Blues Prospect Camp Reaction: Grading the Players

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Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

FORWARDS

Samuel Blais- C+

Blais, one of the Blues’ sixth-rounders in 2014, honestly was one of the easier players to overlook during the course of the four-day camp. He showed off above-average skating ability during drills and was one of the most impressive prospects when the group simulated a shootout, but as far as the official scrimmage periods there wasn’t much to see from Blais. He was quite productive during his second junior season, scoring 34 goals with assists in 61 games for Victoriaville of the QMJHL, but Blais didn’t really translate those skills to the professional (practice) ice. At just 19 years old with only two junior seasons under his belt, however, he’s still got lots of time and could improve his standing if he puts up the kind of production that he did in 2014-15.

Ivan Barbashev- B

Barbashev, the Blues’ second-rounder in 2014, certainly had moments of weakness, showing a lack of strength in the scrimmage periods and getting tossed around quite a bit. With that said, he also had some nice flashes in which he displayed a unique ability to get the puck in the net. The 6-foot-1, 195-pounder backed up his incredible junior production from 2014-15, when he scored 45 goals with 50 assists over 57 games for the QMJHL’s Moncton Wildcats, then had another 13 goals and 11 assists in 16 playoff games for the club. Despite his vulnerability in the physical aspect of the game, he was also quite willing to be aggressive and throw his body into people to get ahold of the puck.

The 19-year-old’s need to develop physically and in the defensive zone will almost certainly prohibit him from contributing in the NHL this season, but he showed a good enough scoring touch that he has a chance to end up in the AHL this season after three productive junior campaigns.

Carson Stadnyk- C+

Stadnyk went undrafted for the third straight season despite decent size and solid offensive production with the WHL’s Everett Silvertips. The 20-year-old was a bit slow to get going in camp and didn’t really stand out during drills, instead giving way to the Blues’ more highly-regarded prospects. When the tryout players were given more of an opportunity on the camp’s final day, however, Stadnyk had more of an impressive showing, even knocking in a clutch goal late in the scrimmage.

The 6-foot-2, 190-pounder didn’t seem to stand out to the point where the Blues would feel compelled to offer him a contract, but perhaps with a more extended opportunity he could earn a free agent contract with another team.

Liam Dunda- C

Dunda, a 6-foot-4, 215-pound enforcer who was taken in the sixth round this year, was a bit out of his element in a camp that’s primarily focused on skill development. He didn’t really do much to showcase himself as a skilled player, and he seemed to be one of the most limited prospects during offensive drills.

Dunda is just 17 years old, so he has just about as much time as any prospect could possibly have to develop into a successful player. With that said, the game is quickly moving away from fighting being a focal point, so he’s going to need to develop some legitimate skills at some point if he’s going to have a chance to make it in the NHL.

MacKenzie MacEachern- B-

MacEachern, the Blues’ third-rounder in 2012, hasn’t been exceptionally productive during his first two seasons at Michigan State, and he didn’t do a bunch to stand out during the prospect camp. He actually was more noticeable during the scrimmage than in drills, generating some offensive chances, but overall his performance wasn’t fantastic.
As a former third-rounder, MacEachern should get a pretty lengthy chance to prove his worth, but he’s going to have to do more in order to reach the level of guys like Robby Fabbri and Ivan Barbashev on the path to the NHL.

Austin Poganski- B-

Poganski, a fourth-rounder last year, had some strong flashes during drills, particularly during the first couple days of camp. He showed off his quick wrists during shooting drills, displaying some possible potential as a scorer. He didn’t carry that success over to the scrimmages, however, as he was rather absent in those periods.

The 19-year-old didn’t experience a whole lot of success during his freshman year at the University of North Dakota, scoring just four goals with 10 assists in 38 games. With the raw skills that he showed in the individual drills this past week, though, maybe he can build upon that initial experience and do something more impressive in his sophomore season.

Robby Fabbri- A+

Fabbri, the Blues’ first-rounder in last year’s draft, continued his quest to absolutely dominate every official Blues function that he’s invited to and somehow earn himself a spot on the NHL roster for the 2015-16 season. Fabbri was clearly a head above every other prospect at camp and obliterated the competition in every scrimmage. He seemed to be the leading scorer in the scrimmage sessions by a very wide margin, and his skating speed and passing skills were also very impressive.

If there’s one thing Fabbri could improve, it might be his play in the defensive zone. That could also be said of dominant NHL stars like Vladimir Tarasenko and Alex Ovechkin, though, so if Fabbri can replicate his success during prospect camp at even 75 percent in the NHL, he should be a successful top-six forward sooner than later.

Adam Musil- C-

Musil, a big forward with a strong NHL pedigree and superior coaching at the junior level, seems to have a great outlook as a future NHL prospect. However, he showed during prospect camp that he still has a ways to go in his development, as he frequently looked lost, especially during drills. The 6-foot-3, 200-pounder didn’t necessarily look out of place during the scrimmages, but he didn’t really do anything to impress there, either.

Musil’s size as a center and offensive upside as a setup man mean that he has a decent shot at playing in the NHL one day. Unless his short time in prospect camp was an aberration, however, it seems like he will still need to spend quite a bit more time in juniors and the minors before he’s ready, though.

Jaedon Descheneau- B+

Descheneau had the best advantage that any questionable prospect could have at prospect camp, as he was paired with the most dominant player in the group, Robby Fabbri. Descheneau took full advantage, getting great scoring opportunities whenever Fabbri was in the mood to play setup man. The 5-foot-9, 192-pounder proved that his special touch as a scorer is legitimate, providing credence to the 30, 44, and 34-goal seasons that he’s had over his past three seasons in juniors. The undersized winger wasn’t as noticeable in drills, which may mean that Fabbri was largely responsible for inflating Descheneau’s level of performance, but his strong performance in the scrimmages was a positive nonetheless.

The former fifth-rounder still has a steep climb to the NHL, as he’s spent four full seasons in juniors and has yet to sign a contract with the Blues, meaning that he may be stuck spending a fifth year at the junior level, rather than making the logical progression to the professional minors. However, Descheneau’s encouraging performance over the past week may propel him to earn a deal with the Blues, meaning that he could at least step up to the ECHL this season and begin his pro career.

Glenn Gawdin- B-

Gawdin, the Blues’ second fourth-rounder in this season’s draft, stood out during individual drills during the early days of camp and showed some of the potential that led several experts to say he was a steal in the fourth round. The center showed some nice quickness and displayed some impressive velocity on his shot in shooting drills.

However, Gawdin got lost in the shuffle a bit during the scrimmages and was not nearly as noticeable. That’s completely acceptable since he’s just 18 years old, but at some point—whether it be in prospect camp, or by having a spectacular junior season—he’ll have to do something to get noticed and put himself more firmly on the club’s radar after falling in the draft.

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C.J. Yakimowicz- B

Yakimowicz, a big 19-year-old (6’2”, 210) with solid offensive potential, did some nice things during prospect camp. He was pretty active in the offensive end, especially later on in camp, as he scored two goals during the final day’s scrimmage. Yakimowicz took a while to break out and was pretty quiet during the first few days, but in the end he turned out to be one of the more impressive forwards in camp.

The 19-year-old Yakimowicz didn’t really have success as an offensive player in any regard until this past season, when he scored 13 goals and added 20 assists in 63 games. As a former sixth-rounder, he’s going to need to do more in order to position himself as a future NHLer, but his performance in the late part of this week was a good start.

Dwyer Tschantz- B

At 6-foot-5 and 220 pounds, Tschantz immediately catches your eye when he’s on the ice, and he displays some nice physical skills that are befitting of his size. Unfortunately, his offensively ability hasn’t been there thus far through his career, as evidenced by the two goals and three assists he totaled through 19 games in his freshman season at Cornell University.

The reason for that offensive ineptitude appeared clear during the first practice on Monday, as he experienced some issues as a stickhandler and had difficult holding onto the puck. As the week went on, however, Tschantz appeared to get more and more comfortable as an offensive player, to the point where later in the week Tschantz did some nice things during the scrimmages, scoring a goal and standing out on one of the best breakaway plays of camp. He has the odds stacked against him as a seventh-rounder who will be facing inferior college competition for the next few years, but if he continues to develop offensively, Schantz’s size and physicality could enable him to be a late-round surprise.

Justin Selman- B

Selman didn’t exactly “take over” camp like Fabbri did, but he gradually made himself more visible as the week went on, and by the camp’s final day, he really looked like a player that deserved to be drafted, which he wasn’t following several mediocre seasons at the University of Michigan. Selman had his best season in his third year as a Wolverine, scoring 11 goals with 12 assists in 26 games, and following a very good few days at the Blues’ prospect camp, he looks like a player that could command an entry-level free agent contract following his senior season at Michigan. He doesn’t have particularly great size or the special scoring ability that players like Fabbri or Barbashev seem to possess, but Selman moves around the ice well and is enough of a grinder that he could eventually succeed as a pro.

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St. Louis Blues Prospect Camp Reaction: Grading the Players

By Patrick Karraker | Jul 13, 2015