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The Blues are Gritting Their Teeth

Written by: Larry Deutsch on 01/05/2002 Subscribe to HF's RSS Feed

In the post-Slovakian era, the entire St. Louis Blues organization is struggling mightily to succeed with an ever-evolving new identity. A system once defined by speed and finesse with a European flare has been completely overhauled over the past couple of years. General Manager Larry Pleau sacrificed a fathom or two of the organization's legendary depth in his quest to assemble a squad capable of Stanley Cup success.

As an organization, the Blues have done an outstanding job in recent history with player development, turning several marginal prospects into legitimate NHLers. Although the knock against the system has been their failure to produce a single legitimate superstar, they were working with some fairly low draft positions. Jochen Hecht, Michal Handzus, Marty Reasoner, and Ladislav Nagy were developed into good enough NHL players to be used as trade bait in the acquisitions of superstar forwards Keith Tkachuk and Doug Weight.

Now, it would seem, the desired attribute is an intangible characteristic known as "grit." All hockey clichés aside, (standing up for a teammate, never taking a shift off, taking your lumps to score a goal) in the grand scheme things, grit is simply the willingness to do whatever it takes to win the Stanley Cup.

There are several players currently in the system who seem to embody this rather nebulous concept and thereby represent the visible future of the Blues:

Pepperpot center Eric Boguniecki, continues to light up AHL goaltenders, maintaining a point-per-game pace and could certainly see a call-up in 2002 due to the Blues' lack of natural centers.

Winger Mark Rycroft, who enjoyed a cup of coffee in St. Louis during October, is coming off of an outstanding rookie campaign in the AHL during which he was voted Ice Cats rookie of the year while tying a franchise record for goals by a rookie with 24.

Worcester's Most Improved player for that same season was stay-at-home defenseman Matt Walker who has demonstrated the desire to make adjustments to his game in order to be successful at a professional level.

Another good candidate to become a consummate professional is two-way center Jay McClement, the Blues first overall draft pick in 2001 is already a veteran of international competition at the age of 18.

The very essence of grit and nastiness on the blue line, 20-year-old prized prospect Barret Jackman notably averaged almost 8 minutes of penalties per game in the Western Hockey League and continues to have success now in the AHL.

The New Jersey Devils and Colorado Avalanche, as perennial Cup finalists, are as good models as any for consistent success in the modern era. Maintaining ever-important equilibrium between a veteran presence and youthful exuberance, these teams seem to produce a promising rookie or two each and every season. Of course, playing on an elite team and in front of an All-World goaltender can cover up plenty of rookie mistakes, but the product is undeniable.

In spite of their playoff-ready status, the Blues face legitimate concerns about "putting the cart before the horse" and thereby entering the postseason with a less-than-favorable seed. The Blues may have gone a bit too far in their effort to make changes toward their "Stanley Cup or Bust" campaign. Although 35 years without a Stanley Cup could make any organization antsy, one must wonder if the Blues should show better patience in future deals.

Copyright 2002 Hockey’s Future. Do not reprint or otherwise duplicate without permission of the editorial staff.

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