Prospect Info: St. Louis Blues Top-20 Prospects: #1

[ChicagoBlues]

Let's see how this goes......

It's fluid. We can add as we go and see how far we get before camp etc.

Click to read more...

 

[ChicagoBlues]

Like @Bobby Orrtuzzo posted, we know the top three. After that?

 

[Fez Whatley]

Thanks for doing this. Always fun to see peeps insights and opinions on prospects.

 

[ChicagoBlues]

Thanks for doing this. Always fun to see peeps insights and opinions on prospects.

You’re welcome, but my hockey opinions generally suck, soooooo…..

I’ll leave it for others to be smart.

I’m happy to do the polls. This one is open for three days.

 

[Memento]

Voted for Bolduc for potential (followed by Neighbours and Snuggerud), but I'd definitely add Arseni Koromyslov to the list next. In my honest opinion, he has one of the highest ceilings of our 2022 drafted prospects.

Also a question: would Will Bitten technically count as a prospect?

 

[DatDude44]

Went Snuggerud, yes he’s further away than Bolduc and neighbours. But I love his process, I think he ends up being the best of the bunch when it’s all said and done. His combination of intangibles(Sense, feel & IQ for the game) combined with his tools (shot, hands, vision) is more excitable for me than Bolduc & neighbours. Bolduc I see a lot things missing in his game that seem to come natural to Snuggerud, though bolducs release is disgusting and neighbours I don’t see the projectable skill set to be a high end top 6 scorer long term, tho I luv his potential as a middle 6 Swiss Army knife, heart and soul type.

Like all 3 guys alot, puttin my money on snugg, I think he’ll score 35+ next to Thomas someday.

 

[greybush314]

Bolduc has the highest ceiling by far. Not even close imo. He has 40+ goals potential. He reminds me of Kyrou but with a little more size and a much better shot.

I've not seen a ton of Snuggerud so I don't have the best idea who he is but he'll likely play a good role in college and on the US WJ team next two years. So we'll be seeing alot in the future.

Neighbours is a wildcard. I think he could fit in anywhere from a 1st to 4th liner depending on how his scoring develops. But he's least likely of the 3 to be a top 6 goal scorer imo

 

[STL fan in MN]

Voted for Bolduc but didn’t see Perunovich on the list until after I voted. I probably would’ve gone Bolduc anyway but I guess we do need to define who we consider to be a prospect though.

I want to say the usual cutoff is age 23 and about 40 games played but with the pandemic, I could see extending it to age 24 as that had to mess up some guys’ development. And specific to Perunovich, he’s had 2 injuries take out almost 2 full years of play. So I’m fine including him but curious what others think.

And Bitten is 1 month older so he’d count too. Toropchenko would also be borderline.

 

[STL fan in MN]

Regarding the actual vote, I don’t see a blue chip prospect in the group but a solid tier of guys I think are likely to be good NHL contributors - Bolduc, Snuggles, Neighbours, Hofer…and Perunovich if he counts. And Toropchenko but more as just an energy guy. And then feel there’s a few guys in the next grouping that will likely make it too.

I went with Bolduc at 1 as he’s pretty clearly the most skilled. His shot is top notch and he knows how to use it. How he rounds out his game is TBD but he’s bound to score goals. I see a likely future 2nd liner.

I see Snuggerud as a borderline 2nd/3rd liner and see Neighbours more as a 3rd liner that wouldn’t look out of place on a 2nd line during his prime years. They all bring different elements. Which one truly ends up the best all-around player is hard to say but as of today, I value Bolduc slightly more than the other 2.

 

[Blueston]

Voted for Bolduc but didn’t see Perunovich on the list until after I voted. I probably would’ve gone Bolduc anyway but I guess we do need to define who we consider to be a prospect though.

I want to say the usual cutoff is age 23 and about 40 games played but with the pandemic, I could see extending it to age 24 as that had to mess up some guys’ development. And specific to Perunovich, he’s had 2 injuries take out almost 2 full years of play. So I’m fine including him but curious what others think.

And Bitten is 1 month older so he’d count too. Toropchenko would also be borderline.

I think we should use Calder Trophy eligibility as cutoff.

 

[Daley Tarasenkshow]

Went Snuggerud, yes he’s further away than Bolduc and neighbours. But I love his process, I think he ends up being the best of the bunch when it’s all said and done. His combination of intangibles(Sense, feel & IQ for the game) combined with his tools (shot, hands, vision) is more excitable for me than Bolduc & neighbours. Bolduc I see a lot things missing in his game that seem to come natural to Snuggerud, though bolducs release is disgusting and neighbours I don’t see the projectable skill set to be a high end top 6 scorer long term, tho I luv his potential as a middle 6 Swiss Army knife, heart and soul type.

Like all 3 guys alot, puttin my money on snugg, I think he’ll score 35+ next to Thomas someday.

I guess the question is whether or not Snuggerud can build on his tools (the IQ, hockey sense, vision) and turn that into skill and production. Personally I don’t think he has the quickness or skill set to be more than a 3rd line, PK focused winger. I think it’s fair to say he’s similar to Neighbors in the fact that they both should be solid pros, but Bolduc has the higher upside (albeit some holes to fill out.)

I’m excited to see how he develops though!

 

[DatDude44]

I guess the question is whether or not Snuggerud can build on his tools (the IQ, hockey sense, vision) and turn that into skill and production. Personally I don’t think he has the quickness or skill set to be more than a 3rd line, PK focused winger. I think it’s fair to say he’s similar to Neighbors in the fact that they both should be solid pros, but Bolduc has the higher upside (albeit some holes to fill out.)

I’m excited to see how he develops though!

I watched alot of snugg last year, I think he's a higher end player than people give him credit for, it's similiar to when we drafted thomas,(and most on this board had kyrou and kostin ranked over him, which drove me nuts lmao) the processing ability and skillset is all there, he just needs natural physical growth and opportunity to continue to build on his game. and he's proven he can play with and think with extremely high end players and compliment them well, even if he's not a line driver. Now he's obviously a different type of player stylistically to thomas but I see him with his skillset complimenting him perfectly someday. I think his skating is undervalued as well, it's not elite but isn't a hindrance at all imo. Bolduc, has higher shooting talent, but greatly lacks in alot of other areas of his game to snuggerud(who has a great release as well), especially the mental processing and ability to make efficient plays consistently under pressure.

Like I said, i really like all 3 guys and think they'll be nice cheap additions to our current core soon, but long term, i'm throwing my money down on snugg.

I really hope i'm wrong though, because if Bolduc can pop and snugg becomes what I think he can....we'lll be in some serious business.

 

[Reality Czech]

Voted for Bolduc but didn’t see Perunovich on the list until after I voted. I probably would’ve gone Bolduc anyway but I guess we do need to define who we consider to be a prospect though.

I want to say the usual cutoff is age 23 and about 40 games played but with the pandemic, I could see extending it to age 24 as that had to mess up some guys’ development. And specific to Perunovich, he’s had 2 injuries take out almost 2 full years of play. So I’m fine including him but curious what others think.

And Bitten is 1 month older so he’d count too. Toropchenko would also be borderline.

Yeah I picked Peru because there is a lot unknown about Bolduc. I know his ceiling is high but I'm going based off what I personally know about the player. Though I do agree that Perunovich is at the border of what should be considered a prospect. If he'd been healthy all of last year he probably wouldn't be on this list.

I think we should use Calder Trophy eligibility as cutoff.

Sounds pretty reasonable to me.

 

[Celtic Note]

I think my list starts something like this:

1. Bolduc
2. Peru

Some combo of the below follows (not sure the order yet).
Suggy
Hofer
Neighbours

 

[ChicagoBlues]

Voted for Bolduc but didn’t see Perunovich on the list until after I voted. I probably would’ve gone Bolduc anyway but I guess we do need to define who we consider to be a prospect though.

I want to say the usual cutoff is age 23 and about 40 games played but with the pandemic, I could see extending it to age 24 as that had to mess up some guys’ development. And specific to Perunovich, he’s had 2 injuries take out almost 2 full years of play. So I’m fine including him but curious what others think.

And Bitten is 1 month older so he’d count too. Toropchenko would also be borderline.

You can change your vote.

I think we should use Calder Trophy eligibility as cutoff.

I was wingin' it using multiple websites to cull our top prospects.

Left off guys like McGing and Larerriere cuz they have just one ELC year left.

Toropchenko was left off cuz he seems to have graduated already.

Perunovich is still on there cuz he's played only 19 games, but is past Calder eligibility.

I can remove Peru altogether for the #2 poll.

 

[stl76]

Personally, I don't think of Perunovich as a prospect any more, but am fine with whatever cutoff we want to use for eligibility.

Thanks for setting up the polls ChicagoBlues!

 

[Mike Liut]

Anybody know Neighbors current height / weight?

 

[simon IC]

You’re welcome, but my hockey opinions generally suck, soooooo…..

I’ll leave it for others to be smart.

I’m happy to do the polls. This one is open for three days.

I enjoy reading your hockey opinions, and they are just as valid as everyone else's. Thank you for creating the thread! I went Bolduc, as he has the highest ceiling, but I think Neighbours is the most likely "can't miss" candidate. It is just a matter of whether he pans out as a fourth or first liner. He has value either way. I am a little surprised to see Perunovich on the list, but I don't have an issue with it.

 

[Frenzy31]

Bolduc is a pure sniper. Release is similar to Tarasenko. Just a goal scorer.

Snug is my 2nd player. He sound a lot like Thomas where, like Thomas he just hasn’t broken out.

Neighbors is a solid middle sixer who will score goals by going to the front of the net. Battle and play hard along the boards.

Hofer
Perunovich
Dickenson, prior to the injury was really playing great hockey. Don’t know how well he will come back.
Kessel made a solid transition from College.
I like Beck, feel like he had a breakout last year.
Ellis has been solid.
And no one seems to talk about Tucker, but he had been very good in the AHL.
Alexandrov had a decent year also.

 

[ChicagoBlues]

I enjoy reading your hockey opinions, and they are just as valid as everyone else's. Thank you for creating the thread! I went Bolduc, as he has the highest ceiling, but I think Neighbours is the most likely "can't miss" candidate. It is just a matter of whether he pans out as a fourth or first liner. He has value either way. I am a little surprised to see Perunovich on the list, but I don't have an issue with it.

I agree that Neighbours is the true "can't miss" prospect as he oozes NHL player. Snuggs will be a little bit down the list for me.

Peru and Toro were coin tosses to add to the polls or not. I did this poll in less than 15 mns, so not a terrible amount of thought went into it.

I'd argue neither of them should be included and I'll leave off Peru next poll.

 

[ChicagoBlues]

Bolduc is a pure sniper. Release is similar to Tarasenko. Just a goal scorer.

Snug is my 2nd player. He sound a lot like Thomas where, like Thomas he just hasn’t broken out.

Neighbors is a solid middle sixer who will score goals by going to the front of the net. Battle and play hard along the boards.

Hofer
Perunovich
Dickenson, prior to the injury was really playing great hockey. Don’t know how well he will come back.
Kessel made a solid transition from College.
I like Beck, feel like he had a breakout last year.
Ellis has been solid.
And no one seems to talk about Tucker, but he had been very good in the AHL.
Alexandrov had a decent year also.

I'm excited about Alexandrov.

Depending on how I approach the polls, I could select Alexandrov as my #1 prospect because his close. He can carve out a 3rd-line role and hopefully be ok as a NHL 4th-liner.

I could select Neighbours based on the same criteria; closest to making a NHL impact.

Either way, members here are going to approach this poll in whatever way that makes sense to them.

 

[542365]

Bolduc for the ceiling. Pretty disappointing list overall though.

 

[kimzey59]

I agree that Neighbours is the true "can't miss" prospect as he oozes NHL player. Snuggs will be a little bit down the list for me.

Peru and Toro were coin tosses to add to the polls or not. I did this poll in less than 15 mns, so not a terrible amount of thought went into it.

I'd argue neither of them should be included and I'll leave off Peru next poll.

Neither Toro or Peru have reached HF's standard for being "graduated".
When in doubt, default to the rule book(25 years old or 65 games for skaters IIRC).

 

[STL fan in MN]

Neither Toro or Peru have reached HF's standard for being "graduated".
When in doubt, default to the rule book(25 years old or 65 games for skaters IIRC).

I was wondering what the old HF rules were. It’s sort of weird that HF is gone but the side website, HFBoards, is still around.

Just used the wayback machine for a little nostalgia to look at the old site - HF 2016 Blues Prospect Rankings

 

[STL fan in MN]

And yes, the HF games played cutoff had to be 65…and I remember that for the strangest reason.

Jonathan Toews played 64 games his rookie season. Missed some games due to injury. That summer he was named Captain of the Hawks. About a month later, HF released their prospect rankings and had Toews as the #1 ranked prospect in the game. I simply remember that as there was a lot of controversy about having him included as by all intents and purposes, he was no longer a prospect. A prospect can’t also be an NHL captain!

I always thought 65 was too high and somewhere around 40 made more sense. But in the end, it doesn’t really matter much.