The Official Prospects Thread

[glen a richter]

Not a Blues prospect, or an anyone prospect yet for that matter but top prospect Matvei Michkov's dad was found dead in Russia.

Gotta say, steer clear of the Russian prospects... I don't care how good they are, right now is not the time to be meddling, end up drafting a kid and he wants to come over to America he and his whole family will die under "mysterious circumstances".

[theohall]

Having watched the first 3 games of the Q playoffs for both Quebec and Gatineau, Dean is the more complete player. While Bolduc is great in the offensive zone and when defending, he's a hot mess in transition if he has to pass the puck at all. It's weird, because he's just fine when making passes in the offensive zone. It's only when in transition he's hesitant and/or forces high risk passes instead of making the safer plays.

Meanwhile, in Game 3, whenever Dean was on the ice and defending, the St John's Sea Dogs made a concerted effort to keep it away from whichever side of the ice he was defending. Whenever the Sea Dogs got possession in their own end and Dean was on the ice, their transition up ice was also opposite wherever Dean was defending. It worked for the Sea Dogs, since Dean wound up playing nearly 24 minutes due to Gatineau's #1 center Cormier getting ejected for a slew foot halfway through the 2nd. St John' s even cheated defensively as much as they could to over-defend Dean once Cormier left the game.

So my prediction - unless the Blues bring in multiple FA centers, Dean makes the team out of camp while Bolduc gets some time in the AHL to fix that one issue. Can't hide players weaknesses at the NHL level.

Haven't watched Sherbrooke (Gaudet) or Guelph (Buchinger) yet.

[theohall]

Watching Sherbrooke vs Blainville-Boisbriand Game 2. These two teams do not like each other. Headbutting off of faceoffs. Sticks up in the corner and plenty of "protecting the net" stuff. One shift guys spent about 45 seconds beating the crap out of each other in front of the goalie during 4-on-4 while the other 3 guys for Sherbrooke just moved the puck around the outside waiting for a lane.

Gaudet looks like a good defenseman. Haven't seen anything that would make him stand out from the mass of current left-handed Blues defenseman. He isn't afraid to step up in the offensive zone and seems to do so smartly most of the time, since he did that carry the puck to the middle between 2 defenders thing we hate. His partner bailed him out. Didn't see Game 1. Seems the CHL doesn't keep all the games. We'll see if that changes later. Going to try and watch games 3 and 4, but need to watch some of the Buchinger games as well. With a trip to St Louis next week in the plans, don't see me watching much of anything after Friday. At least until I get back.

[theohall]

Buchinger has played both sides defensively and is effective on both sides. He stands out in a positive way defensively, compared to Gaudet who seemed like just another defenseman. With Buchinger being 18, I don't see the Blues rushing him at all considering the current defensive roster and when the contracts end. Sure, give him a look in camp like they've done, but he's not going to supplant those NTC contracts.

Kryou's brother is playing against Buchinger and he looks like a friggin' forward with how often he has the puck in the offensive zone, even though he's a defenseman.

Sarnia has Guelph outmatched at forward. Were Buchinger older, he's likely get a look at Springfield since Guelph is very unlikely to advance.

[theohall]

On to Rnd 2 of the CHL playoffs:

Buchinger (which is pronounced Bushinger) is out. They lost in Game 6. No worries for him in development since he's only 18 and looks better than the 19 year old 5th round pick Gaudet. But we'll get a longer look at Gaudet since Sherbrooke advanced.

2 Games into the 2nd round:
Bolduc: 3G 1A (2G 1A in Game 1, 1G in Game 2)
Dean: 1G 3A (1A in Game 1, 1G 2A in Game 2)
Gaudet: 1G 3A (2A in Game 1, 1G 1A in Game 2) Why the Blues might be high no Gaudet - 6'3 180 lb d-man at 18. He will add weight to that frame and he's not weak in the defensive end.

Going to try and post a couple short videos tomorrow (via youtube) which 1) show Bolduc's goal scoring skill and his transition weakness and 2) show how more complete Dean's game is. Have to find the defensive vids for Dean, but it's easy finding video of how he finds space in the offensive zone along with being a complete forward in terms of forechecking, going to the net, being the 3rd man high, etc. Dean's goal in Game 2 of the 2nd round is a great example of a 3rd-man high in a scoring position goal.

Yes, all 3 Blues prospects are pulling the 2 points/game thing in the 2nd round of the QMJHL playoffs. Don't expect this to continue for Gaudet. Gaudet actually had a goal taken away in Game 1 by the official scorer so when watching the highlights for one of the goals, they all celebrate around Gaudet, but it got changed later due to a deflection.

If you're willing to wade through highlights, these are whole game highlights:

Bolduc: Game 1 Game 2
Dean: Game 1 Game 2
Gaudet: Game 1 Game 2

[theohall]

QMJHL Game 3s

Bolduc - no points. Rimouski made a point of denying him shots. Quebec's 2nd line won the game anyway. 4-3 final.

Nothing from Gaudet in Sherbrooke's 4-1 win over Drummondville other than playing sound defense, which is his primary job.

Meanwhile, Dean puts up 1G and 2A in a 7-3 win over Rouyn-Noranda earning 1st star even though a teammate had 2 goals. Dean is outstanding defensively without sacrificing his offensive presence.

[theohall]

Quebec (Bolduc), Gatineau (Dean), and Sherbrooke (Gaudet) all won in 2nd round sweeps. Who plays who in Rd 4 depends on the Halifax vs Montreal series which Halifax leads 2-1. I will be surprised if Halifax does not win based on their dominant regular season performance.

QMJHL Game 4s

Quebec - Another zero point night for Bolduc with Quebec's 2nd line again carrying the offense in a 4-2 win.
Sherbrooke - Gaudet had 1G in a a 5-2 win over Drummondville. His goal was the 4th of the game for Sherbooke
Gatineau - Dean had another 3 point night - 2 PPAs and 1G in their 6-1 win over Rouyn-Noranda. Dean currently leads the QMJHL in playoff points with 23. What's nuts - he's a PK guy and takes defensive faceoffs often and still leads the Q in scoring.

To put things in perspective regarding Dean and Bedard in the CHL overall - Dean has 23 points in 9 games. Bedard had 20 points in 7 games. IMO, the difference is Dean is an all-around guy while Bedard is a McDavid/MacKinnon guy who is almost all offense. I think we will be impressed with Dean when he's wearing the Bluenote.

Meanwhile, Bolduc is going to need work, once again, especially in transition involving him passing the puck at all. While Gaudet is sound defensively, he isn't showing anything to make him stand out.

I see Dean making the 23-24 roster, while Bolduc and Gaudet wind up in Springfield. While Bolduc has an incredible shot and fantastic o-zone instincts, he'll be a liability at the NHL level if ever put in a defensive position (like Kyrou).

[glen a richter]

I'd also love to see them get a few other guys signed up and onto Springfield to see what they can do at a higher level and/or in North America. Loof, Beck and Robertsson specifically.

I don't know what the hell is going on with Robertsson that he just really isn't producing all that much but I'm still holding out hope that maybe he'll blossom once he gets over here, if he gets over here.

I wasn't able to get to any AHL games this season, Springfield was playing Bridgeport on all days that were bad for me so I'm hoping to catch a couple next season.

[theohall]

Bolduc and Dean are playing against each other in the QMJHL semis starting Friday

Guadet will be facing Halifax - arguably the team with the most offensive depth in the Q this season. I don't see Sherbrooke getting past Halifax. Both Gatineau (Dean) and Quebec (Bolduc) have better goaltending and more defensive depth, but will still be challenged if they have to face Halifax.

[glen a richter]

Loof signed to an ELC. I'm looking forward to what he brings over to the North American game.

[theohall]

So... Quebec vs Gatineau... 1st 2 games were outstanding with some exceptional goaltending. Quebec has a 2-0 lead. Dean is playing a ton, but Quebec is doing a really good job taking away his transition game. Bolduc is still the same guy (horrible passing in transition/really good in the offensive zone) but hasn't scored in either game. 2nd game went to OT and it's the later round picks scoring the goals for Quebec. James Malatesta, a Columbus 5th round pick has been one of the best forwards, so far.
Gatineau vs Quebec Game 1 - The Game 1 score is misleading. Game was a 1 goal game until the final minutes of the 3rd.
Gatineau vs Quebec Game 2


Shockingly, Sherbrooke is up 2-0 on Halifax winning 2 road games, the 2nd in OT.
Gaudet had 2 assists in Game 1.
Sherbrooke vs Halifax Game 1
Sherbrooke vs Halifax Game 2

[theohall]

Quebec vs Gatineau Game 3 Quebec's 3rd goal in this game by the formerly mentioned Malatesta is a great example of using a defenseman as a screen to disguise a shot. Right now, he's the player of this series. 2nd straight OT game in this series. And Malatesta scored the game-winner in OT off of a breakaway/shot/rebound- all him. And he's a flipping 5th round draft pick.

Dean, meanwhile, has a horrible +/- rating for these 3 games, but he's still the better all around player when compared to Bolduc. Bolduc got the game-tying goal in the 3rd at even strength with Dean defending. IMO, Gatineau's forwards backed off way too much to defend lanes, instead of attacking the puck carrier - which happened in the 1st two games also when Gatineau found themselves defending at 5-on-5 and Quebec with clear possession.

While this would be off the wall, whomever is Gatineau's PP coach clearly gets the idea that motion matters. Through the 1st series and 3 games of the 2nd round, every time Gatineau's 1st PP unit is on the ice, the top 3 in the 1-3-1 rotate (left, top, right) to create space and create passing/shooting lanes, while the bumper and net front move according to how the top 3 are shifting. It creates screens and shooting lanes. Reminds of things from teams where Kirk Muller was an assistant - when he was running the power play and the players didn't suck. Heck, Muller might wind up being the Flames head coach - his more open style would fit their players more than D. Sutter's defense first system.

[theohall]

Revising my take on Gaudet a bit. He's Sherbrooke's #1 LD, #1 PK LD, and #1 PP LD. Why revise the take? Because he's so effective at defending in the 1st and 3rd role, it's damn near not not noticeable. On the PP, that's where his points have come from. He gets the puck to where the guy is who has the shot. But it's so damn subtle, you have to be looking beyond obvious stuff to see how he's impacted the play - kind of like what Bouwmeester would do when he was healthy.

Halifax dominated game 3 building a 4-0 lead in the 1st period. Final was 5-4 for Halifax.
Halifax vs Gatineau Game 3

[glen a richter]

I can't wait for the AHL schedule to come out for next season, looking forward to getting a look at Gaudet, Loof and Bolduc who is probably not going to break camp with the team. Hopefully there's some games at Bridgeport early on that I can get to.

[theohall]

Quebec swept Gatineau. Bolduc assisted on the GWG in Game 4. Dean was shut down almost completely by Quebec in this series.
Game 4: Quebec 3 Gatineau 1

Halifax is up 4-0 after 2 on Sherbrooke in Game 4 of that series, so it looks like that's going to be tied 2-2 unless Sherbrooke magically finds 4+ goals in the 3rd. Seeing as Sherbrooke hasn't scored even 3 goals in any single period yet in the playoffs, a comeback is very unlikely. These 2 teams are just imitating the NHL winning road games.

[theohall]

Sherbrooke lost games 4 games to 2 to Halifax getting shutout in the final 2 games - so Gaudet is out, but still eligible for juniors next season, where I suspect he will stay.

Last man standing is Bolduc and the Remparts against Halifax ridiculous forward crew. We'll see if a Blues prospect makes it into the Memorial Cup this season.

[theohall]

QMJHL Finals - Quebec vs Halifax

Quebec dominated Game 1 in a 5-1 win.
Halifax dominated Game 2 in a 6-3 win

The next 2 games in Halifax were tightly contested, but Quebec came away with 2 road wins winning 5-4 in OT and 2-1.

Game 5 Friday was another tight game with Halifax coming out on top 3-2.

Quebec leads 3-2 with Game 6 in Halifax Sunday afternoon.

Bolduc seems more engaged in this series. While Gatineau took away Bolduc by taking away his space or forcing him to make passes in transition, Halifax is taking a different tack. They keep taking shots at him after whistles, the slashes away from the play, lots of the little crap that tends to annoy "star" players. Bolduc just takes it in stride and seems to be playing way better than he did in the prior series.

goals 1 1 1
assists 1 1
shots 4 4 4 7 3
high danger 2 3 2 3 1
-2 +1 +1 -1 +1

Bolduc's line: 5GP 3G 2A 22 SOG, 11 High Danger shots, even

Even in +/- is good for a forward when playing Halifax who has insane scoring depth, but Quebec has taken that away in 3 of the 5 games.

[theohall]

Quebec won the QMJHL with a 5-4 win over Halifax in Game 6. Bolduc had 1G 1A 6SOG (4 high danger) and 2 hits in this one.

Quebec was down 3-2 going into the 3rd. Tied the game early. With just over 3 minutes to go, Halifax retook the lead. Quebec responded with 2 goals in the final 3 minutes.

So... Bolduc will be playing for the Memorial Cup, which is some place Blues scouts always seem to wind up leading to them drafting someone who plays well in that tournament. The tourney begins May 26th and ends June 4th.

This year it will have:
Quebec Remparts (QMJHL)
Seattle Thunderbirds (WHL)
Peterborough Petes (OHL)
and
Kamloops Blazers (host city)

Quebec plays Kamloops tomorrow night, Seattle Monday night, and Peterborough on Tuesday night.

[Liliana]

Hi Guys,
Wow, this thread is a treasure trove of talent! The official prospects showcased here are incredibly impressive. The sheer potential and skill on display are awe-inspiring. From athletes to artists, entrepreneurs to scientists, the future is undoubtedly bright.revanced

It's exhilarating to witness these individuals carving their paths toward success. The dedication, hard work, and passion evident in their stories are truly inspiring. It's clear that they possess the drive to achieve greatness and make a significant impact in their respective fields.

As I scroll through this thread, I can't help but feel a sense of optimism for what lies ahead. The world is in for an incredible ride with these promising prospects leading the way.

[glen a richter]

Let’s see what Snuggerud can do without Cooley as a linemate. We’re going to learn a lot about young Jimmy this season.