St. Louis Blues: Early Season Check-in On Prospects

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The St. Louis Blues are pretty stocked down in the minor leagues. Getting off to a good start for any player is key for their season and for potential call-ups.

The St. Louis Blues have one of the best player pipelines they have had in many years. They were ranked as high as eighth in a recent look at minor-league systems.

How that translates into professional success remains to be seen. Some players might only turn out to be good junior players. Other players might only get as high as the prospect level in the AHL.

Still other guys might be late bloomers such as Wade Megan, who earned his way onto the Blues roster with a strong AHL season in 2017-18 and good camp the following fall. Megan was given up on by many at age 27 and found his spark.

Will this current group of young players find their spark? Time will tell. So, let’s check in and see how they are doing on this infancy of a 2017-18 season.

Jordan Binnington

Jordan Binnington has had a rough go of things to start 2017-18. He stayed with the Blues long enough to get through almost all of camp, which may have hurt him.

The team had already sent down the goaltenders with spots available in the minor leagues. So, Binnington started the season without a home.

St. Louis eventually found a spot for him with a loan deal. He is currently on the Providence Bruins, however he has yet to see a game. Neither of the Bruins backups have played a game though as Binnington is part of a three goaltender system.

Hopefully he gets a game soon, because his star might be fading fast. At this point in his career, NHL backup might be as high as he goes.

Ville Husso

Sticking with the goaltenders, we take a look at the Blues potential goaltender of the future. The Blues made sure to find a spot for Ville Husso right away.

There was a vacancy with the San Antonio Rampage and the Blues snatched it. Unfortunately, things haven’t gotten off to a smashing start for the Finn.

He has only seen one game out of the team’s three to start the year. It was a rather inauspicious game as well.

Husso’s stats suffered and it will take a bit to get them down. He currently has a 5.11 goals against and .853 save percentage.

Still, it was only one game. There is plenty of time to turn things around and the Rampage are still figuring out their own chemistry.

The Blues make up a little over a quarter of the San Antonio team. The rest are members of the Colorado Avalanche talent pool.

Playing time will be the main key with the other goaltender actually being a member of the Rampage’s true affiliate. Husso has enough talent to earn the time though.

Jordan Kyrou

Jordan Kyrou played well enough in the late summer to have potentially earned a spot in the AHL. However, the Blues did the smart thing by keeping him cost controlled and under their own umbrella.

Kyrou got sent back to the Sarnia Sting in Canadian junior hockey. That way his pro contract has not yet begun and he is still on an entry-level deal. Also, with the Blues minor league situation in flux this year, it made sense for the team to not put his development in jeopardy.

Tanner Kaspick

Tanner Kaspick does not get the hype or publicity that other guys get, but he’s off to a fast start. The 19 year old was selected in the 2016 draft.

He is on the Brandon Wheat Kings and only trails Kyrou by two points. Kaspick has played two more games, with nine under his belt.

He currently has two goals and 12 points. Still, that’s a pretty good start especially considering the WHL is not quite as high flying as the OHL.

Kaspick is also taking on extra responsibility this season. He served as the alternate captain last year and put up 19 goals and 45 points.

This season he is the team’s captain. They will look to him for both production and leadership and so far, he has produced both.

LONDON, ON – MARCH 9: Head coach Jarrod Skalde of the Guelph Storm goes over a play during a timeout against the London Knights in an OHL game at Budweiser Gardens on March 9, 2017 in London, Ontario, Canada. The Knights defeated the Storm 8-2. (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images) /

Alexei Toropchenko

Alexei Toropchenko is a very interesting prospect. He’s come from Russia, so how his talents translate to the North American game are anyone’s guess.

The 18 year old made the smart play to come west to continue his development though. He currently plays for the Guelph Storm of the Ontario Hockey League.

So, he gets the benefits of learning the game and the culture with guys his own age. There is also the perk of less pressure to perform.

Still, he has jumped out to a decent lead. In nine games he has four goals and eight points. The main fault in his game might not even fall at his feet alone.

He is currently minus-11 in the plus/minus category. Again, that stat is misleading in some cases, but the fact that his line has not been defensively responsible is not the best reflection.

Considering the cultural barriers though, it is good to see him get off on the right skate so to speak.

Overview

It is really early in the season even for the junior teams that have almost twice as many games under their belts as their professional counterparts. Still, there have been some good starts all around.

Next: Sammy Blais Gets His NHL Chance

Kyrou still jumps off the page when looking at his skill and scoring ability. I still would not count on him being in the NHL for a couple more years, but he’s going to make the choices difficult.

As the season goes on and more games are played, we’ll go deeper into the talent pool. There are plenty more guys that have the potential to shine and just have not seen the ice enough yet to discuss.

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