St. Louis Blues: Vince Dunn Might Benefit From Andre Benoit’s Departure

Andre Benoit has left the Chicago Wolves to play in Europe. Does that mean the ascension of some of the St. Louis Blues drafted defenders, such as Vince Dunn?

In case you haven’t heard much of Andre Benoit, it’s because he never made much of an impact in the NHL. Benoit was undrafted despite the fact that he won a championship in the OHL with the Kitchener Rangers. He was an offensive defenseman back when the NHL was still focusing primarily on defending blueliners.

He averaged in the 70’s for points in juniors, but couldn’t get that to translate at the pro level. Despite the fact he won two AHL championships, with different clubs, he only got over 40 points once in his pro career.

He got picked up by the Ottawa Senators in 2010-11 and played a handful of games. He played in the KHL the following year, before coming back to Ottawa for a little under half a season in 2012-13. He spent a season each with Colorado and Buffalo before the Blues picked him up.

When St. Louis signed him, it was pretty much known it was to flesh out their AHL squad with the possibility of NHL action if injuries came about. Injuries definitely popped up for St. Louis in 2015-16. However, Benoit played in only two games and did not register a point.

With the Blues looking to get younger and faster at all levels, Benoit was not offered a new contract – or if he was, he did not accept it – and has now signed to play with the Malmo Redhawks in Sweden.

So, the question becomes who benefits from this roster spot? The dynamic between the Blues and the Chicago Wolves has become a little more interesting with negotiations to remain an affiliate taking longer than anticipated a month or so ago.

Does Chicago fill the spot by signing their own player? Or can someone like Vince Dunn get promoted to the professional ranks?

Dunn is entering the second year of his three-year entry deal. The Blues signed him soon after drafting him in 2015. He earned a spot in their training camp and he performed reasonably well before being sent back to the Niagra IceDogs of the OHL.

One could envision a similar scenario playing out this fall, with the exception being Dunn going to Chicago instead of Canada. Dunn played very well at the Blues Prospect Camp and displayed several qualities that would make him a candidate to fill Kevin Shattenkirk‘s shoes down the road.

He does not have blazing speed, but he’s a very quick player. He has good skating ability and puck handling skills. His passing is about where you would expect at this point in his career, good but not great. He will need to keep improving on it, i.e. work on stretch passes that are becoming more prevalent in today’s game.

He has good offensive skills though. He had 56 points two seasons ago and 43 in an injury shortened year last season. His rookie year with Niagra was also the only time in the OHL that he was a minus player.

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He does need to put on some size. He’s not a tiny player. He is listed around 6′ and approaching 190 lbs, depending on which source you use. However, he still looks a bit small.

If he could add 10 lbs or so without tampering his speed, that would probably be a great compromise. As anyone who has put on weight knows though, even if it’s pure muscle, sometimes it does take away the speed.

In the end, this may not happen. Benoit’s open spot with the Wolves may just be taken by Petteri Lindbohm, who was limited to 43 AHL games last year due to injuries of his own. It might get taken up by a player the Wolves sign, since they are their own autonomous entity to a certain degree.

However, if the Blues have influence, it may be time for Dunn to take the step into the pros. He’s already spent three years in the OHL, so there isn’t much more you can learn about his game if he goes back there unless it’s a pure question of playing time.

While he’s still 19, with plenty of room to develop, sometimes it isn’t that bad an idea to toss these guys into the fire and see how they handle it. It’s not like you’re asking him to be a top four defender for your NHL club.

Another reason to get him into the pros is to get him acquainted with guys you hope will be his teammates for years to come. You’ve got Tommy Vannelli down there as well as Jordan Schmaltz. Let them all play together and see how they gel.

It’s all well and good to want veteran depth to pull from. Overall, there’s nothing majorly wrong with having Chris Butler around or someone like Peter Harrold last year – by the way Harrold is unsigned at this moment, so that might open up another spot as well.

It’s time to see what your prospects have though. I trust in the professionals whose job it is to judge the readiness of these young men, but sometimes you need to figure out what they’re going to be or cut bait and find new guys.

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That last statement isn’t necessarily true of Dunn, who has barely been in the organization for a full year, but more an overall statement. Granted, it was easier to see what young talent had when you owned your minor league team and made all the decisions, but if guys like Dunn are as good as people hope then minor league management should have no problem giving them a look either.

It remains to be seen who will benefit from the departure of Benoit (and possibly Harrold). It should be some of these young guys like Dunn though. Give them a taste. Some will surprise you. Others will learn from it and know what to build on for future success.