Ozzies09tc wrote: Fri Jul 07, 2023 9:41 am Very cool and raises my optimism for the future!

Dread_Pirate_Westley wrote: Great piece this morning about the Blues prospects, the depth of it, the tiers they are in and comments on them from Blues director of player personnel, Tim Taylor.

https://theathletic.com/4668436/2023/07 ... ed_article

They listed Dvorsky, Bolduc, and Snug in their "Blue chips" tier. Imagine them on a line together in a couple years. Could be exciting times ahead.

But the two that jumped off the page to me was the comparison Taylor made on Zach Dean and Buchinger.

Taylor: “He’s a good, solid, two-way forward. I went and watched the playoff series, Gatineau against Quebec, in the QMJHL semifinals, and it was a heck of a series. Zach was a very prominent player. He was on the ice in every different situation. He was a leader on that team. He won the scoring championship in the Quebec league, after only playing three rounds. He was just a dominant player. Every time he was on the ice, something happened, and whether he scored a goal or not, he made plays. He’s a little more tenacious and heavier (6-feet, 176 pounds) than Doug Gilmour, but he has attributes of being that guy that leads both ways.”

Taylor: “He reminds me a lot of (former Blues defenseman) Vince Dunn. He skates real smooth, makes cut-backs and moves the puck up ice really well. He has a lot of similarities to Dunn, and we always liked Dunn as a player. ‘Buch’ has done a good job. He had a great year last year, and we expect him to be on Team Canada for the world junior team this year. That’s going to be another great experience for him.”

Blues also have TWO 7th round Russians making noise in the prospect rankings.

BluesSK wrote: Wed Jun 28, 2023 10:09 pm

Robb_K wrote: Wed Jun 28, 2023 10:04 pm

NHLTIM wrote: Wed Jun 28, 2023 9:25 pm Holy euro draft....straying from the North American player. that will come back to bite them down the road

Shades of Kekkalainen. We all thought hiring him as Chief Amateur Scout was genious, as he'd find all the European "sleepers". But most of his picks, despite their great skating ability and high skill levels, fizzled out. It turned out that turning back to heavily Canadian and US-bred players, chosen by Bill Armstrong, was a lot better. But, I think picking 3 out of 3 European 1st Round choices was just a coincidence, based on how the board fell. I don't think it is is the start of a Blues' operational trend.

I totally agree Robb.

BillP. wrote: Fri Jul 07, 2023 11:33 am

Dread_Pirate_Westley wrote: Great piece this morning about the Blues prospects, the depth of it, the tiers they are in and comments on them from Blues director of player personnel, Tim Taylor.

https://theathletic.com/4668436/2023/07 ... ed_article

They listed Dvorsky, Bolduc, and Snug in their "Blue chips" tier. Imagine them on a line together in a couple years. Could be exciting times ahead.

But the two that jumped off the page to me was the comparison Taylor made on Zach Dean and Buchinger.

Taylor: “He’s a good, solid, two-way forward. I went and watched the playoff series, Gatineau against Quebec, in the QMJHL semifinals, and it was a heck of a series. Zach was a very prominent player. He was on the ice in every different situation. He was a leader on that team. He won the scoring championship in the Quebec league, after only playing three rounds. He was just a dominant player. Every time he was on the ice, something happened, and whether he scored a goal or not, he made plays. He’s a little more tenacious and heavier (6-feet, 176 pounds) than Doug Gilmour, but he has attributes of being that guy that leads both ways.”

Taylor: “He reminds me a lot of (former Blues defenseman) Vince Dunn. He skates real smooth, makes cut-backs and moves the puck up ice really well. He has a lot of similarities to Dunn, and we always liked Dunn as a player. ‘Buch’ has done a good job. He had a great year last year, and we expect him to be on Team Canada for the world junior team this year. That’s going to be another great experience for him.”

Blues also have TWO 7th round Russians making noise in the prospect rankings.

Apparently he liked Tanner Dickinson a lot too. But comparing Zach Dean to Doug Gilmour? Whoa Nelly!
Article makes you think a Cup is coming soon - ha
If it's as good as it sounds, we will be getting that 2nd Cup.

Robb_K wrote: Fri Jul 07, 2023 12:11 pm

BillP. wrote: Fri Jul 07, 2023 11:33 am

Dread_Pirate_Westley wrote: Great piece this morning about the Blues prospects, the depth of it, the tiers they are in and comments on them from Blues director of player personnel, Tim Taylor.

https://theathletic.com/4668436/2023/07 ... ed_article

They listed Dvorsky, Bolduc, and Snug in their "Blue chips" tier. Imagine them on a line together in a couple years. Could be exciting times ahead.

But the two that jumped off the page to me was the comparison Taylor made on Zach Dean and Buchinger.

Taylor: “He’s a good, solid, two-way forward. I went and watched the playoff series, Gatineau against Quebec, in the QMJHL semifinals, and it was a heck of a series. Zach was a very prominent player. He was on the ice in every different situation. He was a leader on that team. He won the scoring championship in the Quebec league, after only playing three rounds. He was just a dominant player. Every time he was on the ice, something happened, and whether he scored a goal or not, he made plays. He’s a little more tenacious and heavier (6-feet, 176 pounds) than Doug Gilmour, but he has attributes of being that guy that leads both ways.”

Taylor: “He reminds me a lot of (former Blues defenseman) Vince Dunn. He skates real smooth, makes cut-backs and moves the puck up ice really well. He has a lot of similarities to Dunn, and we always liked Dunn as a player. ‘Buch’ has done a good job. He had a great year last year, and we expect him to be on Team Canada for the world junior team this year. That’s going to be another great experience for him.”

Blues also have TWO 7th round Russians making noise in the prospect rankings.

Apparently he liked Tanner Dickinson a lot too. But comparing Zach Dean to Doug Gilmour? Whoa Nelly!
Article makes you think a Cup is coming soon - ha
If it's as good as it sounds, we will be getting that 2nd Cup.

Yes! Dean on his best day ever, wouldn't come anywhere near Gilmour's offensive skill level. But I'm glad The Blues got Dean, and he should help this team a lot, with his reasonably high-level 2-way play (which is something The Blues sorely need to get back throughout their lineup.

Dread_Pirate_Westley wrote: Mon Aug 07, 2023 9:37 pm Blues have released a documentary on their 2023 draft process. Should be a really fun watch

Dread_Pirate_Westley wrote: Takeaways:

Stenberg was clearly a guy they targeted and wasn't some panic pick because another guy got snagged before them.

I think if the Blues had some how ended up with the #2 pick they were going to talk themselves out of Fantilli, like the Ducks did and probably would've gone Carlsson.

Nice to hear they had Lindstein as both Elite skating and Elite hockey sense. Two GREAT qualities to have in a d-man.

It's definitive the Blues had Dvorsky higher than Danielson. Easily. They discussed moving UP to get him and Army's intiial reaction to him possibly being there at 10 was a surprised "really?"...also confirmed GMs definitely look at mock draft websites. But the Danielson vs Dvosrky decision had Detroit gone a different direction can be put to bed. Blues wouldn't even had made the pick at 10 if Dvorsky was gone. Which might have sent Tim into a downward spiral of them trading out of Danielson.

I think it was Buffalo they had the deal with not Arizona because he talked about the 13th pick which is the Sabres, they also have pick 39 even though he said 4 in the top 38. Canadian math I guess.

DA still calls Keith Tkachuk, Walter lol

BillP. wrote: Tue Aug 08, 2023 9:47 am

Dread_Pirate_Westley wrote: Takeaways:

Stenberg was clearly a guy they targeted and wasn't some panic pick because another guy got snagged before them.

I think if the Blues had some how ended up with the #2 pick they were going to talk themselves out of Fantilli, like the Ducks did and probably would've gone Carlsson.

Nice to hear they had Lindstein as both Elite skating and Elite hockey sense. Two GREAT qualities to have in a d-man.

It's definitive the Blues had Dvorsky higher than Danielson. Easily. They discussed moving UP to get him and Army's intiial reaction to him possibly being there at 10 was a surprised "really?"...also confirmed GMs definitely look at mock draft websites. But the Danielson vs Dvosrky decision had Detroit gone a different direction can be put to bed. Blues wouldn't even had made the pick at 10 if Dvorsky was gone. Which might have sent Tim into a downward spiral of them trading out of Danielson.

I think it was Buffalo they had the deal with not Arizona because he talked about the 13th pick which is the Sabres, they also have pick 39 even though he said 4 in the top 38. Canadian math I guess.

DA still calls Keith Tkachuk, Walter lol

It was in the video? I missed that.

I didn't want Danielson. He was compared to Yanni Gourde. Thanks, but no thanks. I'll shoot for something bigger please.
Glad the Blues saw it that way too.

Dread_Pirate_Westley wrote: Tue Aug 08, 2023 9:06 am Takeaways:

Stenberg was clearly a guy they targeted and wasn't some panic pick because another guy got snagged before them.

I think if the Blues had some how ended up with the #2 pick they were going to talk themselves out of Fantilli, like the Ducks did and probably would've gone Carlsson.

Nice to hear they had Lindstein as both Elite skating and Elite hockey sense. Two GREAT qualities to have in a d-man.

It's definitive the Blues had Dvorsky higher than Danielson. Easily. They discussed moving UP to get him and Army's intiial reaction to him possibly being there at 10 was a surprised "really?"...also confirmed GMs definitely look at mock draft websites. But the Danielson vs Dvosrky decision had Detroit gone a different direction can be put to bed. Blues wouldn't even had made the pick at 10 if Dvorsky was gone. Which might have sent Tim into a downward spiral of them trading out of Danielson.

I think it was Buffalo they had the deal with not Arizona because he talked about the 13th pick which is the Sabres, they also have pick 39 even though he said 4 in the top 38. Canadian math I guess.

DA still calls Keith Tkachuk, Walter lol

BluesSK wrote: Tue Aug 08, 2023 10:17 am

Dread_Pirate_Westley wrote: Tue Aug 08, 2023 9:06 am Takeaways:

Stenberg was clearly a guy they targeted and wasn't some panic pick because another guy got snagged before them.

I think if the Blues had some how ended up with the #2 pick they were going to talk themselves out of Fantilli, like the Ducks did and probably would've gone Carlsson.

Nice to hear they had Lindstein as both Elite skating and Elite hockey sense. Two GREAT qualities to have in a d-man.

It's definitive the Blues had Dvorsky higher than Danielson. Easily. They discussed moving UP to get him and Army's intiial reaction to him possibly being there at 10 was a surprised "really?"...also confirmed GMs definitely look at mock draft websites. But the Danielson vs Dvosrky decision had Detroit gone a different direction can be put to bed. Blues wouldn't even had made the pick at 10 if Dvorsky was gone. Which might have sent Tim into a downward spiral of them trading out of Danielson.

I think it was Buffalo they had the deal with not Arizona because he talked about the 13th pick which is the Sabres, they also have pick 39 even though he said 4 in the top 38. Canadian math I guess.

DA still calls Keith Tkachuk, Walter lol

Buffalo had the 13th and 39th pick and Arizona has the 12th and 38th so maybe it was. I went with Arizona because they have a good relationship with the GM.

The thing about all their talk about Dvorsky is that we only hear what wasn't cut. They could have been really high on another top ten pick as well. But there is no question they were fairly locked in on him and were happy with the result

Regarding the Carlson vs. Fantilli pick. It was clear the Blues put a lot of time and effort into their scouting in Sweden and still are with bringing Steen back into the fold so they had a good grasp of the talent level of who would ultimately end up #2.

Dread_Pirate_Westley wrote: Pronmon has updated the prospect rankings post draft. Blues are ranked 18th. They were 29th last year.

I think most interesting is Bolduc doesn't get mentioned til #7. He greatly questions his compete level and think he's too content to just play on the perimeter.

Here's the top five.

Player Ranking
1. Dalibor Dvorsky, C

6/15/2005 | 6-foot-1 | 200 pounds | Shoots left

Drafted: No. 10 in 2023
Tier: Top of the lineup player

Skating: Below NHL average
Puck skills: Above NHL average
Hockey sense: NHL average
Compete: Above NHL average
Shot: Above NHL average

Analysis: Dvorsky is quite dangerous inside the offensive zone. He has excellent puck skills in small areas and can make checkers miss routinely in open ice. He can make tough plays and find seams. He excels as a goal scorer, though, with a wrist shot and one-timer that he can often finish from range. Dvorsky’s compete is good, he wins puck battles and he isn’t shy from using his body. Like a lot of shooters, he can stay too much on the perimeter instead of taking it to the net, but I never watch his games and think he lacks effort. His footspeed is going to be an issue for higher levels. I think with his offensive talent, his work ethic and strong and consistent track record of scoring he finds a way to become a very important part of an NHL lineup, but I’m less sure of whether he sticks down the middle or has to be a winger due to his skating.

2. Jimmy Snuggerud, RW

6/1/2004 | 6-foot-1 | 186 pounds | Shoots right

Drafted: No. 23 in 2022
Tier: Bubble top and middle of the lineup player

Skating: Below NHL average
Puck skills: NHL average
Hockey sense: Above NHL average
Compete: Above NHL average
Shot: Above NHL average

Analysis: Snuggerud had a great season. He was a big part of the success of Minnesota’s top line and was one of the better forwards at the world juniors. Snuggerud is full of skill and offensive creativity. He makes difficult dekes and passes seem routine and despite not having great footspeed he generates a lot of controlled entries with his skill. Inside the zone, he’s a pass and shot threat and can impact a power play. Snuggerud has a decent frame, competes hard for pucks and can generate offense at the net. His skating is the only real issue in his game, but everything else says top six wing which is what I think he projects as.

3. Otto Stenberg, C

5/29/2005 | 5-foot-11 | 185 pounds | Shoots left

Drafted: No. 25 in 2023
Tier: Middle of the lineup player

Skating: NHL average
Puck skills: NHL average
Hockey sense: NHL average
Compete: Above NHL average
Shot: Above NHL average

Analysis: There is a lot to like about Stenberg’s game. He is a strong skater with good hands who can be a threat in transition. His shot is excellent, and Stenberg is often a threat to score from the faceoff dots, although I don’t know if that will be his role on an NHL power play. Stenberg isn’t the biggest forward, but he gives an honest effort every night and doesn’t shy from going into traffic. His hockey sense is good enough to score at higher levels, and he’s certainly more of a shooter than a passer. He’s listed as a center but is likely a pro winger. I could see him as a second or third line wing in the NHL.

4. Jake Neighbours, LW

3/29/2002 | 6-feet | 201 pounds | Shoots left

Drafted: No. 26 in 2020
Tier: Middle of the lineup player

Skating: Below NHL average
Puck skills: NHL average
Hockey sense: NHL average
Compete: High-end

Analysis: Neighbours split time as a rookie pro between the AHL and NHL putting up solid but not amazing numbers. He has strong puck skills and offensive instincts and a decent shot, but I don’t think pure offense is what Neighbours is going to be known for. He is a true competitor, though, who doesn’t shy from getting involved in physical play, kills penalties well and gives a good effort every game. His skating is average but the work ethic should be good enough to compensate to become a middle six wing.

5. Zach Dean, C

1/4/2003 | 6-feet | 176 pounds | Shoots left

Acquired via trade
Tier: Middle of the lineup player

Skating: NHL average
Puck skills: NHL average
Hockey sense: Below NHL average
Compete: Above NHL average
Shot: High-end

Analysis: Dean was very good in his final QMJHL season and made Canada’s U20 team. He’s not going to land on many highlight reels, but Dean has a lot of NHL qualities. He has good speed and hands, and projects to create controlled exits and entries at the NHL level. He’s a competitive forward who has a physical edge in his game. Dean isn’t the most prolific scorer ever, but he has an excellent shot that can beat pro goalies from range. He has the qualities to be a middle six forward, and if he stays down the middle he could be a 3C.



https://theathletic.com/4793929/2023/08 ... -rankings/

Dread_Pirate_Westley wrote: Wed Aug 23, 2023 1:50 pm I also think it's interesting how highly Neighbours is still thought of because there's Blues fans that think he's already on his last life.

Dread_Pirate_Westley wrote: Wed Aug 23, 2023 1:50 pm I also think it's interesting how highly Neighbours is still thought of because there's Blues fans that think he's already on his last life.

BluesSK wrote: Wed Aug 23, 2023 4:38 pm

Dread_Pirate_Westley wrote: Wed Aug 23, 2023 1:50 pm I also think it's interesting how highly Neighbours is still thought of because there's Blues fans that think he's already on his last life.

The local media guys have been saying he's a middle of the lineup guy and to date he hasn't really shown it. I think it's less of a last life and more of unfulfilled expectations.

Ozzies09tc wrote: Wed Aug 23, 2023 7:58 pm

BluesSK wrote: Wed Aug 23, 2023 4:38 pm

Dread_Pirate_Westley wrote: Wed Aug 23, 2023 1:50 pm I also think it's interesting how highly Neighbours is still thought of because there's Blues fans that think he's already on his last life.

The local media guys have been saying he's a middle of the lineup guy and to date he hasn't really shown it. I think it's less of a last life and more of unfulfilled expectations.

We're really good at drafting patrick berglund's

BillP. wrote: Wed Aug 23, 2023 9:38 amHope Bolduc has a lethal shot. That's exactly what I always bitched about with Tage Thompson, big tall lanky dude and he wants to fancy stick on the perimeter. Well, I'll be damn, he made it happen and he did it his way