Kukla's Korner Hockey
Entries with the tag: st. louis blues
Blues are Stockpiling Young Defensemen
by Tony on 06/21/10 at 11:32 AM ET
Comments (0)
From the St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Jeremy Rutherford:
The old adage in hockey is that a team never can have enough defensemen. Well, the Blues are proving that wrong, at least when it comes to stockpiling young defenders.
Of the club’s last seven first-round picks, four play on the blue line. With the trade of forward Lars Eller last week, the team’s highest remaining draft pick in each of the past four years is a defenseman: Erik Johnson in 2006, Ian Cole in ‘07, Alex Pietrangelo in ‘08 and David Rundblad and Brett Ponich in ‘09.
With the 14th pick in this week’s NHL draft, which begins with the first round at 6 p.m. (St. Louis time) Friday in Los Angeles, the Blues aren’t expected to be in the running for another defenseman in the first round.
Filed in: NHL Teams, St. Louis Blues, NHL Talk, | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: nhl-hockey,
st.+louis+blues
Lars Eller looks forward to being a Montreal Canadien
by Tony on 06/19/10 at 12:16 PM ET
Comments (6)
From the St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Jeremy Rutherford:
Former Blue Lars Eller spoke with the Team 990 radio station in Montreal today and said that he is looking forward to playing for the Montreal Canadiens.
And he thinks it could be this season. “What (Montreal GM Pierre Gauthier) told me was that they were happy to have gotten me in this trade,” said Eller, who went to the Habs Thursday in the trade that brought goalie Jaroslav Halak to St. Louis. “He said I have a good chance to make that Montreal team. It’s going to be up to me.
“That was my goal in St. Louis, to make that club this year. I’m going to have the same mindset coming into Montreal. I know that Montreal has a big fan base and there are big expectations for the team and the players as well. But I put pressure on myself. I see this in a positive way.”
Filed in: NHL Teams, Montreal Canadiens, St. Louis Blues, NHL Talk, | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: montreal+canadiens,
nhl-hockey,
st.+louis+blues
Manny Legace Conference Call Transcript
by Alanah McGinley on 01/07/08 at 08:05 PM ET
Comments (0)
Earlier today, Manny Legace was named First Star for the week ending January 6th, after appearing in three games for the Blues and not allowing a goal. He recorded two wins, pushing his record this season to 15-10-2 in 29 appearances. His 2.09 goals-against average is fifth among all NHL goalies. He has a .921 save percentage and his three shutouts this season give him a career total of 21.
Today Legace participated in an NHL conference call. Here is the transcript of the Q&A:
Q. I guess you made a comment about your knee recently that sort of surprised John . But more importantly, have you had any discussions with Andy Murray about work load or is there a plan so as you are battling for a playoff spot you don’t have a repeat of last year where you had to shut it down early?
Filed in: NHL Teams, St. Louis Blues, | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: goalies,
manny+legace,
media,
nhl+conference+call,
st.+louis+blues
Andy Murray’s Message
by Alanah McGinley on 12/10/07 at 07:57 PM ET
Comments (0)
From the CP via TSN,
Murray employs a tough style that is ‘‘demanding not demeaning’’ and puts a lot of responsibility on the players. After arriving in St. Louis, he found a group of men that felt as if they had let down Mike Kitchen, the man Murray replaced behind the bench.
The Blues have gone a combined 43-28-10 since - including 16-10-1 so far this season. His message to the players has been simple.
‘‘Basically we just tried to sell a belief system that if we played hard every night and competed that we would have an opportunity to be successful,’’ said Murray. ‘‘Losing is misery ... I think the players were just fed up with the way they were feeling here.’‘
Filed in: NHL Teams, St. Louis Blues, | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: andy+murray,
coaching,
st.+louis+blues
Toivonen: Past & Future
by Alanah McGinley on 12/07/07 at 04:43 PM ET
Comments (0)
From Jeremy Rutherford at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch,
“He’s a young guy, and he’s big,” Blues President John Davidson said. “He has good work habits, and he’s a good person. We expect him to be a really good goalkeeper, and he is. He’s a pup, but there’s a future there.”
It was less than eight years ago that Toivonen chose hockey over soccer, a difficult decision that changed his life for good.
“I was like 15 or 16, and there were two camps at the same time,” Toivonen said. “There was a soccer camp, the top select camp in my area, and there was a (Finnish) national team camp for hockey.
“The hockey guys basically laid it out to me. They said, ‘If you go to soccer, catch you later.’ I just decided to go to hockey. I thought I had a better chance making it as a hockey player where I was from ... because of the money and support that was being put into hockey. I don’t think I ever played a soccer game after that.”
Filed in: NHL Teams, St. Louis Blues, | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: hannu+toivonen,
john+davidson,
st.+louis+blues
Hot Blues
by Paul on 12/03/07 at 11:00 PM ET
Comments (0)
from the CP,
The Blues, who play the Flames on Tuesday and the Oilers on Friday, are 8-1-1 in their last 10 games and playing some of the best hockey in the league right now.
“We, as a team, feel we can play with anybody,” Blues president John Davidson told The Canadian Press on Monday. “And we should feel that way. Last year we were just hoping to survive and stay in the hunt as long as we could. This year it’s different.”
The 15-8-1 Blues sit fourth in the tightly contested Western Conference, making a major statement two months into the season after missing the playoffs two straight years.
“And we’re going to be around for a long time,” said Davidson. “We’ve got eight players 24 and younger. So we’re going in the right direction. We feel good about the way we play the game, we feel good about the way we’re committed. Our team is well prepared.”
Filed in: NHL Teams, St. Louis Blues, | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: john+davidson,
st.+louis+blues
The Best 20 Play
by Paul on 11/20/07 at 08:54 PM ET
Comments (0)
from Jeff Gordon of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch,
“You have the Patriots right now, (Bill) Belichick last week was pretty hard on them, I understand,” Murray said after the Blues edged the Predators 2-1 Monday night.
“We’re pushing our guys to get better as well. We’re not comparing ourselves to the Patriots by any means, but no matter how good you’re playing, there is always room for improvement. We’ve got quite a bit of room for improvement. Which is encouraging.”...
“I don’t know if I’m holding guys accountable,” Murray said. “I’m just trying to come up with 20 players on a given night to give us the best chance to win. I believe players make those kind of decisions for you.”
Filed in: NHL Teams, St. Louis Blues, | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: st.+louis+blues
Blues Believe In Perron
by Paul on 11/20/07 at 10:27 AM ET
Comments (0)
from the News-Democrat,
Fast forward to Monday, and Perron began the day as one of the NHL’s hottest scorers with four goals and five points in his last five games. He has goals in four of his last seven contests and pumped some much-welcomed offensive life into a Blues team that followed up a three-game losing streak with four consecutive one-goal victories.
“He’s something special,” Blues President John Davidson said. “He’s got a great passion for the game; he’s a rink rat. There’s no question he’s got the ability to score goals and pass the pucks, plus he has no fear of going into any area on the ice.”
Filed in: NHL Teams, St. Louis Blues, | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: david+perron,
st.+louis+blues
Weight Trying To Break Out Of Scoring Slump
by Paul on 11/13/07 at 10:56 AM ET
Comments (0)
from the News-Democrat,
With the St. Louis Blues on a three-game losing streak and struggling to find offense, center Doug Weight is more than willing to help.
But with no goals and three assists in the first 14 games, Weight is pressing to find a way to do it.
“I’ve had these points in my career before, where you go 10 or 12 games and you can’t buy anything,” said Weight, who has two assists in his last 11 games. “This is frustrating because the team needs it and we’ve lost some games where I could have helped.”
Filed in: NHL Teams, St. Louis Blues, | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: doug+weight,
st.+louis+blues
The Blues Are Back
by Paul on 11/06/07 at 03:41 PM ET
Comments (0)
from Michael Farber at Sports Illustrated,
The new motto of the organization is Whatever It Takes, and the Blues have already done enough that on Oct. 30 there were 14,222 in attendance to see a team that had won six of its first nine games. That was still 5,000 short of capacity but, says Davidson, one of Checketts’s first hires, “last year, on a Tuesday in October against Phoenix, we probably would have had six [thousand].” Revenue from tickets sold this season has already surpassed the ticket revenue from all of 2006-07, a solid start for a team that was 7-5 through last Saturday.
The resurgence truly began last winter when the Blues hired the person with the foresight to include every employee in the team picture: coach Andy Murray.
Filed in: NHL Teams, St. Louis Blues, | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: andy+murray,
coaching,
st.+louis+blues
Weight Fighting Slump, Keeps Team #1
by Paul on 10/31/07 at 09:23 AM ET
Comments (0)
from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch,
“We’re three games above .500,” Weight said in reference to the team’s 6-3 mark before the 2-1 loss. “If I didn’t produce much in the first nine games, which is my job, then I’ve got to do something about it. But I’m going to try to be upbeat. All you can do is work as hard as you can and get the coach to get you back out there.”
Weight is referring to his challenging relationship with Blues coach Andy Murray, who has limited the center’s playing time and kept him off the No. 1 power-play unit as a result of his slow start.
Filed in: NHL Teams, St. Louis Blues, | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: doug+weight,
st.+louis+blues
Key to Rebuilding the Blues
by Alanah McGinley on 10/30/07 at 02:55 PM ET
Comments (0)
From Jeff Gordon at the St Louis Post-Dispatch,
The new Blues management team has done many things right while rebuilding this downtrodden team.
Near the top of that list was the decision to send offensive defenseman Dennis Wideman to the Boston Bruins for versatile forward Brad Boyes back on Feb. 27. This was wasn’t a big move, but it was very important.
“One of the best trades I’ve seen,” Blues goaltender Manny Legace said with a chuckle. “He’s been a key part of the team since he got here. I’m glad he’s here.”
Filed in: NHL Teams, St. Louis Blues, | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: brad+boyes,
st.+louis+blues
Thoughts on the Game Day Skate
by Alanah McGinley on 10/20/07 at 11:44 PM ET
Comments (0)
From Kent Youngblood of the Star Tribune,
Morning skates on game days are a part of NHL tradition. But [Andy Murray] Murray isn’t a big fan, calling them one of the most overrated things in hockey. Murray rarely makes the skates mandatory. In St. Louis they’re called “necessary skates,” in that players who think it’s necessary will skate.
Turns out Wild coach Jacques Lemaire doesn’t entirely disagree.
“Myself, the morning skate is for the player that doesn’t play a lot,” Lemaire said. “Or the player that wants to shoot a couple pucks, players that want to feel their legs. That’s it.”
Lemaire runs a quick morning skate, and makes more of them optional as the season wears on. The players have varied views of them. Brian Rolston isn’t a big fan; Pavol Demitra loves to get in his morning skate.
Filed in: NHL Teams, Minnesota Wild, St. Louis Blues, | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: minnesota+wild,
st.+louis+blues,
training
Keep An Eye On Berglund
by Paul on 09/18/07 at 08:36 AM ET
Comments (0)
from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch,
Blues coach Andy Murray thinks 19-year-old center Patrik Berglund has a chance to make the NHL roster. Berglund believes it, too. So will he be with the team when it opens the season Oct. 4 in Phoenix?
“He just has to be above one centerman we have in our lineup right now,” Blues coach Andy Murray said….
“I’m very happy about it,” said Berglund, the 25th pick in the 2006 NHL draft. “They show a lot of interest in me and they give me a chance to play with the best players in the world and that means a lot to me.”
Filed in: NHL Teams, St. Louis Blues, | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: prospects,
st.+louis+blues
Erik Johnson Keeping It Simple In St. Louis
by Paul on 09/16/07 at 09:51 AM ET
Comments (0)
from the News-Democrat,
While his progress has been watched intensely by Blues fans since being selected first overall in the 2006 draft, the 19-year-old Johnson tries to let others worry about things he can’t control.
“I’m not a guy that really puts pressure on myself too much,” he said. “I feel really good out there, I haven’t been nervous at all. I’ve been happy with how I’ve been playing and I’ve really been trying to keep things simple, so that’s helping me out a lot.”
Johnson is staying at the former Blues star’s family home in St. Louis, following a recent trend that saw Blues winger David Backes living with Keith Tkachuk for a time last season and Pittsburgh star Sidney Crosby once sharing a house with Mario Lemieux.
“I usually talk to him a little bit every day, he’s a great guy to have around and he’s a great mentor,” Johnson said of MacInnis, now a Blues vice president. “It’s good because you get home-cooked meals and you don’t have to pay rent, so that’s nice.”
Filed in: NHL Teams, St. Louis Blues, | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: erik+johnson,
st.+louis+blues
