The St. Louis Blues have a good mix and balance in their current defensive core. A promising defensive prospect needs to be kept around to keep that statement true.
The St. Louis Blues are based on solid defensive play and a hard-nosed forecheck. The team already has plenty of forwards that are able to keep that style going into the next wave.
Defensively, the Blues are relying on their current core to carry them for the foreseeable future. That does not mean they do not have prospects, but their main prospects all fall into a seemingly anti-Blues type of style.
That is to say most of the team’s top defensive prospects are not currently that great defensively. The game is definitely shifting to offensive defensemen, but you will always need the guys on the blue line to defend.
That is exactly why the Blues need to keep Niko Mikkola around. It should be said there have been no indications they are going to move him or give up on him. Nevertheless, keeping him around just makes sense for the style of the Blues to continue.
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Mikkola is one of the few defensive prospects for this franchise that has some size. He could still bulk up a little to get stronger in the corners, but he’s got the height and reach, listed at 6’4.
Stereotypically, Scandanavian defenders are not known for playing with the same snarl as their North American counterparts. That does not mean Mikkola does not play with a certain edge. He is strong enough and will play the body when necessary.
On top of that, he compliments the other defensive prospects, or rather acts as a complimentary counterpart.
The team’s most talked about defensive prospect at the moment is Scott Perunovich. He’s got slick hands, good skating ability and decent speed. The one thing he does not have and will never have is size.
Perunovich is listed as 5’9. For all we know that might be NBA 5’9, which is to say player’s heights are often exaggerated in college to make them more appealing.
Height is not the be all, end all, but the Blues tend to be a little smaller with their up and coming players in general. Fellow defensive prospect Jake Walman is listed at 6’1, even if he does not look it on the ice, but he’s also just 170 lbs.
Jordan Kyrou, though a forward, is 6’0, but also seems undersized. Mitch Reinke, another defender, is listed at 5’11.
For comparison, the only current Blues defenders who are under 6’2 are Vince Dunn and Justin Faulk. Neither are known for their defensive prowess.
Perunovich is very much in that mold. That is why the team needs to keep a guy like Mikkola around, to provide balance.
It is unlikely Mikkola will be more than a third pairing defender (maybe second pair), but the Blues don’t need him to be. They don’t need him to morph into a top-line defender because they have enough players still in their prime to handle that duty.
They do need someone with size and reach and a more stay-at-home mentality to come through the pipeline alongside these more offensive defensemen. Mikkola fits that bill.
The Blues seem to still be pretty high on the Finnish defender as well. Not only was Mikkola kept in the extended roster as St. Louis traveled to Edmonton for the 2020 playoff bubble, but they included him in their expanded roster for their pre-playoff game against Chicago.
He only featured for 7:31, but almost two minutes of that was on the penalty kill. The Blues see his defensive ability.
That is going to come in handy when the offensive minded defenders make their move to the NHL.