Bright Future!

[dustyrockon]

The St. Louis Blues had not qualified for the playoffs since the lockout. Although back then they had players like Pronger, Demitra, Weight, Tkachuck. They were loaded with offense and talent. After the lockout a few things changed and the team under went more of a rebuild stage which has worked out nicely for the team...

David Perron
Height: 5-11
Weight: 179
Position: LW
Shoots: Right
Born: May 28, 1988 - Sherbrooke, Quebec
Draft: 2007 - 1st round (26th overall) by the St. Louis Blues
Perron has what it takes to be a top line scorer. He has great stick handling and has and accurate shot. He also has great vision for setting up his teammates in the offensive zone.


Patrick Berglund
Height: 6-4
Weight: 210
Position: C
Shoots: Left
Born: Jun 2, 1988 - Vasteras, Sweden
Draft: 2006 - 1st round (25th overall) by the St. Louis Blues
He has the potential to be a 2nd line center for any team. He has height as an advantage which helps him protect the puck with his long reach. He adds a good scoring touch as well as great vision.


T.J. Oshie
Height: 6-0
Weight: 194
Position: C
Shoots: Right
Born: Dec 23, 1986 - Mt. Vernon, Washington
Draft: 2005 - 1st round (24th overall) by the St. Louis Blues
Oshie excels at all offensive aspects of the game. He has great puck skills and can be great one on one. He has shown that he can score nice goals and can also play a physical game.


B.J. Crombeen
Height: 6-2
Weight: 212
Position: RW
Shoots: Right
Born: Jul 10, 1985 - Denver, Colorado
Draft: 2003 - 2nd round (54th overall) by the Dallas Stars
Crombeen is a tireless worker who has a drive to play the game. He has the size to play a good physical game and usually never backs down from a challenge. He is a physical 2 way player who fits nicely on the 3rd line.


Roman Polak
Height: 6-1
Weight: 227
Position: D
Shoots: Right
Born: Apr 28, 1986 - Ostrava, Czechoslovakia
Draft: 2004 - 6th round (180th overall) by the St. Louis Blues
He is a defensive defense man who likes to throw his weight around. He plays well on the PK because of his strength and balance helps clear the front of the net. He plays it safe on the rush, and has a very hard slap shot.


Alex Pietrangelo
Height: 6-3
Weight: 206
Position: D
Shoots: Right
Born: Jan 18, 1990 - King City, Ontario
Draft: 2008 - 1st round (4th overall) by the St. Louis Blues
He is a big player who has great on ice vision. Hes a good offensive player with good mobility, great shot and his creativity all come into play. He can play the PP but also has good defensive positioning.


Ben Bishop
Height: 6-5
Weight: 205
Position: G
Shoots: Left
Born: Nov 21, 1986 - Denver, Colorado
Draft: 2005 - 3rd round (85th overall) by the St. Louis Blues
Bishop is a very tall goaltender who doesn't leave much empty net thanks to his size. But although he is tall he is also quick and relies on his athleticism to make saves. He covers his angles well, but still has a little way to go before making a real NHL punch.



Also lead by young players such as Brad Boyes (33-39-72), David Backes (31-23-54), Jeff Woywitka (3-15-18) and more. There future is well set. Also with veteran support such as Keith Tkachuk, Paul Kariya and Manny Legace the younger players have teammates they can look up to and learn from.

Despite being injured most of the season, Kariya was on his way to a decent season recording 15 points in only 11 games. Kariya should be back and well next season to hopefully play out his last year in his contract to his fullest potential.

Signing Tkachuk this off season should be done as well, despite getting old a two year contract should be done. He will probably ask less money taking his age into consideration, leaving ample room for the other UFA and RFA's and perhaps make a small splash in the free agent market. Perhaps trading or waiving Jay McKee to get rid of his huge contract is something to look into. Of course if he has a NTC or NMC then that would be out of the question and he would simply have to play out his last year on his contract.

Bottom line St. Louis Blues are looking to be playoff contenders once again for years to come. And look forward to them surprising everyone again next season! What do you guys think?!

[V-HAB]

Now the Blues are a team I'm excited about, and look forward to seeing how they progress. I really like the direction the management has decided to go with their drafting, and have built an extremely solid crop of guys from within the organization: players like Oshie, Berglund, Backes, Polak, Pietrangelo, etc.

In the salary cap era, the best way to build a great team is through the draft as, like Chicago, Washington, Pittsburgh, and now St. Louis are proving, you end up with a bunch of young players on inexpensive contracts who can get the job done.

It's also really good for the young players that they can get a lot of ice time, but don't have all the pressure on their shoulders, as more established players like Boyes, McDonald, and Kariya provide the secondary scoring, and they are all still fairly young and signed to decent contracts as well.

Even Tkachuk, who has been the leader of this team for a long time, still has a few years of hockey left in him, if they so choose to re-sign him.

Now that they've made a playoff run, albeit a short one, the players will know what to expect come Spring next year, and I think the Blues will be a team to be taken very seriously.

[Mr. Hockey]

there future looks great.