Prospect Info: Who is the #3 Prospect in the Blues Prospect Pool?

[Bluesnatic27]

Top 20 Blues Prospect List:
1) Jordan Kyrou - 91.9%
2) Dominik Bokk - 84.2%

Now things get interesting. With Kyrou and Bokk gone, who will be crowned third? This is the first time in a long while where I don't have a good feeling who will come in at this spot. But for myself, I'm going with Husso. Last season was a disaster, but his track record before that is fantastic. I will put my faith that last year was an anomaly and rely on the years prior to that to gauge his value.

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[LGB]

For me this is between Kostin and Perunovich due to perceived ceiling. I can't choose Kostin at this point because of how poor he was this year in San Antonio, but if he can give me any glimmer of hope next year I'd move him back up. Perunovich has done nothing but produce and win since joining Minnesota, and if everything goes well maybe he could be a Torey Krug type player one day. I'll go with him for the third slot.

 

[Blueston]

Big dropoff after 1st 2. I went with Perunovich but really could be 4 or 5 others too.

 

[Coach Nate]

I went with Reinke here. He has actually produced at the AHL level and I honestly think his game translates to the NHL with some more film study and development.

 

[Shwabeal]

Went with Perunovich. Out of the three guys I have slotted together in this tier, he's the only one that didn't struggle last year, albeit in college and not at the AHL level.

 

[Ranksu]

Mikkola

 

[Novacain]

Went Mikkola for high probability top 6 defensemen. Also accept Perunovich, Husso, and Reinke as reasonable answers here.

The Kostin votes are weird to me when was up with Walman as the worst player on the AHL team last year. Just feels like voting because we used a 1st on him.

 

[Celtic Note]

Seems to me that we should be selecting 3 defensemen in a row here. Reinke, Perunovich and Mikkola seem to be in a tier here.

 

[Ranksu]

Went Mikkola for high probability top 6 defensemen. Also accept Perunovich, Husso, and Reinke as reasonable answers here.

The Kostin votes are weird to me when was up with Walman as the worst player on the AHL team last year. Just feels like voting because we used a 1st on him.

Mikkola's ceiling is higher then top6. Top4 in my book.

He would fit perfectly with Parayko. Two tall dmen who both can skate and defend.

Mikkola is like Edmundson 2 season ago, but much better skating and play Møre physical hänen then Ed.

 

[Blanick]

My next few follows.

Reinke
Kostin
Mikkola
Husso
Perunovich
Toropchenko.

After that it gets interesting.

 

[Coach Nate]

I will likely go Husso next. He had a terrible 2018 no question. But he was hurt most of the year and playing on a de facto expansion team playing Mike Yeo's system.

You cant discount what he did his first two pro seasons in the AHL. They weren't full seasons as a true #1, but he put up well above average numbers.

 

[Frenzy31]

I went with Husso here.

I have him on the same level as Kostin and Perunovich. But he has accomplished more. Alexandrov is also on that same tier.

 

[Blues0307]

Went with Perunovich. In my albeit limited viewings of watching him play, he stood out on the ice. Good puck mover, smart, and is a good skater. However, I don't think he's shot the puck in any of the games I've seen his team play so no idea what is shot looks like.

 

[Blueston]

Surprised how well Kostin is polling here. Seems like all he has done is get drafted high. We have some nice college/junior talent and Husso, Mikkola, and Reinke have all produced at AHL level. I wonder if we had taken Kostin in 5th round would he still get this much love?

 

[Stealth JD]

Taking the physical beast of a LHD in hopes he has the requisite puck-skills to make a positive impact.

 

[542365]

Surprised how well Kostin is polling here. Seems like all he has done is get drafted is high. We have some nice college/junior talent and Husso, Mikkola, and Reinke have all produced at AHL level. I wonder if we had taken Kostin in 5th round would he still get this much love?

If that fifth rounder had such strong showings at every international competition and prospect camp, then yeah, probably. The skills are undeniably there to be a good NHLer. When there’s a choice between a guy like Kostin who, if he makes it to the NHL, will have a big impact, and a bunch of bottom pairing/7th D types that are much more likely to make it, I’ll go with the upside. Guys like Mikkola, Reinke, Perunovich etc. don’t add much value to the prospect pool IMO because trading for/signing low impact guys is relatively easy. They’re certainly all three more likely to be an NHLer than Kostin, but Kostin has by far the highest upside. If we’re picking the guy who is most likely to end up at the NHL All Star game, I don’t see how that vote would go to anyone but Kostin. I know that’s not how everyone rates prospects, and that’s fine, but it doesn’t make it wrong.

Husso is a goalie and honestly should be in his own poll with other goalies because they’re such crapshoots.

 

[Blueston]

If that fifth rounder had such strong showings at every international competition and prospect camp, then yeah, probably. The skills are undeniably there to be a good NHLer. When there’s a choice between a guy like Kostin who, if he makes it to the NHL, will have a big impact, and a bunch of bottom pairing/7th D types that are much more likely to make it, I’ll go with the upside. Guys like Mikkola, Reinke, Perunovich etc. don’t add much value to the prospect pool IMO because trading for/signing low impact guys is relatively easy. They’re certainly all three more likely to be an NHLer than Kostin, but Kostin has by far the highest upside. If we’re picking the guy who is most likely to end up at the NHL All Star game, I don’t see how that vote would go to anyone but Kostin. I know that’s not how everyone rates prospects, and that’s fine, but it doesn’t make it wrong.

Husso is a goalie and honestly should be in his own poll with other goalies because they’re such crapshoots.

But he hasn't consistently shown strong. He was disappointment at last year's prospect camp and quite underwhelming at WJC. If you are expecting him to be an NHL All Star I am afraid you will be sorely disappointed. He isn't tracking for AHL All Star at this rate. You just think he has higher ceiling bc he was taken in 1st round after previously being touted as top European skater in the draft. Nothing he has done since then has supported his draft position. Again, I get that he was one of youngest guys in AHL and may take huge leap forward, but that feels like wishful thinking as much as anything.

And your dismissal that the others project as 7th D types is an opinion not universally shared. Perunovich has been compared to Torey Krug who played a key part on Eastern Conference Champion Bruins. Whether he reaches that level is another question. Mikkola has been dubbed by some as more mobile Edmundson, who many on here think is quality 2nd pairing D (I'm not one of those people, so YMMV). Again, maybe he isn't. But you are making assumptions to support your position not citing anything near consensus opinion of these guys.

 

[ChicagoBlues]

The Kostin votes are weird. He has shown practically nothing.

I voted for Mikkola for same reasons as before.

 

[CaliforniaBlues310]

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, anyone calling Kostin a bust for not being an AHL all-star at 19 is not very bright. Kyrou couldn’t even get into games with the Wolves when Sarnia’s seasons would end, and he’s been voted our best prospect.

This is a huge season for Kostin, and I think he’s going to prove A LOT of people wrong.

 

[Blueston]

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, anyone calling Kostin a bust for not being an AHL all-star at 19 is not very bright. Kyrou couldn’t even get into games with the Wolves when Sarnia’s seasons would end, and he’s been voted our best prospect.

This is a huge season for Kostin, and I think he’s going to prove A LOT of people wrong.

1. Nobody expected him to be NHL all star at 19 but I don’t think we expected him to be one of worst players in our AHL team either.
2. That was red flag on Kyrou and why it was unwise to count on him to be NHL ready last year. I didn’t vote Kyrou #1, but in his defense he had nice AHL season this year, unlike Kostin. If Kostin produces next year like a Kyrou did this last year, that would warrant considering Kostin top prospect.

 

[Blanick]

I will likely go Husso next. He had a terrible 2018 no question. But he was hurt most of the year and playing on a de facto expansion team playing Mike Yeo's system.

You cant discount what he did his first two pro seasons in the AHL. They weren't full seasons as a true #1, but he put up well above average numbers.

I have little doubt that Husso will bounce back next year. I still believe he has the potential to be a starter at the NHL level. Currently I have Kostin and Reinke above him out of the remaining names. The reasoning behind that is simple for me. I feel like Reinke is the closest to a lock to make the NHL out of the remaining names. Kostin has had rough start to his pro career true but I always fall back to the fact that he is playing as an underage player in a men's league and he is transitioning to a new country, culture and hockey style. He was always going to be a bit of project and I am not yet ready to abandon that project.

Mikkola and Husso was a toss up to me but I am leaning more towards Mikkola at this moment because his strong and steady defensive play will transition well to the NHL.

 

[STL fan in MN]

For me it’s between Reinke and Perunovich. Both undersized offensive d-men. Reinke had a fantastic AHL rookie season and Perunovich led his team to back-to-back NCAA championships.

Reinke has shown more at a higher level and is slightly less undersized but I see Perunovich’s skills as more dynamic and really like how he reads plays. I’ll give him the slight edge but it’s super close to me.

I still have hope for Kostin and I realize he was still only 19 playing in the AHL but the main thing that worries me about him is that I found his hockey sense and decision making to be atrocious. Some of that could still be his youth or learning the NA game but I’ve never seen great decision making from him at any level so that’s a legit criticism IMO and I highly highly value hockey sense. He has all the tools but I’m not convinced he’s equipped with the toolbox to be able to fully utilize those tools.

 

[ChicagoBlues]

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, anyone calling Kostin a bust for not being an AHL all-star at 19 is not very bright. Kyrou couldn’t even get into games with the Wolves when Sarnia’s seasons would end, and he’s been voted our best prospect.

This is a huge season for Kostin, and I think he’s going to prove A LOT of people wrong.

But Kostin hasn’t shown even a flash in the pan. Just pyrite.

You would think that he would have demonstrated something by now.

I’ve got Reinke and Husso next. MAYBE Perunovich after them only because he has contributed to a winning squad twice now.

After those two (or three) I will stop voting.

MacMac, to me, does not belong here because he has pretty much proven his worth and is on a one-way deal.

 

[ItsOnlytheRiver]

Why are we dismissing Kostin’s draft pedigree? Yeah, he probably wouldn’t be getting as many votes if he was a fifth rounder. But he was a first rounder meaning our scouts thought pretty highly of him and that should factor in here. I respect the passion of the board to keep up and evaluate all these prospects as much as you do but this is still the same group that collectively wrote off Sundqvist and had Barbashev as a career AHLer. I’ll keep my faith in our scouts that just built a championship roster over a couple sour years as an underager in the AHL.

I can already see Bokk being written off next offseason if he doesn’t tear up the SHL this year despite a lot of people proclaiming he would be slow to develop when we drafted him. We are an impatient species.

Sorry vocal minority, Kostin is gonna win this one, and when we have a pretty unproven prospect pool atm... that’s ok with me.

 

[simon IC]

For me it’s between Reinke and Perunovich. Both undersized offensive d-men. Reinke had a fantastic AHL rookie season and Perunovich led his team to back-to-back NCAA championships.

Reinke has shown more at a higher level and is slightly less undersized but I see Perunovich’s skills as more dynamic and really like how he reads plays. I’ll give him the slight edge but it’s super close to me.

I still have hope for Kostin and I realize he was still only 19 playing in the AHL but the main thing that worries me about him is that I found his hockey sense and decision making to be atrocious. Some of that could still be his youth or learning the NA game but I’ve never seen great decision making from him at any level so that’s a legit criticism IMO and I highly highly value hockey sense. He has all the tools but I’m not convinced he’s equipped with the toolbox to be able to fully utilize those tools.

Yeah, I don't like the fact that 2 of our top 3 D prospects are undersized. I also don't see any of them having top four potential. We need to stock up our D prospects. I realize that with Pietrangelo (hopefully!), Parayko and Dunn in place it is not an immediate need, but I feel nervous without having any blue chip D prospects in the pipeline.