St. Louis Blues: Time To Take A Breath About Robert Thomas

The St. Louis Blues and their fans have a lot invested in Robert Thomas and his future. However, there seems to be a rush to judgment about his fledgling career.

The St. Louis Blues are hoping they have their top-line center of the future on the roster today. The team has high hopes for Robert Thomas and he has given them every reason to think he can fulfill that potential, given his performances in junior hockey.

As tends to happen once people turn professional, there are far too many people rushing to judgment when his career has just began. As fans, or even media members, we all need to just take a breath and stop trying to push headlines and hot takes.

For those fortunate enough to be oblivious to the sports talk scene, let me fill you in. Basically, the argument is that Thomas is not getting enough time or the coaching staff must be holding him back. The basis for this argument is his time on ice.

Thomas’ average time on the ice is rather low at 8:27 through three games. So, on that basis alone, I can almost understand the argument. The difference is that that is only a surface argument.

The truth is that it is far too early to get a true gauge on how the team is using him or whether they are holding him back. There are far too many extenuating circumstances in these early games.

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The main issue with Thomas’ playing time is the amount of special teams opportunities there have been in the first three games. The Blues have had 16 power plays in three games. They have been on the penalty kill 10 times.

Now, if you want to make the argument that Thomas should be seeing some, if not more power play time, go right ahead. But, to say that the team is down on Thomas is just not correct at this point.

The Blues specifically brought guys like Brayden Schenn, Pat Maroon, Tyler Bozak and David Perron in for special teams. So, there just is not room for him on the power play or penalty kill right now.

So, with all three lines above him complete with a center already and then no room on the special teams, Thomas does not see the ice as much as he might otherwise.

A truer example of the time the team would likely want to give him was the first game of the season. There were only six power plays for both teams combined compared to 10 combined in the other two games. In the first game, Thomas played over 11 minutes.

That is not quite the playing time we might like for him. It is the time a fourth line player is going to get and more than some fourth line guys get around the league.

As the season goes on, if Thomas earns his time he will get it. There has been far too much talk of him moving up the lineup for it not to be a possibility. For now, the coaching staff is simply easing him into things. We forget that Thomas is only 19 right now.

Personally, while I would like to see him more, I have no problem with how they are utilizing him. While hockey is slightly different, you do not want a situation like the Cardinals had where they leaned on their youth too much early and wore them out late. I would much rather have Thomas be energized and waiting to ascend up the roster when ready.

Thomas is the center of the future. For now, the Blues have the depth to let him grow at a slower pace while still being in the NHL. The entire team simply needs to play better.

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For now, let’s all just take a deep breath. Thomas will be fine and he will get to play. Just because the numbers are a little low to start does not mean the team has no faith.

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