5 Blues Gamers To Watch At The Tom Kurvers Prospect Showcase This Weekend

Blues followers prepare, hockey is again. The St. Louis Blues gear up for the fourth annual Tom Kurvers Prospect Showcase, set for Sept. 13-15. Followers can have the chance to catch a glimpse of the proficient prospects inside the group.

The Blues will not have a number of former first-rounders in attendance — Jimmy Snuggerud, Otto Stenberg, Theo Lindstein, and Adam Jiricek — as they put together for his or her seasons of their respective leagues.

Nevertheless, followers will see how the B and C-level prospects within the system look and honest towards the Chicago Blackhawks and Minnesota Wild prospects.

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As we put together for the prospect showcase, beneath we spotlight 5 gamers from the Blues who followers needs to be keeping track of this weekend.

Dalibor Dvorsky

This one is a no brainer. Not solely will each single Blues fan deal with Dalibor Dvorsky and his each transfer on the showcase however so will the administration group.

As talked about in a number of summer time articles, Dvorsky is getting ready himself to problem for a spot on the Blues’ opening night time roster. St. Louis’s tenth general choice within the 2023 NHL Entry Draft can have each alternative to showcase his expertise and full sport at this weekend’s showcase. He together with Zachary Bolduc needs to be the group’s prime performers.

One key space to observe for Dvorsky is his creativity and talent degree in one-on-one eventualities. He is not essentially a flashy puck handler, however can he create extra time and area for himself along with his palms in tight areas, after which use it successfully to raise his playmaking upside?

Zachary Bolduc

Zachary Bolduc can also be anticipated to problem for a roster spot in coaching camp. However, the acquisitions of Dylan Holloway and Mathieu Joseph imply that the Quebec native should work ten instances more durable to make the opening lineup.

It is not a hyperbolic assertion to counsel that Bolduc ought to dominate this showcase. He performed 25 video games within the NHL final yr, scored 5 objectives and 9 factors, and earned reps taking part in within the prime six to finish the yr. He and Dvorsky needs to be driving the offense for St. Louis this weekend.

Has his puck administration and tenacity in his off-puck play improved? These two facets of his sport want refining if he needs to be a full-time NHL participant. He is bought an above-average talent set and is a superb skater who can drive the offense, however he is vulnerable to forcing performs and turning the puck over.

Related: Blues Top Prospect Zachary Bolduc Ready For A Full-Time Roster Spot Next Season

Quinton Burns

Quinton Burns lately signed his entry-level contract with the Blues and is about to play for the Kingston Frontenacs within the OHL for the 2024-25 marketing campaign.

The 6-foot-1 left-shot defenseman is not going to catch your eye along with his offensive abilities alongside the backend. As a substitute, he earns his cash by caring for the defensive zone first and being an actual ache within the rear to play towards. He is recorded over 100 penalty minutes in back-to-back seasons and performs an old school model. Burns is bodily, rugged, and would not again down from anyone.

For Burns, it is all about how he defends, protects the entrance of the web, controls his gaps upon zone entries and within the corners, and makes sensible reads on his first passes on the breakout. If he continues to point out that he can do these fortes, he’ll have a professional profession. And probably play for Staff Canada for the 2025 World Juniors.

Juraj Pekarcik

Juraj Pekarcik was a savvy decide within the third spherical of the 2023 NHL Entry Draft by the Blues scouting employees. He blossomed on the 2023 IIHF Males’s U18 World Championship on Slovakia with Dalibor Dvorsky and adopted it up with a powerful 50-assist season within the USHL with the Dubuque Preventing Saints.

Pekarcik is the kind of participant that followers and coaches love. He is prepared to play no matter position is required and might accomplish that as a result of his hockey intelligence is his biggest attribute. He is sturdy at turning pucks over within the offensive zone and making fast passes upon retrievals to get the puck into the palms of his extra expert linemates.

At this weekend’s showcase, you possibly can count on to see Juraj help performs and utilized on each particular groups. Having the ability to drive the offense for his line will go a good distance and present sturdy development in his offensive sport.

Related: St. Louis Prospect Involved in QMJHL Trade; A New Home for 2024-25

Michael Buchinger

Michael Buchinger is heading into his first skilled season after graduating from the OHL ranks. The graceful-skating left-shot defenseman was taken within the third spherical of the 2022 NHL Entry Draft. He put up 158 factors in 176 video games in his OHL profession.

Buchinger can be an attention-grabbing case research as he turns professional. That is why watching him this weekend and the way he performs can be advantageous. Arguably the strongest trait of his sport is his skating and the way he makes use of it on each side of the puck. Defensively, he closes gaps with a number one stick effectively. And he pushes play up the ice in transition by both activating his ft and skating pucks up or transferring it with a crisp, flat go as much as his forwards.

Though the factors have been there in his OHL profession, his expertise degree and offensive imaginative and prescient aren’t on the identical degree as Adam Jiricek and Theo Lindstein. Envisioning him as an offensive specialist within the NHL is tough to see, however so is being a defensive specialist contemplating he isn’t massive (six ft, 190 kilos) and would not play a imply defensive sport.

Buchinger wants to point out some added aptitude and creativity offensively, or, extra snarl and grit defensively this weekend to show that he has a way forward for changing into an NHL-caliber defenseman.

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