Road Runners Reach Saint-hood

 

In every NHL camp each fall there are a handful of free agents desperately trying to earn themselves a pro contract or at least a longer look with that as their end goal. Edmonton is no exception in this case as they brought in a pair of players to their mid September rookie camp and will play host to even more for the next two weeks as the AHL Edmonton Road Runners open their inaugural training camp in the Alberta capital.

 

Memorial Cup winner Simon Ferguson was one of the two free agents who skated with the Oiler prospects a couple weeks ago and he is back in town looking to receive an offer. The other skater Edmonton invited to town has already achieved his major goal. According to reports out of Dalhousie University, Martin St. Pierre reached an agreement on Monday with the Edmonton organization on a minor league contract for this coming season. St. Pierre was attending school at the Halifax institution while the Oilers and his agent tried to hammer out a deal.

 

Although he was at the school and willing to play there this season, it was clear a few weeks ago when speaking with Hockey’s Future that a professional contract was definitely his preference and playing in the CIS was strictly plan B.

 

“Right now I’m not trying to concentrate on school, I don’t think I’m ready for school,” the playmaking center said. “I want to play pro hockey and to be studying that in the AHL as a rookie and work my way up. If nothing works out then I’ll go to Dalhousie, but my priority is definitely to get a contract and not look back.”

 

There was one other option on the table but…

 

“I got drafted by Halifax of the WHA but God knows if that’s going to work,” he smiled.

 

The Oilers took a chance on the offensively gifted 21-year-old from Emburn, Ontario simply because his statistics from his days in the OHL more than suggested it would be worth their while. Over the course of the last four seasons, St. Pierre has amassed 320 points in 257 games including 110 points last year alone, good for third in league scoring.

 

As the top scorer for the Guelph Storm, St. Pierre lead his team all the way to the Memorial Cup through tough playoff battles with the London Knights and the Mississauga IceDogs.

 

St. Pierre came to camp sounding like he knew that he needed to impress as quickly as possible and in as many ways as possible, even going so far as to list his accomplishments to the media as though reading directly from his résumé.

 

“Getting the overage player of the year in the OHL and getting the Wayne Gretzky trophy as playoff MVP will hopefully help me a bit with my credibility but it’s one of those things where I only have a few days here so I have to give it my best,” he said early in the rookie camp.

 

The playoffs were an exciting time for his team and also for the fans who even went so far as to pull on replica shirts sporting the names of their favorite Storm players.

 

“Dan Paille (BUF), Cam Janssen (NJ) and I, we all had these little T-Shirts that said, like, ‘St. Pierre 9’ and everyone was wearing them through the playoffs and it was actually pretty nice,” he described. “It’s fun after playing for four years and breaking Jeff O’Neil’s and (Todd) Bertuzzi’s records, it’s fun to see the respect people have for you and when you go back they always make you feel comfortable. Guelph is an unbelievable place and I’m happy to have been with the Storm.”

 

The records that St. Pierre was referring to were career marks that he accomplished during the final campaign in the league.

 

“O’Neil’s was for most assists by a rookie and I was 8 points shy of the all time point record of O’Neil’s; He had 328 and I had 320. Bertuzzi’s was for all time assists; I had 212 and he had 208 I think,” St. Pierre laughed. “He came to Guelph last year and he said he didn’t think I was going to break it. When I did I was going to call him but then that ‘thing’ happened so I didn’t really think I should push it too much.”

 

You can imagine that it would be tough not to get too swelled an ego when you’ve statistically accomplished as much as St. Pierre has, not to mention the fan club shirts, but when asked about it, St. Pierre was quick to point out that he’s still firmly in this realm of existence.

 

“When I won the Gretzky award, it’s unbelievable to have your name on that trophy especially with one of my best buddies Derek Roy (BUF) winning it the year before,” he began. “You win the OHL and your name is with all those great players and that’s fun but now you have to put all that aside and it’s a new season. Last year I was the oldest guy on my team and now I’m the youngest guy so I’ve got a lot of things to learn.”

 

After previous camps with both the New York Rangers and the Philadelphia Flyers, St. Pierre appears to have found a place within the Oiler system. Can he play at the American League level straight out of junior? There are obviously going to be those who say that he can’t simply because of his size, or lack thereof, but that’s an argument that seems to be getting more passé with each new day.

 

“(The Oilers) gave me an inch too, usually I’m 5’8 but they made me 5’9 so hopefully people will think I’m a little bit taller than I look,” he kidded when asked about his height. In reality the only thing bigger than St. Pierre’s stick might be his hair, which coincidently might account for the extra inch he was given by the Oilers.

 

It’s not on par with the legendary sword Excalibur that was wielded by King Arthur, but the oversized stick has slowly begun to gain its own mythical status. Even when wearing his skates the shaft of his stick stands several inches above St. Pierre’s head. When the center is squaring off in the faceoff circle he chokes up so much that at least a foot and a half are poking out from his top glove hand. Getting the stick in the first place was an accident but once accustomed to it, there was no going back.

 

“I tried to get a one-piece from Louisville and they screwed up the lie, usually from stores you get a 4, 5 or a 6 lye, and they gave me a 7,” he explained. “The curve was right so I ended up using it and then when I switched to the synergies, they can actually make it like that and I just got used to it. I always try to come down on my off wing and shoot it low stick side and with the longer stick you get more whip and it works for me so I might as well keep it going.”

 

In the two games that the Oiler rookies played St. Pierre put his stick to good use by netting a pair of goals. Overall, the weeklong session was a good showcase opportunity that St. Pierre felt he made the most of. Despite his apparent disadvantage because of his height, the shifty forward believes he deserves the opportunity to ply his trade at the professional level.

 

“A lot of people said I couldn’t play in the OHL but I’ve broken records there,” St. Pierre argued. “You play with your heart and your head and obviously I don’t have the reach or the strength that big guys do but I just have to play my style, keep it simple and shoot at the net.”

 

At a time when the NHL scoring champion is another player who was once deemed too small for the league, it’s an easy comparison to make to players of a similar stature.

 

“Martin St. Louis is pretty much the same style of player and he uses a longer stick like I do,” St. Pierre agreed. It’s a comparison he’s heard a lot recently. “He’s a little bit stronger and a little bit faster than me but he’s also five or six years older than me too. He came out of the University of Vermont undrafted at 22 and look where he is now as a Stanley Cup champion. Hopefully that can help me and that one day, I can develop like him.”

 

“I’m a delay guy in the zone and try to set the tempo to my style of play. If the opportunity is there of course I’ll try to put it in but I’m more of a playmaker so I set up my wingers.”

 

It will be tough for St. Pierre to crack the roster of the Edmonton Road Runners but now with a contract in his pocket, even a trip to Greenville and the ECHL is a step in the right direction.

 

“I’ll take anything pretty much but my main goal is to try and get a contract here but if I get sent down, that happens to everybody and you have to work your way up,” St. Pierre told HF before signing his contract. “It takes time with this league and I’m ready for that.”

 

Road Runner camp begins with on ice sessions later this week and culminates in a pair of preseason games against the Utah Grizzlies (PHX) being played in Boise, Idaho. The regular season commences on October 15^th when the Hamilton Bulldogs look to reestablish their heated rivalry with the Road Runners in Edmonton.

 

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