With the final days of January looming, it’s time to review how the St. Louis Blues prospects in the American Hockey League (AHL) have been performing.
Here’s a look at some of the top prospects playing for the Springfield Thunderbirds and a quick look at the current injury report.
Matt Kessel
The 23-year-old defenseman has earned his first call-up to the NHL this season and looks to be a permanent fixture in the lineup moving forward. Though he has not produced any points, his bread and butter will not come from the scoresheet but what he does everywhere else that counts. In a recent article from The Hockey News, former UMass head coach Greg Cargvel said of Kessel:
“I think he’s just got such a great combination of size, mobility, ability and his mental makeup is a really good combination,” Carvel said. “I just thought he could play at the NHL because of all that. He’s a horse. You don’t want to run into this kid. He’s got a mean edge to him when he wants to. He’s a great third-pair defenseman in the NHL. That’s what you hoped he would be, but to his credit, he’s extremely well-conditioned, extremely committed. One of the more underrated values of an athlete is consistency, and he was the same thing every single day.”
Tanner Dickinson
Tanner Dickinson earned his first call-up to the AHL this season, played in his first game, and scored his first goal, all on Saturday, Jan. 20 against the Utica Comets.
This season, Dickinson has recovered nicely after suffering a broken leg during the 2022-23 season and has played 34 games in the ECHL with the Orlando Solar Bears scoring seven goals and 22 points. The 2020 fourth-round pick’s path to the NHL could still be a ways off but he has shown to be one of the best skaters in the prospect pool. Time will tell if he can secure a spot in the lineup with the Thunderbirds as he is likely destined to be reassigned to the Solar Bears as players return from injury.
Marc-Andre Gaudet
Briefly called up for a four-game stint with the Thunderbirds, Marc-Andre Gaudet (20) finished with zero points scored but is currently tied for 13th on the Solar Bears squad with three goals and 13 points through 29 games with a plus-3 rating.
Gaudet was an offensive machine in the Quebec Maritime Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) during the 2022-23 season producing a combined 61 points (15 goals, 46 assists) between the Chicoutimi Saguenéens and the Sherbrooke Phoenix. He is proving himself a reliable two-way defender early in his professional career after such a dominant offensive year in juniors. Time will tell if his booming shot and defensive abilities can develop enough to earn him a shot in the NHL in the coming years.
Zachary Bolduc
One of the top prospects in the Blues organization, Zachary Bolduc has been consistently playing in the top-six for the Thunderbirds over the past month seeing more time on the top line than not. The 20-year-old sniper has performed well over the past few weeks scoring two goals and four points through 10 January games. His 17 points (six goals, 11 assists) have him securely placed eighth in total points for the Thunderbirds and tied for 34th among all rookies in the AHL.
With 89 shots on goal this season, his offense is bound to show up on the scoreboard sooner than later. The Blues have plenty of time to let him continue to grow and develop over the next one or even two seasons as the opportunities will begin to show up. Bolduc will just need to be the one to jump when the opportunity comes knocking.
Mikhail Abramov
Acquired in the Ryan O’Reilly trade, Mikhail Abramov has consistently played in the bottom-six for the Thunderbirds this season playing either on the third-line left wing or as the fourth-line center when in the lineup. Appearing in only 28 games this season, he has seven goals and 16 points and is currently projected to finish with 34 points (15 goals, 19 assists) through 60 games this season. At this point in his young career, it is unclear what his future holds and in what role he will be serving in moving forward. A once high-scoring player in the QMJHL, he looks destined to become at best a bottom-six forward in the NHL one day.
Injury Report
Forward prospect Zach Dean and goaltender Vadim Zherenko (leg) remain week-to-week. This season, Dean has been a mainstay as the Thunderbirds’ third-line center but has not found the explosive offense he saw only a season ago in the QMJHL with the Gatineau Olympiques scoring 33 goals and 70 points through 50 regular season games, and 10 goals and 26 points in 13 postseason games. He has produced only two goals and four points this season through his first 34 games in the AHL.
RELATED: St. Louis Blues 2024 Top-10 Mid-Season Prospects
The Russian netminder, Zherenko has experienced a rough January allowing an average of 3.25 goals per game through four starts before his injury. This season, he and veteran Malcolm Subban have split starts for the Thunderbirds. With 20 games under his belt, he has a 3.07 goals-against average, a .910 save percentage and a 10-7-1 record.
The Blues have only a few prospects in the AHL at this point and it is unlikely they call many up to the NHL this season. The organization is playing the long game with their prospects and growth and maturation is the name of the game for them. Players like Bolduc, Kessel, and Zherenko all project to reach the NHL and earn not only lengthy call-ups but also secure nightly roles in the starting lineup.
