Vince Dunn
Speaking of offensive defensemen, Vince Dunn is probably the next guy to get a look now that Jordan Schmaltz has officially suited up. Dunn has quickly risen up the depth charts in his brief time under the Blues’ umbrella.
Drafted in 2015, he already got a full season with the Chicago Wolves in 2016-17. In that time Dunn has already shown an ability to score.
In 64 games, Dunn has 38 points. He has 12 goals and is a plus-14.
Additionally, Dunn has been a big reason the Wolves have turned their season around. Chicago got off to a rough start despite some good performances from individuals such as Dunn.
Their coach, Craig Berube, got everyone to buy into his system and it has paid dividends. The individual performances were still there, as proven by Dunn’s offensive performances and yet the team results followed as well.
Like Walman, the Blues don’t need Dunn to be a huge goal scorer. If he was a solid powerplay contributor, kept up his current steak of 30-plus points in the last four years, the team would be set.
Dunn might need to get a little bigger. He is currently listed at 187 lbs.
That is not exactly small, but the NHL is a different monster. Even if he doesn’t get much bigger, he might need to get stronger just to go through the rigors of an NHL season.
On the flip side of that argument, Dunn is slippery enough to avoid being outsized. His work ethic has given him plenty of opportunity to out work his opponents and he does just that.