"The Ten Minute Misconduct"
The last piece of the (rebuilding) puzzle, MO • 27 Years Old • Male
Uncharted territory for the Blues
Posted 12:40 PM ET | Comments 9
The Blues are now in uncharted territory.
For the first time in a long time, the Blues are drafting and developing their own talent, and we'll start seeing the fruits of their labor.
Prior to the lockout, the last legitimate Blues first rounder that stayed in the organization and developed with the team is Barrett Jackman, drafted in 2000. That was 8 years ago. While he’s a solid enough defenseman, Barrett Jackman isn’t a lot to show for in all of eight years.
Before Jackman, it's harder to find a Blues player that the Blues drafted and kept on their team. While Pronger grew into his own with St. Louis, he was originally drafted by Hartford. Likewise, in another Mike Keenan move, Pavol Demitra was acquired from Ottawa in exchange for Christer Olausson.
Arguably, you have to go as far back as Rod Brind'amour or Curtis Joseph to find a legitimate Blues pick, but they obviously didn’t stay with the team for very long.
All of the notable Blues players from the past 2 decades were acquired either through free agency or trade: Stevens, Hull, Shanahan, Oates, MacInnis, Pronger, Weight, Demitra…the list goes on. Even the current roster boasts the likes of Tkachuk, Kariya and Legace, not to mention Brad Boyes who was acquired in a trade.
Now, with the youth movement, the Blues will have a plethora of players drafted and developed within the organization on the roster this year, even without Erik Johnson. T.J. Oshie, Patrik Berglund, David Perron, and Lee Stempniak all figure to be on the team. Alex Petrangelo and Jonas Jungland also stand a chance of making the team. And there's still more to come in the Blues system.
Why is all of this homebred talent important? Consider the two Stanley Cup finalists.
Pittsburgh is easy enough for people to understand. They had Crosby, Malkin, Staal, Fleury, and Malone among others. Everyone sees how successful they’ve been in building a young core.
But perhaps more surprising are how many players on Detroit were drafted and kept in the system. Detroit had Zetterburg, Datsyuk and Lidstrom as their core, all of whom were drafted by the Wings. Filpula, Franzen, Holmstrom, Hudler, Kronwall, and Osgood (who left for a stint) all were originally drafted by Detroit.
Perhaps this leads credence to the theory that adding a big name player at deadline or even in the off season won't help much. You either have the core or you don't.
Gone are the days when you could make up for deficiencies just by spending money. But that makes the seasons exciting for a team like the Blues, who aren't expected to make the playoffs. Instead of fans lashing out at ownership for not spending money (or not spending it on the right players), they can come watch the kids play. (It's more hopeful than wondering if Roman Turek is really the answer.)
Now the question for Blues fans isn't who the Blues should sign to play goal or provide more scoring. The question is now which player is going to step up and fill the role.
For the first time in a long time, the Blues are drafting and developing their own talent, and we'll start seeing the fruits of their labor.
Prior to the lockout, the last legitimate Blues first rounder that stayed in the organization and developed with the team is Barrett Jackman, drafted in 2000. That was 8 years ago. While he’s a solid enough defenseman, Barrett Jackman isn’t a lot to show for in all of eight years.
Before Jackman, it's harder to find a Blues player that the Blues drafted and kept on their team. While Pronger grew into his own with St. Louis, he was originally drafted by Hartford. Likewise, in another Mike Keenan move, Pavol Demitra was acquired from Ottawa in exchange for Christer Olausson.
Arguably, you have to go as far back as Rod Brind'amour or Curtis Joseph to find a legitimate Blues pick, but they obviously didn’t stay with the team for very long.
All of the notable Blues players from the past 2 decades were acquired either through free agency or trade: Stevens, Hull, Shanahan, Oates, MacInnis, Pronger, Weight, Demitra…the list goes on. Even the current roster boasts the likes of Tkachuk, Kariya and Legace, not to mention Brad Boyes who was acquired in a trade.
Now, with the youth movement, the Blues will have a plethora of players drafted and developed within the organization on the roster this year, even without Erik Johnson. T.J. Oshie, Patrik Berglund, David Perron, and Lee Stempniak all figure to be on the team. Alex Petrangelo and Jonas Jungland also stand a chance of making the team. And there's still more to come in the Blues system.
Why is all of this homebred talent important? Consider the two Stanley Cup finalists.
Pittsburgh is easy enough for people to understand. They had Crosby, Malkin, Staal, Fleury, and Malone among others. Everyone sees how successful they’ve been in building a young core.
But perhaps more surprising are how many players on Detroit were drafted and kept in the system. Detroit had Zetterburg, Datsyuk and Lidstrom as their core, all of whom were drafted by the Wings. Filpula, Franzen, Holmstrom, Hudler, Kronwall, and Osgood (who left for a stint) all were originally drafted by Detroit.
Perhaps this leads credence to the theory that adding a big name player at deadline or even in the off season won't help much. You either have the core or you don't.
Gone are the days when you could make up for deficiencies just by spending money. But that makes the seasons exciting for a team like the Blues, who aren't expected to make the playoffs. Instead of fans lashing out at ownership for not spending money (or not spending it on the right players), they can come watch the kids play. (It's more hopeful than wondering if Roman Turek is really the answer.)
Now the question for Blues fans isn't who the Blues should sign to play goal or provide more scoring. The question is now which player is going to step up and fill the role.
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27 Save the Blues song!
27 Save the Blues song!
07 a player smart business?
23 The Dark Horse of the Central Division
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14 What really grinds my gears...
16 Hawks fans, take notice.
16 Hawks fans, take notice.
17 word...
01 You know you're a Blues fan if:
03 The shootout
04 Why ESPN needs the NHL
10 Ouch. (Blues Post Game Post)
11 Pregaming with the Blues harder than Edmonton Postgames
13 Who wants to see the star players?
17 Please get rid of the mascot!
19 Parity or rewards for losing...
03 The shootout
04 Why ESPN needs the NHL
10 Ouch. (Blues Post Game Post)
11 Pregaming with the Blues harder than Edmonton Postgames
13 Who wants to see the star players?
17 Please get rid of the mascot!
19 Parity or rewards for losing...
Good article Jammer. One thing though, can the Blues really take credit for the development of EJ, Oshie, Berglund, Perron,
Well, not yet. They had the foresight to pick them, and things look promising. Either way, I think it's a step in the right direction. By the way, I don't know why hockeybuzz likes to screw with my punctuation when I post things.
It does with pretty much everybody. Nice read. I think Twister means they've never played in Peoria they all came into the system from other places. Am I correct Twister? I'd argue they are developing, especially look at Perron, he did a lot of growing up in a year.There's a lot of truth to what you have to say. It's like I've been saying now it comes to being able to evaluate your talent as assests, be able to pick who stays for the big money and who goes for the most value to replenish the system or to pick up a player with at least solid talent that can push your team over the edge come play off time. If the Blues make mistakes it ends up costing you. If the management makes the correct choices we become dominant. That could be something as tough as saying man we can get a ton for Perron becauses there's a perception out there he can be better but we don;t feel that way and he's going to want X amount of dollars. (That of course was just an example of how thinking can go I've been predicting Perron's going to be at least a point per game player this season. I think he breaks 80pt.s this season.)
Hey Jammer, remember what I've been saying about Lee. huh, huh.
I too am glad we're finally seeing the draft come to help the club. I'm especially excited to see P. Berglund suit up for the note. Many analysts already have him penciled into the calder winner (fingers crossed). T.J. Oshie is another that we've just been saying "next year he'll be here" and he's finally here. Whether he makes an impact by being a very skilled two way player or by an offensive threat (I tend to think the first is more likely) he'll be a contributor down the road for this club. Possibly a good 2nd line center. Time will tell on both of these guys. Don't forget about Junland
and Pietrangelo. I can't wait for the 10th to get here! Let's start the season!
Good blog by the way Jammer! Are you hoping to make it into the "blogging the NHL" spot on the main site?
Thanks for reading guys. Guru, you and your boy Stempniak are slowly converting me, though it does help that he's playing with McDonald and Boyes. And, Bleeding Blue, the thought has never really crossed my mind, but I would be open to the possibility. I've just been writing these when I notice something interesting too long to post on Stickland's blog. The only problem is, my credentials are virtually no writing experience and watching a lot of hockey.
I see. No big deal. Just posing a question. Keep posting, I'll keep commenting. I just need hockey...