Pretty interesting read about the Blues home-growing talent...

[LoXish 0]

http://www.nhl.com/nhl/app/?service=page&a...rticleid=335012

Central: Blues raising plenty of home-grown talent

Larry Wigge | NHL.com columnist Jul 21, 2007, 9:00 AM EDT

For all but four years in the span from 1982 through 1995, and eight years out of 21 from 1982 through 2002, the St. Louis Blues did not take part in the first round at the annual NHL Entry Draft. The Blues of the past often traded picks for players or paid big bucks for free agents who could help the Blues keep up with the Joneses and Red Wings and Blackhawks around the NHL. The plan worked to put St. Louis in the playoffs every year from 1980 until the Blues finished dead last in the 2005-06 season.

Oh, the Blues were good enough to make the playoffs over the years, but never anywhere close to contending for the Stanley Cup -- even when they won their division in 1980-81, ‘84-85, ‘86-87 and even 1999-2000, when they had the best record in the NHL in the regular season, but lost to San Jose in the first round of the playoffs.

Most experts will tell you that St. Louis lacked high home-grown draft choices, which is a story being rewritten these days next to the Gateway Arch under Blues President John Davidson, GM Larry Pleau and Scouting Director Jarmo Kekalainen.

Since Kekalainen left the Ottawa Senators to join the Blues after the 2002 draft, the team has focused on top prospects -- picking eight times in the first round over the last five years, including two first-round picks in 2006 and three this year.

Beginning with David Backes in the second round and Lee Stempniak in the fifth round in the 2003 draft, the Blues are slowly but surely trying to remain competitive while building a team with their own products.

"You don’t just come in and run what was once a good thing over with a wrecking ball," Davidson told me a while back. "You take the best of the past and make it better. Brick by brick. You build it back up, not just to be a playoff contender ... but rather to be a Stanley Cup contender."

The Blues thought they’d have center T.J. Oshie (first round in 2005) in their lineup, along with defenseman Erik Johnson, the No. 1 pick overall in the 2006 draft, this season. But Oshie decided to remain in school at North Dakota.

Davidson was asked what Oshie could get out of a developmental camp held in St. Louis July 9-13 and he joked, "An NHL contract."

Then he went on to say; "It’s clear that this kid is a player. You see the skills and the talent, but what stands out most is that he’s a player who never quits working his tail off. You sort of go; 'Boy he'd look good if he'd maybe stick around a little longer.' If he wants to change his mind about going back to college, he can give me a call. He can even call collect."

But the Blues will carry on without Oshie ... at least until after North Dakota’s season is over. Meanwhile, 2004 draft picks Marek Schwarz (first round), Michal Birner (fourth round), and Roman Polak (sixth round) will be working their way up from the team’s Peoria affiliate in the American Hockey League at some point this season. Schwarz and Polak have already spent a little time in St. Louis.

The Blues’ future, for now, rests on the sturdy shoulders of Johnson, who has been a standout in the World Junior Tournament the last two years and helped the University of Minnesota to the top spot in the national rankings through most of last season.

"I think he knows he's ready," Davidson said. "He’s strong. He’s talented. We can't expect Bobby Orr here the first three months. He'll have tough times like everyone else. But he's going to be a great player."

The Blues had success at the draft table on defense with the selections of Christian Backman and Barret Jackman in 1998 and 1999, respectively. But Johnson is clearly one of those can’t-miss prospects who can make an impact on offense or defense.

"I’ll be in training camp to earn a spot in St. Louis," Johnson said, with an emphasis on the word earn. "That draft number (No. 1 overall in 2006) doesn’t get you a free ticket into the NHL. You have to work at everything you do ... and keep working."

Jonas Junland, a third-round pick in 2006 who will return to Sweden for one more season, is, according to one scout I talked to, already the equal of Backman on offense and is better defensively. More good news for the Blues.

The one thing that was most clear at the developmental camp is the Blues, who have begged for strength up the middle the last couple seasons, should be in great hands in the next year or two with centers Oshie (first round in 2005), Patrick Berglund (first round in 2006) and (first round in 2007).

Eller had to have surgery to repair a small bone in his left wrist that Danish doctors told him would reconnect just fine. Blues doctors disagreed. But that won’t dampen the excitement the team has for Lars, even if some teams considered him a reach with the 13th pick in the draft.

"If I'm going to shy away from taking a player because of his nationality or his passport, then I've got no guts," Kekalainen said of picking Eller from Denmark so high. "People who worry about the Denmark thing are the same people who worried about Anze Kopitar being from Slovenia two years ago.

"And I don't think they're worrying about Kopitar now, are they?"

Kopitar was the 11th overall pick in 2005 and rang up 20 goals and 61 points as a Los Angeles Kings rookie last season. Eller had 18 goals and 37 assists in 39 games for Frolunda in the Swedish Junior program last season.

"I saw Eller in a few games early last season and he got my heart pumping," Blues European scout Ville Siren said. "I wanted to not like him. I wanted to find some flaws. But I couldn’t. I went back later in the season and followed him for almost a month. Same thing. He played hard and with great skills with the puck. He brought me out of my seat every time I’d watch him."

The Blues came into the draft with four selections in the first 39 picks and eight in the first four rounds (they had the ninth, 24th and 26th picks in the first round). But after Columbus selected Jakub Voracek with the seventh pick and with Eller the next player on their draft board, Davidson and Kekalainen felt they could wheel and deal out of the ninth spot and still get Eller. They made a deal with San Jose to swap the ninth pick for the 13th, plus a second-round pick this year and a third next year.

That sense of doing whatever you have to get the players you really want came into play here and with the Blues’ next pick as well. After drafting Eller, Davidson traded the 24th pick, plus a third-rounder, to get the No. 18 pick from Calgary and pounced on defenseman Ian Cole from the U.S. Under-18 development program.

"To me, you’re always looking for those kids who are ultra-competitive first, plus really hard to play against," Blues scout Mike Antonovich said of Cole, who will play at the University of Notre Dame this season. "We all fell in love with Oshie for that reason a couple of years ago. This year, it was Cole ... the same kind of hard-guy-to-play-against."

"If we had traded back beyond No. 13, we wouldn’t have gotten Eller and if we hadn’t traded up as high as No. 18, we wouldn’t have gotten Cole," said Davidson. "I’d rather be aggressive in going to get a player or two than sitting there being too safe and miss out on a guy we really wanted."

Plus, if first impressions are any indication of an impact player, then the player the Blues picked with the No. 26 choice in the first round -- right winger David Perron who had 39 goals and 44 assists in 70 games for Lewiston of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League -- might be magical.

"What hands!" said Davidson. "Perron’s got that knack of being in the right place at the right time. He can really finish off plays. We think he’s really special."

Eller and Cole will not be ready to participate in the Blues training camp in September, but Perron will ... and he’s cocky and confident enough in his ability to make a run at sticking with the Blues.

"I’m in St. Louis to make this team," Perron said.

It’s certainly been a long time since Blues’ fans have had as many potential NHL prospects to talk about.

[JR Boucicaut 3804]

NICE!

[LoXish 0]

NICE!

Always one for many words, aren't you JR? Ha.