GDT: Preseason Final Blues vs Hawks

[Bacchk29]

Honestly Stenberg has impressed me throughout the preseason… he deserves a role with the big club

Kasimaki and Lindstein as well. I would go as far to say I wouldn’t have a problem cutting Joseph Texier Lucic Sundqvist loose or playing in Springfield but I know that’s not the way this organization operates. They’ll pay unnecessary contracts to veterans like always.

You're entitled to your opinion but seriously . . . No.

In fairness,

Some of the prospects other than Snuggs and Mailloux could and will likely play in the NHL this season. You can see the talent in the first round picks but they are still short on refinement of skills and experience in North American pro hockey. Dvorsky and Stenberg need to work on their offensive games playing lots of minutes. At this point neither would be much more than a checker in the NHL, Stenberg in particular. Lindstein just needs games. Kaskimaki? I'd say DD and Stenberg are going to be ahead of him in terms of their 200' games.

You are selling short the value of reliable veteran checkers in the NHL. Sunny can play center or wing and he kills penalties and mixes it up a bit. He might even be an upgrade over Faksa on the 4th line. Joseph is fast and he too kills penalties. No question DD and Stenberg might eventually be far better players but right now they need experience to elevate and hone the skills and hockey sense. The Blues don't need them yet or they might make the team.

Do you want 12 forwards with the ability to score at any given time or are you looking for just JAGs to fill minutes? Looks like the latter to me. I want the best talent on the ice and on the roster let the veterans play in the minors or get bought out or cut if they’re not good enough.

[Unfathomable]

I meant kessel but point is toughness is all they really offer and Skinner gives you that and more as does malioux, lucic adds toughness..



Would not surprise me at all if 2 of 3 are traded or waived though.

[Mr.Snuggleupagus]

I want the best talent on the ice and on the roster let the veterans play in the minors or get bought out or cut if they’re not good enough.

Them youngsters won't help on the 4th line.

[Russdv14]

Dawg says this;

You are selling short the value of reliable veteran checkers in the NHL. Sunny can play center or wing and he kills penalties and mixes it up a bit. He might even be an upgrade over Faksa on the 4th line. Joseph is fast and he too kills penalties. No question DD and Stenberg might eventually be far better players but right now they need experience to elevate and hone the skills and hockey sense. The Blues don't need them yet or they might make the team.

He and I are wiley veteran Blues watchers and we know successful Blues teams have their tough guys that make it harder to play our teams. Finesse just goes so far & the puck gets stolen and fewer goals are scored. We need veteran presence keep the other team off the scoreboard

[kimzey59]

Kimzey-I didn’t follow either Suter or Bjugstad in their careers but knew they were veterans brought in to be our 2nd or 3rd line (or maybe 4th line centers with Bjugstad) and let Schenn play less minutes as a veterans, & maybe use him as a winger instead)

My observations between the two players is that I have not been impressed with Bjugstad at all except they probably like his long reach because he’s tall and lanky. But I’ve not been impressed at all with any of his plays so I didn’t understand why he’s considered a lock as our second or third or even fourth line center unless he has a great percentage on the face offs
And having not followed Pius Suter either I can see why he is well regarded to be our second or third line center because the puck follows with him. Any of your opinions are just as valuable as mine so feel free to speak up.

Bjugstad is at 61.9% on the dot in preseason(26 of 42; granted the game isn't over yet) and in terms of career numbers he's the 2nd best FO guy on the team(Bjugstad is at 48.6% for his career; Schenn is #3 at 48.2%). NO, he's not Faksa or Sunny or the type of guy we traditionally value as a 4th liner. He's more of a Patrick Berglund. But those players have their uses, especially if the intention is to really roll 4 lines. Good at faceoffs, decent on the PK, respectable in puck possession and just enough puck skills to chip in a few points here and there. He shouldn't be in the top 9, and I have no problem swapping him out for Sunny every now and then, but he's a solid enough bottom 6'er for what he is.

Edit: Bjugstad lost his final FO bringing his preseason tally down to 60.5%. Still, a very impressive showing on the dot through 4 games.

[Red7]

I don’t know if Lucic can go to the minors, but I’d like to see him start there to get in better hockey shape. He will have a very limited role on the Blues. He’ll play against the Tom Wilsons and other teams who might want to take liberties with guys like Snuggy and Thomas. Maybe 30-35 games.

[DawgDad]

Honestly Stenberg has impressed me throughout the preseason… he deserves a role with the big club

Kasimaki and Lindstein as well. I would go as far to say I wouldn’t have a problem cutting Joseph Texier Lucic Sundqvist loose or playing in Springfield but I know that’s not the way this organization operates. They’ll pay unnecessary contracts to veterans like always.

You're entitled to your opinion but seriously . . . No.

In fairness,

Some of the prospects other than Snuggs and Mailloux could and will likely play in the NHL this season. You can see the talent in the first round picks but they are still short on refinement of skills and experience in North American pro hockey. Dvorsky and Stenberg need to work on their offensive games playing lots of minutes. At this point neither would be much more than a checker in the NHL, Stenberg in particular. Lindstein just needs games. Kaskimaki? I'd say DD and Stenberg are going to be ahead of him in terms of their 200' games.

You are selling short the value of reliable veteran checkers in the NHL. Sunny can play center or wing and he kills penalties and mixes it up a bit. He might even be an upgrade over Faksa on the 4th line. Joseph is fast and he too kills penalties. No question DD and Stenberg might eventually be far better players but right now they need experience to elevate and hone the skills and hockey sense. The Blues don't need them yet or they might make the team.

Do you want 12 forwards with the ability to score at any given time or are you looking for just JAGs to fill minutes? Looks like the latter to me. I want the best talent on the ice and on the roster let the veterans play in the minors or get bought out or cut if they’re not good enough.

I want the Blues to win games. As I said, there will be a day when DD and Stenberg are better quality NHLers than Joseph, Texier, and other bottom six guys. They just need more North American pro experience. DD is ahead on that count but Stenberg is the better skater.

Neither of those guys can do what Sunny does, and Joseph too though Joseph would be easier to replace. Sunny as a bottom-6 is a big versatile checker who is tough as nails and deeply experienced in all of the nuances of a checking game, including PK. He has been to the tallest mountain and he got to the top, he got there by making the mountain smaller. He will skate an opponent clean through the boards if that's what it takes. He still skates well enough to get his job done. He's a larger version of what Walker brings who is a much better center.

Joseph lives off his speed and experience. The knock on him is his offensive game is very limited; he's a straight line guy and not a good playmaker. I'd take Sunny over Joseph offensively, he's more disruptive and a better passer. There could be a point later this season when Stenberg is the better player, we'll see. If I were Stenberg I'd insist on killing penalties in Springfield.

[JoshInFenton]

For me, i'd be willing to let Texier get waived or move on from him, but probably not Joseph. Joseph just does more from a physical depth perspective than the younger guys would. I would rather plug DD in for a top or middle 6 injury than Texier, but i would want Joseph to play over Toropchenko, Bjugstad, Sunny if we lost that fringe 3rd-4th line player. So kinda agree DawgDad.

Lucic is not the right fit right now. Maybe he isn't in the best game shape, or maybe that game shape is something left behind 3 years ago never to return, but i don't see that fit.

If any player in preseason had shown me something worth moving them way up the depth chart from where i had them before, it'd be Skinner. I thought he was about 3rd in line defensively to be called up, but now (not including tonight as i didn't see him tonight and it would've been against a C team anyways) i'd probably call him up 1st over all other options if the injury at the big club was for a solid length (2+ months) of time. I'd probably go a tweener if it was a short term injury and play Kessel if we needed a guy for a 3-4 game road trip to cover, but i'd play Skinner over Keseel in most games on a long term injury. JMO.

[Pierre McGuire]

Skinner looks like more than just a #7 dman. He needs to play

[Aesa]

Skinner looks like more than just a #7 dman. He needs to play

I like Skinner's "gumption' and he has talent but who do replace with him at this point?

Just asking.

[b-a-a-a-rclay]

Skinner looks like more than just a #7 dman. He needs to play

I like Skinner's "gumption' and he has talent but who do replace with him at this point?

Just asking.

If it happens, Skinner would replace Kessel.

[stlblues1979]

Skinner looks like more than just a #7 dman. He needs to play

I like Skinner's "gumption' and he has talent but who do replace with him at this point?

Just asking.

If it happens, Skinner would replace Kessel.

Watched the game tonight & he was so noticeable. He does need to play but yes he seemingly would be Kessel's replacement as the 7th guy. Was wondering if he can play the left side?

[Aesa]

Skinner looks like more than just a #7 dman. He needs to play

I like Skinner's "gumption' and he has talent but who do replace with him at this point?

Just asking.

If it happens, Skinner would replace Kessel.

Watched the game tonight & he was so noticeable. He does need to play but yes he seemingly would be Kessel's replacement as the 7th guy. Was wondering if he can play the left side?

Thanks for the responses, guys.

[b-a-a-a-rclay]

Skinner looks like more than just a #7 dman. He needs to play

I like Skinner's "gumption' and he has talent but who do replace with him at this point?

Just asking.

If it happens, Skinner would replace Kessel.

Watched the game tonight & he was so noticeable. He does need to play but yes he seemingly would be Kessel's replacement as the 7th guy. Was wondering if he can play the left side?

He hasn't at all in practice. He looked good a lot of the time in camp. However, I thought he had a rough outing the last preseason game he played in before this one. He was obviously very good tonight. I think it's a toss up between him and Kessel. But Skinner seems to have more upside, but like you said, he needs to play ... being a healthy scratch for long stretches won't help him.

[TAFKAP]

Honestly Stenberg has impressed me throughout the preseason… he deserves a role with the big club

Kasimaki and Lindstein as well. I would go as far to say I wouldn’t have a problem cutting Joseph Texier Lucic Sundqvist loose or playing in Springfield but I know that’s not the way this organization operates. They’ll pay unnecessary contracts to veterans like always.

You're entitled to your opinion but seriously . . . No.

In fairness,

Some of the prospects other than Snuggs and Mailloux could and will likely play in the NHL this season. You can see the talent in the first round picks but they are still short on refinement of skills and experience in North American pro hockey. Dvorsky and Stenberg need to work on their offensive games playing lots of minutes. At this point neither would be much more than a checker in the NHL, Stenberg in particular. Lindstein just needs games. Kaskimaki? I'd say DD and Stenberg are going to be ahead of him in terms of their 200' games.

You are selling short the value of reliable veteran checkers in the NHL. Sunny can play center or wing and he kills penalties and mixes it up a bit. He might even be an upgrade over Faksa on the 4th line. Joseph is fast and he too kills penalties. No question DD and Stenberg might eventually be far better players but right now they need experience to elevate and hone the skills and hockey sense. The Blues don't need them yet or they might make the team.

Do you want 12 forwards with the ability to score at any given time or are you looking for just JAGs to fill minutes? Looks like the latter to me. I want the best talent on the ice and on the roster let the veterans play in the minors or get bought out or cut if they’re not good enough.

Look at the '19 team. The 4th line was PUNISHING. I'd rather have skill guys in the minors polishing skills than throwing their bodies in front of slap shots on a 5 on 3 on a random Tuesday in January. 4th line guys have 4th line skills, that's why so much was made of Steener moving down and playing his role.

[seattleblue]

The Blues traded 20 games of Tarasenko and 20 games of Mikkola for Lindstein, Jecho*, Skinner and Blais.

*goal and an assist in a 5-0 win tonight.