Athletic: Best NHL players and prospects under 23

[a smell of green grass]

The Athletic rankings of prospects came out yesterday.

Open with caution. Blues players don't appear until "Tier 6". It seems that our guys are below average skaters. Only a few are average.

Tier 6 - Bubble Top and Middle Lineup Players
Jiricek - #55
Carboneau - #61

Tier 7 - Middle of the Lineup Players
Dvorsky - #64
Snuggerud - #68
Mailloux - #110
Jecho - #132

Bolduc #90

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https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/694612 ... ni-bedard/

[Pierre McGuire]

These lists are subjective and always wrong

[2forDiving]

These lists are subjective and always wrong

If the The Atheltic says we don’t have any top prospects it’s almost a relief.

[callitwhatyouwant]

These lists are subjective and always wrong

If the The Atheltic says we don’t have any top prospects it’s almost a relief.

according to a few one this board, Bolduc was the next coming of Brett Hull. If we have 3 forwards as higher prospects than him, we must be stanley cup bound.

[a smell of green grass]

These lists are subjective and always wrong

If the The Atheltic says we don’t have any top prospects it’s almost a relief.

according to a few one this board, Bolduc was the next coming of Brett Hull. If we have 3 forwards as higher prospects than him, we must be stanley cup bound.

What I have said is that we lost in the trade, and the rankings bear that out. Bolduc is #90. Mailloux is #110. Sure, Mailloux is an RHD, which is a more valuable asset, but when you consider all the variables, I'd rather have Bolduc.

Bolduc is a PERFECT 3rd line asset. He's tough. He has a great shot, and he's versatile. He can move up to the 1st line in a pinch. He would have been very valuable to the Blues.

Mailloux is another 3rd pairing defenseman, that we already have too many of. No way you move him up in the pairing because of his defensive IQ liabilities. He drags down the D quality that we do have because they have to babysit him. He has a hard shot, but did that make the trip down to St Louis with him?

The Blues got fleeced because Army is in desperate need of youth on defense, and RHDs are acquired at the top of the draft, which Blues management cash registers will never abide.

Further, as a prospect ages, the rankings typically go South because reality sets in. It is possible that we lose anyone in Tier 6 next year. Jiricek and Carbonneau are far from known quantities.

[callitwhatyouwant]

These lists are subjective and always wrong

If the The Atheltic says we don’t have any top prospects it’s almost a relief.

according to a few one this board, Bolduc was the next coming of Brett Hull. If we have 3 forwards as higher prospects than him, we must be stanley cup bound.

What I have said is that we lost in the trade, and the rankings bear that out. Bolduc is #90. Mailloux is #110. Sure, Mailloux is an RHD, which is a more valuable asset, but when you consider all the variables, I'd rather have Bolduc.

Bolduc is a PERFECT 3rd line asset. He's tough. He has a great shot, and he's versatile. He can move up to the 1st line in a pinch. He would have been very valuable to the Blues.

Mailloux is another 3rd pairing defenseman, that we already have too many of. No way you move him up in the pairing because of his defensive IQ liabilities. He drags down the D quality that we do have because they have to babysit him. He has a hard shot, but did that make the trip down to St Louis with him?

The Blues got fleeced because Army is in desperate need of youth on defense, and RHDs are acquired at the top of the draft, which Blues management cash registers will never abide.

Further, as a prospect ages, the rankings typically go South because reality sets in. It is possible that we lose anyone in Tier 6 next year. Jiricek and Carbonneau are far from known quantities.

And you are making this assessment on Maillouxs first season in the NHL and his first 32 games as an expected starter, where it is a league wide fact that defenders take longer to learn the NHL? vs Bolduc who last year in his first full starting season, thru the first half the season had 1 goal?

I'll bite on having this discussion with you since it's not the usual drivel. And I also didn't like the trade because I am a fan of Bolduc. I haven't really had a player that I liked come thru the org like Bolduc since Schwartz. So I have empathy with those who are upset with that trade. But how are you making these evaluations of LM's future and did you use the same lens for Bolduc who couldn't score a goal last year and then exploded later?

[iowa blues fan]

The Athletic rankings of prospects came out yesterday.

Open with caution. Blues players don't appear until "Tier 6". It seems that our guys are below average skaters. Only a few are average.

Tier 6 - Bubble Top and Middle Lineup Players
Jiricek - #55
Carboneau - #61

Tier 7 - Middle of the Lineup Players
Dvorsky - #64
Snuggerud - #68
Mailloux - #110
Jecho - #132

Bolduc #90

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https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/694612 ... ni-bedard/

https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/d ... micropenis

[Natl20]

Wait so Stenberg isnt even on it? He's already a 'middle lineup' player, playing on the PK (effectively too) and is a +5 on a dog [shirt] team.

[MiamiLaw]

Wait so Stenberg isnt even on it? He's already a 'middle lineup' player, playing on the PK (effectively too) and is a +5 on a dog [shirt] team.

Yea good point

[BalotelliMassive]

These lists are subjective

This is a ranking of the best young players overall on teams’ reserve lists, meaning within an NHL organization, playing in or outside the league. This is a ranking meant to show who I think will have the best pro careers, not who I would take in a game tomorrow. A player must be 22 years old or younger as of Jan. 1, 2026, to qualify.

Ranked players are placed into tiers and given tool grades. Tool grades are based on a scale with six separate levels, with an eye toward how this attribute would grade in the NHL (poor, below-average, average, above-average, high-end and elite). “Average” on this scale means the tool projects as NHL average, which is meant as a positive, not a criticism. Skating, puck skills, hockey sense and compete for every projected NHL player are graded. Shot grades are only included if a shot is notably good or poor.

[BluesDom]

Stenberg>Bolduc.

Dvorsky>Bolduc.

Gonna be good players: STEN and DVO

Stenbegs career stats are trending better than Boducs.
No Pekarcik? Jecho?

[a smell of green grass]

These lists are subjective and always wrong

If the The Atheltic says we don’t have any top prospects it’s almost a relief.

according to a few one this board, Bolduc was the next coming of Brett Hull. If we have 3 forwards as higher prospects than him, we must be stanley cup bound.

What I have said is that we lost in the trade, and the rankings bear that out. Bolduc is #90. Mailloux is #110. Sure, Mailloux is an RHD, which is a more valuable asset, but when you consider all the variables, I'd rather have Bolduc.

Bolduc is a PERFECT 3rd line asset. He's tough. He has a great shot, and he's versatile. He can move up to the 1st line in a pinch. He would have been very valuable to the Blues.

Mailloux is another 3rd pairing defenseman, that we already have too many of. No way you move him up in the pairing because of his defensive IQ liabilities. He drags down the D quality that we do have because they have to babysit him. He has a hard shot, but did that make the trip down to St Louis with him?

The Blues got fleeced because Army is in desperate need of youth on defense, and RHDs are acquired at the top of the draft, which Blues management cash registers will never abide.

Further, as a prospect ages, the rankings typically go South because reality sets in. It is possible that we lose anyone in Tier 6 next year. Jiricek and Carbonneau are far from known quantities.

And you are making this assessment on Maillouxs first season in the NHL and his first 32 games as an expected starter, where it is a league wide fact that defenders take longer to learn the NHL? vs Bolduc who last year in his first full starting season, thru the first half the season had 1 goal?

I'll bite on having this discussion with you since it's not the usual drivel. And I also didn't like the trade because I am a fan of Bolduc. I haven't really had a player that I liked come thru the org like Bolduc since Schwartz. So I have empathy with those who are upset with that trade. But how are you making these evaluations of LM's future and did you use the same lens for Bolduc who couldn't score a goal last year and then exploded later?

I'm not certain about Mailloux's long-term grade. He could turn it around, and I hope he does. However, I won't ignore the obvious either. I'm not seeing the flashes of special tools. We should be seeing some of that by now I think.

I think that the more important and certain takeaway from this report is that the re-whatever appears to have accomplished very little. Replacing elite older cup-winning talent with average young talent is not a win. This report looked better last year. The trend that we are seeing here is bad.

Before we launch re-whatever 2.0, there should be an analysis of why it failed.

[BluesDom]

It failed because the Athletic says so? Silly post A-S-O-G imo.
Snuggerud--going to be a stud
Neighbours--same
Dvorsky awesome#2 Center
Lindstein top 4 d-man
Jiricek--hopefully the same.
Berggren--nice shooter
Stenberg--2 way stud. Hockey sense off the charts.
Carbonneau--top 6 player in NHL.
Mailloux--lets see how he looks by year end. hes making progress. We gonna win the Bolduc trade and hes gonna be a keeper imho.
Looks like its working to me.

Wildcard: Pekarcik--Under the radar stud.

[a smell of green grass]

I ask everyone to consider the longer-term effect of this list.

When these prospects hit >23, and these players are ranked next the NHL veterans, the rankings will go down further for MOST of the players. That the Blues have only average players in this age group means that the team is headed to well BELOW AVERAGE soon.

[BluesDom]

I ask everyone to consider the longer-term effect of this list.

When these prospects hit >23, and these players are ranked next the NHL veterans, the rankings will go down further for MOST of the players. That the Blues have only average players in this age group means that the team is headed to well BELOW AVERAGE soon.

this list means jack (poop).

[callitwhatyouwant]

It failed because the Athletic says so? Silly post A-S-O-G imo.
Snuggerud--going to be a stud
Neighbours--same
Dvorsky awesome#2 Center
Lindstein top 4 d-man
Jiricek--hopefully the same.
Berggren--nice shooter
Stenberg--2 way stud. Hockey sense off the charts.
Carbonneau--top 6 player in NHL.
Mailloux--lets see how he looks by year end. hes making progress. We gonna win the Bolduc trade and hes gonna be a keeper imho.
Looks like its working to me.

Wildcard: Pekarcik--Under the radar stud.

don't forget to add Hofer. Last night he tied the league leader in shutouts. Since december 1 or is it like november 16th? he's a top 5 goalie in the league.