Top 15 Prospects Preseason 2024/25

1: [C] Dalibor Dvorsky (2)

6’1’’ 203lbs 20yo

Slovakia

Draft – 23’ 1.10

Team – Springfield (AHL)

Last Year Stats:

Sudbury (OHL) 52GP 45G 43A

WJC 6GP 3G 3A

Dvorsky Player Card

Projection – 2nd Line Forward

Hockey IQ –  82

Skating - 79

Shot – 85

Passing – 75

Compete – 79

Power Play – 90

Penalty Kill – 50

Physicality – 75

Defensive Zone Starts – 70

Offensive Zone Starts – 88

Quick Take:

I’ve talk about Dvorsky plenty now so won’t go to in depth about him. After struggling in Sweden, Dvorsky was shipped over to Canada and had a terrific season with Sudbury. Dvorsky had one of the highest face-off win percentage in the league and made strides in the passing department especially with the help of Musty. This performance allows Dvorsky to jump Snuggerud for the top spot. Now Dvorsky has moved up to be directly a part of the Blues program. He didn’t look great during preseason seeming slow compared to the NHL talent he faced (minus the final game of the preseason scoring a goal in that fixture). Juniors is great for getting playing time, but it just can’t fully to prepare you to the speed and physicality of the NHL. Dvorsky seems to have a ticket to Springfield possibly being surrounded by other top prospects like Dean, Robertsson, and possibly Bolduc.

Projections:

AHL 58GP 12G 23A 2 +/-

NHL 15GP 3G 5A 0+/-

These stats compare very closely to what Bolduc did last year due to their similarities. Both had a very fruitful Junior career but missed out on opening night playing time for the Blues. Of course, considering how highly anticipated Dvorsky is, these stats are slightly more difficult than what Bolduc got last year and the NHL games are way less due to how many forwards the Blues currently have in their system.

3: [D] Adam Jiricek (Draftee)

6’2’’ 179lbs 18yo

Czechia

Draft 24’ 1.16

Team – Brantford Bulldogs (OHL)

Last Year Stats:

HC Plzen (CZE) 19GP 1A

Jiricek Player Card

Hockey IQ –  92

Skating - 86

Shot – 74

Passing – 88

Compete – 88

Power Play – 85

Penalty Kill – 74

Physicality – 66

Defensive Zone Starts – 87

Offensive Zone Starts – 87

Past Comments: (2024 Draft Review)

Jiricek’s playing in the top men’s league for Plzen, in the Czech Extraliga. His offense has been slow to develop at the pro level. At the U20 4 Nations tournament (November) he was also held off the score sheet – 3GP – despite being used in all situations. Adam has excellent sense. He identifies his responsibilities, in all three zones, very well. What’s missing is a bit more jump and aggressiveness. He fronts the play defensively, but he has room to attack his check and win more pucks. Same goes for the offensive zone. He distributes fine, but when he gets a chance to direct puck on net he needs to ‘plan ahead’ and release the play to the net quicker – harder – and more accurately. Remains one of the top defence prospects for the draft. Leans 2-way / Distributor. Needs time. Added strength should clean up some of his deficiencies. Suffered an injury at World Juniors at Christmas that is keeping him out of the lineup long-term.

Quick Take:

Despite my hatred of Mr. Meh Adam Jiricek, it's time to support him now that he is a part of the Blues organization. Although by far not the most high-upside de in this draft, Jiricek is by far the most sound being good at everything. The injury issue for Jiricek is quite concerning. He just got drafted but already has two major lower-body injuries under his belt. Jiricek will have the advantage of going to the juniors once he recovers. This playing time and lesser competition compared to Europe should give Jiricek a boost like it did to Dvorsky.

Projection:

OHL 40GP 5G 25A 7+/-

The timetable for Jiricek is very difficult to project, to say the least. The injuries have always been a setback and the most games he’s ever played in one season is 47. These numbers are very comparable to Buchinger numbers his first year. Although not the most comparable defender, Buchinger did play in the exact same league with a very similar quality team. The only thing I hope is that Jiricek shows he is elite at something. I’m not sure what that thing is but being decent at everything isn’t something you want to see from a first rounder long term.

5: [C] Zach Bolduc (4)

6’0’’ 187lbs 21yo

Canada

Draft 21’ 1.17

Team – Springfield (AHL)

Last Year Stats

STL (NHL) 25GP 5G 4A

Springfield (AHL) 50GP 8G 17A

Bolduc Player Card (None have been created for Bolduc)

Past Comments (23/24 Preseason Rankings)

One of the biggest questions for this preseason was could Zach Bolduc do enough to make the Blues opening night roster and the answer was no. Although players like Neighbours did excel during camp, it's important to note Bolduc wasn’t consistent. He looked great during the prospect camp in Minnesota but the last few playoff games, he became a non-factor. The reasoning for this was almost certainly that he wasn’t used to NHL quality defenders especially playing in the Q. Bolduc will begin the year in Springfield and hopefully, he will make the necessary improvements and be a midseason call-up later in the season.

Quick Take:

By far with the best shot in the prospect poll, Bolduc was expected to make the NHL squad at the beginning of the season. Sadly for him, Bolduc seems to have fallen out of favor with Bannister and seems to be on a flight to Springfield after this preseason is up. Don’t expect him to stay down there for too long as Bolduc is by far the most NHL-ready prospect in the minors the question is if Bolduc can become the top 9 forward Blues fans expect him to be this season.

Projection:

AHL 30GP 13G 17A 3+/-

NHL 30GP 8G 6A 2+/-

Not much to say about the NHL stat line, everything basically the same on that front. I want to point out a little bit about the AHL projections. Bolduc should not be in Springfield for very long, he is better than that. Any games over 30 in Springfield will be ridiculous for Bolduc. But while he is there, he might as well impress. Bolduc was a .5 point per game player in the AHL last year, lets see if he can get up to a point per game this year. With Springfield becoming much more prospect-heavy this year with veterans leaving, Bolduc should have a great chance to shine.

7: [D] Colin Ralph (Draftee)

6’5’’ 227lbs 18yo

USA

Draft 24’ 2.48

Team – St. Cloud (NCAA)

Last Year Stats:

Shattuck St. Marys (PHC) 14GP 1G 15A

Shattuck (USHS) 8G 58A

Dubuque (USHL) 2GP

Ralph Player Card

Hockey IQ –  85

Skating - 88

Shot – 70

Passing – 88

Compete – 88

Power Play – 85

Penalty Kill – 85

Physicality – 80

Defensive Zone Starts – 86

Offensive Zone Starts – 86

Past Comments (Draft Review 24’)

Drafting a guy from a prep school seems interesting to me but if you do, Shattuck St. Mary’s is probably the one to go to having 3 draft selections this year. Ralph does have plenty of connections with the Blues being originally from Kirksville, MO and playing for the Carshield AAA team. He also played 2 games with the Dubuque Fighting Saints of the USHL the same team as former 3rd round pick Juraj Pekarcik does. The first things that pops up to me is that even at 18, Ralph already has close to NHL size at 6’ 3’’ 216lbs. Ralph also gives something the Blues need in a big-body shutdown defender. Although I wouldn’t use him this way, Ralph does have the offensive upside that could lead him to become a 2nd line Power Play Quarterback. The question for this pick becomes was it a reach when you still had guys like Leo Sahlin and Henry Mews still on the board? The Athletic mocked Ralph as an early 3rd rounder and I saw places like TopDown Hockey having him as their 295th prospect. This is probably a guy that the Blues have been following for a while and, although could’ve waited til 56, decided to insure they would get their guy. Ralph is committed to St. Cloud State and I would expect that he plays at least 2 years there before even thinking about coming up to the NHL.

Quick Take

Colin Ralph is an interesting prospect, to say the least, someone who is very hard to judge. For starters, he made a name for himself last year in a high school at Shattuck St. Mary’s. Now, Shattuck is great at developing guys don’t get me wrong with Sidney Crosby and Jonathan Toews being only a few of the school’s notable graduates. However, Shattuck development only seems to work with forwards with the only notable defenseman coming out of the Shattuck ranks being Jack Johnson decades ago. Ralph is by far the best Shattuck prospect they have had for a while but will his size translate to a more developed league? Ralph has opted to head straight to college heading towards St. Cloud State.

Projections:

35GP 2G 8A 0 +/-

It is extremely difficult to project Ralph's production this year. Out of all the top prospects the Blues took this year, Ralph is the most raw by far. He is also heading to a St. Cloud team that has some interesting defensemen, to say the least with the most points any defenseman currently on their roster getting last year being 8. Ralph needs a year of observation to really get a good understanding of him but we will see what happens in the midseason checkup.

9: [RW] Simon Robertsson (15)

6’0’’ 190lbs 21yo

Sweden

Draft 21’ 3.71

Team – Springfield (AHL)

Last Year Stats:

Brynas (Hockey A) 15GP 7G 4A

Skelleftea AIK (SHL) 27GP 2G 2A  

Robertsson Player Card (None Exist)

Initial Insight – He pushes his top hand from his body and fully engages the lever-motion downforce on his stick for a mechanically clean shot with plenty of zip and accuracy. Robertsson couples that shot with savvy off-the-punch timing to make him a consistent scoring threat in the offensive zone.

Past Comments (23/24 Preseason Rankings)

Might as well end this rankings with the same trend the Blues followed this offseason, the more Swedes the better. Robertsson is one of those players in which he will either be really good in the pros or really stink. His shot is great without question the question is the rest of the game. He’s playing in the SHL with DD and Otto this year so I’m interested to see how he compares with them. Hopefully, though, this is Robertsson last year in Sweden and he can start his development in Springfield next year.

Quick Take:

I included the initial insight above since this is one of the few prospects I rarely talk about. Robertsson been essentially a hidden gem for the Blues for quite some time now. Only 4 players were drafted by the Blues in 2021 with the only guaranteed NHLer being Bolduc. However, Robertsson made quite a name for himself in this prospect showcase and preseason thanks to his lovely shot. Looking at his history, it shouldn’t be that much of a surprise though as the guy has spent 5 years in the SHL only getting better against professional hockey players. Probably the most surprising thing about Robertsson though is his playmaking creating a load of chances for his linemates, especially with Pekarcik. The highlight of all of this being the terrific overtime goal to get the Blues a win vs Chicago in the Tom Kurvers Classic. Safe to say Robertsson has come out of nowhere and could really move some eyes with a great year in Springfield.

Projected Stats:

AHL

65GP 20G 13A 4+/-

Robertsson has come to the AHL at the right time as he will have a chance to replace Adam Gaudette (AHL leading goal scorer last year) as the Thunderbirds' primary scoring option. Everyone likes those round numbers so 20 goals will be the goal. Gaudette was the only guy to get it last year, but other Thunderbirds like Will Bitten got close and with goals getting more spread around this season with no Gaudette, there’s a chance Robertsson hit it. If he does, expect Robertsson to move up the rankings next season. 

11: [LW] Ondrej Kos (Draftee)

6’2’’ 176lbs 19yo

Czechia

Draft 24’ 3.81

Team Iives (Liiga)

Last Year Stats

Mestis (KOOVEE) – 14GP 3G 2A

Kos Player Card

Hockey IQ –  85

Skating - 86

Shot – 79

Passing – 79

Compete – 79

Power Play – 75

Penalty Kill – 74

Physicality – 75

Defensive Zone Starts – 79

Offensive Zone Starts – 84

Past Comments (2024 Draft Review)

The Blues end the de streak here but the main quality of being tall stays the same. This guys comp is Toropchenko which should excite any Blues fan. Biggest concern for me is the weight but he will eventually grow into it. Kos has also struggled with ice times with Ilves but looks like he will be getting top league time starting next season. Kos gets a lot of praise for his skating ability and IQ something rarely seen in these bigger guys. In time, I would look for Kos to be a bottom 6 guy who most importantly can kill penalties and set screens on the offensive side of things. We will see what happens with Kos who could potentially be with the Blues organization during the 2025 season.

Quick Take:

Kos is just one of those guys hard to rank since he just hasn’t played many games. Kos best ability is what he does that doesn’t get on the score sheet. He is a very quick player who can get into the correct positions when needed. The goal for Kos this year is simply playing time. Liiga of Finland is slightly less prestigious than its SHL counterpart, but it still provides a lot of upside compared to Canadian juniors as you are still playing against professionals. Kos will be very difficult to scout for all those reasons with Liiga being difficult to watch and Kos just not being a points guy. He did look good in the prospect showcase though so guess we will just have to see how he does next training camp.

Projected Stats:

Liiga 40GP 6G 8A 0+/-

The only other player who played a good amount of time in Liiga that is in the Blues prospect poll is Kaskimaki. In his first full season of Liiga action, Kaskimaki was able to fetch 3 goals and 4 assists. Since Kos is a much more offensive player, I simply doubled that stat line. Lets see if Kos can reach it.

13: [D] Lukas Fischer (Draftee)

6’3’’ 172lbs 18yo

USA

Draft 24’ 2.56

Current Team – Sarnia Sting (OHL)

Last Year Stats

Sarnia (OHL) 68GP 6G 28A

Fischer Player Card

Hockey IQ –  86

Skating - 85

Shot – 75

Passing – 79

Compete – 89

Power Play – 79

Penalty Kill – 79

Physicality – 65

Defensive Zone Starts – 79

Offensive Zone Starts – 79

Past Comments (2024 Draft Review)

My personal favorite De of these top 3 selections, Fischer almost didn’t qualify for this draft as his birthday is in early September so one more week and he would’ve been in the 2025 draft instead. Even at this younger age, he has been competing consistently for one of the poorer teams in the stacked OHL in Sarnia playing 68 games. The first two guys drafted for the Blues probably have more PK potential than PP but this is not true for Fischer who has a pretty good shot for a defenseman not to mention a knack for distributing the puck. Fischer does have an issue taking penalties though having 79 PIM in 68 appearances for Sarnia something you would like to see go down as he matures. One last point of Fischer is that his family is already on the Stanley Cup as his dad Jiri Fischer played for the 2002 Red Wings. Even though he has the same name, I don’t think Lukas has any relation to last year's 6th-round pick Paul Fischer. This could honestly be a steal for the Blues as Lukas has the tools to be a 1st round pick next year but the Blues get a free year of development on an already good player thanks to his age.

Quick Take

Lukas Fischer has a lot of interesting things on his resume since the time he joined the Blues. He is by far the youngest prospect, his father is former NHLer Jiri Fischer, he looked fantastic during the prospect showcase and the USA Junior prospect kickoff getting a goal in that event, and even being named captain of Sarnia for this season. There’s just a lot to like about Fischer but there is one glaring flaw with him currently. His +/- is horrendous. 2022/23, Fischer had a respectable 17 +/-. Last season, that number was down to -27 +/-. Penalties are also a concern with Fischer only receiving 16 in 22/23 but 79 last season. He’s got to fix both of those figures this year.

Projected Stats:

OHL 68GP 10G 35A -12 +/- 40PIM.

A few things with this. I am over projecting a little points wise but Fischer is off to a good start getting a goal and an assist in his first 3 games. My main concern is the +/- and Penalties. The goal is simply to slash those two by half. Do that, Fischer might get to play a little bit in Springfield next season.

15: [C] Aleksanteri Kaskimaki (NR)

6’0’’ 192lbs 20yo

Finland

Draft 22’ 3.73

Current Team – Springfield (AHL)

Last Year Stats:

HIFK (Liiga) 48GP 10G 7A

WJC 7GP 2G 2A

[No past comments since he didn’t make the rankings last year]

Quick Take:

Barely squeaking into this list is one Aleksanteri Kaskimaki. Kaskimaki game is simple but very beneficial for a team. All he does is just stand in front of the goalie and set screens. Obviously there’s a lot more to that but that is where he thrives. Kaskimaki is in the same boat Robertsson is in currently. They are finished with the European professional system and are about to begin their Springfield careers. Hopefully, we will see Kaskimaki shot develop a little bit more but if he becomes a grinder, there’s no shame in that.

Projected Stats

AHL 65GP 10G 20A 4+/-

Kaskimaki will probably start as a middle 6 forward in Springfield so I don’t expect him to have as many scoring chances as Robertsson has. With Kaskimaki also not being a totally offensive player, I also don’t mind if that goal total is super high. I would like to see a .5 points per game year out of him though setting up a possible great sophomore year and a positive plus minus will always help your case in getting top 6 minutes next year.