Tom Kurver Prospect Showcase

[STL fan in MN]

I thought I heard one of the announcers tonight say that Jiricek had put on 25 lbs. Did anyone else catch that?

As first reported via this website..

https://www.stltoday.com/sports/profess ... 30e8.html

It’s been repeated quite a few times over the last few days now.

[hockey jedi]

His on ice physique was more solid than I've ever seen before on him. I'd love to see another 20 pounds of muscle on him.

[DawgDad]

I thought Dvorsky again played a solid game. He's not flashy or fast like Moore but time after time he was getting puck possession in his own end then making calm and controlled puck handling and passing plays to get the rush started and gain zones. Made some good passes in the offensive end, had a couple of good shots and a couple of wide misses and seemed to win faceoffs cleanly. He and the Blues were stonewalled by that goaltender. He doesn't hang onto the puck and distribute like Thomas, he's quicker to pass or shoot and head for the slot or circle when he doesn't have the puck. He doesn't seem inclined to set up low on or behind the goal line, he wants to play facing the net with or without the puck. He's going to have more value as a center than at wing (he needs and uses space, Snuggerud plays like a winger with board skills and DD plays like a skating center) but he will have to be solid defensively and show he can play his game against NHL level opponents, play an ROR type of game. We'll soon see where he's at compared to Suter and Schenn, and to Thomas defensively and in transition.

Stenberg has some game but not the big body or shot, Carbonneau is the opposite right now. There are still developing scoring threat wingers, Peterson as a pest, and centers who aren't near as close as DD. The top defensemen are individually intriguing but none look ready to make the jump. The goalies were less intriguing but Cranley seems to have improved. I can see where Peterson as a 4th liner may see some NHL ice time.

[Bluesfan1978]

I thought Dvorsky looks much better than last year. Never really seen him carry the puck much last year through the neutral zone. If he did he got rid of the puck quick and was always seeming like he would slow down. I think he carried the puck more this year and played with more speed. His puck skills are incredible. That play he made to 65 after receiving the puck in his skates was high end.
Stenberg best player on the team. JC looked good, love how he plays, he’ll need to control his emotions more before playing in the NHL.
Peterson showed flashes, would love to see him on a line with Torpo some day.
Perkeric made some high end passes.
Jecho was pretty noticeable at times
Jiricek I think was the teams top D. Love his skill level and speed. His angle was the best on the GW goal but I think it’s crazy he was skating backwards at that speed. Can’t wait to see what he looks like after playing 60-70 OHl games in a season.
Lindstein looked better in game 2.
Burns and Fisher I thought I had pretty strong games.
Future looks bright.

[Bluesfan1978]

I thought Dvorsky looks much better than last year. Never really seen him carry the puck much last year through the neutral zone. If he did he got rid of the puck quick and was always seeming like he would slow down. I think he carried the puck more this year and played with more speed. His puck skills are incredible. That play he made to 65 after receiving the puck in his skates was high end.
Stenberg best player on the team. JC looked good, love how he plays, he’ll need to control his emotions more before playing in the NHL.
Peterson showed flashes, would love to see him on a line with Torpo some day.
Perkeric made some high end passes.
Jecho was pretty noticeable at times
Jiricek I think was the teams top D. Love his skill level and speed. His angle was the best on the GW goal but I think it’s crazy he was skating backwards at that speed. Can’t wait to see what he looks like after playing 60-70 OHl games in a season.
Lindstein looked better in game 2.
Burns and Fisher I thought I had pretty strong games.
Future looks bright.

That should say Jiricek’s angle wasn’t the best.

[Bluesfan1978]

74 Anthony Kehrer caught my attention a few times, did anyone watching the game live have any feedback on how he played? I’m going to rewatch the game and pay attention to his play.

[a smell of green grass]

Somewhere in these 14 pages of Showcase, I was really hoping to see somebody mention how wrong ASOGG is about our prospects. Or how wrong the ratings by the National Writers are.

Not to be.

[Harry S Deals]

Still a really poor angle and play by Jiricek. Oh well, he’s still a few years away, so hopefully he learns.

Jiricek is like Kyrou playing defense; smooth, slick and gifted offensively but frail, weak on the puck and gets caught reaching a lot.

He's 19 he'll get coached up. If he goes back to Brantford hes got a great mentor in Jay McKee the size, skating is all there now its time to polish the product

[Bluesfan1978]

74 Anthony Kehrer caught my attention a few times, did anyone watching the game live have any feedback on how he played? I’m going to rewatch the game and pay attention to his play.

Just rewatched the game. 74 Kehrer has good positioning, decent skater, not very tall but must be solid. Twice he was in the tracks for a big hit and the opposing player just bounced off him. He made 3-4 really good plays to keep the puck in the O-Zone. Made several smart passes. Was only out of position twice due to going for a hit. With under two mins to go he almost coughed the puck up to Moore but recovered to get the puck going the other way. The Blues were never hemmed in their zone with him on the ice. Seems like a smart player, I'd say more stay at home but was active pinching in a few times. He is 23 but could be an underrated signing. Will be interested to see how he does in Springfield.

[DawgDad]

Somewhere in these 14 pages of Showcase, I was really hoping to see somebody mention how wrong ASOGG is about our prospects. Or how wrong the ratings by the National Writers are.

Not to be.

None of that is important.

[Bluesfan1978]

I thought Dvorsky looks much better than last year. Never really seen him carry the puck much last year through the neutral zone. If he did he got rid of the puck quick and was always seeming like he would slow down. I think he carried the puck more this year and played with more speed. His puck skills are incredible. That play he made to 65 after receiving the puck in his skates was high end.
Stenberg best player on the team. JC looked good, love how he plays, he’ll need to control his emotions more before playing in the NHL.
Peterson showed flashes, would love to see him on a line with Torpo some day.
Perkeric made some high end passes.
Jecho was pretty noticeable at times
Jiricek I think was the teams top D. Love his skill level and speed. His angle was the best on the GW goal but I think it’s crazy he was skating backwards at that speed. Can’t wait to see what he looks like after playing 60-70 OHl games in a season.
Lindstein looked better in game 2.
Burns and Fisher I thought I had pretty strong games.
Future looks bright.

That should say Jiricek’s angle wasn’t the best.

Yes it should, I thought I had corrected it. Rewatching the play he just whiffed on it really. Should have took Moore out of the play.

[Harry S Deals]

I thought Dvorsky looks much better than last year. Never really seen him carry the puck much last year through the neutral zone. If he did he got rid of the puck quick and was always seeming like he would slow down. I think he carried the puck more this year and played with more speed. His puck skills are incredible. That play he made to 65 after receiving the puck in his skates was high end.
Stenberg best player on the team. JC looked good, love how he plays, he’ll need to control his emotions more before playing in the NHL.
Peterson showed flashes, would love to see him on a line with Torpo some day.
Perkeric made some high end passes.
Jecho was pretty noticeable at times
Jiricek I think was the teams top D. Love his skill level and speed. His angle was the best on the GW goal but I think it’s crazy he was skating backwards at that speed. Can’t wait to see what he looks like after playing 60-70 OHl games in a season.
Lindstein looked better in game 2.
Burns and Fisher I thought I had pretty strong games.
Future looks bright.

That should say Jiricek’s angle wasn’t the best.

Yes it should, I thought I had corrected it. Rewatching the play he just whiffed on it really. Should have took Moore out of the play.

Lol I mean give the kid a little break here right he's skating backwards, Moore is an elite skater, Moore turned Jiricek and got inside. Would love to have seen better stick work there to disrupt, taking Moore out of the play physically, not sure about that. A save would have been nice as well as a clean face off win.
On one of the goals against Jirecek was sucked into the left side he shouldn't have left his right side wide open and Hawks scored.
These are things that will be hammered into him we saw what we needed to see from Jirecek pre camp, more size, the skill, the skating. The development from here will be handled by Weber and co.

[Bluesfan1978]

I thought Dvorsky looks much better than last year. Never really seen him carry the puck much last year through the neutral zone. If he did he got rid of the puck quick and was always seeming like he would slow down. I think he carried the puck more this year and played with more speed. His puck skills are incredible. That play he made to 65 after receiving the puck in his skates was high end.
Stenberg best player on the team. JC looked good, love how he plays, he’ll need to control his emotions more before playing in the NHL.
Peterson showed flashes, would love to see him on a line with Torpo some day.
Perkeric made some high end passes.
Jecho was pretty noticeable at times
Jiricek I think was the teams top D. Love his skill level and speed. His angle was the best on the GW goal but I think it’s crazy he was skating backwards at that speed. Can’t wait to see what he looks like after playing 60-70 OHl games in a season.
Lindstein looked better in game 2.
Burns and Fisher I thought I had pretty strong games.
Future looks bright.

That should say Jiricek’s angle wasn’t the best.

Yes it should, I thought I had corrected it. Rewatching the play he just whiffed on it really. Should have took Moore out of the play.

Lol I mean give the kid a little break here right he's skating backwards, Moore is an elite skater, Moore turned Jiricek and got inside. Would love to have seen better stick work there to disrupt, taking Moore out of the play physically, not sure about that. A save would have been nice as well as a clean face off win.
On one of the goals against Jirecek was sucked into the left side he shouldn't have left his right side wide open and Hawks scored.
These are things that will be hammered into him we saw what we needed to see from Jirecek pre camp, more size, the skill, the skating. The development from here will be handled by Weber and co.

Didn't think my comments were that negative on him, it was just the one play. I did say I can't wait to see how he looks after 60-70 OHL games this season. His speed skating backwards is impressive and that I love his speed and skill level. I also said I thought he was the Blues top D for the two games. Not sure how much more complementary I could have been.

[Harry S Deals]

I thought Dvorsky looks much better than last year. Never really seen him carry the puck much last year through the neutral zone. If he did he got rid of the puck quick and was always seeming like he would slow down. I think he carried the puck more this year and played with more speed. His puck skills are incredible. That play he made to 65 after receiving the puck in his skates was high end.
Stenberg best player on the team. JC looked good, love how he plays, he’ll need to control his emotions more before playing in the NHL.
Peterson showed flashes, would love to see him on a line with Torpo some day.
Perkeric made some high end passes.
Jecho was pretty noticeable at times
Jiricek I think was the teams top D. Love his skill level and speed. His angle was the best on the GW goal but I think it’s crazy he was skating backwards at that speed. Can’t wait to see what he looks like after playing 60-70 OHl games in a season.
Lindstein looked better in game 2.
Burns and Fisher I thought I had pretty strong games.
Future looks bright.

That should say Jiricek’s angle wasn’t the best.

Yes it should, I thought I had corrected it. Rewatching the play he just whiffed on it really. Should have took Moore out of the play.

Lol I mean give the kid a little break here right he's skating backwards, Moore is an elite skater, Moore turned Jiricek and got inside. Would love to have seen better stick work there to disrupt, taking Moore out of the play physically, not sure about that. A save would have been nice as well as a clean face off win.
On one of the goals against Jirecek was sucked into the left side he shouldn't have left his right side wide open and Hawks scored.
These are things that will be hammered into him we saw what we needed to see from Jirecek pre camp, more size, the skill, the skating. The development from here will be handled by Weber and co.

Didn't think my comments were that negative on him, it was just the one play. I did say I can't wait to see how he looks after 60-70 OHL games this season. His speed skating backwards is impressive and that I love his speed and skill level. I also said I thought he was the Blues top D for the two games. Not sure how much more complementary I could have been.

My bad i meant to make a more general comment on how we have been really critical so far given his age and experience.

[Harry S Deals]

Somewhere in these 14 pages of Showcase, I was really hoping to see somebody mention how wrong ASOGG is about our prospects. Or how wrong the ratings by the National Writers are.

Not to be.

None of that is important.

Not sure how much more excited Blues fans can be, Snuggerud, Dvorsky, Stenberg, Carbonneau, Peterson, Jiricek, Fischer all look like they will contribute at the NHL level. Who saw Binnington, Parayko, Thomas, Kyrous development from later or later first rounds into what they have become. In every case i can lean toward the overly optimistic because overwhelmingly i have seen the Blues develop their assets into key players

[TruBlueFan_1970]

Still a really poor angle and play by Jiricek. Oh well, he’s still a few years away, so hopefully he learns.

Jiricek is like Kyrou playing defense; smooth, slick and gifted offensively but frail, weak on the puck and gets caught reaching a lot.

Can't argue with your point. I will say that the one thing I liked in these two games from him defensively, is that he does make a good first pass out of his zone. He made a few poor ones by trying to do too much, but for the most part, that seemed like a strength. Otherwise, agree. They need to work the next few years on his defensive game and using his large (hopefully) frame.