closing speed to shut off streaking forwards.
Yakamowicz-dude has a good shot, someone mentioned it wasn't much to write home about, but he had a couple a laser goals. Which was weird because he looked very clunky during drills, but played very well in the scrimmage.
542365
2018-19 Cup Champs!
- Mar 22, 2012
- 22,327
- 8,702
That would be pretty fantastic because Schwartz is a stud. Even if he's not better than Schwartz, I think it's pretty clear he'll be a great player. We just need a couple more of them, especially ones that play center.
rumrokh
THORBS
- Mar 10, 2006
- 10,108
- 3,285
Pretty interesting how Walman's reviews are all over the place. If I understand correctly, he was a forward who was moved to defense unusually close to his draft year and, while fast, would always be a huge project. I can easily see how a player like that could surprise some fans because he has the abilities of a skilled forward when he carries the puck or jumps up on the play, but disappoint other fans because his reads and overall game are lacking.
When I read these reports, this is what I look for in guys. Will their play carry to the next level against greater competition? All these years, smooth and fluid play usually dictates a good pro. I'm seeing this with Schmaltz this year as we saw with Lindbohm last year. Sure there are flashy guys, but flashy doesn't work in tight quarters. Boys moves don't work in a man's game were space and time are much shorter, tighter, and limited. A slick player can keep the game simple and build from there. I'm really glad an excellent program like North Dakota has taught Schmaltz that. I expect the same from the likes of MacEachern, Poganski, and Walman given the excellent programs they are playing with. Excited about the future and hope some of the Juniors and future AHLers can excel against better competition.
This year draft was packed up with very high ens center prospects. Lets hope we could add 2016 draft 1-2 pick.
- Feb 12, 2008
- 19,372
- 8,897
Dbrownss
Registered User
- Jan 5, 2014
- 31,359
- 8,734
Yep, it's just how good Fabbri could be.
Hearing about him being in St. Louis for awhile now working with the Blues and he's already put on 15lbs from draft to get NHL ready shows how dedicated he is.
There's no way Fabbri doesn't stay on the team the whole season. He's gotta be ready, and he has the skill and speed we need.
We're at a point right now where, IMO, if the player is even close to being ready, they need to get some NHL playing time because we're going to have a lot of guys making the jump in these next couple years. So I want Lindbohm and Fabbri to get consistent playing time this season so they can get experience. Maybe even get Parayko and Edmundson some call ups. Then maybe next season they make the team full-time, and Schmaltz and Barbashev start getting some callups. We just need to plan it out so that they're not all inexperienced rookies at the same time. Now is Fabbri's year. Unless he just has the worst training camp of all time, which seems impossible to happen, you can't convince me that sending him back to juniors is a good idea. Let's get him going, he's gonna be part of the new wave up front with Schwartz and Tara.
We're at a point right now where, IMO, if the player is even close to being ready, they need to get some NHL playing time because we're going to have a lot of guys making the jump in these next couple years. So I want Lindbohm and Fabbri to get consistent playing time this season so they can get experience. Maybe even get Parayko and Edmundson some call ups. Then maybe next season they make the team full-time, and Schmaltz and Barbashev start getting some callups. We just need to plan it out so that they're not all inexperienced rookies at the same time. Now is Fabbri's year. Unless he just has the worst training camp of all time, which seems impossible to happen, you can't convince me that sending him back to juniors is a good idea. Let's get him going, he's gonna be part of the new wave up front with Schwartz and Tara.
Vladdy the Impaler
Moar Sobotka
Dbrownss
Registered User
- Jan 5, 2014
- 31,359
- 8,734
Hitch loved him last year, and reading the tea leaves on how they treated him all year. I don't think this will be a problem. Jaskin displaced Pääjärvi, so I don't see it being a problem for someone in the bottom 6 getting benched. I'm looking at Ott or Brodziak.
Descheneau, Dunn, and MacEachern would be the next tier, for me. Musil and Mikkola might look a lot better this time next year, they are just still quite raw. Blais is a great player but likely too small. Selman looked great and if he was an actual prospect people would be hyping him way more based on his play.
I'm going to echo the negative on Walman. This review was spot on to me and totally jives with what I saw:
Meatwagon
Blues=Overrated
Being better than Schwartz would be very lofty expectations because we haven't seen Schwartz at his best yet. Jaden could very well become a PPG player and expecting Fabbri to become that may be unrealistic. On the other hand, Fabbri has stick handling skills I've just never seen from Schwartz, he has Tarasenko level bursts with Perron level hands. My only knock on him right now is that he seems pretty easy to knock off the puck. Some of the more veteran dman(Schmaltz,Vanelli) were able to stick check the puck from him. What was encouraging was that he was tenacious in his puck retrieval, so if a puck does get knocked off his stick he would fight his *** off to get it back. That's awfully promising.
PiggySmalls
Oink Oink MF
- Mar 7, 2015
- 6,107
- 3,516
If Fabbri can become a 1C or even a 1Cb and center Schwartz & Tarasenko in 3-4 years, I will be happy. After seeing all the positive reports of Parayko and Schmaltz, along with the established D prospects already in Chicago. I feel really good bout the blueline for many years to come.
Reports from our guys in Chicago seem to state the Fabbri needs to get stronger. Juniors for one more season may not be a bad option. Let him skate 25 minutes a night as THE guy. I still think Parayko needs a good solid season in the AHL with top 4 minutes playing the Friday, Saturday Sunday back to backs. Alot tougher on a big presence than a finesse guy. Let Edmundson and possibly Schmaltz (injuries to your offensive guys) be your call ups. Both have more experience playing against better talent. Parayko just has a brief cup of coffee with the Wolves. Let him find some consistency to his game. That seemed to be the one knock on him in Chicago. Let him handle the grind. College hockey is half a pro season unlike junior hockey.
