St. Louis Blues Sign Jordan Kyrou To Entry-Level Deal

The St. Louis Blues announced that Jordan Kyrou has been signed. The speedster has been given an entry-level deal.

The St. Louis Blues must have been at least somewhat impressed by what they saw from Jordan Kyrou in their prospect camp. They have given him a three-year entry-level contract.

The Blues better have hopes for Kyrou. He was selected by the Blues with their second round draft pick acquired from the Calgary Flames.

The pick was given to the Blues as their lone compensation for Brian Elliott. That puts a little bit of pressure on the youngster.

He isn’t going to have any organizational pressure, of course. The pick was not acquired specifically to select Kyrou. The Blues made the trade with the intention of giving full control of the net to Jake Allen and getting something for Elliott in return.

Kyrou simply happened to be available when the 35th overall pick rolled around. So, only the fans are going to think of him as being the man that “replaced” Elliott. Even then, he may not have too much pressure on him due to the fact that will all be shouldered by Allen.

It will be upon Allen to fill the shoes of Elliott in the minds of Moose fans. Kyrou will have a bit of a reprieve in that sense, but it could still end up being a Shanahan for Pronger type deal where people still hold it against the player until he shows that he’s earned their trust.

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Focusing on the player himself, Kyrou is a midsized, versatile player. He has the ability to play on both the wing and at center. He’s listed at 6′ and 170 lbs, so he has room to get a little bigger or at least stronger.

The 18 year old was drafted out of the OHL, playing with the Sarnia Sting. Sting fans need not fear as he is likely to return to them unless he just blows everyone out of the water in tryout camp. Even then, he would likely be returned to his junior team due to the fact that the Chicago Wolves roster is filling up quickly and the Blues do not have an ECHL affiliate right now.

Kyrou scored 51 points in 65 games with the Sting in 2015-16. However, he was drafted as much for his speed as he was his scoring ability.

The Blues are trying to transition to more of a speed game and Kyrou fits the bill. Granted he was going against guys his own skill level, but there were several times where he blew by the opposition in prospect camp.

The big key for him will be when he attempts to transition to the next level. He did not impress in his first day of camp, but once he felt comfortable, he started to shine. It was clearly a situation of getting to know what was expected of him and whether he was able to let loose and fly or if he needed to keep things a bit more restrained.

The Blues would not have chosen him if they did not want him to fly around, so it was merely a matter of getting it through to him that he could. Unfortunately, that’s a bit more difficult to get across to young players once they start playing with guys they’ve looked up to for years. So, getting him comfortable at the pro level may take a little bit longer than with some others.

Even so, Kryou is shaping up to be a pretty decent pick. He had a quick wrist shot and wheels to burn. His size is definitely a detraction, but with the game transitioning away from some of the size and power it has had in years past, it may not be that much of a deterant by the time he is ready to get into the pro game.

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Time will tell. Right now, Kyrou should be happy. He hasn’t played a game at the pro level yet, but he’s been given his first contract.

The Blues are clearly showing him some faith and hopefully that will transition into his play. He’s got the tools, but whether he can use them at the next level will be up to him.