Troy Brouwer Brings Right Mentality To St. Louis Blues

By Kate Cimini | Jul 20, 2015

New addition to the St. Louis Blues, Troy Brouwer, spoke with Jeremy Rutherford of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch on the trade, (not) trying to replace T.J. Oshie on the ice or in fans’ hearts and, most importantly, on the winning attitude he learned during his 2010 Stanley Cup run on the Chicago Blackhawks.

That year saw Brouwer’s name engraved on Lord Stanley when Patrick Kane scored an overtime goal on Philadelphia ice.

Next: Postulation Post: Blues Forward Lines

“You hear it from a bunch of people when you win, but it’s something that you have to believe in everyday, knowing you’re going to win going into every game,” Brouwer said. “The best way I can describe it is, we were having a team dinner before the finals and we didn’t know if we were going to play Philadelphia or Montreal. But we had the mindset of ‘Who cares who we’re going to play? We know we’re going to win.’”

Brouwer netted eight points (4g, 4a) in 19 postseason games in 2010, and he credits his success, indeed, even his entire team’s success, to their positive mentality.

More from Editorials

“Losing wasn’t even crossing our minds, it didn’t even creep in,” Brouwer said. “That ignorance that nobody can beat you if you don’t want them to, you learn how to do that pretty quick, and if you keep that mentality, it goes a lot further than some people might think.”

If Brouwer brings this attitude every night he dons a Blues jersey, his can-do attitude will make him extremely popular among St. Louis fans. He’s already in the spotlight as the biggest name traded in the offseason as well as a player who earned the privilege of hoisting the Stanley Cup above his head.

One player can change a team’s dynamic on the ice and in the dressing room, but, as the popular saying among high school coaches goes, ‘there’s no ‘I’ in ‘team.”

“I know there’s a lot of great players on the Blues,” said Brouwer. “They’ve all won at different levels, so guys know how to do it. Sometimes if you’re kind of stuck getting to that next level, you have a little doubt. I haven’t met any of the guys, so I don’t know what it’s like in the locker room. I don’t want to come in and just starting talking and try to impose what I want to say. But I’m going to find my way within the team and learn where I fit.

“I feel like I’ve got some great experience that I can bring in certain situations and try and help the guys through tough situations. I hope that I can come in and be a guy that helps push us over the edge. But I don’t think one person is going to be able to make the team all of the sudden start winning. When guys are confident and know what their place is within the organization, everyone can just go out and play and not have to worry about other people.”

With Brouwer anchoring the third line with his 20+ goals a season, the Blues may find the regular season easier to get through, leaving more in the tank for the post. The Blues have a strong lineup in place and with a few tweaks — like the addition of a large body like Brouwer, who can still score — a deep postseason push cannot be far off.

Next: Brouwer, Brodziak Pick Their Lucky Numbers

More from Bleedin' Blue

Home/Editorials