St. Louis Blues: Should Alexander Steen Skip The World Cup?

The latest on Alexander Steen seems to be indicating he wants to play in the World Cup of Hockey. Would the St. Louis Blues and their veteran forward be better off if he did not?

Alexander Steen is a competitor, make no mistake. If he’s healthy enough to pick up a stick and lace up his skates, he wants to play.

While it’s always about the money for all players, he doesn’t come across as one of those players that would sit out with a bruise just so he doesn’t have to worry about costing himself some money down the road if he aggravated the injury. That’s a great trait to have, as long as you’re prudent about it.

You want those guys on your team. You need those guys on your team. They are the kinds of players that tend to step up in big moments and show the other ones how it is done.

Steen may not have had a great impact offensively in the 2016 playoffs, but he was a leader, no doubt. He was often paired defensively against the opposition’s top scorers.

He was shouldered with a lot of responsibility in all aspects of the game and scoring almost became an afterthought. It was almost a shame that his offensive game got called into question simply because other players were not pulling their weight and Steen was forced to do so much else.

With all this burden being placed on him, along with shouldering the mantle of being one of the few remaining veterans, one must ask if he should put that particular attribute aside and not play in the World Cup of Hockey.

It’s a daunting question. Although you see it pop up quite a bit in international soccer, or football if you will, it always seems as somewhat childish or petulant when teams ask their players not to take part in these international events for purely selfish reasons.

However, for our own selfish reasons, perhaps it would be better if Steen did just take those two weeks off and continue to rehab. Shoulders are tricky things and the team may not be able to afford his injury the way they were last season when they absorbed so many man games lost.

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As someone who recently had a shoulder separation of my own, I know the odd position that particular injury puts you in. You can be feeling perfectly fine in any kind of movement and then hit some sort of snag to where your arm wants to go dead.

My injury didn’t even require surgery, so I can only imagine the rehab and stiffness that comes with actually going under the knife. So, when the shoulder seems healed, you could still get the odd pains, cramps or dead-arms.

Far be it from me to deny someone the opportunity to play for their chosen national team. It’s an honor that few receive and once you are given it, you are only afforded the chance every so often.

So, if Steen really wants to play for Sweden in the upcoming World Cup and he feels like his body is telling him it is ok then it should be alright. However, as a fan, it might be more beneficial for him not to play.

These international tournaments don’t usually get all that physical, so you would hope it wouldn’t be an issue. However, the World Cup is being played in Toronto. It will be played on an NHL sized rink instead of the bigger Olympic ice.

So, all it takes is one bad hit from behind or hitting a rut on the ice and going into the boards awkwardly and the shoulder is done. Then the Blues are definitely in trouble.

St. Louis dealt with so many injuries in 2015-16, but were able to handle it due to their depth. While I am not one of those that feels this current team won’t have scoring like some, but they also don’t have quite the depth as they did last season either.

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So, while he is almost sure to play if he feels his body is ok, personally I would rather he did not. Steen is going to be an important piece for this upcoming season and the Blues can’t afford him to re-injure it so early in the season.

Steen is his own man and he can make his own decisions. The Blues should probably stay out of it, purely for the optics of it. However, if he did not play in the World Cup then it might actually be more beneficial for both the team and the player in the long run.