Kyrou was drafted when the Blues were one of the best 5 teams in the league for well over a decade and we had a beyond full lineup.WilliamWestcliffe wrote: ↑02 Jul 2025 17:27 pmOther than observation?TheJackBurton wrote: ↑02 Jul 2025 16:12 pmok what are you basing that on?WilliamWestcliffe wrote: ↑02 Jul 2025 12:30 pm That account is garbage.
That said, the Blues were absolutely trying to move Kyrou AND when Mailloux hits his prime in 2-3 years, Bolduc will be the better player than Kyrou.
It was a desperation move by Armstrong and I firmly believe it was a below average trade compared to what could/should have been done.
We can compare their draft slot:
J.Kyrou 35th overall (2nd round)
Z.Bolduc 17th overall (drafted higher than T.Thompson, J.Kyrou, R.Thomas, J.Neighbors, J.Snuggerud, O.Stenberg, T.Lindstein and J.Carbonneau
We can compare their age:
J.Kyrou - 27 years old
Z.Bolduc - 22 years old
We can compare their age 22 seasons (I'll even give you Kyrou's extrapolated to 72 games):
J.Kyrou - age 22 | 28 gp | 4 g | 9 pts | +1
J.Kyrou - age 22 | 72 gp | 10 g | 23 pts | +1
Z.Bolduc- age 22 | 72 gp | 19 g | 36 pts | +20
You may argue "what about their first full rookie seasons?". Sure:
J.Kyrou - age 24 | 74 gp | 27 g | 75 pts | +10 *playing w/ R.Thomas and P.Buchnevich
Z.Bolduc - age 22 | 72 gp | 19 g | 36 pts | +20 *playing w/ O.Sundqvist and M.Joseph
So, yes, in my opinion, comparing rookie seasons, with Kyrou being 2 years older, playing with Thomas and Buchnevich vs. Sundqvist and Joseph, and playing on average 4 more minutes per night...I think Bolduc has both the draft capital and the type of rookie season that tells me in 2-3 more years, he will be the better player than a 30 year old Jordan Kyrou.
There was no room for him on the team, and when he did get his shots early he was played sparingly because the lineup 1-9 was full.
Hell if it weren't the fact he was 18 I sincerely doubt Thomas is on the squad at 18.
The NHL is absolutely littered with players who have come up and lit the world on fire only to have a disastrous sophomore campaign.
We can predict anything, and at least you did state it was your opinion, but not many guys produce 3 consecutive 30+ goal seasons, because it is an extremely hard thing to do.
Lastly your "extrapolation" is just you guessing. His age 23 season when he went 74-27-48-75.
I sincerely hope Bolduc puts up a line like that, but I doubt he will. More minutes equals more exposure, equals tougher matchups, equals tougher defensive assignment. Other than Suzuki Montreal is incredibly bad at center so it won't be an easy year for him.
If all Bolduc averages is 20-25-45 that's still a really solid year.