For your reading enjoyment.

http://www.espn.com/nhl/insider/story/_ ... ouis-blues

1. St Louis Blues

It's nice to have a hotly contested debate about whether Jordan Kyrou or Robert Thomas is the best prospect in your system. Both are exceptional, but I lean Kyrou, as I think he's one of the best puck handlers presently outside the NHL. Either way, they're both high-end prospects with bright NHL futures. Having two elite prospects is nice, but it's the depth the team has managed to build that puts them at the top. Klim Kostin and Tage Thompson are also both higher-end players with big upside.

Despite not having a dedicated AHL affiliate, the Blues have players excelling in the minors. Thompson has already seen significant NHL time, while Kostin is one of the AHL's younger players and is more than holding his own out there. They've also gotten nice contributions from Sammy Blais, who has been a point-per-game player in the AHL at just 21 years old. Meanwhile, Ville Husso is making a strong case for being the Blues' goalie of the future based on his AHL performance.

There are quite a few other players who possess NHL upside in the system at the various levels. Jake Walman has struggled this season but still has a high-end skill set. Acquiring Nikita Soshnikov was a good gamble at a low cost. Erik Foley, who came over in the Paul Stastny trade, has an NHL future with his mix of speed, power and hard-nosed game. There should be no shortage of options when the Blues have to cycle through some of their more veteran players.

Obviously I’m stoked about Thomas and Kyrou the most but I think I’m more excited about Foley than all the rest of them. He could end being our version of Wayne Simmonds or hopefully similar.

Question for the long term junior hockey fans. Who are some forward prospects from the past that have turned into stars after spending 2 post draft years in junior like Kyrou? It's a genuine question, I'm not trying to be a Kyrou hater at all. I know these days most elite forwards make the jump after 1 year, but I'm assuming there are a fair amount of exceptions.

This all sounds good, but considering how so many others have fallen short of expectations, I'll wait to get excited by what they do on the ice for the Blues.

That DOES NOT mean that I'm not hoping these guys turn out to be great.

barnburner wrote:This all sounds good, but considering how so many others have fallen short of expectations, I'll wait to get excited by what they do on the ice for the Blues.

That DOES NOT mean that I'm not hoping these guys turn out to be great.

Hater

Yeah, we've all been excited, and burned, by some of the Blues FO self-promoted hype on our past prospects, but this is the most, in amount of hype and number of players discussed, by outside media I can remember.

Even if as Billy suggests, if only one or two do pan out as stars, that's still good. As long as we hold on to the right ones. But this is the Blues, so I should type something negative and disparaging about my favorite team since that's what we expect to see happen

NHLTIM wrote:Obviously I’m stoked about Thomas and Kyrou the most but I think I’m more excited about Foley than all the rest of them. He could end being our version of Wayne Simmonds or hopefully similar.

I loved him on the highlight clips and of course, everyone looks good on highlight clips but it was his style play that impressed me, the way he drives the net. He's the type of player this team needs. But he is only 5'11" so there seems to be concern he might be small for the style he plays.

What happened to HockeysFuture.com? They used to keep ratings and articles on each team's prospects, run downs on most of the player, things like that. It looks like all that's left is the message boards now.

Dave's a mess wrote:Question for the long term junior hockey fans. Who are some forward prospects from the past that have turned into stars after spending 2 post draft years in junior like Kyrou? It's a genuine question, I'm not trying to be a Kyrou hater at all. I know these days most elite forwards make the jump after 1 year, but I'm assuming there are a fair amount of exceptions.

I'm not a follower of junior hockey but I do know Matt Barzal of the Islanders played 4 years in the WHL. His first 2 years in Juniors were better than Kyrou's first 2 but Kyrou's last 2 are better than Barzal's last 2. So go figure but there's one example.

ESPN, real hockey gurus.

Dave's a mess wrote:Question for the long term junior hockey fans. Who are some forward prospects from the past that have turned into stars after spending 2 post draft years in junior like Kyrou? ... I know these days most elite forwards make the jump after 1 year, but I'm assuming there are a fair amount of exceptions.

Depends on who you consider "stars" in the NHL, but I gave it a shot. Tough assignment to name even a small fraction - especially when you're focusing on guys who play at forward positions - but with help from this OHL list of alumni starting in the NHL this season & stats from Elite Prospects ...

• Corey Perry - Drafted 2003, played with the London Knights thru the 2004-05 season
• Logan Couture - Drafted 2007, played with the Ottawa 67s thru the 2008-09 season
• Ryan Strome ... EDIT: Included in error. Nowhere near a "star" no matter your definition

Some of it has to do with how young the prospect was when they were drafted. I'm sure if you found a similar list of QMJHL or WHL alumni playing & making names for themselves in the NHL, you'd find a few more examples.


Another wild card in your question is what you consider "junior" hockey. I checked the Tier I USHL-to-NHL alumni list as well. Many of them who didn't get to the NHL right away played for NCAA Div I teams first, which is the primary path for USHL players to advance (both in hockey AND in the rest of life). One "star" who stuck out to me ...

• Joe Pavelski - Drafted 2003, played with the Waterloo Black Hawks in 2003-04, then two years @ Wisconsin.

JMC-STL wrote:

Dave's a mess wrote:Question for the long term junior hockey fans. Who are some forward prospects from the past that have turned into stars after spending 2 post draft years in junior like Kyrou? ... I know these days most elite forwards make the jump after 1 year, but I'm assuming there are a fair amount of exceptions.

Depends on who you consider "stars" in the NHL, but I gave it a shot. Tough assignment to name even a small fraction - especially when you're focusing on guys who play at forward positions - but with help from this OHL list of alumni starting in the NHL this season & stats from Elite Prospects ...

• Corey Perry - Drafted 2003, played with the London Knights thru the 2004-05 season
• Logan Couture - Drafted 2007, played with the Ottawa 67s thru the 2008-09 season
• Ryan Strome - Drafted 2011, played with the Niagara IceDogs thru the 2012-13 season

Some of it has to do with how young the prospect was when they were drafted. I'm sure if you found a similar list of QMJHL or WHL alumni playing & making names for themselves in the NHL, you'd find a few more examples.


Another wild card in your question is what you consider "junior" hockey. I checked the Tier I USHL-to-NHL alumni list as well. Many of them who didn't get to the NHL right away played for NCAA Div I teams first, which is the primary path for USHL players to advance (both in hockey AND in the rest of life). One "star" who stuck out to me ...

• Joe Pavelski - Drafted 2003, played with the Waterloo Black Hawks in 2003-04, then two years @ Wisconsin.

Getzlaf is another who played 2 junior seasons after being drafted.

Dave's a mess wrote:Question for the long term junior hockey fans. Who are some forward prospects from the past that have turned into stars after spending 2 post draft years in junior like Kyrou? It's a genuine question, I'm not trying to be a Kyrou hater at all. I know these days most elite forwards make the jump after 1 year, but I'm assuming there are a fair amount of exceptions.

Mark Scheifele spent two years in junior after being drafted in 2011. He did get the 9 game trial the year he was drafted but then the Jets sent him down and he spent the next two seasons in Barrie. There are others out there as well.
I think there is a big misconception here about Kyrou and the rest of our prospects..none of them are considered to be elite players at the NHL level and I'm not really sure where that's coming from. Are Kyrou and Thomas elite players in juniors...definitely.
We know we have two very good junior players in Thomas and Kyrou but they are realistically 60 point players at best in the NHL level eventually, although Thomas might have a 70pt season or two in him. Kyrou brings other things to the table that this team is lacking...speed and skill, and he will help our PP but if you're expecting 40 goals out of him, you are going to be disappointed.

To many responses to quote all, but thanks for the examples. I've always kind of assumed Thomas would end up becoming the Leauge's best number 2 center. Kyrou seems harder to find player comps for, but certainly a useful skillset for this roster.

More examples, these among the WHL alumni (a surprising number to me) ...

• Ryan Getzlaf (S/T to Tfriede2)
• Kris Versteeg – Drafted 2004, played with the Lethbridge Hurricanes then the Kamloops Blazers then the Red Deer Rebels thru the 2005-06 season
• Brandon Dubinsky – Drafted 2004, played with the Portland Winterhawks thru the 2005-06 season
• Jamie Benn – Drafted 2007, played with the Victoria Grizzles (BCHL) then the Kelowna Rockets thru the 2008-09 season
• Jordan Eberle – Drafted 2008, played with the Regina Pats thru the 2009-10 season
• Dion Phaneuf – Drafted 2003, played with the Red Deer Rebels thru the 2004-05 season
• Eric Fehr – Drafted 2003, played with the Brandon Wheat Kings thru the 2004-05 season


Collected from a CHL article listing alumni from all three member leagues ...

• Brad Marchand - Drafted 2006, played with the Val-d’Or Foreurs then the Halifax Mooseheads thru the 2007-08 season
• Radim Vrbata - Drafted 1999, played with the Hull Olympiques then the Shawinigan Cataractes thru the 2000-01 season
• Claude Giroux - Drafted 2006, played with the Gatineau Olympiques thru the 2007-08 season
• (And one I couldn't resist including, even though he isn't a forward) ... Jake Allen - Drafted 2008, played for the St. John's Fog Devils then the Montréal Juniors then the Drummondville Voltigeurs thru the 2009-10 season


And from a QMJHL alumni list, a star us older guys would recognize ...

• Luc Robitaille - Drafted 1984, played with the Hull Olympiques thru the 1985-86 season


@Dave's a mess ... Damn you for getting me spun up in this!

JMC-STL wrote:More examples, these among the WHL alumni (a surprising number to me) ...

• Ryan Getzlaf (S/T to Tfriede2)
• Kris Versteeg – Drafted 2004, played with the Lethbridge Hurricanes then the Kamloops Blazers then the Red Deer Rebels thru the 2005-06 season
• Brandon Dubinsky – Drafted 2004, played with the Portland Winterhawks thru the 2005-06 season
• Jamie Benn – Drafted 2007, played with the Victoria Grizzles (BCHL) then the Kelowna Rockets thru the 2008-09 season
• Jordan Eberle – Drafted 2008, played with the Regina Pats thru the 2009-10 season
• Dion Phaneuf – Drafted 2003, played with the Red Deer Rebels thru the 2004-05 season
• Eric Fehr – Drafted 2003, played with the Brandon Wheat Kings thru the 2004-05 season


Collected from a CHL article listing alumni from all three member leagues ...

• Brad Marchand - Drafted 2006, played with the Val-d’Or Foreurs then the Halifax Mooseheads thru the 2007-08 season
• Radim Vrbata - Drafted 1999, played with the Hull Olympiques then the Shawinigan Cataractes thru the 2000-01 season
• Claude Giroux - Drafted 2006, played with the Gatineau Olympiques thru the 2007-08 season
• (And one I couldn't resist including, even though he isn't a forward) ... Jake Allen - Drafted 2008, played for the St. John's Fog Devils then the Montréal Juniors then the Drummondville Voltigeurs thru the 2009-10 season


And from a QMJHL alumni list, a star us older guys would recognize ...

• Luc Robitaille - Drafted 1984, played with the Hull Olympiques thru the 1985-86 season


@Dave's a mess ... Damn you for getting me spun up in this!

I've been told I'm a bad influence on a few occaisions.

I'd place The Blues' prospects at around 6th or 7th. They're the deepest, but none of them are elite. Several teams have one elite prospect, and a couple more near, and one or two might have two elite prospects, as Winnipeg did a couple years ago. That makes up for not having large amounts of quality prospects.

i think this surplus of prospects is going to be cut into this summer. were not going to ice 5 rooks next season.

If there is a trade to be made for another scoring winger, or very good center you can trade

Kostin, Berglund, Walman, and a second.

who's got a cap problem we can take advantage of?

Anisimov from the Hawks?
Nino from MN?
Sheahan from PIT?

39hurricane wrote:i think this surplus of prospects is going to be cut into this summer. were not going to ice 5 rooks next season.

If there is a trade to be made for another scoring winger, or very good center you can trade

Kostin, Berglund, Walman, and a second.

who's got a cap problem we can take advantage of?

Anisimov from the Hawks?
Nino from MN?
Sheahan from PIT?

I like your line of thinking Nino Neidereitter or however you spell his name, would love to have him. But what's the odds of getting someone like that from a division rival? But I agree, can we get back to the present and get this team back up to par to being a contender again? This organization needs to think out of the box and make things happen.

BlueinNy wrote:ESPN, real hockey gurus.

You certainly don’t have to read it, was just passing along the opinion piece.

No offense Bill, just think ESPN sucks. The only time they cover NHL is playoffs.

39hurricane wrote:i think this surplus of prospects is going to be cut into this summer. were not going to ice 5 rooks next season.

If there is a trade to be made for another scoring winger, or very good center you can trade

Kostin, Berglund, Walman, and a second.

who's got a cap problem we can take advantage of?

Anisimov from the Hawks?
Nino from MN?
Sheahan from PIT?

If the latest rumors regarding the Leafs wanting to deal for Tavares rights at the draft are true, perhaps Kadri will be available this summer.

NHLTIM wrote: If the latest rumors regarding the Leafs wanting to deal for Tavares rights at the draft are true, perhaps Kadri will be available this summer.

At just a quick glance, the Leafs have 16 mil coming of the books in UFAs this spring. They are going to have a much different looking roster next year.

39hurricane wrote:

NHLTIM wrote: If the latest rumors regarding the Leafs wanting to deal for Tavares rights at the draft are true, perhaps Kadri will be available this summer.

At just a quick glance, the Leafs have 16 mil coming of the books in UFAs this spring. They are going to have a much different looking roster next year.

In reality though, they will have a lot less to work with as you're going to have to pay Marner, Matthews, and Nylander.

BlueinNy wrote:No offense Bill, just think ESPN sucks. The only time they cover NHL is playoffs.

Did the playoffs start and I missed it?

Dave's a mess wrote:

BlueinNy wrote:No offense Bill, just think ESPN sucks. The only time they cover NHL is playoffs.

Did the playoffs start and I missed it?

Where have you been? Blues won the Stanley Cup, Jake Allen got Conn Smythe, and Berglund got the game winning goal in Gm 7.