So how good will Mailloux be?

[Old_Goat]

Why do people consistently limit themselves to former Blues players when it comes to comps?

Because a lot of people don't regularly watch games beyond their own home team.
Comparing Mailloux to Souray might be extremely accurate; but a lot of people didn't watch Souray consistently enough to really grasp the comparison.
Compare Mailloux to a former Blue and even casual fans can understand the reference.

The problem is; there really isn't a "good" comparison for Mailloux in Blues history. Certainly not in recent Blues history. You'd probably have to go all the way back to Rob Ramage in the 80's(40+ years ago) for a Blues player that was close.

How close to Ramage do you think he will become? Ramage was a good #1 defenseman

Honestly, I could see the stat lines being pretty similar, especially if you're talking 82 game average(Ramage averaged 11 goals, 44 points, 175 PIMS and -14 per 82 games).
The PIM's will never come close to Ramage level(Mailloux has a very visible physical game but that's just not how the game is played these days), and I would certainly hope for a better +/-; but I can see the offense being pretty similar(average in the 40's with a few outlier seasons in the 60 range; basically Shattenkirk level offense).

I think hitting Ramage's 82 game average on a semi-regular basis would be a solid and attainable goal for Mailloux.

I'd be pretty thrilled if he matched up to Ramage....but he might be a better goal scorer given similar pp time.

I'm looking for the Blues to hit a home run here......in time......I have to think they think they have a handle on this.

I agree with both of you -- Ramage. And yes to likely fewer PIMs due to leaguewide style of play changes as well as yes to maybe a few more goals per season.

[Cahokanut]

No. It wasn't. One guy had stats much alike most first year, NHL hall of Famers

just noticed this. truly pitiful. actual lol

Pitiful you didn't know it.

Too funny

I am in awe of how stupid you have to be to say Bolduc is pacing like a hall of famer

So let me guess. You went back and looked at all the greats and noticed. Most/almost All had first year stats like Bolduc.
So you projected then slightly moved the goalpost.

They say/I hear, it's one of the hardest things for the weakest among us to do. You clearly disagree

[a smell of green grass]

Summary of the Bolduc/Mailloux trade.

In exchange for a very good young prospect that has pounded his way onto an NHL roster (Bolduc), St Louis got Montreals's 4th best defensive prospect that hasn't made a weak Montreal roster after several chances--that comes with a serious off-ice issue.

There is no question that St Louis is taking the BIGGEST RISK in this trade. In 6 months, we will know how good or disastrous the trade was.

The question that you should be asking is what sequence of events led to St Louis needing a RHD so DESPERATELY, that they were willing to take the risk.

[STL fan in MN]

Summary of the Bolduc/Mailloux trade.

In exchange for a very good young prospect that has pounded his way onto an NHL roster (Bolduc), St Louis got Montreals's 4th best defensive prospect that hasn't made a weak Montreal roster after several chances--that comes with a serious off-ice issue.

There is no question that St Louis is taking the BIGGEST RISK in this trade. In 6 months, we will know how good or disastrous the trade was.

The question that you should be asking is what sequence of events led to St Louis needing a RHD so DESPERATELY, that they were willing to take the risk.

Well that’s an easy question to answer. It’s because the Blues have been drafting a ton of forwards, primarily wingers, the last 6-7 years - Neighbours, Bolduc, Snuggerud, Kaskimaki, Dvorsky, Stenberg etc. In 2024, they drafted RD Adam Jiricek but he just finished his 18 yr old season. 18-19 yr old d-men are almost never NHL ready yet and the Blues needed a RD now. So they traded one of their many wingers for a RD. No conspiracy theory needed. They were thin on RD with a glut of wingers. They made a trade to balance that out with a team, Montreal, that had the opposite imbalance.

Also, you talk of Mailloux as the “4th best D prospect” Montreal had but then twist it to praise Bolduc. But he was our 6th best winger behind Kyrou, Holloway, Buchy, Snuggerud and Neighbours.

[a smell of green grass]

Summary of the Bolduc/Mailloux trade.

In exchange for a very good young prospect that has pounded his way onto an NHL roster (Bolduc), St Louis got Montreals's 4th best defensive prospect that hasn't made a weak Montreal roster after several chances--that comes with a serious off-ice issue.

There is no question that St Louis is taking the BIGGEST RISK in this trade. In 6 months, we will know how good or disastrous the trade was.

The question that you should be asking is what sequence of events led to St Louis needing a RHD so DESPERATELY, that they were willing to take the risk.

Well that’s an easy question to answer. It’s because the Blues have been drafting a ton of forwards, primarily wingers, the last 6-7 years - Neighbours, Bolduc, Snuggerud, Kaskimaki, Dvorsky, Stenberg etc. In 2024, they drafted RD Adam Jiricek but he just finished his 18 yr old season. 18-19 yr old d-men are almost never NHL ready yet and the Blues needed a RD now. So they traded one of their many wingers for a RD. No conspiracy theory needed. They were thin on RD with a glut of wingers. They made a trade to balance that out with a team, Montreal, that had the opposite imbalance.

Also, you talk of Mailloux as the “4th best D prospect” Montreal had but then twist it to praise Bolduc. But he was our 6th best winger behind Kyrou, Holloway, Buchy, Snuggerud and Neighbours.

You want to see details, eh?

Bolduc was on our 3rd line because he is rostered next to seasoned veteran wingers: Kyrou, Holloway, Buchy, and Neighbors.
There is a good possibility that he will move up once he gets his NHL legs. At the moment, Bolduc is projected to play on Montreal's 2nd line with Demidov.
Based on our lack of Center strength, I would say that it is impossible to really judge any of our Wingers.

In contrast, Mailloux is their 4th-best PROSPECT. He is 4th compared to players his own age or younger!!!

Also, did you notice that the Blues drafted yet another WINGER this year. Do you know why? Because their draft position doesn't allow them to draft a decent RHD or C. And that, Blues fans, is why we are in desperate need of a RHD. We draft too low to ever get a good RHD or C in the draft.

[LGB73]

Summary of the Bolduc/Mailloux trade.

In exchange for a very good young prospect that has pounded his way onto an NHL roster (Bolduc), St Louis got Montreals's 4th best defensive prospect that hasn't made a weak Montreal roster after several chances--that comes with a serious off-ice issue.

There is no question that St Louis is taking the BIGGEST RISK in this trade. In 6 months, we will know how good or disastrous the trade was.

The question that you should be asking is what sequence of events led to St Louis needing a RHD so DESPERATELY, that they were willing to take the risk.

Well that’s an easy question to answer. It’s because the Blues have been drafting a ton of forwards, primarily wingers, the last 6-7 years - Neighbours, Bolduc, Snuggerud, Kaskimaki, Dvorsky, Stenberg etc. In 2024, they drafted RD Adam Jiricek but he just finished his 18 yr old season. 18-19 yr old d-men are almost never NHL ready yet and the Blues needed a RD now. So they traded one of their many wingers for a RD. No conspiracy theory needed. They were thin on RD with a glut of wingers. They made a trade to balance that out with a team, Montreal, that had the opposite imbalance.

Also, you talk of Mailloux as the “4th best D prospect” Montreal had but then twist it to praise Bolduc. But he was our 6th best winger behind Kyrou, Holloway, Buchy, Snuggerud and Neighbours.

The only thing I'll say is knowing that it takes longer for D prospects to develop, maybe the organization should have made that more of a priority 4-5 years ago. It's not hard to see that our defense was aging and now would be about the time that we would want some young D making the team. They also used quite a few picks on LD instead of getting some RD's in the mix.

[STL fan in MN]

Summary of the Bolduc/Mailloux trade.

In exchange for a very good young prospect that has pounded his way onto an NHL roster (Bolduc), St Louis got Montreals's 4th best defensive prospect that hasn't made a weak Montreal roster after several chances--that comes with a serious off-ice issue.

There is no question that St Louis is taking the BIGGEST RISK in this trade. In 6 months, we will know how good or disastrous the trade was.

The question that you should be asking is what sequence of events led to St Louis needing a RHD so DESPERATELY, that they were willing to take the risk.

Well that’s an easy question to answer. It’s because the Blues have been drafting a ton of forwards, primarily wingers, the last 6-7 years - Neighbours, Bolduc, Snuggerud, Kaskimaki, Dvorsky, Stenberg etc. In 2024, they drafted RD Adam Jiricek but he just finished his 18 yr old season. 18-19 yr old d-men are almost never NHL ready yet and the Blues needed a RD now. So they traded one of their many wingers for a RD. No conspiracy theory needed. They were thin on RD with a glut of wingers. They made a trade to balance that out with a team, Montreal, that had the opposite imbalance.

Also, you talk of Mailloux as the “4th best D prospect” Montreal had but then twist it to praise Bolduc. But he was our 6th best winger behind Kyrou, Holloway, Buchy, Snuggerud and Neighbours.

The only thing I'll say is knowing that it takes longer for D prospects to develop, maybe the organization should have made that more of a priority 4-5 years ago. It's not hard to see that our defense was aging and now would be about the time that we would want some young D making the team. They also used quite a few picks on LD instead of getting some RD's in the mix.

You’re not wrong. I’d been saying precisely that for years. But you know one way to remedy that? Trades. Like trading a winger for a d-man. The Blues just did that. Will it work out? I think so but we’ll know for sure in a few years.

[a smell of green grass]

Summary of the Bolduc/Mailloux trade.

In exchange for a very good young prospect that has pounded his way onto an NHL roster (Bolduc), St Louis got Montreals's 4th best defensive prospect that hasn't made a weak Montreal roster after several chances--that comes with a serious off-ice issue.

There is no question that St Louis is taking the BIGGEST RISK in this trade. In 6 months, we will know how good or disastrous the trade was.

The question that you should be asking is what sequence of events led to St Louis needing a RHD so DESPERATELY, that they were willing to take the risk.

Well that’s an easy question to answer. It’s because the Blues have been drafting a ton of forwards, primarily wingers, the last 6-7 years - Neighbours, Bolduc, Snuggerud, Kaskimaki, Dvorsky, Stenberg etc. In 2024, they drafted RD Adam Jiricek but he just finished his 18 yr old season. 18-19 yr old d-men are almost never NHL ready yet and the Blues needed a RD now. So they traded one of their many wingers for a RD. No conspiracy theory needed. They were thin on RD with a glut of wingers. They made a trade to balance that out with a team, Montreal, that had the opposite imbalance.

Also, you talk of Mailloux as the “4th best D prospect” Montreal had but then twist it to praise Bolduc. But he was our 6th best winger behind Kyrou, Holloway, Buchy, Snuggerud and Neighbours.

The only thing I'll say is knowing that it takes longer for D prospects to develop, maybe the organization should have made that more of a priority 4-5 years ago. It's not hard to see that our defense was aging and now would be about the time that we would want some young D making the team. They also used quite a few picks on LD instead of getting some RD's in the mix.

You’re not wrong. I’d been saying precisely that for years. But you know one way to remedy that? Trades. Like trading a winger for a d-man. The Blues just did that. Will it work out? I think so but we’ll know for sure in a few years.

And let's take one more shot of medicine, shall we? The RHD was not solved, but neither was the 2C solved.

And when you draft lower...
And when you evaluate talents and skills poorly...
With the first fairly high pick (#10) that you have had in years, you draft a C, that's a borderline C (Dvorsky). Essentially, you end up drafting yet ONE MORE WINGER.

So now we have way too many wingers, and ZERO C's and RHD's in the pipeline.

So what do we do with all of this WINGER depth..?
We trade away our BEST WINGERS for other team's WEAKEST RHD and C because other teams know that we are at a disadvantage.

Newsflash:
Trading away our BEST WINGERS for other team's WEAKEST RHD and C is NOT the way to a Stanley Cup.

[stlblue06]

Dvorsky is a borderline C?! Was Thomas not a center because he started his career on the wing?

[DawgDad]

Dvorsky is a borderline C?! Was Thomas not a center because he started his career on the wing?

I'd like to see smelly on skates telling Dvorsky he's not a center.

[somni]

Dvorsky is a borderline C?! Was Thomas not a center because he started his career on the wing?

Right!?

I hope Bolduc can get time with Nick Suzuki, otherwise it'll be interesting to see him play with Dach, Jake Evans, or Christian Dvorak.

[a smell of green grass]

Dvorsky is a borderline C?! Was Thomas not a center because he started his career on the wing?

Did you read the Pronman review? It's not the first time that I have heard the issues. When we drafted him, the thought was that he could "develop and improve" his skating. That is evidently not happening.

Have you heard the most true concept in hockey development?

The longer it takes for a prospect to make the NHL, the less of an impact they will bring. Since Dvorsky was drafted, there have been at least a dozen centers that are already skating in the NHL.

We all knew that drafting #10 puts you generally out of the range of top-tier talent. We all thought that Army could somehow find the gem. He didn't. He found what GMs often find at #10 when they fail.

[a smell of green grass]

Dvorsky is a borderline C?! Was Thomas not a center because he started his career on the wing?

I'd like to see smelly on skates telling Dvorsky he's not a center.

Don't tell me. Tell Army. He's the one keeping Dvorsky out of sight. He's the one loading up on veteran C's in the offseason.

[STL fan in MN]

Dvorsky is a borderline C?! Was Thomas not a center because he started his career on the wing?

I'd like to see smelly on skates telling Dvorsky he's not a center.

Don't tell me. Tell Army. He's the one keeping Dvorsky out of sight. He's the one loading up on veteran C's in the offseason.

Keeping Dvorsky out of sight? He played top minutes on our farm team (2nd best league in the world) as a center, as a teenager. Even his 2 games for the Blues he played center. He’s a center, [redacted]. And a very viable one at that.

[a smell of green grass]

Dvorsky is a borderline C?! Was Thomas not a center because he started his career on the wing?

I'd like to see smelly on skates telling Dvorsky he's not a center.

Don't tell me. Tell Army. He's the one keeping Dvorsky out of sight. He's the one loading up on veteran C's in the offseason.

Keeping Dvorsky out of sight? He played top minutes on our farm team (2nd best league in the world) as a center, as a teenager. Even his 2 games for the Blues he played center. He’s a center, (dim bulb). And a very viable one at that.

I hope that you are right, MN.

[Old_Goat]

Dvorsky is a borderline C?! Was Thomas not a center because he started his career on the wing?

Did you read the Pronman review? It's not the first time that I have heard the issues. When we drafted him, the thought was that he could "develop and improve" his skating. That is evidently not happening.

Have you heard the most true concept in hockey development?

The longer it takes for a prospect to make the NHL, the less of an impact they will bring. Since Dvorsky was drafted, there have been at least a dozen centers that are already skating in the NHL.

We all knew that drafting #10 puts you generally out of the range of top-tier talent. We all thought that Army could somehow find the gem. He didn't. He found what GMs often find at #10 when they fail.

You are an idiot...and stupid. Impossible for you to understand the game, learn facts, etc. Be sure to pick a mental health facility that has access to places where you can possibly learn some facts...
I'll give you a head start: Adam Oates, Phil Esposito, Luc Robitaille are examples of great players with outstanding careers whom were widely-considered to not be top-shelf skaters. I cannot project right now that Dvorsky will have the same career results as them. But I can project that you always will be very mentally slow.