T-Birds Dmen

[Frank Barone]

I haven't watched the playoff games, but I'm curious about which dmen are standing out for the T-Birds right now. It looks like Gaudet is being shown in the line-ups as first pair, with guys like Loof and Burns not dressing at this point.

It is interesting that Ralph and Jiricek have been put in the line-up immediately after joining the team. We know they are NHL prospects. Has Gaudet emerged as a prospect that could help the Blues bottom pair? Anyone else?

[moose-and-squirrel]

I haven't watched the playoff games, but I'm curious about which dmen are standing out for the T-Birds right now. It looks like Gaudet is being shown in the line-ups as first pair, with guys like Loof and Burns not dressing at this point.

It is interesting that Ralph and Jiricek have been put in the line-up immediately after joining the team. We know they are NHL prospects. Has Gaudet emerged as a prospect that could help the Blues bottom pair? Anyone else?

seems like Rosen has been the man for them.. wouldn't mind him being up here instead of Kessel

[BluesDom]

I haven't watched the playoff games, but I'm curious about which dmen are standing out for the T-Birds right now. It looks like Gaudet is being shown in the line-ups as first pair, with guys like Loof and Burns not dressing at this point.

It is interesting that Ralph and Jiricek have been put in the line-up immediately after joining the team. We know they are NHL prospects. Has Gaudet emerged as a prospect that could help the Blues bottom pair? Anyone else?

Current Starters
Ralph, Gaudette, Buchinger, Jiricek, Newpower, Rosen
Bench : Fischer

Gaudette and Buchinger are overlooked but may have something to say about getting looked over. Both are men now and are playing well. Will make some noise and push hard to make NHL.

[hockey jedi]

Guys like Rosen and Chris Wagner were brought in for leadership. They are older players that show the younger players the ropes. If they play again in the NHL, it will be a reward for a game or two. They aren't prospects and aren't really on the depth chart.

[Bluesfan1978]

Burns is hurt or he would be in the lineup. Burns, Ralph, Fisher, Lindstein, Jiricek are the players with some NHL potential. Skinner might get a cup of coffee in the NHL same with Rosen. The rest don't look like NHL players to me.

[callitwhatyouwant]

I haven't watched the playoff games, but I'm curious about which dmen are standing out for the T-Birds right now. It looks like Gaudet is being shown in the line-ups as first pair, with guys like Loof and Burns not dressing at this point.

It is interesting that Ralph and Jiricek have been put in the line-up immediately after joining the team. We know they are NHL prospects. Has Gaudet emerged as a prospect that could help the Blues bottom pair? Anyone else?

seems like Rosen has been the man for them.. wouldn't mind him being up here instead of Kessel

Rosen's gotten his shot. He's the too good for AHL, not good enough to not be a 6-7 guy in the NHL. That role is almost always reserved for someone with upward trajectory. You age out of that role. It's why I was so adamant last year the Blues made a massive mistake by not re-signing suter. If they were planning to do what they did with LM, they needed a vet on his side, not kessel or tucker. They played 2 guys that were 6-7 guys at the start and got exposed.

To rosen's credit, on the 3rd pair when he got those 50 games that 1 year, he played really good hockey, he just had the age factor working against him.

[STL fan in MN]

The T-birds currently have 12 d-men on their roster. I’ll give my opinion on all 12.

Buchinger - 3-4 months ago I was about ready to write him off but he’s really elevated his game the 2nd half of the season. Still unlikely to have a big NHL career IMO but he’s put himself back on the map at least.

Burns - finishing up his pro rookie season. Started in the ECHL, then got promoted and became a key cog. Then got injured. He skated for warmups prior to the last game so that would seem to indicate he’s probably close to being an option. Since he’s been out though, 2-3 other guys have been added to the roster so now he has more competition. I think he has a solid chance of being a tough, 3rd pairing NHLer but he’s going to need to really go for it and grab opportunities as he has a lot of competition for limited roster spots.

Fischer - joined a couple weeks ago when his Jr season ended but he appears to just be there to soak in the experience. Ott doesn’t appear to consider him a valid option at this time but he’ll be with the T-birds next season and I like his longterm potential. He’s good at a lot of things but I’ll note that those types that are all around solid but don’t have one defining trait oftentimes find themselves in a quagmire and end up not making it. So he’s going to have to find his niche. Very good Jr career though so I like his chances, but we should have a much better read on his future a year from now once he’ll have a season of pro experience under his belt.

Gaudet - same as Buchinger. I basically wrote him off but he’s also looked a lot better under Ott than he did under Konowalchuk. Almost everyone has tbh. Last season and the first half of this season, his gaps were horrible and he was basically a turnstile. He’s cleaned that up and is now back on the map as well. Lots of competition though so my guess is he likely doesn’t make it. But he’s at least a solid AHL contributor now.

Jiricek - has only 1 game of AHL experience now but he looked good, especially being thrown into such a high stakes environment. Pretty easily our top prospect and absolutely has a NHL future.

Kehrer - AHL fodder. Signed to a 1 year AHL deal. Don’t expect him back next season.

Lindstein - got hurt in Game 3 the other night but also clearly has a NHL future. In the video they posted of Ott’s postgame speech, Lindstein was just sitting there in dress clothes without an obvious brace/cast so hopefully it’s a minor injury.

Loof - he’s done. Been passed up. He’s a pending RFA but I doubt the Blues give him a QO and he goes elsewhere. Maybe back to Sweden.

Newpower - solid AHL vet type. No NHL future but you want a couple guys like him on your AHL team to help show the way and how to be a pro. Acquired for Peca midseason but good chance he doesn’t return next season.

Ralph - he’s jumped right into the lineup and been very good. Had one disastrous game, that first playoff game when they lost 8-1, he was something like -6 and just had a really bad night…but overall, he’s been fantastic since joining the team here late in the season. He’ll be with the T-birds again next season and he’s looking really good. He’s huge and is really good at shutting down plays. He’s not mean but he is physical. If he hits the top end of his potential, we’re talking a more physical Parayko. But even if he doesn’t, he should still be a solid guy down a NHL lineup. Just don’t expect much offense from him. He’s very much a defensive d-man.

Rosen - the Blues brought him back mid-season and he’s been an excellent vet presence for the T-birds. They then quickly extended him for 2 more years. He would probably be fine in the NHL in a pinch but I’d say the extension is clearly geared towards being the vet leader to show the rooks the way the next 2 seasons. Very solid at the AHL level but really has no defining characteristics that would make him a legit option in the NHL. That’s been the story of his career for a good decade now but he’s a good dude and a good leader. An org needs those types.

Skinner - currently injured but he’s one of their better d-men when he’s been in the lineup. The young guys added late in the season have really stepped up though and they haven’t missed him as much as I thought they would. Some guys, particularly Buchinger, have had to play the right side though with Skinner out. Adding righty Jiricek to the lineup helps (Buchinger instantly looked better the last game going back to his left side) but they could still absolutely use Skinner. IMO, I thought Skinner outplayed Kessel for the #7 role in camp but Kessel was the known quantity and needed just a few more games to be a RFA whereas Skinner would’ve been a UFA this summer regardless so I’d guess they chose Kessel bc it was close and Kessel appeared to have a bit more of a future with the org. I think Skinner could do ok in the NHL but he hasn’t really gotten a shot with a couple different orgs now. He’ll be a UFA so my guess is he tries to find an org where he might have a better shot this summer.

[Frank Barone]

The T-birds currently have 12 d-men on their roster. I’ll give my opinion on all 12.

Buchinger - 3-4 months ago I was about ready to write him off but he’s really elevated his game the 2nd half of the season. Still unlikely to have a big NHL career IMO but he’s put himself back on the map at least.

Burns - finishing up his pro rookie season. Started in the ECHL, then got promoted and became a key cog. Then got injured. He skated for warmups prior to the last game so that would seem to indicate he’s probably close to being an option. Since he’s been out though, 2-3 other guys have been added to the roster so now he has more competition. I think he has a solid chance of being a tough, 3rd pairing NHLer but he’s going to need to really go for it and grab opportunities as he has a lot of competition for limited roster spots.

Fischer - joined a couple weeks ago when his Jr season ended but he appears to just be there to soak in the experience. Ott doesn’t appear to consider him a valid option at this time but he’ll be with the T-birds next season and I like his longterm potential. He’s good at a lot of things but I’ll note that those types that are all around solid but don’t have one defining trait oftentimes find themselves in a quagmire and end up not making it. So he’s going to have to find his niche. Very good Jr career though so I like his chances, but we should have a much better read on his future a year from now once he’ll have a season of pro experience under his belt.

Gaudet - same as Buchinger. I basically wrote him off but he’s also looked a lot better under Ott than he did under Konowalchuk. Almost everyone has tbh. Last season and the first half of this season, his gaps were horrible and he was basically a turnstile. He’s cleaned that up and is now back on the map as well. Lots of competition though so my guess is he likely doesn’t make it. But he’s at least a solid AHL contributor now.

Jiricek - has only 1 game of AHL experience now but he looked good, especially being thrown into such a high stakes environment. Pretty easily our top prospect and absolutely has a NHL future.

Kehrer - AHL fodder. Signed to a 1 year AHL deal. Don’t expect him back next season.

Lindstein - got hurt in Game 3 the other night but also clearly has a NHL future. In the video they posted of Ott’s postgame speech, Lindstein was just sitting there in dress clothes without an obvious brace/cast so hopefully it’s a minor injury.

Loof - he’s done. Been passed up. He’s a pending RFA but I doubt the Blues give him a QO and he goes elsewhere. Maybe back to Sweden.

Newpower - solid AHL vet type. No NHL future but you want a couple guys like him on your AHL team to help show the way and how to be a pro. Acquired for Peca midseason but good chance he doesn’t return next season.

Ralph - he’s jumped right into the lineup and been very good. Had one disastrous game, that first playoff game when they lost 8-1, he was something like -6 and just had a really bad night…but overall, he’s been fantastic since joining the team here late in the season. He’ll be with the T-birds again next season and he’s looking really good. He’s huge and is really good at shutting down plays. He’s not mean but he is physical. If he hits the top end of his potential, we’re talking a more physical Parayko. But even if he doesn’t, he should still be a solid guy down a NHL lineup. Just don’t expect much offense from him. He’s very much a defensive d-man.

Rosen - the Blues brought him back mid-season and he’s been an excellent vet presence for the T-birds. They then quickly extended him for 2 more years. He would probably be fine in the NHL in a pinch but I’d say the extension is clearly geared towards being the vet leader to show the rooks the way the next 2 seasons. Very solid at the AHL level but really has no defining characteristics that would make him a legit option in the NHL. That’s been the story of his career for a good decade now but he’s a good dude and a good leader. An org needs those types.

Skinner - currently injured but he’s one of their better d-men when he’s been in the lineup. The young guys added late in the season have really stepped up though and they haven’t missed him as much as I thought they would. Some guys, particularly Buchinger, have had to play the right side though with Skinner out. Adding righty Jiricek to the lineup helps (Buchinger instantly looked better the last game going back to his left side) but they could still absolutely use Skinner. IMO, I thought Skinner outplayed Kessel for the #7 role in camp but Kessel was the known quantity and needed just a few more games to be a RFA whereas Skinner would’ve been a UFA this summer regardless so I’d guess they chose Kessel bc it was close and Kessel appeared to have a bit more of a future with the org. I think Skinner could do ok in the NHL but he hasn’t really gotten a shot with a couple different orgs now. He’ll be a UFA so my guess is he tries to find an org where he might have a better shot this summer.

That's a great analysis. Thanks for taking the time!