Since the GTPD Fanpost about Patrik Berglund and prospect development in the Blues' organ-I-zation has been so well-received by the "Game Time" community, we here at the Prospect Department have decided to keep the discussion going by commenting on some of your thoughts here in a separate post.

In the original Fanpost at right, bzgea2 thoughtfully proposed that the Blues:

start drafting exclusively canadian.

In all honesty, your GTPD is not completely opposed to this, either... we'll qualify it, however, by changing "Canadian" to "North American," as we feel that Oshie, Backes and Johnson (who, we'll say here and now, appears as if he could use a swift kick in the ass in order to pull his head out of it) demonstrate adequately that Americans can get the job done, too.

Also, the American-born draftees that haven't made The Show yet — the Coles, Palushajs, McRaes, and Bishops of the world — are among the organization's top prospects as well, so ruling out Americans entirely probably isn't the best of ideas.

More on drafting, and oh, yes, about drafting Europeans, too... after the jump.

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NOTE: I originally posted this over at The Asylum (STLToday, for those just arriving)... but thought it would get more attention, and a better class of people commenting on it, over here...

Poster "forgetyerskatesdream" at The Asylum wrote:

"Let me make sure I have this correct. When a young player such as Perron, Oshie, EJ, Polak plays well it's in spite of Murray, and when a young player struggles it's because of Murray. Is that about right? Unreal."

And poster "croschek98" replied:

"I think the difference is the above mentioned guys spent time at a lower north american level of hockey. Also, for 3 out of the four, they still see family through out the season. Let us not forget no matter what their situation or income, they are still just kids."

The bolded parts above are the keys here, IMO.

Berglund is very talented and has a world of potential, but he jumped from (essentially) the Swedish version of the AHL (the Allsvenskan) straight to the National Hockey League in one season.

I think spending a year in Peoria at the start of his career last year would have done him some good... but in this organization, there seems to be a stigma attached to sending young offense-minded European players (Shkotov, Zakharov, Söderberg) to the AHL.

Sending young Euro defensemen doesn't seem to hurt -- see the Pola'ks and Junlands of the world for examples -- but for some reason, the forwards, and especially the skilled forwards, don't seem able or willing to take the journey to the NHL by steps.

Having Lars Eller in Peoria now, and thriving, is a step in the right direction towards changing this mindset for both the organization and their Euro forward prospects.

Getting Jori Lehtera there last season for a cup of coffee at the end of the year ( 7 GP, 0-1-1, plus 1, 2 PM), and in the playoffs -- where he performed more than adequately with a goal and an assist in seven games -- was also a positive move.

I'd expect -- or at least hope -- to see Lehtera, Simon Hjalmarsson, and possibly Sergei Andronov in Peoria next year, taking the first step towards the NHL future that likely awaits all three of them.

One hopes that they will follow Eller's example and understand that assignment to the AHL is really a necessary step in the player's adjustment to the North American game for all but the most elite of young European players -- the Overchkins, Kovalchuks and Zetterbergs of the world.

Keep in mind also that Zetterberg, at least, didn't come over until he was 22 and had already had the experience of five pro seasons in Sweden... three in the Allsvenskan and two in the Elitserien.

It may not be too late to get Berglund's development back on track by sending him to Peoria; let him get some premium ice time with scorers like Eller and Palushaj, with solid two-way guys like Chris Porter and Brett Sonne. Let him get his confidence back, because that's all that he seems to be lacking at this point.

He's had a year or more to adjust to the North American game and lifestyle already, so that's not the issue.

The issue is that Berglund needs to find and develop all the parts of his game, and what seems to be being emphasized here in St. Louis under Murray is only the defensive side and awareness.

This is important; it's absolutely important. But Patrik Berglund is not going to make a living in the NHL as a defensive shut-down guy the way a Jay McClement can. Berglund is a power forward, a scorer, and a playmaker... and that part of his game isn't going to be developed under Andy Murray, or at the NHL level, at this time.

Better, long-term, for his career to let him go to Peoria and work with a coach like Davis Payne who has experience, and success, working with young players and developing those aspects of their game.

Let him play -- consistently -- with the best offensive talents on the team; he won't get to do that in St. Louis... and justifiably so, because he hasn't yet earned it consistently with his play at this level.

The AHL's purpose is to turn prospects into players. Berglund is really only halfway to being a player at this stage; let him go the rest of the way by taking a trip about two hours north and staying there a little while.

Compiled by Brian Weidler, "Game Time" Prospect Department

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New features this week include the "Blue Notes" section immediately following, and a "Trending Up" section in which five of the top performers among Blues' prospects are profiled.

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PEORIA (SLGT) -- Following a 4-1 loss on the road in Grand Rapids on Dec. 5 -- a game in which Peoria allowed two empty-net goals in the last 1:31, and in which Hannu Toivonen made 39 saves on 41 Griffins' shots to earn third-star honors -- the Rivermen have reeled off three straight wins, allowing a total of three goals in those games.

On Dec. 9, in Austin, the Rivermen handled the Texas Stars by a 5-1 count, with Ben Bishop stopping 18 of 19 shots for the win. The next night in Houston, Davis Payne's squad eked out a 2-1 win over the host Aeros, with Bishop again in net stopping 23 of 24 shots.

And in their return to the friendly confines of Carver Arena on Dec. 12, Toivonen stepped in to handle 34 of 35 shots by the San Antonio Rampage, earning first star honors in a 3-1 Peoria victory.

Bishop (at right) is the Blues' Feature Prospect this week, and leads the "Trending Upward" category with a 4-0-0 record in the month of December to date. In four games (244:01 minutes) played, Bishop has allowed six goals on 93 shots. This translates to a 1.47 goals-against average and a 93.5% save percentage in December. The Peoria defense has been good in front of Bishop as well, giving up less than 23 shots against per 60 minutes (22.85) when Bishop has been between the pipes in December.

By way of comparison, the Peoria defense has allowed 73 shots against in the two games Toivonen has played in December, an average of 36.81 shots against per 60 minutes when "Ears" is in the net for the Rivermen.

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Your Game Time weekly prospect statistical update after the jump...

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Compiled by Brian Weidler, "Game Time" Prospect Department

 

ST. LOUIS BLUES 2009-10 PROSPECT STATS as of 06 December 2009

Lines with GREY backgrounds denote players above "prospect age" of 25 years.

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Tomorrow's Blues Online with Brian Weidler

 

The Peoria Rivermen prepare to embark on their fifth American Hockey League season this evening, and the prospects for their journey look to be as bright as the Proud Mary burning on the bow.

After the jump, a quick look at what will "play in Peoria" this season, followed by your comments.

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At Carver Arena in Peoria last night. Rematch tonight at The Big Orange Box in downtown Rockford.

Lars Eller gets on the scoresheet 42 seconds into his North American debut, and St. Louis native Jack Combs chips in an assist as well. Chris Morehouse, who was at the Pro Orientation Camp, looks to be working hard to win a spot on the roster as well.

Hannu Toivonen gets bowled over by Akim Aliu -- who sounds like he's going to be a serious thorn-in-one's-side that the Rivermen will have to deal with all year long -- but stays in the game, and stops 36 of 39 shots against for a 92.3% save percentage.

Here's a nice photo of Eller, by Ron Johnson of the Peoria Journal-Star staff:

Game aricle from Rivermen.net.

Game article from the Peoria Journal-Star.

Box score, also courtesy of the Peoria Journal-Star.

ICEHOGS 4, RIVERMEN 2

Scoring ... 1st . 2nd . 3rd . F

Rockford ... 1 ... 1 ... 2 -- 4

Rivermen ... 2 ... 0 ... 0 -- 2

First period -- 1 Rivermen, Cracknell 1 (Morehouse, Eller), :42. 2 Rivermen, Ryznar 1 (Richmond, Combs), 5:25. 3 Rockford, Kearns 1 (Nesbitt), 7:01. Penalties -- Hellstrom, Peo, minor-double major (2-min instigating, 5-min fighting, 10-min misconduct), 9:03; Aliu, Rck, major (5-min fighting), 9:03; Reaves, Peo (highsticking), 19:23.

Second period -- 4 Rockford, Hodgman 1 (Danis-Pepin, Ewing), 19:32. Penalties -- Morehouse, Peo (roughing), 10:46; Danis-Pepin, Rck (roughing), 10:46.

Third period -- 5 Rockford, Aliu 1 (Davis), 15:20. 6 Rockford, Nesbitt 1 (en) (Cullen), 19:09. Penalties -- Fast, Peo (slashing), 2:17; Flinn, Rck (goaltender interference), 9:15; Morehouse, Peo, major (5-min fighting), 13:25; Brennan, Rck, major (5-min fighting), 13:25; Love, Peo, minor-major (slashing, 10-min misconduct), minor served by Combs, 15:38; Cullen, Rck (holding), 16:57.

Shots on goal -- Rockford 10 15 15 -- 40. Rivermen 7 14 9 -- 30.

Power play chances -- Rockford, 0 of 4. Rivermen, 0 of 3.

Goalies -- Rockford, Richards 1-0-0 (30 shots-28 saves). Rivermen, Toivonen 0-1-0 (39-36), 1 empty-net goal.

Officials -- Referee, Kaval. Linesmen -- Bokal, Kneale.

Attendance -- 1,807.

It's a prospect samiche.

TRAVERSE CITY, Michigan -- The St. Louis Blues' prospects have been hot and cold thus far in the annual Traverse City Prospect Tournament. 

On the hot side, the Baby Blues' top line of Philip McRae between Aaron Palushaj and Anthony Nigro -- all recent draft picks by St. Louis -- have combined for seven goals and 16 points through three games played, and the scoring has been ably backed up by forwards Anthony Peluso (3 GP, 2-1-3, minus-1, 7 PIM) and FA Jack Combs (3 GP, 1-2-3, even, 4 PIM). The special teams, both power play and penalty kill, are leading the tournament, and the local players attending camp on a tryout basis (Combs and defenseman Tony DeHart) have played well.

Cold as ice, however, have been highly-touted draft picks Alex Pietrangelo on defense, and forwards Brett Sonne and James Livingston. Each is projected to play a key role in the Blues' near-term future, but they are a combined minus-8 with two goals and two assists between them at the tournament.

After the jump, a look back at the three games played by the Blues thus far in Traverse City, and a preview of the third-place tilt coming up on Sept. 10. 

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Tomorrow's Blues Online with Brian Weidler

The Blues will be making their annual trip to northen Michigan over Labor Day weekend to take part in the annual Traverse City Prospect Tournament, hosted by the Evil Empire Detroit Red Wings.

Joining the Blues in the Western Conference alignment of this tournament will be Central Division rivals Columbus, as well as Dallas and Minnesota. The host Red Wings lead the pack in the Eastern Conference lineup, joined by Atlanta, Carolina, and the New York Rangers.

This year's tournament will feature some outstanding prospects from the eight teams involved, and the Blues' lineup is second to none in the number and quality of the prospects involved. Nearly all of the Blues' roster for this tournament is comprised of draft picks from the last four drafts (2006 to this year), and there will be no less than 25 recent first- or second-round picks involved in this tournament, including six on the Blues' roster.

After the jump, we'll take a look at the Blues' roster for this year's tournament, and preview some of the top young talent that the Blues will be facing off against.

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Bertuzzi offered contract with Detroit, pending physical.

So the team that we hate the most signs a player that most of us hate... should be good times at the Scott this season.

Fan ta Detroit...

B.

First time the Hawks come to San-Louie this year, I want to hear the "KEEP THE CHANGE! KEEP THE CHANGE!" chant coming from Section 305...

B.