2021 Training Camp

[rumrokh]

Is tonight televised?

Same as last game, you can stream it on the Bally Sports site.

 

[bleedblue1223]

I'm very intrigued how the bottom pair and 7th works itself out. I could make cases for and against all of Perunovich, Bortozzo, Mikkola, and Walman.

I'm still interested in the 14 forwards, or really 15 with Sunny on IR, those battles to me are less interesting. Neighbours has a shot, but he'll likely have to really impress. And I'm fully confident we'll have a strong forward group with the players we have to choose from for the final spots, it'll just come down to Tarasenko regaining past form and younger players developing.

 

[Brian39]

Can Neal PK?

More likely, can Kostin? Brown doesn’t have to replace the guy he was traded for. I expect him to get sent down, with that 4th round insurance policy. It may come down to him having to beat Neal for a roster spot, but Neal is a guy who can be a spare forward with no adverse effects on his development.

Buch was on the Rangers' top PK unit last year, so I'd wager he will be picking up Sanford's PK minutes. Our top 4 guys in PK time per game are all returning (ROR, Sunny, Barby and Bozak), so Buch should round out the top 5 forwards in PK time. Obviously there are times where you have to rely on some guys to play some PK minutes, but Schenn/Mac/Clifford have all done that in the past. Saad killed penalties in Chicago, so he might get some time on that 3rd unit.

I don't think that the last forward in the top 9 is going to win that job based on PK ability.

 

[Beauterham]

And slotting Mikkola in on the right side while repeatedly playing Perunovich on the left interests me. Because Perunovich's career has been so thoroughly played on the right side up to this point and Mikkola's has been so thoroughly on the left. That might not actually mean much, but I like the possibility that the coaching staff views Mikkola as a challenge for Bortuzzo's spot.

It really feels like The Blues are really trying to fit Perunovich in with Faulk. They're a defensive pair tonight and they've been a defensive pair since the start of camp.

 

[CaliforniaBlues310]

It really feels like The Blues are really trying to fit Perunovich in with Faulk. They're a defensive pair tonight and they've been a defensive pair since the start of camp.

I don’t think it’s that deep. Our top 3 guys all have a player next to them who are trying to take the 6th spot in the lineup. Faulk also has Perunovich living with him, so they likely did it because of familiarity with each other. He won’t be starting in our top 4.

 

[Stupendous Yappi]

I'm curious about the condition on the pick in the Sanford trade for Brown. Does the 30 game criteria apply to 30 games with the Blues or 30 games in the NHL? In other words, if we put him on waivers and he gets claimed, do the games he plays for another NHL team cause us to lose the conditional pick associated with the deal?

I think the point of the clause is pretty specifically to address the possibility of losing him to waivers.

 

[bleedblue1223]

It really feels like The Blues are really trying to fit Perunovich in with Faulk. They're a defensive pair tonight and they've been a defensive pair since the start of camp.

Until the cuts are made and the get combined into one group, we won't really know exactly how the pairings fit. The early pairings are more about getting the NHL talented guys together and having the bottom pairs of the group be the lower prospects and minor league guys.

 

[Xerloris]

Buch was on the Rangers' top PK unit last year, so I'd wager he will be picking up Sanford's PK minutes. Our top 4 guys in PK time per game are all returning (ROR, Sunny, Barby and Bozak), so Buch should round out the top 5 forwards in PK time. Obviously there are times where you have to rely on some guys to play some PK minutes, but Schenn/Mac/Clifford have all done that in the past. Saad killed penalties in Chicago, so he might get some time on that 3rd unit.

I don't think that the last forward in the top 9 is going to win that job based on PK ability.

I still find it funny how we were told Bozak was suspect defensively.

 

[Bye Bye Blueston]

I still find it funny how we were told Bozak was suspect defensively.

Is any fanbase worse at evaluating their own guys than Leafs? Other than Vancouver, of course.

 

[Stupendous Yappi]

Is any fanbase worse at evaluating their own guys than Leafs? Other than Vancouver, of course.

I think there are just a lot more 14y old kids posting as Toronto fans than any other fanbase, and we don't know who we're listening to when they make trade offers or give player run-downs. Or are you talking about their GM.

 

[Bye Bye Blueston]

I think there are just a lot more 14y old kids posting as Toronto fans than any other fanbase, and we don't know who we're listening to when they make trade offers or give player run-downs. Or are you talking about their GM.

I thought you were talking about their gm when you mentioned 14y old kids!

 

[ezcreepin]

I didn't get to watch the game because I was working, but I did listen to the radio broadcast. They were really raving about Neighbours and his hustle and play with/without the puck, making a case that he could be with the club.

My question is do you guys agree that he was that good? It's definitely a question to ask yourself if you're the front office, do we send him down the play another year in junior when he dominated, or just keep him up to be around the atmosphere, maybe playing a few games? I think they are giving him a real shot to play in the top 9 because he's a hound like Schwartz and has that skill that a young Schwartz also had. I thought Clifford played fine the other night, but if Neighbours outperforms guys like Clifford, MacEachern, Brown, Walker, and Joshua, then you've gotta give him a spot. Again, I only listened to the broadcast, but if he sounds ready, then who cares really.

 

[kimzey59]

I didn't get to watch the game because I was working, but I did listen to the radio broadcast. They were really raving about Neighbours and his hustle and play with/without the puck, making a case that he could be with the club.

My question is do you guys agree that he was that good? It's definitely a question to ask yourself if you're the front office, do we send him down the play another year in junior when he dominated, or just keep him up to be around the atmosphere, maybe playing a few games? I think they are giving him a real shot to play in the top 9 because he's a hound like Schwartz and has that skill that a young Schwartz also had. I thought Clifford played fine the other night, but if Neighbours outperforms guys like Clifford, MacEachern, Brown, Walker, and Joshua, then you've gotta give him a spot. Again, I only listened to the broadcast, but if he sounds ready, then who cares really.

Neighbours is certainly making it hard to cut him.
2 very strong showings thus far.
Really need to see him start getting some points out of his play, but he's been very good in every aspect of the game thus far.
If the points start coming; Army is going to have to do a bit of spinning to justify sending him back down.

 

[rumrokh]

Neighbours looks good enough to play in the NHL. The big question is how good he'll look against full NHL squads at full NHL intensity. And then, how long can he keep that up and in what role? Those are huge questions it's very difficult if not impossible for fans to answer. Some players are ready in all ways other than conditioning and it's not worth risking the player's health. I'm looking forward to how he continues to look and what the coaching staff says as he survives roster cuts.

 

[ezcreepin]

Neighbours is certainly making it hard to cut him.
2 very strong showings thus far.
Really need to see him start getting some points out of his play, but he's been very good in every aspect of the game thus far.
If the points start coming; Army is going to have to do a bit of spinning to justify sending him back down.

If they could keep him up and he wasn't part of the 23 man roster, then I think something like that might be beneficial to him more so than playing a 5th year in juniors. Obviously playing the actual game is valuable, but at this point in his career and at only 19, is it really going to develop him more as opposed to hanging out with the big club? Personally I dont know if it benefits him that much, but I dont play the game so I cant say for sure.

 

[simon IC]

It really feels like The Blues are really trying to fit Perunovich in with Faulk. They're a defensive pair tonight and they've been a defensive pair since the start of camp.

OMG, the bolded ... I hope not! What a defensive trainwreck!!! Faulk was not good enough defensively to shelter Krug last season, and Krug is a veteran. What would make anyone think Faulk could shelter a rookie like Perunovich who has zero professional games under his belt?

 

[PerryTurnbullfan]

OMG, the bolded ... I hope not! What a defensive trainwreck!!! Faulk was not good enough defensively to shelter Krug last season, and Krug is a veteran. What would make anyone think Faulk could shelter a rookie like Perunovich who has zero professional games under his belt?

He’d be skating with Parayko or someone they tell to immediately retreat to the redline.

 

[bleedblue1223]

I'm not saying he makes the team, but this is how he makes the team. Scoring points is good, but this type of stuff will stand out more IMO, and I could easily see him starting his career off like Schwartz did and work his way up from the 4th line. He's definitely on the team for 22/23 unless he gets hit with some sort of significant injury.

 

[Stealth JD]

Neighbors is getting pumped-up big time...I wonder if he'll be joining the likes of Lars Eller, Tage Thompson, Dominik Bokk, David Rundblad & other short-lived Blues' prospects. They either really like him (which isn't surprising, as he could be a Schenn-clone someday) or they're executing a pump-and-dump that would make Wall Street proud.

 

[Thallis]

I didn't get to watch the game because I was working, but I did listen to the radio broadcast. They were really raving about Neighbours and his hustle and play with/without the puck, making a case that he could be with the club.

My question is do you guys agree that he was that good? It's definitely a question to ask yourself if you're the front office, do we send him down the play another year in junior when he dominated, or just keep him up to be around the atmosphere, maybe playing a few games? I think they are giving him a real shot to play in the top 9 because he's a hound like Schwartz and has that skill that a young Schwartz also had. I thought Clifford played fine the other night, but if Neighbours outperforms guys like Clifford, MacEachern, Brown, Walker, and Joshua, then you've gotta give him a spot. Again, I only listened to the broadcast, but if he sounds ready, then who cares really.

Honestly I don't think he was. He got a lot of opportunities with the puck in the offensive end, but a lot of it was overthought and led to turnovers in the offensive end. He was with NHL players against an AHL roster and I don't think what he showed is enough against NHL talent IMO. I missed the first game, so just thoughts on last night, but Pernovich was a clear step up from him.

 

[greybush314]

OMG, the bolded ... I hope not! What a defensive trainwreck!!! Faulk was not good enough defensively to shelter Krug last season, and Krug is a veteran. What would make anyone think Faulk could shelter a rookie like Perunovich who has zero professional games under his belt?

I dont think that's true about Faulk and Krug. The problem is neither should be a top defensive pairing but injuries caused them to get exposed. If Parayko is healthy that pair looks great with less defensive responsibilities.

 

[Bye Bye Blueston]

Neighbors is getting pumped-up big time...I wonder if he'll be joining the likes of Lars Eller, Tage Thompson, Dominik Bokk, David Rundblad & other short-lived Blues' prospects. They either really like him (which isn't surprising, as he could be a Schenn-clone someday) or they're executing a pump-and-dump that would make Wall Street proud.

They really like him. Only way they deal him is in package for guy like Tkachuk and maybe not even then.

 

[Linkens Mastery]

It wouldn't surprise me to see the Blues send Kostin down to give Neighbors a 9 game tryout. And if he sticks they move someone else out to pull him back up.

 

[WeWentBlues]

They need to change the rules for AHL eligibility for North American born players.

 

[Davimir Tarablad]

They need to change the rules for AHL eligibility for North American born players.

100% this. I don't think Neighbors is quite NHL ready, but I do think he's at the point where another season in juniors isn't going to do much for him.