Let's Go Blues

Making their way to graduation are two of the Blues best prospects, Jaden Schwartz and Vladimir Tarasenko. While Schwartz has had a major coming out party this season, Tarasenko has proven his abilities as a full-time NHL player over the past couple years.

At the start of the season, the wing position was extremely deep and might have been one of the best in the NHL. However, with Schwartz and Tarasenko moving on, and the underperforming prospects at the position, the Blues are looking much stronger at other positions. While center remains the biggest red flag in the system, the defensemen and goaltenders have improved dramatically.

1. Jake Allen, G, 7.5B
Drafted 2nd round, 34th overall, 2008

Allen has already played in the NHL and proved his abilities as a number one, but the Blues recent moves suggest that the NHL squad might want to keep the younger goaltenders at bay while they chase the Stanley Cup. On the brighter side, Allen has been the go-to-guy for the AHL affiliate Chicago Wolves and has played extremely well. In 46 games played this season, Allen has maintained a 2.12 goals against average and .925 save percentage. His record is 29-15-2 and he has shown the ability to carry the load for the Wolves, which helps him take over the top spot in these rankings.

2. Dmitrij Jaskin, RW, 7.0C
Drafted 2nd round, 41st overall, 2011

This year, Jaskin has surpassed all expectations and has performed well in the AHL. He has scored 15 goals and 14 assists in 42 games. He was recently called up to the NHL once again and has played in 12 games thus far. Jaskin has proven his versatility as an all-around forward, being reliable in the defensive zone and providing secondary scoring when necessary.

3. Jordan Binnington, G, 7.0C
Drafted 3rd round, 88th overall, 2011

Binnington is another player suffering from the immense depth at the goaltending position. Though he has the skill to perform as an AHL player, he has been forced to play in the ECHL with the Kalamazoo Wings. This season, Binnington has played in 33 games and has posted a 2.28 goals against average to go along with a 0.924 save percentage. His performance has been good enough to move him into the top five prospects in the Blues’ system.

4. Ty Rattie, RW, 7.0C
Drafted 2nd round, 32nd overall, 2011

Going into his first year of professional hockey, it was a concern that Rattie would be undersized or not enough of an all-around player to make an impact immediately. This season, playing as a rookie with the Wolves, Rattie has scored an impressive 27 goals and 15 assists in 64 games. He is not an effective player in a bottom-six role, which limits his production as an all-around player. Rattie will be staying in the AHL until his offensive skills become more consistent.

5. Tommy Vannelli, D, 7.5D
Drafted 2nd round, 47th overall, 2013

Vannelli is an example of the perfect prospect for the Blues. Not only does he have the potential to be a solid offensive defenseman, but he is young enough to not worry about NHL playing time and focus on making his game better. Playing with the Medicine Hat Tigers, Vannelli put up an impressive 14 goals and 27 assists in 60 regular season games played from the blue line. He should stay at the junior level for the foreseeable future.

6. Joel Edmundson, D, 7.0C
Drafted 2nd round, 46th overall, 2011

Edmundson is enjoying a solid rookie campaign with the Wolves and has demonstrated effective defensive skills throughout the season. His four goals and four assists may not be a great showing offensively, but he is regarded more as a defensive-minded player who can perform at both ends of the ice. If he can pick up the offensive slack and stand out as an AHL player, there is a chance we could see Edmundson make his NHL debut in the near future. For now, he will remain with the Wolves as he becomes a more reliable two-way player.

7. Jordan Schmaltz, D, 7.0C
Drafted 1st round, 25th overall, 2012

Schmaltz had a pretty good rookie campaign but has really taken off as a sophomore. This season, Schmaltz has scored six goals and 17 assists in 38 games. While his offensive and power play skills are well on their way, his defensive abilities are still a work in progress and he will need to become a more all-around player as he makes his way to the professional level.

8. Jani Hakanpaa, D, 7.0C
Drafted 4th round, 104th overall, 2010

Hakanpaa has been a bit of a late bloomer as a North American player but is gaining a step this season. He has played in 43 games this season and has scored three goals and three assists with a plus-15 rating. He is an absolute giant on the ice, standing 6’4 and weighing 218 pounds, but can skate quite well for his size. However, his offensive capabilities and skating are two areas he could improve on to become a better player.

9. Colton Parayko, D, 6.5C
Drafted 3rd round, 86th overall, 2012

Parayko finds himself in the top 10 after starting the season at 16th on our list. As a rookie he put up solid numbers in 2012-13, but as a sophomore, he has really proven his abilities. He has played in 37 games this year, scoring seven goals and 19 assists. With regards to improvement, his skating needs extra attention as he makes his way to the professional level. Nevertheless, Parayko still has two more seasons of college hockey to make the necessary changes in his game.

10. Petteri Lindbohm, D, 6.5C
Drafted 6th round, 176th overall, 2012

With so many prospects either graduating or getting moved, players like Lindbohm will get a boost due to his experience and potential. This year, Lindbohm started the season with Assat Pori and played 19 games. He managed one goal and four assists in those games but maintained a plus-3 rating. After getting back to Jokerit this season, Lindbohm has scored just one assist in 18 games but has shown his defensive capabilities. He still has one more year left on his contract with Jokerit Helsinki so it will be interesting to see if he makes his way to North America for the following season.

glen a richter wrote:The obvious trade partner Edmonton has been suggested, needing D for sure and maybe willing to take some quality prospects (Schmaltz, Edmundson Hakanpaa) for a young scorer. Considering the depth at D, I wouldn't be against trading them off in bulk for someone who can put the puck in the net.

The Islanders, Panthers, Senators also all had pretty lousy goals against for the season and Buffalo had the worst GF/GA differential but for the sake of what I'm about to say, let's forget trading with Buffalo again.

Islanders would be tough to trade with on account of I don't think they're overly willing to trade the offense they have. Tavares and Okposo definitely aren't going anywhere, but Frans Nielsen may. Pro: Center. Con: Not exactly an offensive juggernaut.

Florida offers jackshit. Maybe the kids they have will turn into offensive megastars someday, but last season they were overall worthless. Leading scorer on the team had 38 points. Big deal. Having said that, Bjugstad is a pretty good prospect who could develop into a scorer and given that he put up rotten numbers on an equally rotten team might come a bit cheaper than others. But, that doesn't solve our offensive problems, so moving on...

I am intrigued by Ottawa. Spezza, in particular, would be a nice addition--not exceedingly old, and a good history save for last season, but the whole team was off. Clarke MacArthur (yeah, I had to look him up too) put up decent numbers (55 points in 79 games) but had a shooting percentage in the Steen and Backes neighborhood which wouldn't be something I think any of us would object to. Now whether Ottawa would be willing to trade their biggest offensive chip and their 3rd biggest offensive chip (after Turris) is doubtful, but it's definitely a direction to be looking in. Ottawa could sure as hell use some D help given that their all star future hof'er Norris winning d-man actually sucks badly and for some reason won the Norris on the back of his offensive totals. It may cost (probably would definitely cost) Shattenkirk and D prospects, but hey, we agree we need offense so let's consider that a possible angle.

Oaklandblue wrote:

glen a richter wrote:The obvious trade partner Edmonton has been suggested, needing D for sure and maybe willing to take some quality prospects (Schmaltz, Edmundson Hakanpaa) for a young scorer. Considering the depth at D, I wouldn't be against trading them off in bulk for someone who can put the puck in the net.

The Islanders, Panthers, Senators also all had pretty lousy goals against for the season and Buffalo had the worst GF/GA differential but for the sake of what I'm about to say, let's forget trading with Buffalo again.

Islanders would be tough to trade with on account of I don't think they're overly willing to trade the offense they have. Tavares and Okposo definitely aren't going anywhere, but Frans Nielsen may. Pro: Center. Con: Not exactly an offensive juggernaut.

Florida offers jackshit. Maybe the kids they have will turn into offensive megastars someday, but last season they were overall worthless. Leading scorer on the team had 38 points. Big deal. Having said that, Bjugstad is a pretty good prospect who could develop into a scorer and given that he put up rotten numbers on an equally rotten team might come a bit cheaper than others. But, that doesn't solve our offensive problems, so moving on...

I am intrigued by Ottawa. Spezza, in particular, would be a nice addition--not exceedingly old, and a good history save for last season, but the whole team was off. Clarke MacArthur (yeah, I had to look him up too) put up decent numbers (55 points in 79 games) but had a shooting percentage in the Steen and Backes neighborhood which wouldn't be something I think any of us would object to. Now whether Ottawa would be willing to trade their biggest offensive chip and their 3rd biggest offensive chip (after Turris) is doubtful, but it's definitely a direction to be looking in. Ottawa could sure as hell use some D help given that their all star future hof'er Norris winning d-man actually sucks badly and for some reason won the Norris on the back of his offensive totals. It may cost (probably would definitely cost) Shattenkirk and D prospects, but hey, we agree we need offense so let's consider that a possible angle.

If we consider how much D we have in the system plus our depth, we could feasibly trade one of our top D if it returns us an elite scorer. For what we'd consider trading out, we have to get back guranteed firepower. It's a risk we can afford to take without it messing with the makeup of our D corps.

glen a richter wrote:

Oaklandblue wrote:

glen a richter wrote:The obvious trade partner Edmonton has been suggested, needing D for sure and maybe willing to take some quality prospects (Schmaltz, Edmundson Hakanpaa) for a young scorer. Considering the depth at D, I wouldn't be against trading them off in bulk for someone who can put the puck in the net.

The Islanders, Panthers, Senators also all had pretty lousy goals against for the season and Buffalo had the worst GF/GA differential but for the sake of what I'm about to say, let's forget trading with Buffalo again.

Islanders would be tough to trade with on account of I don't think they're overly willing to trade the offense they have. Tavares and Okposo definitely aren't going anywhere, but Frans Nielsen may. Pro: Center. Con: Not exactly an offensive juggernaut.

Florida offers jackshit. Maybe the kids they have will turn into offensive megastars someday, but last season they were overall worthless. Leading scorer on the team had 38 points. Big deal. Having said that, Bjugstad is a pretty good prospect who could develop into a scorer and given that he put up rotten numbers on an equally rotten team might come a bit cheaper than others. But, that doesn't solve our offensive problems, so moving on...

I am intrigued by Ottawa. Spezza, in particular, would be a nice addition--not exceedingly old, and a good history save for last season, but the whole team was off. Clarke MacArthur (yeah, I had to look him up too) put up decent numbers (55 points in 79 games) but had a shooting percentage in the Steen and Backes neighborhood which wouldn't be something I think any of us would object to. Now whether Ottawa would be willing to trade their biggest offensive chip and their 3rd biggest offensive chip (after Turris) is doubtful, but it's definitely a direction to be looking in. Ottawa could sure as hell use some D help given that their all star future hof'er Norris winning d-man actually sucks badly and for some reason won the Norris on the back of his offensive totals. It may cost (probably would definitely cost) Shattenkirk and D prospects, but hey, we agree we need offense so let's consider that a possible angle.

If we consider how much D we have in the system plus our depth, we could feasibly trade one of our top D if it returns us an elite scorer. For what we'd consider trading out, we have to get back guranteed firepower. It's a risk we can afford to take without it messing with the makeup of our D corps.

What would it take to get Spezza, and then taking a step beyond that, what would it take to get 2 guys from Ottawa (Spezza+MacArthur or Spezza+Turris)? One of the top 3 D is obviously part of the deal. So let's say Shattenkirk. Then Berglund becomes part of the trade (and I maintain Berglund would thrive in the east). To get an additional quality forward, we have to start digging into the D depth, which the Sens desperately need. Edmundson and Hakanpaa are closest to NHL ready, Schmaltz has supposedly turned into a tough project and Vanelli seems to be an okay kid. Or do we send Cole, or maybe Polak? I like the idea of Spezza, I like the idea of Spezza + even more if the return to Ottawa isn't outrageous. I do worry that the return to Ottawa for just Spezza might border on the outrageous though.