St. Louis Blues: Notes and Observations from Prospect Camp, July 6
The St. Louis Blues kicked off their annual Prospect Camp at the IceZone in Hazelwood on Monday afternoon. Here are a few notes from the day’s practice and scrimmage:
- Forward Austin Poganski, a fourth-round pick in last year’s draft, displayed some quick wrists during passing and shooting drills, firing off a couple impressive shots that wowed the crowd. Poganski hasn’t put up tremendous offensive numbers thus far during his amateur career and scored just four goals over 38 games in his freshman season at the University of North Dakota (a Blues talent hotbed), but it’s clear from seeing him on the ice that he has enough skill to develop into a player if he’s willing to put in the work.
- One of the fourth-rounders in this year’s draft class, center Glenn Gawdin, showed off some great velocity as a shooter on Monday. Granted, he was just participating in a few drills and a short scrimmage, but during his time on the ice, Gawdin seemed to live up to Cody Nickolet of “WHL from Above”‘s billing as a player who “can literally play in any situation you need him to and can often excel in that role”. Obviously we won’t be able to get a full grasp of Gawdin’s ability until he starts playing in games against elite competition, but from his showing on Monday, Gawdin looks like a player who could be a potential steal in this year’s draft class.
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- 2015 fifth-rounder Niko Mikkola and 2012 third-rounder Colton Parayko made a major physical impression among the defensive group, and both look even bigger than their listed sizes of 6’4″ and 185 and 6’5″ and 214, respectively. Many a Blues fan was wowed by the sight of Parayko protecting in front of the net on Monday, and it may not be too long before we have the opportunity to see him do that in a Blues uniform during the regular season:
- Speaking of impressive physical specimens, 2014 seventh-rounder Dwyer Tschantz looks like a player that has a chance to be imposing at the NHL level based on the eye test alone. However, upon prolonged observation of the 6-foot-5, 209-pound forward, it’s pretty clear that he has some work to do on his stick handling before he even puts his name into the conversation at hockey’s highest level. Fortunately, he has at least a few more years to do that, as he just finished up his freshman year at Cornell. Here’s some footage of the two biggest players in prospect camp, Tschantz and Parayko, going up against each other in a one-on-one drill Monday:
- 2014 second-rounder Ivan Barbashev, who isn’t the biggest player at a listed size of 6-foot and 180 pounds, played bigger than his size during the scrimmage on Monday and showed a surprising amount of physicality. Barbashev wasn’t afraid to throw his body into people, and he got physical along the boards. With that said, it was apparent at times on Monday that Barbashev will need some more seasoning before he’s ready to play that way at the NHL level. Barbashev got leveled at mid-ice multiple times, one of which resulted in a turnover and a goal for opponent Robby Fabbri. Some fans have brought up Barbashev’s name as a possible NHL contributor this season, but it’s probably best if the 19-year-old spends his first full professional season with the AHL Chicago Wolves and continues to add strength, with a goal of breaking into the Blues’ lineup for the 2016-17 season.
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- Defenseman Tommy Vannelli, a second-rounder in 2013, really stood out during the scrimmage. The 6-foot-2, 180-pounder displayed an authoritative presence at the point. He also showed some strong skills in front of the net and ended up scoring two goals during the short scrimmage. It’s not a total guarantee that Vannelli will move up to the AHL this season, as he still has a season of junior eligibility left, while the Blues have an overwhelming amount of defensive depth. If Vannelli continues to perform like he did Monday throughout the duration of the offseason and preseason, however, he’ll put himself in position to head to Chicago for the 2015-16 season.
- Here’s some footage of Barbashev and Vannelli showing off their offensive skills during a passing and shooting drill on Monday:
- It’s only been a day, but in my personal opinion, but for the second straight year, 2014 first-rounder Robby Fabbri looks to be head-and-shoulders above every other Blues prospect in camp. He has incredible velocity on his slap shot, and he handles the puck with ease. Fabbri came away with several breakaway opportunities during the scrimmage on Monday, and he basically took over the early part of the four-on-four session. It may be difficult for the Blues to find a regular spot in the lineup for the 19-year-old this season, but he’s certainly going to force the issue this preseason and seems like a good bet to make the team, at least for the nine-game tryout that is granted to junior-eligible players before they must be retained or assigned to the CHL by their NHL club.