On Tuesday, the St. Louis Blues announced they will compete in the first Tom Kurvers Prospect Showcase. The showcase will take place at the TRIA Rink at the Treasure Island Center in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Of those being showcased, the Springfield Thunderbirds will be represented by five out of a total 12 forwards, two out of eight defensemen, and two goaltenders.
Forwards at the Tom Kurvers Prospect Showcase:
Mikhail Abramov, Nikita Alexandrov, Mitchell Hoelscher, Mathias Laferriere, and Keean Washkurak.
Mikhail Abramov
Abramov played in 55 AHL games last year, with 21 coming in Springfield and the other 34 with the Toronto Marlies. Between the two squads, the Russian center combined for 11 goals and 13 assists, giving him 24 points.
Nikita Alexandrov
Alexandrov is a curious choice to play in the Tom Kurvers Prospect Showcase, as he seems poised to be a permanent fixture in training camp for the Blues, if not even on the NHL roster, in the near future. Alexandrov played in 28 NHL games last season, where he racked up seven points on three goals and four assists. His time with the Thunderbirds, however, is really where Alexandrov excelled. Alexandrov played in 41 games, where he scored 19 goals and matched that total in assists – giving him 38 points.
Mitchell Hoelscher
Hoelscher split his time between the T-Birds and the Indy Fuel of the ECHL. With the Fuel, Hoelscher played in six games where he tallied a goal and eight assists for nine points. With Springfield, he played 57 games and scored nine goals and seven assists (16 pts).
Mathias Laferriere
Laferriere played in 50 games for the Thunderbirds, potting career-highs in both goals and assists with nine and 17, respectively.
Keean Washkurak
Washkurak played in 45 games for Springfield, where he was able to rack up a total of 10 goals and three assists (13 pts).
Defensemen:
Matthew Kessel and Hunter Skinner.
Matthew Kessel
Kessel is another one who, like Alexandrov, sniffed the NHL ice during the 2022-23 season. Only he did it twice instead of 28 times. Unlike Alexandrov, he was unable to tally a point, registering a -1 plus/minus rating in the process, whereas Alexandrov held a +8. In the Tom Kurvers Prospect Showcase, he looks to bid for a more permanent role in the NHL.
Hunter Skinner
After spending the previous two seasons, plus eight games with their rivals, the Hartford Wolf Pack, Skinner decided to take his talents on the northern part of I-91 to play in Springfield during the 2022-23 season. Throughout the season, he split time between the Wolf Pack (8 games), the T-Birds (15 games), and the Jacksonville Ice Men (22 games) of the ECHL. In that span, he racked up three goals and 13 assists (16 pts,) with the most coming in Springfield with six.
Goaltenders:
Colten Ellis and Vadim Zherenko
Colten Ellis
Ellis is a borderline reference to the Thunderbirds, as he has not played a game for Springfield since the 2021-22 season. Even then, he only played six games for Springfield, where he was able to muster a 1-3-2 record with just a .880 SV% and 3.93 GAA.
The rest of the year, when he was not riding the bench as a healthy scratch, Ellis was with the Worcester Railers of the ECHL, where he went 15-13-5 and recorded a 3.21 GAA and .905 SV%. Most recently, he played for the Tulsa Oilers of the ECHL in 2022-23, where he went 12-9-5.
Vadim Zherenko
Zherenko is a more recent reference to the T-Birds at the Tom Kurvers Prospect Tournament, where he spent most of his season backing up now-NHL backup Joel Hofer. In his one professional season, Zherenko only touched the ice for Springfield. He was called up to St. Louis on an emergency basis multiple times but was never utilized in a game.
In his one professional season, Zherenko played in 25 games, where he went 10-9-3. He racked up a .913 SV% and a 3.14 GAA. Look for Zherenko to prove that he belongs in the system at the Tom Kurvers Prospect Showcase and is not one to be taken lightly.
When is the Tom Kurvers Prospect Showcase and how can I watch it?
The games kick off Friday, September 15, when the Blues prospects take on the host Minnesota Wild’s prospects at 7:00 p.m., and the second and final game is on Saturday, September 16, when they take on the Chicago Blackhawks’ prospects at 6:00 p.m.
You can watch the games on the Blues app or live on the Blues YouTube channel.
