Training Camp for the St. Louis Blues began on Friday with the Saturday and Sunday sessions being open to the public at the new Centene Ice Complex in Maryland Heights.
The St. Louis Blues just completed their first training camp weekend and fans were out to celebrate the beginning of a new NHL season! The puck drops on the preseason tonight in Dallas for the Blues.
Which players in the St. Louis Blues organization stood out in these three days of camp? Let me start by saying not all the Blues were present. Two big missing players were Robert Thomas and Jordan Kyrou.
We knew Thomas was still nursing a wrist injury from last season and was expected not to take part. Kyrou, as well, is recovering from knee surgery and is expected to join Blues camp at any time. Kyrou is the favorite to make the club and take over Patrick Maroon’s vacated spot.
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The rest of last year’s Stanley Cup Championship team was there and in full force. The practices were very uptempo and full of surprises!
One of the players that looked very well prepared to leave a lasting impression was the assumed back-up to tonights tilt against Dallas, Adam Wilcox.
I don’t know if anyone else who was there noticed, but Wilcox was flashing some real athleticism and battled well in the crease.
He is making some sharp saves and even displaying good rebound control. Now, he isn’t going to challenge Jake Allen for the backup role, but the performance was impressive.
Mitch Reinke was paired up with Boom Boom Carl Gunnarson and was showcasing his offensive upside carrying the puck and pinching in on the offense. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him be the first call up on the defensive side over Derrick Pouliot, Andreas Borgman, and Jake Dotchin. All players with some NHL experience.
Vladimir Tarasenko was a focal point for me in camp as he is recovering from minor knee surgery. I think it’s safe to say he is feeling good and ready to go for the 2019-20 season.
His shot is as wicked as ever. He is showing far more responsibility as a leader of the club, especially with the younger Russian players. He is skating very well, and that release is as quick as it’s ever been.
Ryan O’Reilly was, of course, Ryan O’Reilly. Setting the tone and pace for practice like every good leader. His line of David Perron and Zach Sanford were dazzling during some of the drills and are showing the same chemistry they had that led to O’Reilly’s Conn Smythe playoff!
What about Klim Kostin? Glad you asked! He looked to be more comfortable, more engaged, and more talkative during each drill. Asking questions of the veterans and seen picking the brains of the coaches.
Quite often I would catch, Alexei Toropchenko, Tarasenko, Ivan Barbashev, and Kostin skating around the ice together discussing drills and plays.
Kostin showed some brilliance and flashes. I don’t know yet if that will correlate to making the big club. I don’t think he will, as he will still be better suited to playing bigger minutes in the AHL, but any injury or series of injuries could bring Kostin to the club.
His best performances were the three on two drills down below the dots and in front of the net. The kid has talent in tight spaces!
Some other notables were Toropchenko, Niko Mikkola, and Joey LaLeggia all had some strong showings so far. Kostin and Mikkola will get the opportunity to suit up and play in the first preseason against Dallas tonight.
Typically the St. Louis Blues play seven preseason games leading up to the regular season, but in addition to the normal seven, the St. Louis Blues have a Kraft Hockeyville game as well against Detriot. So in order to keep guys fresh, they will carry more players longer in camp.
This didn’t, however, delay the first round of cuts sending five players to their respective junior clubs Colten Ellis (goalie), Tyler Tucker (defenseman) and forwards Nikita Alexandrov, Keean Washkurak, and Jeremy Michel. All of these players were expected to go back to juniors, so there is no shocker in this group.