Now this is exciting... Multiple Blues Updates | St. Louis Blues News

This is genuinely exciting as we have multiple major updates on the St. Louis Blues heading into this next season and seemingly overnight. It seems as if this team has a major problem that most would consider actually a good thing. We're going to break down exactly what that is heading into this next season, including multiple new updates on what is to come over the next couple of weeks as it's September 1st and Blues hockey is back in less than a month. We're going to break that all down in this episode of Blues Digest. But guys before we get into all of that, a quick reminder to hit that subscribe button. Notice that a large percentage of you guys are still not subscribed to the channel. So that means you're missing out on updates on the Blues and season is less than a month away. Guys. We are going to be continuing to get you daily updates on the Blues. We enjoyed the summer, but here we are now, Mark, before we get into some updates on training camp and all of that, I did want to start with this. We got an update on Matthew Mayak and not a good one. You guys can see it there. And according to his representative or his family's representative, zero chance of recovery. So here on Blues Digest, we just want to send our prayers and you know, all of that over to his family. And until we learn more from the Blues organization themselves, as we heard last week, we're not going to comment on it anymore, but just wanted to acknowledge what was happening with that latest updates and again, prayers to his family. But always hard to pivot off of that. But the St. Louis Blues play hockey this month and we are headed towards a couple games here, rookie games and obviously the preseason starting in just a couple weeks and Blues fans are pretty excited because Mark, there's seemingly a problem with this team and that's they have too many good young players. And I think the biggest thing is now looking at this, of course, we're getting the prospect camp. They haven't announced the players. They'll be a part of this, but I'm sure there's going to be a lot of guys that everyone's big fans of. But with this, we can see the Chicago Blackhawks and the St. Louis Blues will be playing two games during the prospect tournament that will be coming up in Chicago. Now looking at this, of course, the dates on these are going into just before training camp opens on Monday and Tuesday, September 14th and 15th. So there is we're actually getting Blues hockey training camps right around the corner as well coming up days after that as well. And I think it segues perfect into this team has a very good problem in the sense of you have so many young guys waiting to make the push and get into this organization. Of course, you have a lot of young players, new and returning players that are young on this team. Connor McMichael, Mason McTavish, two very young players looking to make an impact. Jimmy Snugroot, an outstanding player going into a second full season in the NHL, but it doesn't truly stop there where we look at this lineup and we say, hey, there's a lot of guys that we know are 100% making this lineup. Robert Thomas is a prime example. He's not going to start with Springfield. This guy's going to be on the St. Louis Blues first line heading into the very first game, but I think it gets interesting when you're looking at a lot of names that are biting at the heels out of a lot of guys and the first one leaning into is Adam Juracek. Now Adam Juracek, Darius, listen, I know you're a major fan of this guy. So am I. I'm not going to say I'm not. This is a guy that was dominant in the OHL putting up 59 points in 55 games going over to represent his country in the World Juniors U20 tournament as well, scoring a between the leg goal and adding four more on top of that for five goals, six points. Do you see a world? And listen, this defensive end is starting to add up and look very good. You went out to pick up Brandon Carlo. You have a lot of returning guys. Colton Pareko didn't want to leave, which is awesome. We love them around the team, but this is a team now where there's going to be a lot of questions. Is someone like Tucker maybe looking at this position saying, hey, I got to work my butt off to stay in here because genuinely there's someone like Adam Juracek waiting and fighting to get his opportunity in the NHL. And I don't know if he's ever going to leave once he gets in. No, and you know what? He could actually go between the NHL and the AHL. We could see him at point and injuries happen, of course, right? And you know, Brandon Carlo, he was brought in to kind of shore up the defense pairings and shore up the defensive core, but at the same time has been dealing with some injuries of his own the last couple of years. And there are some question marks in terms of, you know, concussion history and that type of stuff too. So maybe there's a scenario where we see a little bit more than, you know, we originally thought of Adam Juracek this year. But to me, you know, you bring up the lineup mark and you were talking about the lineup, specifically the NHL lineup. There are almost five huge questions for me heading into this season with this team. And it's some of them play into some of the younger players to me. It's does Justin Carbono factor into this lineup. What is happening with the goaltending in terms of who is your starting goaltender? Who is playing second line center because they have right now on Puckpedia. It's slotted as Mason McTavish, but it could also be Connor McMichael. I don't think he went out and got Connor McMichael and signed him to that contract to play third line wing. We'll see what happens with that. Logan Mayhew is going to be a huge factor this year too. What does that look like? That's a major question mark. And then of course, Adam Juracek and some younger defenseman and somebody who's not even pictured here. You talked about, you know, Tucker scratching and clawing to keep his spot there about Theo Lindstein who looked really good at the end of last year, right? He could earn a spot as well. And of course, they're going to carry one extra guy as you see here, right? Even last year, they carried one extra forward, one extra defenseman, of course, throughout the entire season. So, you know, maybe he falls into that seventh defenseman spot, but there's a lot of grabs here, right? Like Theo Lindstein and Adam Juracek looked great at the end of last year. So a lot of question marks still heading into this next season. But to me, I mean, young, exciting defenseman, Adam Juracek definitely has a chance to steal a job. And that's one thing. We're looking at spots here on this team. And let me know how you feel about this too, Mark. You know, are they these players spots or are they just spots, right? Like you can head into this season and all of a sudden, oh, maybe Jake Neighbors doesn't actually work where he was currently slotted. And maybe you do want Justin Carbono in there because he is playing so well and he's, you know, scoring and all that type of stuff. So I think it's gonna be very interesting to see what happens in training camp, specifically in a couple weeks. And I can't believe it only a couple weeks away. I'm so glad that it starts earlier this year because, you know, waiting for the Stanley Cup to be awarded in late June is ridiculous. And we finally get hockey a little bit sooner. And hey, we get two extra games of the regular season, which are two extra games of Blues hockey, hopefully a positive thing. But now looking at the team, of course, like you said, there is a lot of spots. And I do think you hit it right on the head with that, where there's a lot of guys that are cemented to be in this lineup. The guys making the big bucks and someone that's been in the NHL for quite some time, but it wouldn't shock me if there's a lot of positions. Listen, Dabrowski was outstanding, but if he gets outplayed by someone in this training camp, I don't think it's crazy to say that someone legitimately might push for that position. Now, the nice thing is, and like we've said, it's a perfect situation to be in. You have too many young guys making that push. And if they don't make this team, we know they can go down with Steve Otts, someone that's been great developing guys. Theo Lindstein spoke highly of Scott and how he's helped with the transition from the AHL into the NHL. And another guy that's right on the fence, of course, Justin Carbono. We talk about a lot, but Otto Stenberg. This is now a very interesting player. In 32 games, putting up 10 points, three goals, not getting a lot of ice time. And of course, you're not going to. If you're fighting for a spot, if injuries happen, he's going to come up and fill in spots. But this is a very intriguing player. I mean, looking at the points per game, 10 points and 32 games in the AHL, 17 and 36. Another guy that has performed in big moments of the U-20 for Sweden as well. Darius, I want your thoughts on this too. Of course, there's a lot of guys that are fringe guys waiting and biting at the heels to get into this NHL lineup. We've outlined a couple of guys. Would you be fine with making Otto Stenberg a extra player going in and get them yo-yoed between on the ice and the press box? Or do you think with the development, and I feel like it's almost an obvious choice with this, but you get the guys down into the AHL, build a culture with Steve Vaught, go on a huge run. If you need to be called up, you're called up. But if not, you're looking at a legitimate chance after a big playoff run last year to go out and maybe win a Calder Cup with this young group. That's when you get promoted and you bring that mindset up. Not that they need it. They've won a championship in half recent memory, but I think with this team, you're in such a good spot that you're looking at two clubs, the AHL and the NHL, that could legitimately be fighting for the trophies this season. I don't know if it's so obvious with Otto Stenberg specifically, you know, usually the answer would be because you outlined it that, you know, you send them back down to the AHL. They play in every game. They're playing top-line minutes and that'll be the end of it. And like you said, you know, you create a new culture and one of winning and one of hard work and all that type of stuff. And you know that that's something that could end up happening. But for me, one thing that I always look with or look for with younger players when they come in and make the NHL. Do you look like you belong? Because we can look at the points all we want. Everyone wants to look at point production and goals and all that type of stuff. Do you look like you belong and what do you offer to a team? And Stenberg's the type of guy that while he was young, you know, most young players, like a Justin Carbono, for example, he doesn't work on a third or fourth line because of the player that he is, right? Like if he doesn't make the Blues, it's because there's no second line position for him, right? And he's going to go down. He's going to score a ton of goals in the HL and that's totally fine. Stenberg to me, you can kind of plug him in wherever like you saw last year and he does something right? Like he can do something for you on that night. If he's not going to score, he's going to be doing something else. You might be playing, you know, physical. He's pretty underrated defensively as well. He's not, he's really not that bad defensively, right? So takes care of the puck, look like he belongs. So I don't think it's as obvious to me because he can play a role for you. Unlike other players, like a Kairu or, you know, Justin Carbono, who are more or even a snuggaroo for that example, if they're not playing high in the lineup and relied upon to score, they're not doing much. But to me, Stenberg is the type of guy that can offer so much for you. So we'll see what they end up doing. I think logically, I guess you have him down in the HL working with Ott and playing top line minutes and stuff like that. But who knows, right? You come into camp and you go, you know what, Stenberg can actually do all of this for us. And you know, maybe he does fit on the third line. Maybe it's a better fit there. Maybe you move. A big question mark for me too is Bucinavich, right? Like where does he fit into this lineup and what does he offer on a night-to-night basis, right? So we'll see ultimately what happens, what happens. If there isn't a spot for him, it's not the end of the world. He's going to continue his development in the AHL. But for me, and what we saw last year and the fact that he put up 10 points and just looked like he belonged and continued to get better and look better as the season went on. I don't think it's as obvious as in a choice. You know, I hate to give a cop-out answer like that for everyone watching, but we really have to see what happens in camp because to me, he is just the type of guy that can offer a little bit more, can do a little bit more than just, you know, score goals. If it's, if Carbono is not making the team, it's because he can't make, somebody else is taking that second line, right wing position, right? So we'll see what happens in camp, but isn't that exciting? I think that's exciting. Oh, I'm so fired up to get into this camp because it's going to be a legitimate competition. And that's what you love to see because not only are young guys making the push, but it's going to make a competitive camp where guys are going to push extra hard. But let us know your thoughts on everything down below. If you made it this far, hit that free subscribe button. You can stay up to date on everything from not only the camp, the prospect tournament, the regular season, but the playoffs when we do end up making it. Let us know your thoughts down in the comments. I've been your host Mark with my co-host Darius and take care of those fans.