St. Louis Blues Top Five Age 25-and-Under Players
The St. Louis Blues are not quite as deep in prospects as in the past. They still have some good, young talent, however.
The St. Louis Blues are in an interesting period of their roster depth. While they are not riding into the sunset, filled with aging players past their prime, they do not have a ton of high-end prospects waiting to break through either.
That might seem like a potential detriment to the team’s future, but there is not a large need to worry. The Blues are still young enough on their main roster, with a few good prospects waiting, to keep their window of opportunity open awhile longer.
The interesting thing for the Blues is basically when and where. When will some of these younger players be given pivotal roles for the team’s success? Where will they be in their development, and could they potentially be somewhere else?
Clearly, we hope that last idea does not come around. Free agency is always popular among fans, but teams are built through the draft and supplemented by trades more than big splashes in the offseason.
That’s what makes the Blues interesting. They have plenty of players on their main roster in their prime.
Nevertheless, there are young players starting to break through or on the cusp. With that in mind, let’s take a look at the some of the best.
Here are our top five Blues that are 25 or under right now.
5. Klim Kostin
Blues fans continue to be frustrated by Klim Kostin. The question is more whether they fall into the camp that is frustrated at the team or the camp that is frustrated by the player.
Kostin has been billed as a future top-six type of forward with the talent to be a solid scorer in the NHL. The problem is we have not been able to see that so far.
Kostin is still young, clocking in at 21 right now and close to 22 by the time whatever amounts to the 2021 season begins. We are reaching a point where the excuses are wearing thin.
He’s been in North America long enough that we cannot fall back on the cultural issue any longer. There is a big difference between Russia and North America, but Kostin should be quite acclimated by now.
Eventually, the Blues need to see what he’s got. As of right now, Kostin has four games and one goal to his name in the NHL.
The worry is that, for all the hype, he has not lit the AHL on fire. In three seasons, his goal totals have increased every year, but only from six to 10 to 13.
However, while on loan to Avangard Omsk in his native Russia, he has no goals in 14 games. You would hope that a true NHL talent would be showing those guys how it’s done.
Nevertheless, the hope that Kostin clicks is still there. Hopefully 2021 will be a time he can showcase what he’s got a little more and finally build upon that in the show.
4. Ville Husso
In the same category of Kostin, Ville Husso is another name we have heard about for a long time but yet to see in the NHL. Husso has dressed for a handful of NHL games, but has yet to play an official minute.
For quite some time, Hosso’s name has been on the lips of many fans. The perception was he was the Blues franchise goaltender in waiting.
Many fans were claiming the Blues should have jettisoned Jake Allen long before they did and handed the reigns to Husso at the time. Thankfully for all of us, those people were not in charge.
If they were, we would not have seen Jordan Binnington take over and the Blues might not have won the 2019 Stanley Cup. Regardless of that, Husso is still high on the team’s list.
The fact remains that if Husso had not been injured at the time, it is highly likely that the Blues would have promoted him instead of Binnington when they had the injury problems in January of 2019. Now, the Blues are in a spot where they have to figure out what Husso can provide and quickly.
Binnington is in the final year of his contract and had a poor showing in the 2020 playoffs. The Blues are now relying on the unproven Husso to be a solid backup for Binnington and potentially a replacement if Binnington proves to be human throughout the next season.
The projected talent is still there. Husso was recently listed as number 10 on NHL Network’s Top 10 up and coming goaltenders, so the analysts still think he’s ready to break out and just needs the chance.
Like Kostin, it’s all potential though. His AHL numbers are not bad, but nothing to write home about either.
Husso will have every opportunity to prove what he’s got in the next season though. There’s no reason to doubt him yet, since we have not seen him and goaltenders tend to find their grove later than skaters anyway. Clocking in at 25 right now, he just makes the limit.
3. Scott Perunovich
Speaking of potential and someone people are extremely high on, Scott Perunovich might be at the top of that list. The only reason he is not higher on this list is because he has yet to play a professional game at any level yet.
Nevertheless, Perunovich is the defensive version of a name we have yet to come on this list. There is a lot of hype surrounding the name and if he can live up to even part of it, he will be a solid NHL player.
The thing that benefits and hinders Perunovich right now is the fact there are so many good defensemen on the Blues roster in front of him. That’s a double-edged sword.
On the positive side, you have players with plenty of talent to learn from and be mentored by. It also takes the pressure off of Perunovich to make an early splash.
On the negative side, there are so many guys in front of you in the pecking order. Perhaps the fifth, sixth and seventh defensemen on the Blues roster don’t have the pure talent as Perunovich, but they have NHL experience and the coaching staff knows they can be counted on.
Still, it is exciting to ponder the future of the former Hobey Baker award winner. Not everyone that has won the hockey equivalent of the Heisman has turned into a famous NHLer, but plenty have. Perunovich racked up plenty of awards in college. Now it’s time to make that next jump.
Nobody is expecting Perunovich to be a Hall of Fame player, but if he can turn into a player on the level of a current Blues defender like Torey Krug, the Blues would be really set up for success along the blue line. As long as Perunovich continues to improve as a defender, his offensive game should be good enough to carry him to a long career.
2. Jordan Kyrou
Jordan Kyrou is in a slightly different boat than the other guys on this list. From a purely offensive talent standpoint, he has shown enough in his brief stints to get fans behind him.
His problem is that the coaching staff still seems shaky on the youngster. Clocking in at 22, going on 23 early in the 2021 season, Kyrou’s biggest problem right now is that the franchise doesn’t feel he’s defensively sound.
My problem with that is there are plenty of players throughout the league that aren’t going to ever sniff a Selke Trophy. They aren’t necessarily held back because of it.
This is not to excuse any defensive deficiencies for Kyrou. We have seen a few boneheaded plays from the young forward, some of which cost the Blues a goal against.
However, not to point fingers, we have seen the same from guys that are full time roster members. Some of those players are actual defensemen and, barring being allowed to walk in free agency, those players have not been affected in the eyes of the coaches.
Kyrou is an offensive talent and the Blues, as talented as they might be, need scoring help. If Kyrou can provide that on a consistent basis, the Blues need to step up and accept any potential defensive problems.
On the positive side, Kyrou was actually one of the Blues best all-around players during the 2020 playoffs. He still has strides to make, but if he made a giant leap just during the early 2020 pandemic break, he might be even better if given a more full time look.
We’ve seen the flashes of offensive talent from Kyrou. He has speed the likes of which the Blues have not seen in many years and some stickhandling ability reminiscent of David Perron in his early years.
All he needs to do now is find consistent playing time and this guy can be a solid top-six player.
1. Robert Thomas
As if the top spot could go to anyone else, it is hard to remember that Robert Thomas is just 21. Whenever the 2021 season happens, he will be entering his third year in the league.
The funny thing is, due to incomprehensible circumstances out of anyone’s control, it is likely that Thomas will have played more games in his rookie season than either his second or third season. Nevertheless, we’ve seen more and more from Thomas.
There are some, such as Pierre McGuire, that do not see Thomas as a true number one center. Blues fans will certainly disagree with that.
Thomas has the skill and stickhandling ability to play in the top six right now at just 21. If he continues to improve, there is little doubt he can be a top-line center.
The only thing holding him back is the fact the Blues have Ryan O’Reilly. However, that’s more of a definitional thing as to how you want to define roles because most would not consider O’Reilly’s line the team’s top line even if he is the team’s best center.
The question most fans have is why Thomas is not on whatever line Vladimir Tarasenko is on, if and when the scorer is healthy. Most of the time, Tarasenko has been with Brayden Schenn and Jaden Schwartz.
That trio has been great, but a true playmaker like Thomas might really connect with a pure scorer. That’s no dig at Schenn, but Schenn is just as good as a winger as he is in the middle.
The Blues can easily move him back outside to make room for Thomas. With all three players under contract for multiple seasons, you can only make the case to keep Thomas as the third-line center for so long and he is not meant to be a wing.
Next. Blues thankful this Bergevin moment can be laughed at now. dark
We saw the playmaking ability of Thomas in his second season with 32 assists. If he ever develops a more selfish personality and showcases his scoring ability, the Blues will really benefit from his overall talents.
Thomas is the kind of player the Blues need to lock up. Goals might not be plentiful for his own stat line, but he’s going to set up plenty and we hope they’re all in the Note.