The St. Louis Blues have qualified five of their restricted free agents today, allowing them to hold their rights, keeping them in the system.
Vladimir Sobotka, Jaden Schwartz, Sergey Andronov, David Shields, and Sebastian Wannstrom were all qualified today. Brett Ponich and Tyler Shattock were not qualified, so they will become unrestricted free agents tomorrow when free agency opens.
Sobotka and Schwartz are locks for the Blues roster, while Andronov, Shields, and Wannstrom will likely suit up for the Chicago Wolves next season. Shields and Wannstrom really took large strides this season to becoming better players and really reestablished themselves and legitimate NHL prospects.
Andronov has third line potential in the NHL. He has speed and strong hands, he plays a physical game and battles hard in the corners. He is a strong option for a call up if the Blues suffer an injury in the bottom six.
Wannstrom has asserted himself as a steady bottom six center with solid penalty killing capabilities. At the begginning of the season, he wasn't used much and was consistently sent down from the Wolves to the Kalamazoo Wings of the ECHL. However, midway through the season, he started to become a fixture in the Wolves lineup. He could potentially be call up this season if we see Max Lapierre go down with injury.
Shields is an interesting defensemen because prior to this year, he was looking like another prospect who was going no where fast. Then this season with Chicago, he was paired with Taylor Chorney and really took large steps forwards to reassert himself as a legit NHL prospect. This upcoming season will be big for him as if he has another strong season, he could potentially force his way onto the Blues roster.
The two prospects who did not receive a qualifying offer are forwards Tyler Shattock and defensemen Brett Ponich.
When drafted, Shattock looked like he had bottom six potential and with his size, could play out to be a solid defensive forward. However Shattock never reached that potential and after another average season in the minors, the Blues opted to let him go.
Ponich is very odd case. When he was drafted in the second round, I couldn't stand the selection. He wasn't expected to be drafted until the fourth or fifth round and the Blues used a second on him. He was a raw defender from the Portland Winterhawks with great size and untapped potential. Unfortunately for the Blues and for Ponich, he never found that potential and was never more than a seventh defensemen in the AHL. The Blues have chosen not to keep him around and he'll be able to sign with any team he wants come tomorrow.
With free agency opening tomorrow, I'll be here breaking down any and every free agent signing the Blues make tomorrow. Stay tuned.