Prospects Gear Up For Traverse City Tournament
A few things signal the start of hockey season as we near the month of September. Not only are teams setting up their camp rosters and preparing to hit the ice for practice, but a handful of prospects are getting an early jump on things by participating in the annual prospect tournament held in Traverse City, Michigan. Only eight teams compete in this five-day event – those being the host Detroit Red Wings, as well as the Atlanta Thrashers, Carolina Hurricanes, Columbus Blue Jackets, Dallas Stars, Minnesota Wild, New York Rangers and of course, your St. Louis Blues. The tournament begins Sept. 6 and lasts until Sept. 10, giving both fans and teams alike a look into the future.
Speaking of futures, the St. Louis Blues are a hockey team with a very bright one. Headlining their prospect roster this year is 2008 1st-round pick Alex Pietrangelo, who is a big reason why the Blues have a lot of hope for their team over the next several years. The man that they call “Petro” is one of the top prospects in all of hockey. He played in eight games with the Blues last year before being shipped back to Niagara, his Ontario Hockey League team. Pietrangelo is expected to start the season on St. Louis’ roster and stay the whole year this time, but if he still hasn’t adapted well enough to the NHL, he does have the option of being sent back down, just like last year. Given the much-needed offense from the blueline that he can provide, I doubt that will be the case, but the Blues would still like to see him play with more of a physical edge, so nothing is guaranteed. You can expect the team to be watching him very closely whenever he steps on the ice.
Among other Blues prospects of note in this tournament include forwards Philip McRae (2nd round pick, 2008), Aaron Palushaj (2nd round pick, 2007), and Brett Sonne (3rd round pick, 2007), defenseman Brett Ponich (2nd round, 2009) and goalie Jake Allen (2nd round, 2008) – all of whom could play a big part in the team’s future.
McRae, Palushaj and Sonne all have a nice combination of speed, skill and grit – much like current Blue, T.J. Oshie. On the back end, Brett Ponich is a 6’7” defenseman who could flourish in the NHL with that reach of his, much like how Zdeno Chara uses his large size to his advantage. Having a big, bruising defenseman on the point is never a bad thing, and Ponich provides just that. And in goal, Jake Allen is widely regarded as the goalie of the future for the Blues, who also have another highly-touted goaltender in the system by the name of Ben Bishop. However, Big Ben is not eligible to take part in this.
Another thing that could excite fans is the fact that fighting is indeed allowed in the tournament, and the Blues have a few players on the roster who are no strangers to dropping the mitts. Anthony Peluso, son of former Blue Mike Peluso, is the most noticeable bruiser, as he stands at 6’4” 235. Other players on the roster who provide a lot of toughness are James Livingston, Ian Schultz and Tyler Shattock.
to view the entire roster in PDF Format.
The Blues have the #1-rated prospect pool in hockey (as voted by HFBoards) and arguably the best roster in this tournament, so with that comes high expectations and the goal to win, but it remains to be seen if they will accomplish. Either way, entertainment is one thing fans can certainly count on.
St. Louis’ schedule for the tournament is as follows:
Sunday, Sept. 6 – vs. Dallas StarsMonday, Sept. 7 – vs. Columbus Blue JacketsWednesday, Sept. 9 – vs. Minnesota Wild
The Blues will be facing those three teams only in this round-robbin affair. They will play a fourth game on Thursday the 10th, but the opponent is to be determined – based on how the Blues perform. Obviously it is just for fun, but it could actually mean a lot to some of these young guys who will be trying to make a good impression in front of the organization’s front office.
I will follow up with a blog after the tournament, which will contain game info and player statistics. Afterall, some hockey is better than no hockey and this should get everybody ready for the season. NHL action is right around the corner, and Bleedin’ Blue will be here to provide you with as much Blues info as possible!
Feel free to leave comments or e-mail me at wkrebeck@gmail.com.