St. Louis Blues Jay Bouwmeester Added To Team Canada
By Todd Panula
St. Louis Blues proverbial punching bag, Jay Bouwmeester, received some good news. He has been added to the roster of Team Canada for the upcoming World Cup of Hockey.
It’s been quite the news day for the end of August. First, word came that the St. Louis Blues have chosen their captain. Then, another name was added to Team Canada.
Now, St. Louis Blues fans love to pick on certain guys. Over time, it has usually been a goaltender. In recent years, it has been defenders.
Barret Jackman bore the brunt of fan frustration for several years before he departed. Now, that mantle has been passed to Jay Bouwmeester. Whether fair or not, Bouwmeester has become the whipping boy for fans. Some of it focuses on his actual play and other parts look more at the amount of money the team is paying him. Similarly to Jackman, Bouwmeester is still highly regarded in the hockey world, even if he has lost the faith of the people who buy the tickets.
Now, the divisive defender has been added to Team Canada for the upcoming World Cup of Hockey. Bouwmeester replaces injured Blackhawks defenseman, Duncan Keith.
There are people who will say it is only because Doug Armstrong is the general manager of the Canadians. That assertion would be short sighted. Yes, Armstrong likely has the final say, but Team Canada has several people in key positions that would have their own input.
Names like Marc Bergevin, Rob Blake, Ken Holland and Bob Murray all have a say in roster decisions as well. So, if Bouwmeester was as bad as so many make out, it doesn’t seem likely they would be comfortable with his inclusion.
There isn’t anything wrong with fans being disappointed with what they’ve gotten out of Bouwmeester. He hasn’t even come close to the 37 points he scored in his first year with the team.
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He was a minus player in 2015-16 for the first time in his Blues career. He’s also toward the bottom of the team in several analytical areas.
Those only tell part of the story though. Analytics are the new thing and are a great tool for separating players on a level field, but they can give false ideas too.
Just using the Fenwick scores, Jackman was actually in the top 5 of the league for players with 750 minutes played or more. Conversely, Brent Seabrook is rated even lower than Bouwmeester. Those stats still have merit, but only paint part of the picture.
Bouwmeester is definitely in the tail end of his career. At 32, he’s not going to be quite as fast and he’s never been known for physicality.
That doesn’t mean he can’t be a productive player. I still maintain that he has never been the same guy after getting injured for the first time in his career in 2014-15. Only he can overcome that.
Regardless of what any of us think, he still has a good partnership with Alex Pietrangelo. He is still likely to be on the top pairing with no left-handers ready to make that jump.
If nothing else, Blues fans should be excited that Bouwmeester has been included in the World Cup squad. It shows he still has value. If the Blues attempt to jettison his contract, the more value he has in the rest of the league, the better the return can be.
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Bouwmeester had an underwhelming performance in the 2014 Olympic games. If he can have a good showing during the World Cup, it could springboard him to a solid year with the Blues. It could, possibly, serve as a good way to reform the Pietrangelo/Bouwmeester combo in a different setting as well.
Any chance to play for your country is an honor and Bouwmeester is sure to be excited (as close to excited as he gets anyway). Like him or not, we should be proud of the fact one of our own was chosen for their national team.