St. Louis Blues: Prospect Update As Season Closes/Heat Up
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. Just as important is having a good finish.
The St. Louis Blues have one of the best player pipelines we’ve seen in many years. They were ranked as high as eighth in a recent look at minor-league systems.
How that translates into future professional success remains to be seen. Some players might only turn out to be good junior players. Others might peak in the AHL. It truly is a roll of the dice.
So far the Blues have plenty of guys that are succeeding in juniors. As the season has gone along, the AHL guys found some spark as well.
Will this current group of young players continue to find their way to progress? Time will tell. So, let’s check in for the as the season begins to dwindle.
Jordan Binnington
Jordan Binnington was burdened by a slow start. Despite intermittent game time, he has been able to steady the ship and put up some very good numbers.
Binnington was loaned to the Providence Bruins of the AHL due to a log jam of goaltenders with the Blues two “affiliated” teams. He’s still not getting the bulk of games, but he has been more than serviceable when played
When we first checked in on Binnington, he had a 2.52 goals against and .907 save percentage. He improved that to a 1.80 goals against and a save percentage of .931 in our second look.
In the gap between check-ins, Binnington’s numbers have gone up but he’s still looking good. Now he’s looking at 2.02 goals against and a .927 save percentage.
Binnginton is still doing the best out of all the goaltenders, given the scenario. His lack of game time makes a possible promotion next season less likely, but not unimaginable.
Ville Husso
Sticking with the goaltenders, we look gain at the potential goaltender of the Blues future. Despite Ville Husso finding an AHL home right away, he did not see action immediately. After that, he’s grabbed the starting role more often than not.
The Blues have formed a good good rapport with the San Antonio Rampage with that franchise will be the Blues’ affiliate next year. Even so, Husso has had to earn his spot as opposed to being given playing time..
In our last look, Husso had only played three out of nine games. That ratio has played out over the season. Husso has now played in 33 of the Rampage’s 60 games.
Things definitely improved for Husso. After one article, he had a 5.11 goals against and .853 save percentage.
The next two looks had him at 2.69 goals against and .927 save percentage and then2.95 and .906. Not bad for minor league numbers, but a sign that he was not getting great support. That is something Blues goalies know all about.
Husso has kept steady though. He’s now got 2.39 goals against and .939
Thankfully, this set up is only for one season. The likelihood of St. Louis needing Husso in the NHL next year seemed small, but things have rapidly changed. He would still benefit from another year in the AHL, but it remains to be seen if he will be afforded that luxury.
Jordan Kyrou
Jordan Kyrou continues to be somewhat awe-inspiring. You have to remind yourself of the plethora of junior players that lit up the scoreboard only to become role players in the NHL just to calm yourself. Nail Yakupov was a 100 point scorer in the CHL before. Still, his progression is exciting.
At last look, the Sarnia Sting were 21-4-1, which had them atop the Western Conference and the entire OHL. They’ve slipped to third in the conference, but Kyrou is still one of the main reasons the team is doing so well and he has not slowed down.
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Through 14 games he had 14 goals and 34 points. That was almost 2.5 points per game. Clearly he has faltered since he went down to 2.17 and then 2.00 points per game
Kyrou was the first player in the OHL to eclipse the 100 point mark this season. He is up to 37 goals and 106 points
You can’t judge too much on numbers alone. However, knowing teams are focusing on him and Kyrou is still producing is a good sign.
Robert Thomas
Robert Thomas is somewhat in the Husso camp. The team likes him a lot and wanted him to be their playmaker for the future. However, the trade of Paul Stastny may force the Blues to accelerate their plans. On top of that, Thomas was slow out of the gate. However, he caught fire in the middle of the season.
Thomas had become a very good goal scorer with the London Knights, which was not something known for his arsenal. He’s returned to a playmaking form with the Hamilton Bulldogs after being traded.
After scoring 22 goals and 68 points for London, it’s been mainly assists. Thomas only has two goals for Hamiton, but he’s got 22 points in 18 games since making the switch.
1.51 is his total for points per game for the season. That number is only down due to his lack of goals since the trade.
The big difference has been the team. Kyrou is expected to lead the team in goals. Thomas had to bear more of a load in London. Hamilton was looking more for help than a leader, so Thomas has fit into surroundings
Like Husso, the Blues would probably prefer to have Thomas have a year in the AHL before burdening him with expectation. They might not have that luxury now, so hopefully rushing him would not be a bad thing.
Klim Kostin
Now we come to Klim Kostin. Fans, including myself, expected a lot more than Kostin was able to give at the start of the season.
Kostin has been somewhat stuck in the goal category, though he’s hit a few big ones of late. He is up to six for the season right now.
Kostin now has 19 points on the season. Having played in 51 games, that is not exactly the point total you’d like him to be up to. Given the culture change, it is not entirely unexpected.
On the plus side, Kostin has picked up the physical side of the North American game very well. In fact, he’s got the most penalty minutes out of any Blues prospect in the AHL right now.
However, given the hype, it is disappointing to see him struggle. Maybe it’s the language or maybe it’s just a different game. We do not know, but many of us had hoped for more.
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Tanner Kaspick
Switching to pleasant surprises, Tanner Kaspick has done more with just about nothing in terms of expectation than anyone on the prospect list. He had next to no build up prior to the season and his name is on almost no fans’ lips. That might be changing.
Kaspick has 60 points in 55 games. That earned a lot of attention throughout the WHL.
He started the season with the Brandon Wheat Kings. The Wheat Kings are loaded with talent, so Kaspick became expendable. He proved that was not true though since he’s increased his scoring pace with the Victoria Royals.
Kaspick had 12 goals and 37 points with the Wheat Kings. He’s now got 1.15 points per game with the Royals with 11 goals and 23 points in 20 games.
With little fanfare, there is no reason for great expectation. Kaspick is going to take time to groom. Even if he gets out of junior next season, he is going to need time to adjust to the pro game in the minors.
Still, it is good to see another center producing. The Blues still need help up the middle even with guys like Barbashev or Thompson making a little headway in the NHL.
Who knows if Kaspick makes it to the NHL, but having another option is never a bad thing.
Next: St. Louis Must Focus On Hockey After Failed MLS Bid
Overview
As the season has progressed, things have leveled off for several players but it is still looking good. Kyrou is still on fire, but not a blue flame any longer.
Conversely, some players that struggled have continued to do so. Some of that has to do with the affiliate situation and some is simply the fans expecting more of them than they were ready to give.
The odd thing is that the Blues lack of movement at the trade deadline may have sped up the need for some of these players. Even so, discretion is necessary. The future is still the future and not yet the now.