As the winter winds begin to blow in the sounds of hockey begin to echo from the old barn known as the Scottrade Center.
After a decent season last year with limited success in the postseason the Blues are back on the ice and looking to compete for Lord Stanley's Cup. Last season the Blues totaled 95pts, 5th in the West, and returned to the playoffs.
"We improved by 29pts over the prior season, although we let a number of points get away from us at the end of the season," said captain Dion Phaneuf.
"We had an opportunity late in the season to assure ourselves of home ice advantage in the first round. We struggled toward the end there and missed a golden opportunity," said GM Shawn Cane. "Hopefully we've learned from last year that you have to finish strong."
Change has already begun with this team, although the GM has yet to make any significant movement. During the dispersal draft the Blues opted to get a bigger and gritter. "We went into the draft looking for depth. Guys who can step in immediately and help solidify some positions," said Cane. The Blues selected defenseman Andy Greene, forward Drew Miller, and forward Tom Kostopoulos. "These are guys who have plenty of experience under their belt. In Greene we feel we have defensive defenseman who is smart with the puck and positional play. Miller gives us a guy who will play either wing on any line. He's gotten better with each season. And with Tommy K he's a guy who is going to go to work for you. I've had him on my team before so I know what he brings to the locker room and on the ice," said Cane.
As with every dispersal draft the Blues also lost three players from last years rosters. Parting ways are three forwards Boyle (ANA), MacKenzie (OTT), and Blake (PHO).
The next order of business for the team was the Entry draft. Sitting at 21st in the first round the Blues were eagerly awaiting to see who they would draft. "We had a number of guys we liked, guys that every GM in this league liked," stated Cane. The Blues organization tried diligently to trade the pick. After entertaining a number of offers the Blues kept their pick and selected defenseman Jonathon Blum from Vancouver of the WHL. Expectations are that he will develop into a two-way defenseman who could work both the power play and penalty kill. "We had a number of targets in this draft. I'm not going to lie, we almost moved the pick. I won't get into what the offer was about but in the end we had Blum sitting there and we knew we had to take him," said Cane.
In the second round the Blues made a number of trades involving their remaining draft picks. First was the pick they owned from San Jose which they sent to Montreal for center Jim Slater. "Slats gives us a solid 3rd or 4th line center option. He is a very strong on the faceoff, something I felt we lacked last season, and he will be a valuable asset to this team," said Cane. Shortly after the deal the Blues then center Brent the Boston Bruins for a third round selection. They selected winger Aaron Volpatti.
Cane wasn't done with player movement just yet. He next sent a 2nd round pick and a 3rd round pick to the Calgary Flames for defenseman Francis Bouillon. "He's an older guy. He won't be putting up many points but that's not what we are asking him to do. He's here to bring some stability to the blue line. He'll see plenty of ice time. I now feel like we can throw any defensive pairing out on the ice and not have to worry," stated Cane. Last season it was evident that the Blues relied heavily on Phaneuf, Gleason and Hamhuis. There was clearly an effort this offseason to reduce their minutes and keep them fresh.
The Blues finished their draft selection by selecting center Andrew Desjardins. He is a big body who will see limited time in and out of the lineup. He is a project who the Blues will be patient in developing.
On the horizon the Blues look to finalize their roster before the start of the season. Initial line combos during recent practices have been:
Stoll, Elias, Gaborik
Gagner, Chimera, Benn
Christenson, Miller, Bertuzzi
Slater, Torres, Kopecky
Thompson, Clark, Kostopolous
Hamhuis, Phaneuf
Blum, Gleason
Bouillon, Greene
Erskine, Sutton
With the season just around the corner stay tuned for a season preview as we break down the outlook for upcoming AHL9
Interesting and a good read. I wish you good luck with your Blues and think you can upset any team.
ReplyDeleteSo keep up the good work !