St. Louis Blues Prospects: 2018-19 Check In On Top Guys
The future seemed unimaginably bright for a lot of St. Louis Blues prospects heading into 2018-19. Just like the guys on the main roster, it has been tough sledding.
The St. Louis Blues knew they had a lot of talented guys coming through the pipeline ahead of the 2018-19 season. They were voted as one of the best minor league and college pools in all of the NHL.
While one or two guys have managed to get their NHL careers rolling, it has not been all sunshine and lollipops for the rest. In fact, just like the guys on the big league team, there have been a lot of peaks and valleys in this season.
Like the Blues, the San Antonio Rampage got off to an awful start. Much of that had to do with the fact nobody had really played together much.
A lot of the team’s prospects were scattered across the AHL in 2017-18. Some were in Chicago. Others were in San Antonio and still others were loaned out to various teams in the top minor league.
So, when it came time for them all to perform together, it did not work. Just like with the Blues, who added a handful of new faces themselves, things did not gel right away.
Due to the slow start, it was an uphill climb the entire way. St. Louis having a lot of injury problems did San Antonio no favors either.
With all that going on, the Rampage never had an opportunity to go on a run like the Blues did. So, they are not mathmatically eliminated yet, but their magic number is 32. The regular season ends April 14, so you have to win and have a lot of people lose. It’s just not happening.
Despite all that, there have still been some decent showings. With that, let’s dive in.
Klim Kostin
Outside of Robert Thomas, there has not been a name of more interest among fans than Klim Kostin. Some people will always demand too much of Kostin due to the trade that acquired the draft pick used to select him.
That is grossly unfair as he had nothing to do with it. You cannot hold Kostin to some lofty standard just because you were in love with the grit that a certain fourth line player used to bring.
With that said, Kostin is taking a lot more time to get acclimated than any of us thought given all the accolades we heard and read upon his draft. To say it has been slow going would be somewhat of an understatement.
Right now, the hope is that Kostin continues to adjust to the American game as he ages. He plays perfectly well against guys his own age.
Kostin has been dominant in international play. He had a solid World Junior Championship in early 2019. He finished that with three goals and six points in seven games. He also, infamously, got into it with the Canadian crowd, as you could see from the main photograph where he put his fingers into his ears.
International play has been kind to him. He had five goals and eight points in five games in the 2018 WJC.
The States have not been as nice. Kostin had six goals and 28 points in 2017-18. We hoped it was all just rookie jitters and adjusting to a new country.
Now, Kostin has eight goals and 21 points in 57 AHL games. You can argue about his age, which is still just 19, but the worrying thing is the transition to his game.
He has become more of a third or fourth line style of guy. He has amassed 92 penalty minutes this season after 72 in his rookie year. That’s great to bring that kind of grit if you’re in the NHL, such as Sammy Blais has, but not if you are in the AHL.
His behavior in the 2019 WJC makes you wonder if he is too easily agitated. You can’t be that way as a pro.
I still believe he will make it. There is talent in there. It is just not going to be anytime soon it seems.
Jordan Kyrou
Jordan Kyrou is another guy that has some fans wringing their hands. There is so much upside to this kid, but the worry is that he’s just another AHL wonder. The Blues need him to be much more going forward.
In the AHL, Kyrou has been marvelous. He provides a lot of offense for a team that struggles to score.
Through 47 games, Kyrou has 43 points and 16 goals. There were several callups to the NHL in between those games, making it even more impressive.
Some will want more goals out of Kyrou. I cannot say I am not one of them as you would like your prospects to dominate so you have more confidence to perform in the NHL.
But, when you are getting adjusted to one level and then moving up to another, it is impressive he can jump right back in for the Rampage.
What we have seen from Kyrou is he has elite speed. That plays well at all levels, including the NHL.
What the Blues need from him, going forward, is to figure out the difference between the NHL and AHL for him. His problems go beyond just playing against better competition. He is confident at the AHL level and seems a bit skiddish, which causes too many turnovers and mistakes at the NHL level.
Still, the future looks promising for Kyrou. If he does not see significant time with the Blues in 2019-20 or 2020-21, I would be extremely surprised.
Mathias Laferriere
In the category of coming out of nowhere, we have Mathias Laferriere. The hardcore fans that keep up with these things might remember him. The rest of us kind of forgot about that name.
The Blues drafted him in the sixth round of the 2018 NHL Draft. It is not surprising why he lasted that long.
Laferriere had 12 goals and 41 points in 67 games in 2017-18. That is not going to catch many eyes as you have so many guys in that middle ground.
Credit to the Blues scouting staff for finding this one. They knew something.
Laferriere almost doubled his point totals in 2018-19. In 68 games with the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles, he scored 28 goals and 74 points. So, he more than doubled his goal totals.
As of writing this, he has a goal and two points in two games, keeping his PPG average way up there in the QJMHL.
Like the worry with Kyrou, you worry that this might all be the mirage of the league you are in. Plenty of guys score in juniors and then nothing in the pros.
That said, this kid has made the necessary jump from year to year. Like Kyrou, you need to show that jump from year to year that you are figuring things out and dominating your age group.
Laferriere is only 18, so he has plenty of time to keep developing. If he can jump into a 90-100 point season next year, then we can start looking toward his pro career.
Mitch Reinke
Mitch Reinke made some waves when the Blues signed him directly out of college, having wrapped up his career with Michigan Tech. Reinke only played in one NHL game in 2018, but the team seemed high on him.
He is now giving them something to think about. Reinke’s contract kicked in last season since he played immediately.
That means this season is the final one on his entry-level deal. The Blues will now have to decide whether to bring him back on a two-way deal next year or even a one-way deal if Reinke wants to bet on that kind of negotiation. Time will tell for that.
What we do know about him is that he has blossomed as a good offensive defenseman in the AHL. Reinke ranks fifth of all the team’s prospects in scoring. He only ranks behind Kyrou in terms of pro scoring too.
Through 67 games, Reinke has 11 goals and 43 points. That would be fantastic at any level and he is doing it in the AHL in his first year of professional hockey.
We knew Reinke could do some damage on the offensive end. He has been a steady scorer in both the USHL and NCAA. Apparently, he just needed those few extra games to get himself into double-digits.
Now, how he holds up defensively is another matter. He currently sits at minus-6 in plus/minus, but almost the entire Rampage roster is a minus right now so that does not tell you much.
Really, as long as he takes care of the puck and does not turn it over in bad areas, he could fit in with this franchise. The Blues need more puck movers in their system as other guys age and possibly move out.
The one thing going against him is he is right handed. You are not going to supplant Alex Pietrangelo or Colton Parayko in the top four anytime soon. Generally, you like a little more physicality from your third line D-men, but we shall see what he’s got. Or maybe we won’t. Free agency will let us know in the summer.
The Rest
Normally, I don’t like grouping a bunch of guys together, but there are a lot of other names that all kind of fall into that middling territory.
Alexei Toropchenko showed quite well in his brief time with the Blues prospects and then in pro camp. It has not been quite as good as he hoped in the OHL. He ended the season with 17 goals and 43 points. Not terrible, but not lighting the world on fire.
Tyler Tucker, a defenseman with the Barrie Colts, showed well this year. He ended the season with 14 goals and 59 points. He trailed only Laferriere, a forward, in points.
Austin Poganski is another one that had a rough year in the minors. He started in the ECHL with Tulsa. Once with San Antonio, he got nine goals and 31 points. Not a bad year, and it’s not quite over, but not enough to get the call.
Last, but not least, we have Dominik Bokk. He has eight goals and 23 points in 47 games. However, if I am honest, I have no clue how the Swedish league plays or what the competition is like. We knew the kid was super young and green when drafted, so his totals do not worry me until he comes across the pond as they say.
So, that’s what they’ve been up to this season. If anyone has a good playoff run, we might take another look in a month or so.
Overall, it’s been kind of a disappointing year. With Thomas in the NHL and Kyrou bouncing around, there has not been quite as much excitement generated by the prospect pool as there was last year or the year before.
These guys are all very young though and nobody develops at the same pace. It is hard to compare Reinke, who is 23, to someone like Bokk or Laferrier, who are still teenagers.
All they need do is focus on their own development and their time will come.