St. Louis Blues Prospect Camp Reaction: Grading the Players
Goaltender Luke Opilka watches in net at St. Louis Blues prospect camp. Photo by Patrick Karraker
GOALTENDERS
Ville Husso- C+
Husso was by no means bad during prospect camp, but he was arguably the least noticeable. That’s a perfectly fine quality for a goalie to have—just like is often said with long snappers in the NFL, you could argue that if a goalie goes unnoticed, he’s doing his job—but Husso didn’t make as many impressive saves during the scrimmage sessions as recent draftee Luke Opilka or tryout goalies Ken Appleby and Jeremy Brodeur did. On the other hand, Husso didn’t give up many noticeably bad goals, though it would be understandable if he did considering that it’s the middle of the summer, and it’s also the first time the 20-year-old Fin has come to North America as a member of the Blues organization.
Husso will head back to Finland this season and attempt to further build his prospect value in hopes of earning a spot with one of the Blues’ minor league teams in the next year or two. Though he’s fifth or sixth on the Blues’ organizational goalie depth chart as things stand now, he’s likely the closest to NHL-ready of any of the goaltenders who attended prospect camp.
Ken Appleby- B-
While he wasn’t as flashy as his former backup, Appleby had a solid week and actually stood out more than the two goalies who have their rights held by the Blues. The 6-foot-4, 210-pounder is an impressive physical specimen in net, and he backed that up by showing some solid flexibility and movement skills.
Appleby is also scheduled to attend the New Jersey Devils’ prospect camp next week, and after already having attended the Arizona Coyotes’ and Chicago Blackhawks’ camps, it seems like a decent bet that he could end up with a free agent contract. Since Appleby has run out of junior eligibility and therefore is more seasoned, he’s probably more likely to be signed to a contract by the Blues than Brodeur is, at least if none of the other teams he auditioned for express greater interest. That would allow him to go down to Alaska, the Blues’ ECHL affiliate, and gain some more seasoning with hopes of being an option down the line.
Luke Opilka- C
There shouldn’t have been any grand expectations for Opilka going into prospect camp; he was the youngest of the four goalies and faced arguably the lowest level of competition during the previous season. With that said, the recent fifth-rounder looked a bit uncomfortable, lacking quick movement at times and allowing a few goals during the scrimmage periods that he probably shouldn’t have. Opilka really has all the time in the world to develop—he’s got at least a couple junior seasons and another few in the minors before anyone will expect him to contribute—but it was clear over the past week that he’s got some work to do before he’s anywhere close to NHL-ready.
Jeremy Brodeur- B+
Despite the fact that Brodeur is just 18 years old, went undrafted in his first year of eligibility, and still has not signed with an NHL team, he was the most visibly impressive goaltender at the four-day prospect camp. The son of former Blues goalie and current assistant general manager Martin Brodeur, Jeremy compensated for his smaller-than-normal 6’1”, 165-pound frame by stopping nearly every shot that came his way and making some very impressive saves during the scrimmage sessions.
Due to the fact that the Blues already possess a substantial amount of goaltending depth, it’s unlikely that the Blues will give Brodeur a contract, at least for the moment. However, he’ll be heading into his second junior season (and first as a starter) with great momentum and may be able to turn himself into a draft prospect in 2015-16.
Next: Notes and Observations from Blues Prospect Camp, June 9