training camp 2023

[Linkens Mastery]

He literally scored from the point today.

 

[BlueDream]

Sounds like a physical game. Blais drops the gloves in the 2nd fight of the game.

And now Nathan Walker fights Jenik in a spirited scrap.

3 fights tonight.

 

[kimzey59]

Somebody riled up the Dingo!
Fight number 3 tonight!

 

[kimzey59]

Baby Doan with the Hatty.
Blues down 4-1.

 

[BlueDream]

Even though we didn’t have a great night, the Blues posted the video of Toro’s goal and Dean made a nice pass to him.

Ritchie’s name has probably been one of the more notable ones in terms of causing havoc on the forecheck. Good to see that at least him, Ratcliffe and Walker are battling hard to win a depth spot.

 

[kimzey59]

The Dingo got dinged.
Sounds like the hip but probably nothing major.

Now 5-1.

 

[kimzey59]

Yotes take the game 5-1 and the shootout 1-0.
Not a good showing.

 

[rumrokh]

Even though we didn’t have a great night, the Blues posted the video of Toro’s goal and Dean made a nice pass to him.

Ritchie’s name has probably been one of the more notable ones in terms of causing havoc on the forecheck. Good to see that at least him, Ratcliffe and Walker are battling hard to win a depth spot.

Deaner (now we just need a Gene...) gives me Bozak vibes. In a good way.

 

[Stupendous Yappi]

Does every game have a shootout? Has this always been a preseason thing I just never knew about.

I guess it makes a lot of sense to get the goalies some specific work.

 

[rumrokh]

Does every game have a shootout? Has this always been a preseason thing I just never knew about.

I guess it makes a lot of sense to get the goalies some specific work.

I think it's just some fanservice since they started shootouts. I'm not sure it happens in every single preseason game, but they've been doing it for a while.

 

[Eldon Reid]

Does every game have a shootout? Has this always been a preseason thing I just never knew about.

I guess it makes a lot of sense to get the goalies some specific work.

I don't think it is every single game but I would say half of them have shootouts. I know a few of Blues game had them last year.

 

[Eldon Reid]

Kerber is probably the best hockey play by play announcer I know of. He's a goober, but that's part of his charm. I loved when he got a chance to do a TV game when JK was under the weather last season. Vitale is sucky, but is not godawful. He's just a bit too...let's say Chaotic Neutral when we're looking for Chaotic Good.

There are some shockingly bad crews on both sides, but I'd say radio announcers league-wide might actually be more enjoyable for me than your average local TV guys. I remember liking the Minnesota crew for the prospect showcase thing - I think that's their radio crew, too.

Yeah I get to listen to more radio than TV because of evening job with travel to sporting events, but I always have SiriusXM on games when I am heading home so I have listened to every crew.

Kerber is great. I think Joey is ok but why I had them lower, but again for us Blues fans we have it lucky with what we have. We could Jack Edwards or someone else similar and it is beyond unbearable to listen to.

Just like the Cardinals, I can't stand Chip at all. I don't think he is very good.

 

[rumrokh]

Yeah I get to listen to more radio than TV because of evening job with travel to sporting events, but I always have SiriusXM on games when I am heading home so I have listened to every crew.

Kerber is great. I think Joey is ok but why I had them lower, but again for us Blues fans we have it lucky with what we have. We could Jack Edwards or someone else similar and it is beyond unbearable to listen to.

Just like the Cardinals, I can't stand Chip at all. I don't think he is very good.

I think Chip has a good voice and is skilled at his job, he's just kinda plastic. The whole is less than the sum of the parts, unfortunately.

 

[Snubbed4Vezina]

I think Chip has a good voice and is skilled at his job, he's just kinda plastic. The whole is less than the sum of the parts, unfortunately.

The one thing I value most about St. Louis sports announcers is a legitimate passion for the teams. It's there with Kelly, Kerbs, Vitale, and it was there with Panger. With the NFL franchise-that-shall-not-be-named, Steve Savard and D'Marco Farr also brought that passion. Dan McLaughlin brought that passion as well.

Chip...not so much. He's a very skilled professional, but his broadcasts feel like a guy going to work and doing his job rather than being excited to be there. Every game that I watched felt like a national broadcast, which to me isn't what I like out of a home team broadcast.

 

[Snubbed4Vezina]

For those who watched the game yesterday, does Zherenko regularly struggle with playing the puck? I'm highly encouraged by what I've seen from him otherwise, but he was a nightmare when handling the puck yesterday. Nerves?

 

[Majorityof1]

For those who watched the game yesterday, does Zherenko regularly struggle with playing the puck? I'm highly encouraged by what I've seen from him otherwise, but he was a nightmare when handling the puck yesterday. Nerves?

I've watched a few games of his in Russia and highlights as well as a few games in AHL. Its probably a bit of both.

Puck handling isn't a strength of his, especially when compared to Hofer or Binner. But he isn't awful at it either. I would normally say his puck handling isn't a strength or weakness, just kinda average, maybe leaning more toward a slight weakness if I had to choose. But not a major one. It is something that Zherenko has said he is working on in the past.

He also only has one year in N/A, and as a backup with only 25 games, under his belt. The rink size difference changes the way the puck comes off the board and also how much time and space you have to make a play with the puck. So there may still be some residual discomfort there. I think with time, he will get better and more comfortable, but we'll never say its a plus level skill like with Binner.

 

[EXTRAS]

Any chance heim makes the team?

 

[Majorityof1]

Any chance heim makes the team?

I mean, there is always a chance, but I definitely wouldn't bet on it. If he can play a 4th line game, then maybe he can win the 4th line C spot, or a 13th/14th forward spot if we want to carry an extra C. But we have young players we want to give a chance to as well as vets that have played NHL games for us previously. My guess is Heim was signed for the AHL/call-up. But if he plays really well in training camp, who knows.

In his first game, he got the 2nd least # of shifts and 3rd least TOI. Some guys who are absolutely penciled in for the AHL got more shifts and Ice time. He was a -1 with 2 shots and no points. He did not stand out to me when watching (although I didn't see whole game). So I'd expect him to be a fairly early cut unless he steps up soon.

 

[rumrokh]

Yea, so far, from what I've seen, Heim is the very definition of "just a guy." Probably the most noticeable play I recall is sprawling out in the slot to block a shot on a dangerous broken play (I believe the player shot over him and out of play). He probably still has plenty of adjustment to do, so maybe his game will gain definition quickly or maybe he'll eventually be just an NHL level guy, but I'd be pretty surprised if he made the team out of camp either way.

 

[simon IC]

I haven't been able to watch much of camp. How has Ratcliffe looked? I had hopes for him.

 

[Majorityof1]

I haven't been able to watch much of camp. How has Ratcliffe looked? I had hopes for him.

Hard to say. He played in that later game, which was not televised anywhere. I haven't even found a good/complete box score. Whole team got spanked though, so he can't have done too well.

 

[Brian39]

I'm not disagreeing on Brown.
Guy sucked and the curse was real.

What I'm saying is that the Blues don't start rookies in the top 9. Neighbours started on the 4th line, Kyrou and Thomas started on the 4th line, even Schwartz and Tarasenko were given 4th line minutes at the very start. It's just not something the Blues do. Blues rookies start at the bottom and have to play their way up the depth chart. Bolduc will not be an exception to that rule. Doesn't mean he has to be a Dallas Drake style checker, but he's not going to be gifted top 9 minutes until he shows something in limited minutes. That's just not how the Blues operate.

Kyrou's two most frequent line mates in 2018/19 were ROR and Schenn. In 2019/20, they were Schenn and Schwartz. He played 4th line minutes because he wasn't yet an NHL-level player and got no special teams time. But when they put him out there, it was absolutely in the top 9 and not on the 4th line.

Tarasenko was more NHL ready when he came over in 2013 and got a greater number of minutes off the bat (13+ minutes in each of his first 11 career NHL games while averaging 14:54 a night). His most frequent line mates that year were Andy MacDonald, Sobotka, and Steen.

The Blues don't gift TOI to rookies, but they absolutely recognize that skilled offensive-minded prospects need to play with top 9 line mates with offensive deployment. They do not simply start everyone on the 4th line and force them to earn better usage.

 

[Cotton McKnight]

Ughh. Companies just want you to pirate stuff. I recently moved out of Blues coverage area to Arkansas. Initially in regards to hockey, I thought, great!!! I can drop cable and stream Blues on ESPN+ now without being blacked out. But I went to watch preseason and they aren't covering it.

Ok, no biggie. Bally has the Bally+ now. I'll pay $20 or whatever for a month of Blues coverage. Nope. I can only subscribe to Dallas Stars coverage unless I get a VPN and lie about my address. There is no amount of money I can pay Bally to get Blues coverage short of committing fraud or piracy. That is so dumb. The NHL really needs to look at their regional coverage. It is far too antiquated in a digital world.

Welcome to Arkansas, sorry it sucks so much here. Yes, sailing the high seas with the skull and cross-bones helped with blackouts last year.

I miss hockeystreams an old pirate service you could pay for to stream a ton of hockey leagues.

It doesn't help the Blues have always struggled to televise their pre-season games, they're better but have a long way to go.

 

[rumrokh]

Realistically speaking, the top 12 forwards are set. Buch, Thomas, Schenn, Kyrou, Saad, Hayes, Kapanen, Vrana, Blais, Neighbours, Toropchenko, and Sunny. Makes me think the next two spots are Ritchie and MacEachern with Dean, Bolduc, and Alexandrov in the minors.

I could see them passing on Ritchie or demoting Mac in favor of keeping Alexandrov up, but that's about it. Rotate him in for Neighbours if he's struggling or Sunny at times to keep his jangly joints fresher.

Maybe there's an x-factor like Ratcliffe in there, maybe they prefer Walker to Mac...but either way, barring injury, Dean and Bolduc are probably going to have to really wow them to start in the NHL. I guess I didn't really give it much thought because, until this week, my brain just casually assumed both those guys (as well as Alexandrov) had a decent shot. I mean, they'll almost certainly get NHL games this season, but I didn't realize how firm the lineup is.

 

[Brian39]

Realistically speaking, the top 12 forwards are set. Buch, Thomas, Schenn, Kyrou, Saad, Hayes, Kapanen, Vrana, Blais, Neighbours, Toropchenko, and Sunny. Makes me think the next two spots are Ritchie and MacEachern with Dean, Bolduc, and Alexandrov in the minors.

I could see them passing on Ritchie or demoting Mac in favor of keeping Alexandrov up, but that's about it. Rotate him in for Neighbours if he's struggling or Sunny at times to keep his jangly joints fresher.

Maybe there's an x-factor like Ratcliffe in there, maybe they prefer Walker to Mac...but either way, barring injury, Dean and Bolduc are probably going to have to really wow them to start in the NHL. I guess I didn't really give it much thought because, until this week, my brain just casually assumed both those guys (as well as Alexandrov) had a decent shot. I mean, they'll almost certainly get NHL games this season, but I didn't realize how firm the lineup is.

I think that Alexandrov has a good shot at being the 4C, because Sunny hasn't looked hapable of playing center since he returned from his double surgeries in 2021. I don't think he has the skating ability to play center on a high tempo line and the combo of potential 4th line wingers we have screams high tempo 4th line.

Alexandrov also requires waivers to go to the AHL and I don't think we will risk him. He had 19 goals and 38 points in 41 AHL games and showed flashes of being an NHL player in his age 22 season last year. He just turned 23, is a former #62 overall pick, is still on his ELC, and won't have arbitration rights next summer when he's an RFA. He is exactly the kind of guy that gets claimed on waivers and organizationally we have much more wings than centers vying for the 9th-14th forward spots (Blais, Neighbours, Sunny, Torpo, Mac, Bolduc, and Walker fighting for 3-4 wing spots vs Sunny, Alexandrov, and Dean fighting for 1-2 center spots).

Losing Alexandrov to waivers and then seeing a center get injured creates a genuine problem. Losing Mac and/or Walker to waivers and then seeing a wing injury isn't a huge problem. I will be very surprised if Alexndrov is put on waivers and I think he is a better candidate for 4C than Sunny.

I agree with you about Bolduc and Dean. Their only path to making the team is looking like absolute studs at camp and even then they very well might simply earn '1st call up' status in order to preserve depth. Sunny and Blais both have a lengthy injury history in the last couple years and Vrana has had issues staying in the lineup. Neighbours, Alexandrov, and Torpo all need to take another step and it won't surprise if they should be healthy scratched some nights. Preserving depth is a necessity given the guys we brought onto our island of misfit wings.