St. Louis Blues: Don’t Take Vladimir Tarasenko for Granted
By Todd Panula
The St. Louis Blues’ Vladimir Tarasanko being the real deal isn’t something most fans don’t know. Every now and again though he lulls us to sleep and we forget.
Vladimir Tarasenko scored his 100th career goal on March 19, 2016 against the Vancouver Canucks.
The goal itself wasn’t overly special, in particular if you compare it to his highlight reel moves against the New York Rangers.
However, the 100th goal in what has been an amazing yet still brief career showed what kind of a player he is. 100 wasn’t flashy. It didn’t involve a ton of moves and slick stick handling.
It was a hockey goal. Tarasenko joined the rush a little late, but went into the dirty areas right in front of the net and was rewarded with a rebound goal.
Even more so than his skill, that’s what makes Tarasenko a special player. NHL history, at least in the last 20 years, is littered with people who could wow you but often those same players didn’t want to put themselves on the line.
Tarasenko is not one of those players. He’s smart and doesn’t put himself in spots where he’ll get beat up, but he’s willing to get to the net and work for pucks in the corner. He’s willing to set up a screen in front of the goaltender if nobody else has done it already.
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He really is a complete player. No, he’s not likely to win a Selke award, but he doesn’t shy away from that side of the game either. It helps that he’s built like his nickname “Tank” as well. The guy shrugs off checks like it’s his job.
At this point in his career, the only thing that’s a bit concerning is his propensity to pass up his own scoring chances in an attempt to get his teammates going. While that is an admirable trait, when Tarasenko goes into scoring slumps he seems to want to be more inclusive instead of shooting his way out of it the way a basketball player would.
In that regard, he’s no Alex Ovechkin. Ovi will shoot and shoot and then shoot some more. Though I doubt it has ever happened, it would not surprise me to see Ovechkin take the puck off a teammate’s stick while they were attempting to shoot, just so he could have the shot.
No, Tarasenko wants to pass almost as much as he wants to score. That’s not even a bad thing really, but when the Blues and their fans have been clamoring for a true goal scorer since the days of Brett Hull, they just want to see him score.
That’s why people get so frustrated, because he almost lulls you into a sense that he’s not as good as he is. He’ll go a stretch without scoring while other “hotter” names within the league pass him by in the stats column.
People begin to wonder if he’s really that good and there’s whispers about his consistency. Then he’ll break back out and remind them that he is everything that Blues fans want him to be.
The guy is going to be special and he already is in most respects. Stats can be twisted despite the belief by some that they are absolute.
There are those that point to him being fifth in scoring and fourth in goals in his draft class. Well, his draft class includes Taylor Hall, Tyler Seguin and Jeff Skinner.
On top of that, Tarasenko scored 100 goals in 250 games. Everyone else on that list has over 100 more games played. Seguin, who started his career with the Boston Bruins, has almost as many games played in Dallas as Tarasenko does in total.
While the people that ever question his talent are few and far between, they do need to realize he’s only in his third full season. He missed significant time in his second year (first full season) due to injury. He also didn’t play in the NHL right away as he didn’t appear for the Blues until 2012-13 and most of his classmates played in the NHL right away.
He could very well end up being similar to Jaromir Jagr in terms of wondering if those missed years cost him valuable NHL points, but that’s for the future to decide. What also isn’t taken into account is the culture shock. He spent his first year in the NHL speaking little to no English and being expected to be a sniper right away.
That’s a big shift to go from Russia to the U.S., let alone be thrust into a bit of a spotlight and media attention when you don’t even speak their language.
In a very short time, Tarasenko has quietly made himself into a star in the league and even more so in the hearts of Blues fans. He is a perfect fit for the city as well.
Ovechkin fits the east coast and is fine with media attention. Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane fit the Chicago style. Vlady fits St. Louis.
He wants to win, wants to do it the right way and does it quietly without a ton of chest beating or trash talking. He does everything with a rather wry but wide smile that endears him to his new home town.
Given the uncertainty of free agency and every fluid rosters due to coaching changes or management shifts, it’s impossible to say whether anyone will ever last in one city for long anymore. For the first time in a long time though, the Blues fans have someone they hope and pray will retire a Blue due to production instead of just sentiment.
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Call him “Tank” (which he apparently doesn’t like), call him the “show” or call him whatever you want but just don’t let him lull you to sleep. With the talent in the league and other teams seeming to have more of it, i.e. Chicago, he may never lead the league in goals but that’s ok. He’s as good as advertised and that’s good enough.