seattleblue wrote: ↑28 Jun 2025 12:06 pm
unclesals427 wrote: ↑28 Jun 2025 08:23 am
I’ve been a bit out of it for the last year or two.
Anyone want to do a summary of our prospect pool where it stands or point to an older post that does?
My quickflash rankings of the top 10:
1. Dalibor Dvorsky, C – a linchpin scoring center that we very much need and who I'm highly confident in
2. Jimmy Snuggerud, RW – showed in 14 NHL games that he is going to be legit
3. Theo Lindstein, LD – he played for Brynas in Sweden, they lost the SHL championship in six and he was getting #6 minutes around 15 min a game. He looks so smooth, poised and on track. Skates fluidly in all points of direction, unflappable style, future top 4 defenseman. 2-4 range. I personally see a #2 defenseman who can handle a ton of minutes, but it's going to be a ramp up like most defensemen. He is really aligned with Fowler's spot. Actually the trio of Fowler, Broberg and Lindstein are the contenders for the top two LD spots in the coming years and we'll see how it plays out. There is also the wild card idea that he could flip over to RHD if the Blues landed someone dominant on LD they have to play there instead of the RHD piece most of us think they need.
4. Justin Carbonneau, RW – he is either 3 or 4 but Lindstein has earned 3 so I am loath to new toy syndrome him above Lindstein, but I do love Carbonneau and was touting him here for awhile. The reason I have compared him to Holloway is purely in the energy with which they hack the offensive zone with interruptive high IQ plays that are almost chaotic and then can finish with skill. It's the thing that makes Holloway special and it's the thing that makes Carbonneau special.
5. Otto Stenberg, LW/swiss army knife – It is painful to see this player as low as 5 on my board. I love Otto Stenberg's future with the Blues. Comp is Alex Steen as a player.
6. Lukas Fischer, LD – would be a first rounder this year if two weeks younger (would be same age as Aitcheson). 6'5" son of an NHL Director of Player Development. Skates very well, very physical, can hammer the puck from the blue line & score, tons of minutes for his junior team, Sarnia. He is already their captain and will be again this year.
7. Adam Jiricek, RD – his skating is phenomenal. 6'2" beanpole with an offensive mindset, He can backward glide at speed. He is a complete mess in his decisionmaking or he is being coached terribly, and he is riddled with knee and concussion issues already. I feel I have to keep him at 7 but he is in limbo and next year is huge for him, he got zero consistency in his play this year.
8. Jakub Stancl, LW – this Czech winger is done with the WHL and on to the AHL. I watched him more closely than any of our prospects, 40+ full games this past season. His performance in the WJC is going to stay with me a long time. The player dominated his peers under pressure. That's good. I am very clear in my assessment he is above Pekarcik who I also saw many full games of this year.
9. Quinton Burns, LD – also an OHL captain now finished with juniors and onto the AHL. This large mean redhead is a lefty Tucker. Excellent defensively, all the toughest assignments. He has the Ryan Suter/Tyler Tucker poker face in the way he is always in it physically. He has enough puck skills to get some points but he's not going to be a point producer. He would build out his game similar to Tucker in the NHL, first the defense then he could start to sneak into the play and get points which he knows how to do. He made a lights out defensive play on Misa this year I happened to catch that dropped my jaw. He just feels like an NHL player to me. A sheriff on the back end.
10. Juraj Pekarcik, LW – others will rank him higher but I'm super confident the nine player above him are better. He is part of the solution offensively but what's going to hold him back is his high center of gravity skating and the ease with which larger NHL players will push him off the play.
HM: Ralph, Kaskimaki & Dean could each have claim to be in the top 10, and Mrsic has one of the best shots of any prospect we have which is saying a lot. Carbonneau is a big linebacker and Mrsic is more slight and needs space to be deadly (which he is)