Draft: 20-Something Area Picks

[seattleblue]

Justin Carbonneau. I think the second ish clip in this package of him scoring every goal he scored this year was against Moncton when I was watching a Pekarcik game and it caught my attention and I deep dived him. Take a look at this player's method of offensive attack and tell me this player wouldn't look good on the Blues ....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uck97UXkPxM

The final Central Scouting has him #16 NA skater

Would love this pick...

That right there is a package of pro style goals. I kind of don't think he's going to be there at 19. But if this kid drops and is available there's a good chance he's my preference. I could so easily envision this set of skills complementing the core we already have.

And to Tim's point about Lakovic he got everyone's attention in a CHL-USA two-game set earlier this year and yeah, if he is there at 19 which I doubt he will be then he'd be a very good pick. Not as physical for the size he has, but he has the competitiveness gene that beginning today we get to see why matters so much, the real season.

[seattleblue]

Lakovic highlights

https://youtu.be/Sx57Z_3DV3E?si=tY4qKRN7VUoE4cw7

Thanks for this. You know who he reminds me of? Tage Thompson. Lakovic is at #14 on the same NA Central Scouting list and I would be pretty happy with this pick. You'll notice at the goal starting around 2:30 against Spokane he is attacking 2-on-1 against our guy Will McIsaac big #18. What do you like the most about Lakovic's game besides his offensive vision, passing & his shot?

[Pierre McGuire]

Lakovic highlights

https://youtu.be/Sx57Z_3DV3E?si=tY4qKRN7VUoE4cw7

Thanks for this. You know who he reminds me of? Tage Thompson. Lakovic is at #14 on the same NA Central Scouting list and I would be pretty happy with this pick. You'll notice at the goal starting around 2:30 against Spokane he is attacking 2-on-1 against our guy Will McIsaac big #18. What do you like the most about Lakovic's game besides his offensive vision, passing & his shot?

I like that he’s big, skilled, skates very well and wants the puck on his stick when the game is on the line. He wants to score the goals but he’s not selfish and as you can see in the video he has great vision for play making.
I’m not concerned about his physical game. I’ve seen him push back when needed. I’ve watched him a lot this season..very good player

[seattleblue]

Lakovic highlights

https://youtu.be/Sx57Z_3DV3E?si=tY4qKRN7VUoE4cw7

Thanks for this. You know who he reminds me of? Tage Thompson. Lakovic is at #14 on the same NA Central Scouting list and I would be pretty happy with this pick. You'll notice at the goal starting around 2:30 against Spokane he is attacking 2-on-1 against our guy Will McIsaac big #18. What do you like the most about Lakovic's game besides his offensive vision, passing & his shot?

I like that he’s big, skilled, skates very well and wants the puck on his stick when the game is on the line. He wants to score the goals but he’s not selfish and as you can see in the video he has great vision for play making.
I’m not concerned about his physical game. I’ve seen him push back when needed. I’ve watched him a lot this season..very good player

I love competitiveness as a standout trait in a prospect. Dvorsky actually has this trait which is why time is on his side.

[seattleblue]

PS – I swear I hadn't read this from the hockey writers scouting report about Lakovic when I referenced Thompson. You could simply see it in that video ...

Big players, regardless of their skill set, take longer to develop. Just look at Tage Thompson, who was selected in the first round of the 2016 Draft but didn’t hit his stride until 2021-22 when he scored 38 goals and 68 points in 78 games, then broke out with a 94-point season the following year. There are a lot of similarities between Thompson and Lakovic – both are tall, lanky forwards who don’t fit the typical power forward mould and instead thrive on deception and playmaking. Likewise, Lakovic could also emerge as an 80-90 point player and a dangerous 5-on-5 threat, but he has a few inconsistencies that need ironing out first.

I would add: this mock draft mirrors my top 6 in its order: Schaefer, Misa, Frondell, Desnoyers, Hagens, Martone
https://www.bleachernation.com/blackhaw ... ojections/

[kimzey59]

Justin Carbonneau. I think the second ish clip in this package of him scoring every goal he scored this year was against Moncton when I was watching a Pekarcik game and it caught my attention and I deep dived him. Take a look at this player's method of offensive attack and tell me this player wouldn't look good on the Blues ....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uck97UXkPxM

The final Central Scouting has him #16 NA skater

1/2-Schaefer Misa
3- 5 Hagens Martone Desnoyers
6-9 Frondell O'Brien Eklund McQueen
10-18 Smith Hensler Mrtka Aitcheson Martin Bear Carboneau Lakovich

Small but not completely impossible odds that one of those guys in the 6-9 bracket drops to 19(McQueen with his injury problems)
VERY high odds that at least one of those guys in the 10-18 bracket drops to 19.
If not; you have the "safe" pick in Malcolm Spence, the home run swing in Ryabkin or 2 incredibly interesting "projects" in Fiddler/Brzustewicz to pick from.

#19 is not a bad place to be picking this year. Wouldn't have wanted to get too much lower than that, but 19 is a solid spot to be in.

[Pierre McGuire]

I actually expect the Blues to draft Fiddler.

[kimzey59]

I actually expect the Blues to draft Fiddler.

Not a terrible project to take on.
Very legit upside to be a top 4 D man.

But there are others I like a LOT more.
I'd be absolutely ecstatic if Logan Hensler fell to us like a lot of the current mocks are suggesting.
Same thing for Brady Martin.
I think the chances are very slim that either happens, but I think those are the two guys that we should be really hoping for right now(at least until our pick gets moved back to 32).

[seattleblue]

Hensler, Boumedienne and Bruzstewicz I have to study more. I think it's a good year to grab a forward in this range but I am not as sure about the defensemen when I think of what we already have and what we need.

Brady Martin I am already sold on. I like several forwards in this range like Martin, Carbonneau, Lakovic. I liked Nesbitt in a couple viewings and I'm a fan of Bear and Spence too.

[Pierre McGuire]

Hensler, Boumedienne and Bruzstewicz I have to study more. I think it's a good year to grab a forward in this range but I am not as sure about the defensemen when I think of what we already have and what we need.

Brady Martin I am already sold on. I like several forwards in this range like Martin, Carbonneau, Lakovic. I liked Nesbitt in a couple viewings and I'm a fan of Bear and Spence too.

Boumedienne has been rising but he’s definitely a guy I’d be interested in with a trade down.
I’d rather have a forward as well if we draft where we think they are gonna draft. Good chance the guy they really want will be gone by then and I think they will jump all over Fiddler at that point.

[seattleblue]

Hensler, Boumedienne and Bruzstewicz I have to study more. I think it's a good year to grab a forward in this range but I am not as sure about the defensemen when I think of what we already have and what we need.

Brady Martin I am already sold on. I like several forwards in this range like Martin, Carbonneau, Lakovic. I liked Nesbitt in a couple viewings and I'm a fan of Bear and Spence too.

Boumedienne has been rising but he’s definitely a guy I’d be interested in with a trade down.
I’d rather have a forward as well if we draft where we think they are gonna draft. Good chance the guy they really want will be gone by then and I think they will jump all over Fiddler at that point.

We differ on Fiddler as you know but let's say he was their target as you suspect. Couldn't they also trade down some spots and pick up another 2d since they don't have one?

[kimzey59]

Hensler, Boumedienne and Bruzstewicz I have to study more. I think it's a good year to grab a forward in this range but I am not as sure about the defensemen when I think of what we already have and what we need.

Brady Martin I am already sold on. I like several forwards in this range like Martin, Carbonneau, Lakovic. I liked Nesbitt in a couple viewings and I'm a fan of Bear and Spence too.

Hensler would be a very legitimate steal at 19. He may not have the offensive game to project as a real top pairing guy but he’s a very safe bet to be a #2/#3 shut down type. I don’t think he actually drops, but if he does you take him and don’t think twice about it. He’s exactly the type you want playing opposite a Broberg type.


Brzustewicz is pretty much the same though a lot more raw offensively. He has offensive tools but he really hasn’t even started putting that side of his game together yet. Defensively, he’s very solid and brings a bit of a mean streak. It’s pretty easy to see a development path for him to become a solid 3/4 defensive specialist(basically a right shooting Lindstein).

Bouwmediene I just can’t get excited about. I think we already have much better LHD prospects in Lindstein and Fischer.

[Bluesfan1978]

Hensler, Boumedienne and Bruzstewicz I have to study more. I think it's a good year to grab a forward in this range but I am not as sure about the defensemen when I think of what we already have and what we need.

Brady Martin I am already sold on. I like several forwards in this range like Martin, Carbonneau, Lakovic. I liked Nesbitt in a couple viewings and I'm a fan of Bear and Spence too.

Hensler would be a very legitimate steal at 19. He may not have the offensive game to project as a real top pairing guy but he’s a very safe bet to be a #2/#3 shut down type. I don’t think he actually drops, but if he does you take him and don’t think twice about it. He’s exactly the type you want playing opposite a Broberg type.


Brzustewicz is pretty much the same though a lot more raw offensively. He has offensive tools but he really hasn’t even started putting that side of his game together yet. Defensively, he’s very solid and brings a bit of a mean streak. It’s pretty easy to see a development path for him to become a solid 3/4 defensive specialist(basically a right shooting Lindstein).

Bouwmediene I just can’t get excited about. I think we already have much better LHD prospects in Lindstein and Fischer.

For what it’s worth I read a scouting report on Brzustewicz that said he showed much better offensive instincts and play in games that Dickison wasn’t in the lineup. Probably a bit more offensive opportunity and different expectation of Brzustewicz when that’s the case as well.
I then watched one of his full games shifts that’s posted when you search him and came away thinking he’d be a top 4 D with maybe some untapped offensive potential. The last point I like about this pick is London often brings their players along slower which could be the case here.
On Fiddler I haven’t seen as much video but he doesn’t seem to have the upside potential Brzustewicz does but he’s also one of the younger 2025 prospects.

[seattleblue]

I can't weigh Cam Reid against the three I said I need more looks at, but I sure would rather have him than Fiddler because I really like this kid's hockey IQ and that's what I dislike about Fiddler. Hockey IQ + competitiveness are very important to me. I think it's because when I was young I was ultra competitive, like ultra ultra. I think 100% confidence in my own intention of competitiveness was difference making. Willing something into existence. When I see a player who's more of a project, it's that I'm not as personally confident in that route, whereas I see hungry smart players who just want to win and I kind of understand that and believe in its outcome.

[Bluesfan1978]

I can't weigh Cam Reid against the three I said I need more looks at, but I sure would rather have him than Fiddler because I really like this kid's hockey IQ and that's what I dislike about Fiddler. Hockey IQ + competitiveness are very important to me. I think it's because when I was young I was ultra competitive, like ultra ultra. I think 100% confidence in my own intention of competitiveness was difference making. Willing something into existence. When I see a player who's more of a project, it's that I'm not as personally confident in that route, whereas I see hungry smart players who just want to win and I kind of understand that and believe in its outcome.

I think competitiveness as a trait for Blues prospects has moved to the top of the list as well as IQ for them as well in recent drafts. I don’t think they want projects as 1st and 2nd round picks that require convincing to do what it takes to win. That 2023 draft and 2024 the 10 or so picks were all 200 foot players that have that passion to what it takes to win. I also think having that willingness to improve is also the trait many of the Blues top round picks have as well. Bolduc had that reputation of eating to always train to improve as well.

[STL fan in MN]

Assuming the Blues don’t make it to the Conference Finals or beyond, they’ll go into the draft with the 19th overall selection. Not really too dissimilar to where they were last year - 16th.

I see the tiers similar to Kimzey. I’ve seen a drop off after the top-9 for a while so when the Blues were in the range, I really didn’t want them to move past 9. But they blew past it and that’s a good thing. Finishing the best team to not make the playoffs like last year? That would’ve been bad. But the playoff experience for the young guys and playing meaningful games is worth dropping down a bit.

1-2: Schaefer, Misa
3-5: Frondell, Desnoyers, Hagens
6-9: O’Brien, Martone, McQueen, Eklund
10-22: Smith, Hennsler, Martin, Carbonneau, Bear, Mrtka, Lakovic, Reschny, Aitcheson, Kindel, Spence, Brzustewicz, Reid

The two I’ll mention are Cole Reschny and Ben Kindel as I haven't seen anyone mention them yet. Both are undersized forwards but very skilled. Honestly, I really want to see what both measure out at at the Combine. I’ve seen them listed at both 5’10” and 5’11”. I’d be much more open to drafting them at 5’11”. But even at 5’10”, they could be a Jaden Schwartz sort of player which would be excellent at 19.

I expect I’ll have some favorites closer to the draft but as of now, I don’t see a lot of separation from the 10-20 range.

I’ll never advocate for drafting for need, particularly in the 1st round but I’m really hoping the Blues don’t end up with a LD as their 1st. Our pool of stock full of those already.

Even though he’s a RD, I’m just not a fan of Fiddler. Seems pretty hockey dumb to me.