Organizational Depth

[Frank Barone]

And btw i still think Kessel is in the mix at RHD i think they give him every opportunity to run with it till he shows he cannot

I'm more bullish on Kessel that most on this board, and I think his long term ceiling is top 4 RD. I think he has better upside than Tucker, who will be limited to 6/7 dman in his career (second coming of Bortuzzo). JMO.

[a smell of green grass]

And btw i still think Kessel is in the mix at RHD i think they give him every opportunity to run with it till he shows he cannot

I'm more bullish on Kessel that most on this board, and I think his long term ceiling is top 4 RD. I think he has better upside than Tucker, who will be limited to 6/7 dman in his career (second coming of Bortuzzo). JMO.

Im curious what you think. Im not sure what to think. What happened with Kessel this year?

[aslord]

Where do you guys find the time in the day to have these ridiculous 3 page arguments about meaningless [shirt]?

[Pierre McGuire]

Where do you guys find the time in the day to have these ridiculous 3 page arguments about meaningless [shirt]?

You aren’t wrong

[STL fan in MN]

And btw i still think Kessel is in the mix at RHD i think they give him every opportunity to run with it till he shows he cannot

I'm more bullish on Kessel that most on this board, and I think his long term ceiling is top 4 RD. I think he has better upside than Tucker, who will be limited to 6/7 dman in his career (second coming of Bortuzzo). JMO.

What have you seen from Kessel that gives you hope he can development into a top-4 guy? I hope you’re right but I just don’t see it. He turns 25 here in a couple weeks. I think he had the opportunity to secure the 3RD spot this season and he blew it. Took a bit of a step back instead of a step forward. It’d be nice if he could secure that spot but I feel the Blues may now replace him with someone better this summer since he didn’t grab the spot for himself this season.

[Pierre McGuire]

Blues didn’t even turn to Kessel when Tucker was injured and Suter was gassed.

[Frank Barone]

And btw i still think Kessel is in the mix at RHD i think they give him every opportunity to run with it till he shows he cannot

I'm more bullish on Kessel that most on this board, and I think his long term ceiling is top 4 RD. I think he has better upside than Tucker, who will be limited to 6/7 dman in his career (second coming of Bortuzzo). JMO.

What have you seen from Kessel that gives you hope he can development into a top-4 guy? I hope you’re right but I just don’t see it. He turns 25 here in a couple wee.ks. I think he had the opportunity to secure the 3RD spot this season and he blew it. Took a bit of a step back instead of a step forward. It’d be nice if he could secure that spot but I feel the Blues may now replace him with someone better this summer since he didn’t grab the spot for himself this season.

I see a good athlete that can move his feet. He's big enough to get a bit stronger. He seems like a smart guy, went to a good academic school. I understand he hasn't grabbed the job and may never do so. He hasn't played a ton of hockey compared to others his age. I said top 4 is his ceiling and he might not get there. His progression may be similar to Mikkola, although does not have Niko's height. Mikkola is 29 and has played his best NHL hockey the past 2-3 seasons. I just believe a smart athlete can improve, and I hope he does.

[STL fan in MN]

And btw i still think Kessel is in the mix at RHD i think they give him every opportunity to run with it till he shows he cannot

I'm more bullish on Kessel that most on this board, and I think his long term ceiling is top 4 RD. I think he has better upside than Tucker, who will be limited to 6/7 dman in his career (second coming of Bortuzzo). JMO.

What have you seen from Kessel that gives you hope he can development into a top-4 guy? I hope you’re right but I just don’t see it. He turns 25 here in a couple wee.ks. I think he had the opportunity to secure the 3RD spot this season and he blew it. Took a bit of a step back instead of a step forward. It’d be nice if he could secure that spot but I feel the Blues may now replace him with someone better this summer since he didn’t grab the spot for himself this season.

I see a good athlete that can move his feet. He's big enough to get a bit stronger. He seems like a smart guy, went to a good academic school. I understand he hasn't grabbed the job and may never do so. He hasn't played a ton of hockey compared to others his age. I said top 4 is his ceiling and he might not get there. His progression may be similar to Mikkola, although does not have Niko's height. Mikkola is 29 and has played his best NHL hockey the past 2-3 seasons. I just believe a smart athlete can improve, and I hope he does.

Him playing college hockey at UMass doesn’t really tell us he has good hockey sense. He may be smart in everyday life (idk, him going to college doesn’t really tell me that) but I don’t see anything above average at best hockey sense out of Kessel. And he contributes pretty much nothing offensively. And I’m not just referring to putting up points. He just doesn’t really help much with transitioning the puck up the ice to the forwards. I see a guy that has the potential to be a #5-7 but he needs to seize the opportunity or he’s going to stay a #7-9 guy.

[brianstlou2]

And btw i still think Kessel is in the mix at RHD i think they give him every opportunity to run with it till he shows he cannot

I'm more bullish on Kessel that most on this board, and I think his long term ceiling is top 4 RD. I think he has better upside than Tucker, who will be limited to 6/7 dman in his career (second coming of Bortuzzo). JMO.

What have you seen from Kessel that gives you hope he can development into a top-4 guy? I hope you’re right but I just don’t see it. He turns 25 here in a couple wee.ks. I think he had the opportunity to secure the 3RD spot this season and he blew it. Took a bit of a step back instead of a step forward. It’d be nice if he could secure that spot but I feel the Blues may now replace him with someone better this summer since he didn’t grab the spot for himself this season.

I see a good athlete that can move his feet. He's big enough to get a bit stronger. He seems like a smart guy, went to a good academic school. I understand he hasn't grabbed the job and may never do so. He hasn't played a ton of hockey compared to others his age. I said top 4 is his ceiling and he might not get there. His progression may be similar to Mikkola, although does not have Niko's height. Mikkola is 29 and has played his best NHL hockey the past 2-3 seasons. I just believe a smart athlete can improve, and I hope he does.

Him playing college hockey at UMass doesn’t really tell us he has good hockey sense. He may be smart in everyday life (idk, him going to college doesn’t really tell me that) but I don’t see anything above average at best hockey sense out of Kessel. And he contributes pretty much nothing offensively. And I’m not just referring to putting up points. He just doesn’t really help much with transitioning the puck up the ice to the forwards. I see a guy that has the potential to be a #5-7 but he needs to seize the opportunity or he’s going to stay a #7-9 guy.

Agreed. Even when Kessell first came up and everyone was all googly eyed with him, I never saw it. I just remember mistakes and panic with the puck. And then last year was worse. I do not believe he will ever be a regular in the NHL.

[Kariyadog]

Yeah, I’d put my chips on Tucker over Kessel. Tucker really upped his game this year. Kessel looked worse than he did last year.

[Boomac]

Yeah, I’d put my chips on Tucker over Kessel. Tucker really upped his game this year. Kessel looked worse than he did last year.

+1. Tucker has shown he can handle the #6 role. Kessel needs to have the type of season Tucker had last year.

Up until the New Year I thought Tucker's development had stalled, so you never know. Though, I don't think Kessel has the same hockey sense or something niche like Tucker's physical play.

[moose-and-squirrel]

Yeah, I’d put my chips on Tucker over Kessel. Tucker really upped his game this year. Kessel looked worse than he did last year.

+1. Tucker has shown he can handle the #6 role. Kessel needs to have the type of season Tucker had last year.

Up until the New Year I thought Tucker's development had stalled, so you never know. Though, I don't think Kessel has the same hockey sense or something niche like Tucker's physical play.

add in that Monty seems to be a big fan of Tucker

[dhsux]

Yeah, I’d put my chips on Tucker over Kessel. Tucker really upped his game this year. Kessel looked worse than he did last year.

+1. Tucker has shown he can handle the #6 role. Kessel needs to have the type of season Tucker had last year.

Up until the New Year I thought Tucker's development had stalled, so you never know. Though, I don't think Kessel has the same hockey sense or something niche like Tucker's physical play.

Tucker did stall. He went down. The Blues gave Peru another small window to prove himself and he didn't.

Tucker came back up and stayed since.

I love his desire in game. And he will shoot the puck. He likes to shoot the puck. And not looking it up but his shots get through. Some even go in.

This and his gritty play on the Blue line filled a pretty big need.