Logan Mailloux is coming!!

[the miracle]

The idea isn’t he becomes a wing permanently. The idea is he’s in the NHL. Thomas started in the NHL as a wing.

I am pretty certain Thomas was a third line center with Kyrou and Barbashev as his wings.

Not as a rookie. He was primarily a wing as a rookie. This was 2018-19, when the Top 3 Cs were ROR, Schenn, and Bozak. Thomas was 6th on the team in faceoffs behind Barbs and Sunny as well.

Ideally I would like Dvorsky to play wing this coming year to replace Bolduc. Following the path Thomas did. Not sure if I like Bjustad and/or Sundqvist as the center, so I'll guess we'll see.

I don't know much about bjugstad, but judging by salary he doesn't seem to be quite the center Bozak was. I kind of wish they would just throw him at 3C and deal with the growing pains.

[somni]

Armstrong has already stated he has a job in the NHL and it is his to lose in training camp.

We lost a 3rd line winger who had promise.

How did we take a step back? What if Dvorsky is his replacement and produces similar numbers? Is that a step back?

You and I saw two different players evidently. You saw a 3rd liner, I saw a guy who was putting in his dues who was succeeding in the assignment he was given. To his credit he was vastly improving to the point that it was obvious he was much more then a third liner.

Edit: If Dvorsky is a winger, then yes its a step back. He was drafted as a center, he needs to play center.

The idea isn’t he becomes a wing permanently. The idea is he’s in the NHL. Thomas started in the NHL as a wing.

The Blues now have TWO of the AHL Top Prospect Team members, each on the verge of breaking into the NHL. The short term may be rather bumpy but this has to mean there is broad acknowledgement of their potential.

I wonder what the venn diagram would look like of people who, after watching 7 games, are ready to anoint Snuggerud a top line winger playing with Thomas, but 7 games for Mailloux consider the dude not worth a bag of pucks.

I for one, sure as heck don't know what either player is going to be - but I'm going to enjoy watching.

From Army himself:

Armstrong said he had a tough time trading Bolduc, but with Snuggerud/Kyrou on the right side and Buchnevich/Holloway on the left side, it would be tough for Bolduc to crack the top six, and he deserves that. Jimmy Snuggerud clearly made such a favorable impression.

https://x.com/lkorac10/status/1940139073861287961

[Section315]

We have wingers galore...we filled a huge need and you have to give to get. Bolduc will never be able to control a game like Mailloux will be able to in the near future.

Respect your analysis. Thanks Tim!

[the miracle]

Armstrong has already stated he has a job in the NHL and it is his to lose in training camp.

We lost a 3rd line winger who had promise.

How did we take a step back? What if Dvorsky is his replacement and produces similar numbers? Is that a step back?

You and I saw two different players evidently. You saw a 3rd liner, I saw a guy who was putting in his dues who was succeeding in the assignment he was given. To his credit he was vastly improving to the point that it was obvious he was much more then a third liner.

Edit: If Dvorsky is a winger, then yes its a step back. He was drafted as a center, he needs to play center.

The idea isn’t he becomes a wing permanently. The idea is he’s in the NHL. Thomas started in the NHL as a wing.

The Blues now have TWO of the AHL Top Prospect Team members, each on the verge of breaking into the NHL. The short term may be rather bumpy but this has to mean there is broad acknowledgement of their potential.

I wonder what the venn diagram would look like of people who, after watching 7 games, are ready to anoint Snuggerud a top line winger playing with Thomas, but 7 games for Mailloux consider the dude not worth a bag of pucks.

I for one, sure as heck don't know what either player is going to be - but I'm going to enjoy watching.

From Army himself:

Armstrong said he had a tough time trading Bolduc, but with Snuggerud/Kyrou on the right side and Buchnevich/Holloway on the left side, it would be tough for Bolduc to crack the top six, and he deserves that. Jimmy Snuggerud clearly made such a favorable impression.

https://x.com/lkorac10/status/1940139073861287961

Great find! I liked Bolduc and was excited to see him play here for years, but the Blues needed a D-man a little less experienced that Broberg but more than Lindstein/Jiricek in order to continue the remodel of the defense. But if Snuggerud can fill the gap, and is cheaper for longer, then this makes a lot of sense.

[somni]

Armstrong has already stated he has a job in the NHL and it is his to lose in training camp.

We lost a 3rd line winger who had promise.

How did we take a step back? What if Dvorsky is his replacement and produces similar numbers? Is that a step back?

You and I saw two different players evidently. You saw a 3rd liner, I saw a guy who was putting in his dues who was succeeding in the assignment he was given. To his credit he was vastly improving to the point that it was obvious he was much more then a third liner.

Edit: If Dvorsky is a winger, then yes its a step back. He was drafted as a center, he needs to play center.

The idea isn’t he becomes a wing permanently. The idea is he’s in the NHL. Thomas started in the NHL as a wing.

The Blues now have TWO of the AHL Top Prospect Team members, each on the verge of breaking into the NHL. The short term may be rather bumpy but this has to mean there is broad acknowledgement of their potential.

I wonder what the venn diagram would look like of people who, after watching 7 games, are ready to anoint Snuggerud a top line winger playing with Thomas, but 7 games for Mailloux consider the dude not worth a bag of pucks.

I for one, sure as heck don't know what either player is going to be - but I'm going to enjoy watching.

From Army himself:

Armstrong said he had a tough time trading Bolduc, but with Snuggerud/Kyrou on the right side and Buchnevich/Holloway on the left side, it would be tough for Bolduc to crack the top six, and he deserves that. Jimmy Snuggerud clearly made such a favorable impression.

https://x.com/lkorac10/status/1940139073861287961

Great find! I liked Bolduc and was excited to see him play here for years, but the Blues needed a D-man a little less experienced that Broberg but more than Lindstein/Jiricek in order to continue the remodel of the defense. But if Snuggerud can fill the gap, and is cheaper for longer, then this makes a lot of sense.

I agree. This trade was hard to swallow. I like Bolduc alot, but the Blues had a need for a RHD.

At least Bolduc is going to my 2nd favorite team, the Habs.

[a smell of green grass]

I would muchhhhhhhh rather have Bolduc at $800k than Buch at $8M.

You and every other GM in the NHL feels the same way. Only one GM is $8M high on Buch, and that is Army.

This situation is EXACTLY why Army traded Bolduc and not Buch! No one wanted Buch.

[DawgDad]

I would muchhhhhhhh rather have Bolduc at $800k than Buch at $8M.

You and every other GM in the NHL feels the same way. Only one GM is $8M high on Buch, and that is Army.

This situation is EXACTLY why Army traded Bolduc and not Buch! No one wanted Buch.

LOL

[MiamiLaw]

Good GM’s know how to build teams. “Not so good” GM’s collect players and shiny toys.

Dubas had all the talent in the world, but never built a TEAM in Toronto that could succeed in the playoffs. He absolutely refused to trade one of his shiny toys to address their obvious needs and they have never succeeded in the playoffs. We’ll see if he’s any better in Pittsburgh.

Yzerman, widely regarded as a good GM, had the benefit of a lot of very high draft picks and collected a lot of talent in Tampa, but he never built a team that could win in the playoffs. Only after he left did Tampa make those moves and win. Yzerman has now been in Detroit for several years, has had a bunch of high draft picks, has collected a ton of talent, but still can’t get over the hump. I know some of you will take issue that I don’t revere “Stevie”, but he has not succeeded.

Army knows the Blues will never succeed in the playoffs if he doesn’t fix certain holes. Right D is the most glaring hole we have. Hopefully Jiricek stays healthy and becomes a force, and hopefully Mailloux achieves his potential. If so, we will have a very strong defense on both sides.

I hate trading Bolduc….as in really hate it. But we have one area of significant depth and that is on the wing. We have two or three more guys that could make the jump to the NHL a year from now, and Carbonneau might only be two years away. So I hate trading Bolduc, but I get why it happened. If Mailloux becomes a solid top 4 defenseman, then the Blues will be in very good shape. Did Army take a risk? Sure, but where else is a RHD going to come from?

I don’t disagree with you but word is that Dubas wanted to trade Marner years ago but Shanahan refused to allow it

[TheJackBurton]

The idea isn’t he becomes a wing permanently. The idea is he’s in the NHL. Thomas started in the NHL as a wing.

I am pretty certain Thomas was a third line center with Kyrou and Barbashev as his wings.

No. His rookie season, which is what it would be for Dvorsky, he spent on the wing with Maroon and Bozak.

His second season is when he was worked into the center position.

[Bluesfan1978]

When reading up on Mailloux last night I saw he only played 75 OHL games over a 3 year period. Thats not very much hockey. Then went from that to playing full time in the AHL. Two all star appearances and was voted to the top prospects team last year. I’d like to see him hold down the 3rd pairing role in his year and maybe next year. Maybe he moves into the top 4 after Faulk contract runs out. I also think having Fowler, Broberg, Parayko and Faulk to learn from will only speed up his growth.

[Harry S Deals]

When reading up on Mailloux last night I saw he only played 75 OHL games over a 3 year period. Thats not very much hockey. Then went from that to playing full time in the AHL. Two all star appearances and was voted to the top prospects team last year. I’d like to see him hold down the 3rd pairing role in his year and maybe next year. Maybe he moves into the top 4 after Faulk contract runs out. I also think having Fowler, Broberg, Parayko and Faulk to learn from will only speed up his growth.

https://thehockeywriters.com/canadiens- ... pect-pool/

Good read

[Pierre McGuire]

The funny thing is people here applaud the Blues for keeping Dvorsky in the AHL because he’s “not ready” but when we trade for a 22 year old AHL All star dman the complaint is “if he’s good why can’t he crack that Canadiens defense”. Friggin hilarious stuff.
I need to bring back my Sobotka statue pick and stick Bolduc’s name on it.

[sneptsmoustache]

The funny thing is people here applaud the Blues for keeping Dvorsky in the AHL because he’s “not ready” but when we trade for a 22 year old AHL All star dman the complaint is “if he’s good why can’t he crack that Canadiens defense”. Friggin hilarious stuff.
I need to bring back my Sobotka statue pick and stick Bolduc’s name on it.

Haha please do

[Harry S Deals]

Its odd how we have elevated Bolduc so high. We have to be a bit more realistic, Bolduc did virtually nothing in pro hocked until Monty took over. Bolduc did all his NHL damage in a short amount of time. There is some tangible risk on Montreals side. Recall, Bolduc scored 8 goals in 54 AHL goals....yikes. For me Bolduc is a 20-25 goal pretty easily but its not written in stone by any means. Kirby Dach is his center now????
The other aspect of this aside the Blues glaring need for RHD in the system and the fact that the Blues will already be committed to paying a bunch of core young forwards is that Otto Stenberg AND Dalibor are knocking on the door. i think Stenberg is a bit discounted by Blues fans a bit Stenberg has had success at every stop. Hes PPG at the WJCs he put up 5 goals and 17 pts in his first 38 AHL games i watched a half dozen games on line and i like the style of play. Hes fast plays heavy on the forecheck and has plus offensive skill. Stenberg turned 20 in May i think he starts again in the AHL i think hes going to be on a more talented roster but i think we see Stenberg in the NHL sometime later next season or in the case of injury. My fear was that Stenberg would be the one dealt for D I see Stenbergs ceiling as being higher than Bolduc.

[Nublues69]

Armstrong has already stated he has a job in the NHL and it is his to lose in training camp.

We lost a 3rd line winger who had promise.

How did we take a step back? What if Dvorsky is his replacement and produces similar numbers? Is that a step back?

You and I saw two different players evidently. You saw a 3rd liner, I saw a guy who was putting in his dues who was succeeding in the assignment he was given. To his credit he was vastly improving to the point that it was obvious he was much more then a third liner.

Edit: If Dvorsky is a winger, then yes its a step back. He was drafted as a center, he needs to play center.

The idea isn’t he becomes a wing permanently. The idea is he’s in the NHL. Thomas started in the NHL as a wing.

The Blues now have TWO of the AHL Top Prospect Team members, each on the verge of breaking into the NHL. The short term may be rather bumpy but this has to mean there is broad acknowledgement of their potential.

I wonder what the venn diagram would look like of people who, after watching 7 games, are ready to anoint Snuggerud a top line winger playing with Thomas, but 7 games for Mailloux consider the dude not worth a bag of pucks.

I for one, sure as heck don't know what either player is going to be - but I'm going to enjoy watching.

From Army himself:

Armstrong said he had a tough time trading Bolduc, but with Snuggerud/Kyrou on the right side and Buchnevich/Holloway on the left side, it would be tough for Bolduc to crack the top six, and he deserves that. Jimmy Snuggerud clearly made such a favorable impression.

https://x.com/lkorac10/status/1940139073861287961

Great find! I liked Bolduc and was excited to see him play here for years, but the Blues needed a D-man a little less experienced that Broberg but more than Lindstein/Jiricek in order to continue the remodel of the defense. But if Snuggerud can fill the gap, and is cheaper for longer, then this makes a lot of sense.

With ficsher and ralph (big dden) and Jirick and lindstein (more puck moving) i think our d future is set.

We have so many wingers top6 and middle 6 in the system and we have 2 studs goalies now and 2 very good ones in the AHL.

At this point the blues will be in the playoffs for a long time just need to load up on Centers

[Frank Underwood]

Its odd how we have elevated Bolduc so high. We have to be a bit more realistic, Bolduc did virtually nothing in pro hocked until Monty took over. Bolduc did all his NHL damage in a short amount of time. There is some tangible risk on Montreals side. Recall, Bolduc scored 8 goals in 54 AHL goals....yikes. For me Bolduc is a 20-25 goal pretty easily but its not written in stone by any means. Kirby Dach is his center now????
The other aspect of this aside the Blues glaring need for RHD in the system and the fact that the Blues will already be committed to paying a bunch of core young forwards is that Otto Stenberg AND Dalibor are knocking on the door. i think Stenberg is a bit discounted by Blues fans a bit Stenberg has had success at every stop. Hes PPG at the WJCs he put up 5 goals and 17 pts in his first 38 AHL games i watched a half dozen games on line and i like the style of play. Hes fast plays heavy on the forecheck and has plus offensive skill. Stenberg turned 20 in May i think he starts again in the AHL i think hes going to be on a more talented roster but i think we see Stenberg in the NHL sometime later next season or in the case of injury. My fear was that Stenberg would be the one dealt for D I see Stenbergs ceiling as being higher than Bolduc.

I hate seeing Bolduc get traded, but I agree with you on Stenberg. I think he will absolutely surprise people and be an impact player for the Blues.