Alexandrov signed

[STL fan in MN]

A sign and trade. Otherwise if you trade just his Rights, then there is no guarantee that he would not just jump right to KHL if unsatisfied with receiving partner.

I would not be surprised at that.

He's got numbers, and they matter.

Curious what ya'll think he could bring? A team or two might take the chance on him I would just want the Blues to know for sure about their assessment of him.

Nothing. He’s the type every team has a few of that pretty easily pass through waivers every year.

[dhsux]

A sign and trade. Otherwise if you trade just his Rights, then there is no guarantee that he would not just jump right to KHL if unsatisfied with receiving partner.

I would not be surprised at that.

He's got numbers, and they matter.

Curious what ya'll think he could bring? A team or two might take the chance on him I would just want the Blues to know for sure about their assessment of him.

Nothing. He’s the type every team has a few of that pretty easily pass through waivers every year.

Well tx....so much for sign and trade.

[smilinjoefission]

Alexandrov has been given opportunities and hasn't seized them. He's 24 soon to be 25 so no longer a prospect. I'd rather have Dvorsky up here or someone like Texier playing if we're playing non-prospects.

[Old_Goat]

A sign and trade. Otherwise if you trade just his Rights, then there is no guarantee that he would not just jump right to KHL if unsatisfied with receiving partner.

I would not be surprised at that.

He's got numbers, and they matter.

Curious what ya'll think he could bring? A team or two might take the chance on him I would just want the Blues to know for sure about their assessment of him.

Nothing. He’s the type every team has a few of that pretty easily pass through waivers every year.

Very true. And I really do not know what he could bring. Other than the experience value for all of the youngsters potentially coming to Springfield, thus just a one year contract. But I suppose there is a chance that one other team is short of "those few" just yet, such that they would be, or maybe have even discussed the possibility of him as a for sure keep for us to pick up something rather than nothing -- draft pick?
Who knows...but he'll be getting a decent paycheck to stay in North America that's for sure.

[moose-and-squirrel]

A sign and trade. Otherwise if you trade just his Rights, then there is no guarantee that he would not just jump right to KHL if unsatisfied with receiving partner.

I would not be surprised at that.

He's got numbers, and they matter.

Curious what ya'll think he could bring? A team or two might take the chance on him I would just want the Blues to know for sure about their assessment of him.

Nothing. He’s the type every team has a few of that pretty easily pass through waivers every year.

Very true. And I really do not know what he could bring. Other than the experience value for all of the youngsters potentially coming to Springfield, thus just a one year contract. But I suppose there is a chance that one other team is short of "those few" just yet, such that they would be, or maybe have even discussed the possibility of him as a for sure keep for us to pick up something rather than nothing -- draft pick?
Who knows...but he'll be getting a decent paycheck to stay in North America that's for sure.

prolly something like a 7th rouind pick. Like MN said, teams already have guys like this

[Old_Goat]

Well then, I guess the experienced presence for the youngsters and helping to keep fans in Springfield buying tickets is all that he's worth. And that's okay too.
Thanks.

[dhsux]

I will say...tough crowd.

I still think he deserves more than that.

[Harry S Deals]

I will say...tough crowd.

I still think he deserves more than that.

If he comes into camp and earns a spot the Blues will want to give him a look no doubt but they wont be gifting him anything because hes been good in the AHL or bc hes been around for awhile. It would be a great development if Alexandrov blew everyone away in Sept

[STL fan in MN]

I will say...tough crowd.

I still think he deserves more than that.

He’ll get what he earns.

I wouldn’t say he has a 0% chance of making the team but I certainly don’t like his chances. IMO, the main thing probably holding him back is a bit of a lackluster compete level. He has to really want it IMO and show it. Be more assertive, because otherwise, he’s got talent but not as much as our other top-6 guys and he can play a decent two-way game but not as well as our current bottom-6 guys.

[DawgDad]

I will say...tough crowd.

I still think he deserves more than that.

He’ll get what he earns.

I wouldn’t say he has a 0% chance of making the team but I certainly don’t like his chances. IMO, the main thing probably holding him back is a bit of a lackluster compete level. He has to really want it IMO and show it. Be more assertive, because otherwise, he’s got talent but not as much as our other top-6 guys and he can play a decent two-way game but not as well as our current bottom-6 guys.

OK, the contenders for 3RW are:

Sundqvist/Bjugstad (one is 4C)
Joseph (WYSIWYG)
Texier (WYSIWYG)
Alexandrov (has achieved full tweener status)
Dvorsky (raw, most talent and upside)
Kaskimaki (not much chance, really)

Sunny and Bjugstad will both likely stick, one plays, one sits if no room. The Blues could play both if no one else steps up as a reliable 3rd liner.

One of Joseph and Texier might hang around. I like Joseph's speed and energy but long stretches on the 3rd line would likely limit the team's potential. Texier appears to me to be more vulnersble.

Alexandrov has to demonstrate he will produce more than Joseph/Texier otherwise he's still a tweener. He's really after their jobs, they have a significant edge in experience but also in demonstrated limitations. Tough hill to climb. I still see Alexandrov as deep top-6 depth until he proves otherwise, an asset the NHL team really doesn't want to rely on. I don't view him as a plus two-way player or PK asset, but I'm willing to be surprised. Perhaps a solid shuttle season would tighten his grip.

Going into camp I think Dvorsky has a chance but he really needs to show situational awareness and play within the system, be where other players expect him to be, doing what's expected of him. If he comes close on that count his talent could earn him the spot, there just isn't a lot of upside in the rest of the bunch, but some of those guys are tough as nails, block shots, kill penalties. And there's no shame if he's not ready, but if he goes back to Springfield he needs to be a much more dominant two-way player, earn the nod if a center or top-9 winger goes down. He has to play regularly (top-9) if he sticks in the NHL.

Hard to envision anything changing before camp.

[BluesDom]

This guy is an NHL player imo. Hope he gets what he earned.
Hes young enough where his AHL efforts should be rewarded. Might be a Barbashev. Can play on all lines. Checker or offensive weapon. Id love to see him get his shot. He had a rockstar AHL SEASON.

[STL fan in MN]

I will say...tough crowd.

I still think he deserves more than that.

He’ll get what he earns.

I wouldn’t say he has a 0% chance of making the team but I certainly don’t like his chances. IMO, the main thing probably holding him back is a bit of a lackluster compete level. He has to really want it IMO and show it. Be more assertive, because otherwise, he’s got talent but not as much as our other top-6 guys and he can play a decent two-way game but not as well as our current bottom-6 guys.

OK, the contenders for 3RW are:

Sundqvist/Bjugstad (one is 4C)
Joseph (WYSIWYG)
Texier (WYSIWYG)
Alexandrov (has achieved full tweener status)
Dvorsky (raw, most talent and upside)
Kaskimaki (not much chance, really)

Sunny and Bjugstad will both likely stick, one plays, one sits if no room. The Blues could play both if no one else steps up as a reliable 3rd liner.

One of Joseph and Texier might hang around. I like Joseph's speed and energy but long stretches on the 3rd line would likely limit the team's potential. Texier appears to me to be more vulnersble.

Alexandrov has to demonstrate he will produce more than Joseph/Texier otherwise he's still a tweener. He's really after their jobs, they have a significant edge in experience but also in demonstrated limitations. Tough hill to climb. I still see Alexandrov as deep top-6 depth until he proves otherwise, an asset the NHL team really doesn't want to rely on. I don't view him as a plus two-way player or PK asset, but I'm willing to be surprised. Perhaps a solid shuttle season would tighten his grip.

Going into camp I think Dvorsky has a chance but he really needs to show situational awareness and play within the system, be where other players expect him to be, doing what's expected of him. If he comes close on that count his talent could earn him the spot, there just isn't a lot of upside in the rest of the bunch, but some of those guys are tough as nails, block shots, kill penalties. And there's no shame if he's not ready, but if he goes back to Springfield he needs to be a much more dominant two-way player, earn the nod if a center or top-9 winger goes down. He has to play regularly (top-9) if he sticks in the NHL.

Hard to envision anything changing before camp.

My guess is one of Sunny/Bjugstad takes that 3RW spot simply because they have a leg up by shooting righty. All the others are lefties. Agree one of these guys most likely spends most of their time at 4C but I think the other will mainly be the 3RW.

But Joseph and Tex can sub in fine too. And Dvorsky is on the cusp. Kaskimaki is probably closer than many are giving him credit for IMO. I could see him, Dvorsky, Stenberg and Peterson all playing some games for the Blues at some point this season. We’ll just have to see how things shake out with injuries.

[STL fan in MN]

This guy is an NHL player imo. Hope he gets what he earned.
Hes young enough where his AHL efforts should be rewarded. Might be a Barbashev. Can play on all lines. Checker or offensive weapon. Id love to see him get his shot. He had a rockstar AHL SEASON.

What has he shown to be an NHL player? How has he earned it? What translatable skills does he have that project to be useful at the NHL level? He’s shown he’s a good AHL player but that’s a very different thing. I’d be beyond shocked if he ended up as good as Barbashev at this point.

[TruBlueFan_1970]

I will say...tough crowd.

I still think he deserves more than that.

He’ll get what he earns.

I wouldn’t say he has a 0% chance of making the team but I certainly don’t like his chances. IMO, the main thing probably holding him back is a bit of a lackluster compete level. He has to really want it IMO and show it. Be more assertive, because otherwise, he’s got talent but not as much as our other top-6 guys and he can play a decent two-way game but not as well as our current bottom-6 guys.

OK, the contenders for 3RW are:

Sundqvist/Bjugstad (one is 4C)
Joseph (WYSIWYG)
Texier (WYSIWYG)
Alexandrov (has achieved full tweener status)
Dvorsky (raw, most talent and upside)
Kaskimaki (not much chance, really)

Sunny and Bjugstad will both likely stick, one plays, one sits if no room. The Blues could play both if no one else steps up as a reliable 3rd liner.

One of Joseph and Texier might hang around. I like Joseph's speed and energy but long stretches on the 3rd line would likely limit the team's potential. Texier appears to me to be more vulnersble.

Alexandrov has to demonstrate he will produce more than Joseph/Texier otherwise he's still a tweener. He's really after their jobs, they have a significant edge in experience but also in demonstrated limitations. Tough hill to climb. I still see Alexandrov as deep top-6 depth until he proves otherwise, an asset the NHL team really doesn't want to rely on. I don't view him as a plus two-way player or PK asset, but I'm willing to be surprised. Perhaps a solid shuttle season would tighten his grip.

Going into camp I think Dvorsky has a chance but he really needs to show situational awareness and play within the system, be where other players expect him to be, doing what's expected of him. If he comes close on that count his talent could earn him the spot, there just isn't a lot of upside in the rest of the bunch, but some of those guys are tough as nails, block shots, kill penalties. And there's no shame if he's not ready, but if he goes back to Springfield he needs to be a much more dominant two-way player, earn the nod if a center or top-9 winger goes down. He has to play regularly (top-9) if he sticks in the NHL.

Hard to envision anything changing before camp.

Agree with a lot of this. I’m sort of done with the Texier experiment, as he seems to lack the consistent desire to compete. When on, he looks good, when off, he looks horrible. I actually like the energy/speed/physicality/pest attributes that Joseph brings. There just isn’t much offensive upside, but I feel he has the inside track for the 3rd line wing. Dvorsky is the wildcard, and I really hope he makes it. I’ve seen various proposed lines from NHL.com and other pundits. Most common shows swaps of Schenn/Suter and then the 3rd line variables.

Holloway - Schenn/Suter - Kyrou
Neighbours - Schenn/Suter - Dvorksy/Joseph/Sunny/Bju
Toro - Sunny/Bjustad - Walker

Can’t wait for camp.

[LGB73]

3RW is probably my least favorite position on this roster right now. Get why they did the trade but Bolduc filled this spot nicely to give this team 3 legit lines. Now we have guys who should be 4th liners possible filling it(Bjugstad/Sunny), guys who haven't proven if they are NHL ready(Dvorsky, Alexandrov, Carbonneau) or guys(Tex, Jopesh) who have had the shot to secure it and have failed. I'd frankly prefer to go with youth and live with the inconsistency as it will benefit the team down the road more.

[dhsux]

3RW is probably my least favorite position on this roster right now. Get why they did the trade but Bolduc filled this spot nicely to give this team 3 legit lines. Now we have guys who should be 4th liners possible filling it(Bjugstad/Sunny), guys who haven't proven if they are NHL ready(Dvorsky, Alexandrov, Carbonneau) or guys(Tex, Jopesh) who have had the shot to secure it and have failed. I'd frankly prefer to go with youth and live with the inconsistency as it will benefit the team down the road more.

I think we all see what the Blues lost in Bolduc and I can't argue your point about the forward wing position this year.

But the future there looks a lot brighter than the RHD situation so let's hope that trade off is a home run for the Blues.