Jakub Stancl

[seattleblue]

Do not sleep on this player. He's an afterthought due to his draft spot, but this is the exact kind of player who improves dramatically.

I never wanted to get into it before because people love to distort any outlier opinion, and they have and will with this exact opinion, which is why I now post here, but if I had to keep one and trade one I'm keeping Stancl and trading Bolduc. Midseason I had Stancl 5 and Bolduc 7. The two things I'd like to see him keep improving are skating and faceoffs. His mind contains a complete 200' game. I'll say it again, a fast Stancl is a problem for other teams.

[Pierre McGuire]

He’s going to be a great player..have been saying it since we first saw him in the WJC’s a couple of years ago.

[Frank Underwood]

Do not sleep on this player. He's an afterthought due to his draft spot, but this is the exact kind of player who improves dramatically.

I never wanted to get into it before because people love to distort any outlier opinion, and they have and will with this exact opinion, which is why I now post here, but if I had to keep one and trade one I'm keeping Stancl and trading Bolduc. Midseason I had Stancl 5 and Bolduc 7. The two things I'd like to see him keep improving are skating and faceoffs. His mind contains a complete 200' game. I'll say it again, a fast Stancl is a problem for other teams.

You have watched him much more than I have, but agree with your opinion. I would not be shocked if he makes the team out of camp - probably not, but certainly a possibility. Between Stancl, Stenberg, and Carbonneau on the wing, the Blues are going to be making some additional trades over the next year or so.

[Francis Park Thug]

Do not sleep on this player. He's an afterthought due to his draft spot, but this is the exact kind of player who improves dramatically.

I never wanted to get into it before because people love to distort any outlier opinion, and they have and will with this exact opinion, which is why I now post here, but if I had to keep one and trade one I'm keeping Stancl and trading Bolduc. Midseason I had Stancl 5 and Bolduc 7. The two things I'd like to see him keep improving are skating and faceoffs. His mind contains a complete 200' game. I'll say it again, a fast Stancl is a problem for other teams.

Wow! That's a bold choice.
Why was he drafted where he was?
What player does he compare?

[Younghopp1991]

Do not sleep on this player. He's an afterthought due to his draft spot, but this is the exact kind of player who improves dramatically.

I never wanted to get into it before because people love to distort any outlier opinion, and they have and will with this exact opinion, which is why I now post here, but if I had to keep one and trade one I'm keeping Stancl and trading Bolduc. Midseason I had Stancl 5 and Bolduc 7. The two things I'd like to see him keep improving are skating and faceoffs. His mind contains a complete 200' game. I'll say it again, a fast Stancl is a problem for other teams.

Based on how much you have seen him, is he someone who can start his career on the 4th line or do you think he needs a top 9 to break the lineup like they said with dvo and snuggs? Im just not real familiar with his game outside of highlights.

[kimzey59]

Do not sleep on this player. He's an afterthought due to his draft spot, but this is the exact kind of player who improves dramatically.

I never wanted to get into it before because people love to distort any outlier opinion, and they have and will with this exact opinion, which is why I now post here, but if I had to keep one and trade one I'm keeping Stancl and trading Bolduc. Midseason I had Stancl 5 and Bolduc 7. The two things I'd like to see him keep improving are skating and faceoffs. His mind contains a complete 200' game. I'll say it again, a fast Stancl is a problem for other teams.

Wow! That's a bold choice.
Why was he drafted where he was?
What player does he compare?

There’s a lot of Backes in his game. I don’t know that he can move to center like Backes did(personally I think it’s worth experimenting) but he has the same straight forward game with attention to defensive detail that Backes had. The kid is a bull.

[Bluesfan1978]

He’s also known to have a pretty good shot isn’t he? Is it as good as Bolduc’s?

[ClassicO]

Some concerns about being a two-way player? He was -9 in only 10 games at Springfield last year (33rd on the team). He was -18 in the WHL.
He was outstanding at the World Juniors.

[STL fan in MN]

Do not sleep on this player. He's an afterthought due to his draft spot, but this is the exact kind of player who improves dramatically.

I never wanted to get into it before because people love to distort any outlier opinion, and they have and will with this exact opinion, which is why I now post here, but if I had to keep one and trade one I'm keeping Stancl and trading Bolduc. Midseason I had Stancl 5 and Bolduc 7. The two things I'd like to see him keep improving are skating and faceoffs. His mind contains a complete 200' game. I'll say it again, a fast Stancl is a problem for other teams.

Wow! That's a bold choice.
Why was he drafted where he was?
What player does he compare?

He wasn’t drafted high because his skating was quite poor in his draft year and he wasn’t putting up much of any points back then either.

I’m not quite as high on Stancl as Seattle is but would agree he’s a sleeper to keep an eye on. Agree that a fast Stancl would be a big problem for teams…but he’s not currently a fast Stancl. He has improved his skating quite a bit though and that would be the main reason why his trajectory is considered higher now IMO.

I’m not great with comparables but maybe someone like a winger version of Michel Handzus?

What I see in Stancl is a player with 3rd line caliber skill, a plus shot, high compete level, size and absolutely a willingness to improve and work on the things he needs to to get better. I think he’ll have a good AHL rookie season this year. I see him more as a LW than C but he’s played C so we’ll see where the T-birds end up playing him.

[seattleblue]

Maybe Joel Ward as a comp? Ward played the other wing but both had similar frame and style using their body to protect the puck. Wins puck battles, not super flashy, but reliable two way player middle six winger, opportunistic scorer, limited foot speed. Ward was undrafted and a late bloomer.

I also think about Handzus but faceoffs were a particular strength of his so I hold back on that one. Still you felt warm and safe having that dependable player on the ice for you late in games and also in the playoffs.

[STL fan in MN]

Some concerns about being a two-way player? He was -9 in only 10 games at Springfield last year (33rd on the team). He was -18 in the WHL.
He was outstanding at the World Juniors.

No. Kelowna was horrible last season, especially after the trade deadline, and Stancl was always out there against the opposition’s best. The team worst +/- was -41.

His -9 in 10 AHL games tells me he wasn’t quite ready for that level yet but the point was for him to experience pro hockey to see the pace to give him a better idea of what all he needs to improve on this summer to be able to go in there and be a good pro this fall. Going from Jrs to the AHL is said to be the hardest transition there is so not surprised he didn’t exactly tear it up when he was assigned to Springfield once his WHL season was over.

But thoughts of him making the Blues out of camp yet this season are lofty. That’s just not going to happen IMO.

[STL fan in MN]

Do not sleep on this player. He's an afterthought due to his draft spot, but this is the exact kind of player who improves dramatically.

I never wanted to get into it before because people love to distort any outlier opinion, and they have and will with this exact opinion, which is why I now post here, but if I had to keep one and trade one I'm keeping Stancl and trading Bolduc. Midseason I had Stancl 5 and Bolduc 7. The two things I'd like to see him keep improving are skating and faceoffs. His mind contains a complete 200' game. I'll say it again, a fast Stancl is a problem for other teams.

Based on how much you have seen him, is he someone who can start his career on the 4th line or do you think he needs a top 9 to break the lineup like they said with dvo and snuggs? Im just not real familiar with his game outside of highlights.

He definitely has the intangibles coaches would look for in a 3rd or 4th line player. So yeah, once he’s NHL ready, starting him out on the 4th line would make a ton of sense.

[seattleblue]

Some concerns about being a two-way player? He was -9 in only 10 games at Springfield last year (33rd on the team). He was -18 in the WHL.
He was outstanding at the World Juniors.

No. Kelowna was horrible last season, especially after the trade deadline, and Stancl was always out there against the opposition’s best. The team worst +/- was -41.

His -9 in 10 AHL games tells me he wasn’t quite ready for that level yet but the point was for him to experience pro hockey to see the pace to give him a better idea of what all he needs to improve on this summer to be able to go in there and be a good pro this fall. Going from Jrs to the AHL is said to be the hardest transition there is so not surprised he didn’t exactly tear it up when he was assigned to Springfield once his WHL season was over.

But thoughts of him making the Blues out of camp yet this season are lofty. That’s just not going to happen IMO.

I have no expectation of him making the team out of camp. I am open to any positive surprise with this kid though. He is shy and mature, inwardly composed. Competitive. I saw an interview where they said (in paraphrase) "hey the knock on you is your skating are you doing anything about that" and he had a shy smile like "yes I am aware of that and yes I believe I am working on that" to his reply that made me trust him. I genuinely think he surprised himself with how dominant his WJC was. He was as dominant as any player at that entire tournament. That doesn't just happen, there's something very real here.

[DutchBlue]

The handzus comparison I have seen more often, knowing that you have been very positive on him seattle, what distinguishes the two? Stancl more of a shooter?

[somni]

That 2023 draft for the Blues is really starting to show and could be a game changer for the Blues. Good projections so far.

[Francis Park Thug]

Some concerns about being a two-way player? He was -9 in only 10 games at Springfield last year (33rd on the team). He was -18 in the WHL.
He was outstanding at the World Juniors.

No. Kelowna was horrible last season, especially after the trade deadline, and Stancl was always out there against the opposition’s best. The team worst +/- was -41.

His -9 in 10 AHL games tells me he wasn’t quite ready for that level yet but the point was for him to experience pro hockey to see the pace to give him a better idea of what all he needs to improve on this summer to be able to go in there and be a good pro this fall. Going from Jrs to the AHL is said to be the hardest transition there is so not surprised he didn’t exactly tear it up when he was assigned to Springfield once his WHL season was over.

But thoughts of him making the Blues out of camp yet this season are lofty. That’s just not going to happen IMO.

Thanks for bringing me back down. I appreciate your opinion. Even this one.