Corey Pronman details what to expect from the St. Louis Blues’ new prospects and how they fit into the farm system.
2024 Draft Grade: B
The Blues had a clear theme to their draft. They drafted size and skating and brought a bunch of top-end athletes into their farm system. Adam Jiricek, their first pick, looks like a top-four NHL defenseman. Ondrej Kos was trending to being a clear top-two-round pick earlier this season before he had health issues that derailed his season. Adam Jecho fell after being a touted player in recent years, but I see a path for him to the NHL. I don’t think the stat line on a lot of these prospects will excite, but I could see multiple NHL regulars coming from the Blues’ class. Matvei Korotky has a lot of potential as a seventh-round pick, too, with how well he played in the MHL playoffs.
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Draft Class
16. Adam Jiricek, RHD, HC Plzen (Czechia)
June 28, 2006 | 6′ 2″ | 168 pounds
Tier: Bubble top and middle of the lineup player
Skating: NHL average
Puck skills: NHL average
Hockey sense: NHL average
Compete: Above NHL average
Player comparable: Vladislav Gavrikov
Analysis: Jiricek was one of the best players at the Hlinka Gretzky in the summer. His play in the top Czech league wasn’t as impressive, and then he got injured in the opening game of the world juniors. The knee injury cost him the rest of the season. When healthy, he’s a 6-3 right shot who skates quite well. His skating allows him to make a lot of stops and be strong going back to retrieve pucks. Jiricek uses his big body well and competes for pucks. Offensively he doesn’t stand out, but he has some skill and moves pucks efficiently. It’s hard to tell which version of Jiricek we saw this season is the real one, but it’s probably somewhere in the middle: that Jiricek still looks like a potential top-four NHL defenseman.
Thoughts on the pick: The Blues had a clear need for more blue-line talent in their system, and Jiricek was a clear fit here on talent and need. He’s a big right-shot who can skate, move the puck and make stops. He projects as a top-four defenseman for them one day and becomes the clear best young defenseman in their system.
48. Colin Ralph, LHD, Shattuck St. Mary’s 18U Prep (USHS-Prep)
October 4, 2005 | 6′ 4″ | 227 pounds
Tier: Has a chance to play games
Skating: Below NHL average
Puck skills: Below NHL average
Hockey sense: NHL average
Compete: NHL average
Analysis: Ralph is a 6-foot-4 defenseman who skates well for a guy his size and played well in prep hockey this season for Shattuck. Ralph has enough puck-moving to be intriguing for the NHL. At the prep level, he showed flashes of good playmaking and instincts from the point. There are questions among evaluators about how well his offense will translate. He’s not overly skilled and may struggle to move pucks versus men. The toolkit is intriguing and could hit, but we’ll see how Ralph fares versus better players.
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56. Lukas Fischer, LHD, Sarnia Sting (OHL)
September 9, 2006 | 6′ 3″ | 181 pounds
Tier: Has a chance to play games
Skating: NHL average
Puck skills: Below NHL average
Hockey sense: NHL average
Compete: NHL average
Analysis: Fischer played big minutes for Sarnia this season. The son of former NHL player Jiri Fischer is a very athletic defenseman. He’s got a smooth, powerful skating stride. Fischer can transport pucks up the ice effectively and closes on checks well. Offensively, he’s just OK. With time he shows decent skill and vision. Under pressure he can fight the puck a bit and I wouldn’t call him a natural puck-mover. You hope with his size and mobility and enough grit that he can carve out a career as a third-pair defenseman. He is one of the youngest players eligible for this year’s draft so there is some hope for more growth in his game as well.
81. Ondrej Kos, RW, KOOVEE (Mestis)
March 7, 2006 | 6′ 2″ | 176 pounds
Tier: Has a chance to play games
Skating: NHL average
Puck skills: NHL average
Hockey sense: NHL average
Compete: NHL average
Analysis: Kos was a top player for Czechia’s U18 team this season. He wasn’t as impressive in league play but did get time versus men. He has a lot of NHL traits. He skates and handles the puck like an NHL forward and can create a lot of offense off the rush. Kos sees the ice well and can hit seams. I wouldn’t call his offensive game dynamic, but I think he’ll get his points versus men. He’s not overly physical, but he gives an honest effort, can PK and create at the net. A COVID-19 complication led to him missing significant time in the middle of the season and he didn’t look good when he came back at the U18 Worlds. The player I saw in the early parts of the season looked like a bottom-six wing in the NHL but I’m unsure of that projection.
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95. Adam Jecho, RW, Edmonton Oil Kings (WHL)
March 24, 2006 | 6′ 5″ | 201 pounds
Tier: Middle of the lineup player
Skating: Below NHL average
Puck skills: NHL average
Hockey sense: Below NHL average
Compete: NHL average
Shot: Above NHL average
Player comparable: Alexei Toropchenko
Analysis: Jecho’s development hasn’t taken off like some scouts hoped when we saw him years ago, but he remains a good pro prospect. He’s a huge winger who skates quite well for a guy his size even if he’s not a blazer. Jecho has good hands and can shoot the puck well from range. He tends to fade into the background at times. It’s some mixture of a lack of hockey sense or compete. I think mostly the former. He’s a guy you have to dream on a bit and who often frustrates scouts, but his athletic toolkit is hard to find and if he scores enough at higher levels, coaches will play him regularly.
113. Tomas Mrsic, C, Medicine Hat Tigers (WHL)
February 26, 2006 | 6′ 0″ | 170 pounds
Analysis: Mrsic, a high WHL bantam draft pick, is a talented forward. He displays excellent skill and playmaking ability and can run a power play like a pro. He’s a good skater as well. Mrsic’s issues come down to his size and compete. He gives inconsistent effort and plays too much on the perimeter.
145. William McIsaac, RHD, Spokane Chiefs (WHL)
May 26, 2006 | 6′ 3″ | 192 pounds
Tier: Has a chance to play games
Skating: Below NHL average
Puck skills: Below NHL average
Hockey sense: NHL average
Compete: NHL average
Analysis: McIsaac didn’t have the season some scouts expected this year in the WHL, but he’s still a player with pro intrigue. McIsaac is a tall right-shot defenseman who can make a decent first pass. He makes a lot of stops due to his long reach and physical play. The pure offense in his game won’t get you that excited, though. He doesn’t have that much skill, and his skating is just OK. With his size and ability to make a first pass and some stops, he gives himself a chance.
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209. Antoine Dorion, F, Québec Remparts (QMJHL)
November 2, 2005 | 6′ 0″ | 190 pounds
211. Matvei Korotky, C, SKA-1946 St. Petersburg (MHL)
December 23, 2005 | 6′ 2″ | 190 pounds
Tier: Projected to play NHL games
Skating: Below NHL average
Puck skills: NHL average
Hockey sense: NHL average
Compete: Above NHL average
Shot: Above NHL average
Analysis: Korotky’s performance in Russia’s junior league was fine during the season, but he turned it on during the playoffs — one of the better forwards in the postseason. Korotky is a skilled center with a high compete level. He doesn’t shy away from physical play and can kill penalties well. He also has very good one-on-one abilities and can both create and finish chances. The biggest issue in his game is his feet. He has a little bit of a clunky skating stride, but the rest of his game has enough positives that I could see him being a bottom-six NHL forward potentially.
Beat writer’s analysis
The Blues subscribe to the theory of taking the best player available at the NHL Draft, but they weren’t upset when it came their turn to pick and it was a defenseman they liked.
The team’s first three selections, and four of their nine picks, were blueliners: Jiricek, Ralph, Fischer and McIsaac.
“We’re cognizant that there’s a shortage of defense prospects on the depth chart,” Tony Feltrin, the Blues’ director of amateur scouting, said. “Certainly it doesn’t hurt to address.”
Jiricek played in only 19 games this season because of a knee injury, but Feltrin is a fan.
“He’s a pretty savvy player that can play a well-rounded game,” he said. “I like his poise. I like his ability to be active. He wants to impact the game and make a difference. There’s lots to like. We know that there’s physical maturity to come, but that’s not a concern.”
Another theme of the class was size. Seven of the nine are 6-1 or taller, and five of the nine are 6-3 or taller. Jecho is 6-5, 201 pounds, and Ralph is 6-4, 216.
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“Today’s kids are big boys at 18 years old,” Feltrin said. “I don’t want to say totally coincidental, but if a player with size is next to a player without size and they’re equal ability, well, the choice is simplified.”
The rest of the Blues’ draft class featured Kos, Mrsic, Dorion and Korotky. With nine total picks both this year and last summer, the Blues are creating quite a cupboard of prospects.
“We’ve added defensemen, we’ve added forwards, we’ve got North American skaters, European skaters,” Feltrin said. “The class that we had last year is proving to be on track to become the players that we envisioned, and we anticipate that these young men will also. Overall, it’s a good group.”
(Photo of Adam Jiricek: Bruce Bennett / Getty Images)
