St. Louis Blues: Prospect Tournament In Traverse City Starts Tomorrow

By Joe Warden | Sep 5, 2019

CHICAGO, IL - JUNE 23: Klim Kostin, 31st overall pick of the St. Louis Blues, poses for a portrait during Round One of the 2017 NHL Draft at United Center on June 23, 2017 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Jeff Vinnick/NHLI via Getty Images) /

The St. Louis Blues released their roster for the annual NHL Prospect Tournament, which is due to begin tomorrow at 3 p.m. in Traverse City, MI.

The St. Louis Blues will officially drop the puck on the tournament at 6:30 p.m. Sept. 6, 2019, against the Toronto Maple Leafs Prospects. It’s a time of the year for the up and comers to showcase their talent against some of their peers. To show upper management on the big club what they have, and if it is potentially enough to make the jump to the NHL.

The St. Louis Blues have won this tournament four times with the last victory coming in 2004 according to NHL.com where you can see the entire list of winners per season, and it is also featured on the Red Wing’s NHL page.

Our up and comers on the Blues will have to do battle against the Chicago Blackhawks, Detroit Red Wings, and Toronto Maple Leafs in the Gordie Howe Division, while the other division will consist of the Dallas Stars, Minnesota Wild, New York Rangers, and Columbus Blue Jackets.

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Speaking from experience, if you have never been to one of these tournaments and are as fanatical about hockey as me this is a must-see event for you!

It’s cheap to go to the event as it’s about $10 for a ticket for a game. Traverse City is amazing this time of year to boot!

With the tournament about to begin, I wanted to take the time to present the roster the Blues have put together and point out some players to watch.

You can watch the games on FoxSports Go. Dates of the games are Sept. 6 and 7 then a two-day break with games continuing on the 9th and 10th of September. The roster was announced a few days ago, so some of you are bleeding blue freaks out there have most likely seen it, but for those of you that haven’t let’s get you caught up:

Forwards: Nikita Alexandrov (32), Mitchell Balmas (88), Kevin Hancock (82), Krystof Hrabik (89), Robby Jackson (79), Dakota Joshua (54), Tanner Kaspick (83), Austen Keating (61), Klim Kostin (37), Mathias Laferriere (58), Jeremy Michel (42), Austin Poganski (53), Nolan Stevens (47), Alexey Toropchenko (65), Keean Washkurak (40).

Defense: Jake Christiansen (56), Walter Flower (72), Nathan LaRose (94), Justin MacPherson (84), Mitch Reinke (39), River Rymsha (63), Tyler Tucker (75).

Goaltenders: Colten Ellis (45), Joel Hofer (1).

A player to watch aside from the obvious Kostin, Reinke, and Toropchenko let’s look at two players I think may one day make the Blues roster in the next few years. Remember the name Nikita Alexandrov. He’s only 18 and was drafted 62nd overall in the second round of the 2019 draft.

He put up good numbers in QMJHL playing 64 games totaling 61pts with 27Gs and 34As. He’s a left-shot center at a decent 18 yr old 6 foot and 183lbs. I don’t expect him to tear it up, but I think we will see his name on the score sheet more often than some of the other players not already mentioned.

Back to the obvious player’s watch list, Kostin is a player all Blues fans are ready to see on the big club. The only thing holding him back, in my opinion, is consistency.

The kid has talent and size. He could be successful in the NHL so long as he starts to really learn and understand what it takes to be a consistent pro. We all know the potential and have seen it on display at the World Juniors. It’s time Kostin shows it as a pro, and I think he is primed for a big jump forward.

Reinke just wrapped up playing in Da Beauty League this summer posting six points over five games. For those of you that haven’t heard of Da Beauty League, it’s just another great hockey trip destination to feed the urge over the summer.

Toropchenko, in my opinion, is the most intriguing. He’s been decent in the OHL racking up point totals of 39 and 43 over the last two seasons with the Guelph Storm, scoring 17 goals each season. The left shooting right-winger, if he excels with San Antonio, very well could be an interesting fit opposite side Vladimir Tarasenko. That’s a ways away so who knows, but it is fun to speculate.

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We will be bringing you Blues prospects updates as the tournament progresses. If you want to watch some meaningful hockey, I urge you to tune in as this is meaningful for these prospects and the likes of Kostin, Reinke, Toropchenko, and Alexandrov potentially facing off against Kaapo Kakko of the New York Rangers in a playoff round would be a lot of fun for any hockey junky!