I was able to attend the prospect camp but only on Friday. I was off to the right side of the rink and was only able to see one side of the ice. I therefore got a good look at the defensemen from the first skate and the forwards from the second skate.
I was not impressed with the defensemen that I saw. No one really had a booming shot. Only about one out of three shots hit the net. Passing did not look very good.
I was impressed with what I saw out of the offense. This was the first time I saw TJ Oshie and he is good. I didn't notice Berglund much. I saw Lemtyugov in Peoria for a game and he looked faster today (of course, this was just drills). Nikiforov = itty bitty. Reaves looked huge out there.
I didn't go to the game on Friday night. Comments have mentioned that Berglund seems timid. This could be the worst thing for him. At this point, I would not be surprised if he went to Peoria to start the season.
Monday, June 30, 2008
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Bluenote Sighting - "My Name is Earl"
I love it when I see random references to the beloved note in pop culture. This just became one of my favorite shows.
If you know of any Blues references in pop culture, let us know and we'll put it up.
Monday, June 23, 2008
Denouement
The draft was over and, contrary to my belief, the Blues were done dealing (mostly; they picked up a seventh round pick this year for next year's seventh round pick). I have to say, I am a little underwhelmed. Here are the picks:
Alex Pietrangelo D 4th (1st round)
Philip McRae C 33rd (2nd round)
Jake Allen G 34th (2nd round)
Jori Lehtera C 65th (3rd round)
James Livingstone RW 70th (3rd round, this is the Jamal Mayers pick)
Ian Schultz RW 87th (3rd round)
David Warsofsky D 95th (4th round)
Kristoffer Berglund D 125th (5th round)
Anthony Nigro C 155th (6th round)
Paul Karpowich G 185th (7th round)
The later rounds are such a crap shoot that I won't comment on them.
Alex Pietrangelo was the expected pick for the Blues. Not as developed defensively as Luke Schenn but has more potential. Nikita Filatov was a wildcard but was never really considered a pick for the Blues by most. Assuming his health is not a questions, he is expected to be an offensive force from the blueline and a power play quarterback. The duo of Erik Johnson and Alex Pietrangelo might be enough to make us forget the tandem of Chris Pronger and Al MacInnis. (It won't) The comparisons I hear are Chris Pronger without the edge. That could be a good thing as Pronger lets his temper get to him sometimes. However, 'without the edge' makes me think he might not be aggressive. When I think of passive defensemen, my thoughts turn to Christian Backman and I shudder with disappointment.
Philip McRae is the son of Basil McRae, the former Blue. This is by and large considered a reach by the Blues. McRae was rated, pre-draft, as a third round pick and he went at the beginning of the second. He is said to have good size and good hands but his speed and footwork are lacking. That is the description of Charles Linglet, who is now a career minor leaguer (outside chance to make the team this year, but I would be shocked). For a second round pick, he must be better than that. But will he be Jay McClement or Craig Conroy?
Jake Allen was not the top rated goalie when he was drafted. It is so hard to determine the potential of a goalie that I don't know if this was an appropriate pick
The last player I will touch on is Jori Lehtera. He is Finnish and is already 20 years old. I believe that he was passed up in two previous drafts but don't take that as fact. He had a breakout year offensively in Finland that put him on the radar of Jarmo Kekalanian, a fellow Finn. With his (relatively) advanced age and his recent performance, he would be my dark horse to make the team. However, I have not seen his name on the list of prospects at the development camp.
Alex Pietrangelo D 4th (1st round)
Philip McRae C 33rd (2nd round)
Jake Allen G 34th (2nd round)
Jori Lehtera C 65th (3rd round)
James Livingstone RW 70th (3rd round, this is the Jamal Mayers pick)
Ian Schultz RW 87th (3rd round)
David Warsofsky D 95th (4th round)
Kristoffer Berglund D 125th (5th round)
Anthony Nigro C 155th (6th round)
Paul Karpowich G 185th (7th round)
The later rounds are such a crap shoot that I won't comment on them.
Alex Pietrangelo was the expected pick for the Blues. Not as developed defensively as Luke Schenn but has more potential. Nikita Filatov was a wildcard but was never really considered a pick for the Blues by most. Assuming his health is not a questions, he is expected to be an offensive force from the blueline and a power play quarterback. The duo of Erik Johnson and Alex Pietrangelo might be enough to make us forget the tandem of Chris Pronger and Al MacInnis. (It won't) The comparisons I hear are Chris Pronger without the edge. That could be a good thing as Pronger lets his temper get to him sometimes. However, 'without the edge' makes me think he might not be aggressive. When I think of passive defensemen, my thoughts turn to Christian Backman and I shudder with disappointment.
Philip McRae is the son of Basil McRae, the former Blue. This is by and large considered a reach by the Blues. McRae was rated, pre-draft, as a third round pick and he went at the beginning of the second. He is said to have good size and good hands but his speed and footwork are lacking. That is the description of Charles Linglet, who is now a career minor leaguer (outside chance to make the team this year, but I would be shocked). For a second round pick, he must be better than that. But will he be Jay McClement or Craig Conroy?
Jake Allen was not the top rated goalie when he was drafted. It is so hard to determine the potential of a goalie that I don't know if this was an appropriate pick
The last player I will touch on is Jori Lehtera. He is Finnish and is already 20 years old. I believe that he was passed up in two previous drafts but don't take that as fact. He had a breakout year offensively in Finland that put him on the radar of Jarmo Kekalanian, a fellow Finn. With his (relatively) advanced age and his recent performance, he would be my dark horse to make the team. However, I have not seen his name on the list of prospects at the development camp.
Friday, June 20, 2008
Why Mayers was expendable
The Blues traded Mayers to Toronto for a pick and here's why. Take a look at the likely forward roster to start the season (less Mayers):
The way I see it the lines shake out something like this:
(assumes RJ is gone soon)
That fourth line is crowded without him. Besides, I have seen Lemtyugov three times and the player he reminds me of most is Jamal Mayers, so we really don't lose anything. We are lucky that Toronto took his salary away. As far as I'm concerned Hinote is expendable as well.
Having said that, Mayers has been a Blue since 1993. 1993! And during that time he has been a warrior. It has been great watching him play. He is a true Blue. I think he deserves a statue next to Federko's (maybe half the size). It could be a scene of him in action shooting the puck 5 feet wide of the net or backchecking hard. LOL
Seriously though, I wish him all the best. Good luck in Toronto, Jammer!
| David Backes |
| Brad Boyes |
| Dan Hinote |
| Cam Janssen |
| Ryan Johnson |
| Paul Kariya "A" |
| D.J. King |
| Jay McClement |
| Andy McDonald |
| David Perron |
| Lee Stempniak |
| Keith Tkachuk "A" |
| TJ Oshie |
| Patrick Berglund |
| Nikolai Lemtyugov |
The way I see it the lines shake out something like this:
| Kariya | McDonald | Boyes |
| Tkachuk | Berglund | Perron |
| Backes | Oshie | Stempniak |
| Lemtyugov | McClement | King/Janssen |
| extra: Hinote | ||
That fourth line is crowded without him. Besides, I have seen Lemtyugov three times and the player he reminds me of most is Jamal Mayers, so we really don't lose anything. We are lucky that Toronto took his salary away. As far as I'm concerned Hinote is expendable as well.
Having said that, Mayers has been a Blue since 1993. 1993! And during that time he has been a warrior. It has been great watching him play. He is a true Blue. I think he deserves a statue next to Federko's (maybe half the size). It could be a scene of him in action shooting the puck 5 feet wide of the net or backchecking hard. LOL
Seriously though, I wish him all the best. Good luck in Toronto, Jammer!
The Story so far...
The Blues have made two trades within the last 24 hours and heading into the 2008 draft. The first, on Thursday night, was the trade of Jamal Mayers to Toronto for a third round pick. The second was the acquisition of goalie Chris Mason from Nashville for a fourth round pick.
It has been stated over and over here and in other places that the Blues have too many non-scoring forwards. We all wanted this problem corrected but I never thought it would involve the release of Ryan Johnson (he hasn't been resigned as of yet) and the trade of Jamal Mayers. These were the two best defensive forward the Blues had. The two best penalty killers that the Blues had. Perhaps McClement and Hinote can step up but I no longer have faith in the penalty killing and wonder what the opposing teams' top lines will now do to the Blues.
Jamal Mayers was drafted by the Blues as a fourth round pick and first played for the team in 1996. He played in excess of 590 games for the Blues and only nine other players in Blues history have played more. At the time of his trade, he was the longest tenured professional athlete in St. Louis, including the players of the Blues, Cardinals, and Rams.
The Chris Mason acquisition was a good one. For a fourth round pick, the Blues got a better than average backup that will push Ben Bishop in the years to come for playing time.
The first round of the draft is tonight with the Blues picking fourth overall. Speculation points to either Alex Pietrangelo or Luke Schenn, both defensemen, as the Blues pick. I don't think the dealing is done, however.
It has been stated over and over here and in other places that the Blues have too many non-scoring forwards. We all wanted this problem corrected but I never thought it would involve the release of Ryan Johnson (he hasn't been resigned as of yet) and the trade of Jamal Mayers. These were the two best defensive forward the Blues had. The two best penalty killers that the Blues had. Perhaps McClement and Hinote can step up but I no longer have faith in the penalty killing and wonder what the opposing teams' top lines will now do to the Blues.
Jamal Mayers was drafted by the Blues as a fourth round pick and first played for the team in 1996. He played in excess of 590 games for the Blues and only nine other players in Blues history have played more. At the time of his trade, he was the longest tenured professional athlete in St. Louis, including the players of the Blues, Cardinals, and Rams.
The Chris Mason acquisition was a good one. For a fourth round pick, the Blues got a better than average backup that will push Ben Bishop in the years to come for playing time.
The first round of the draft is tonight with the Blues picking fourth overall. Speculation points to either Alex Pietrangelo or Luke Schenn, both defensemen, as the Blues pick. I don't think the dealing is done, however.
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