Recently Maine goaltender Ben Bishop has gotten lost in the mix when it comes to St. Louis Blues prospects.
We hear on a daily basis, for good reason, about super prospects Patrik Berglund, Lars Eller, and TJ Oshie.
The Blues organization is just as excited about this kid, and fans should be as well.
If Bishop Progresses in the fashion the Blues think he can, he has number one NHL goalie potential written all over him.
With that being said, it takes time and patience with goaltenders. All goalies develop at different speeds and it's hard to project when a golatender will be ready to make the jump into the NHL.
Marek Schwarz is a good example of how not to get too excited too soon. Schwarz, a first round pick in 2004, is still developing and has a chance to become a quality NHL goalie. Peoria can choose to keep three goaltenders on the roster for the remainder of the season if they choose to.
Schwarz has another year remaining on his entry level deal after this season. I've had some in the Blues organization tell me they don't think he'll ever be an NHL goalie while others still feel it's too early to write him off.
I say it's too early to give up on a 21 year old kid playing in his second year of pro hockey, especially when the Blues invested a first round pick in him. Take a look at the other goaltenders taken in the first round back in 2004. Neither Al Montoya (NYR), Devan Dubnyk (EDM), or Cory Schneider (Van) have ever played a minute in the NHL.
Most goalies never seem to make it to the show with the team that drafted them. In many cases they are with their second or third organiation before they ever play in the NHL.
Bishop fills the net with his imposing 6’7" frame. Even if the NHL decides to increase the size of the cage down the road, his size will still allow him to play big. He’s an extremely athletic butterfly goaltender with excellent puck skills. He challenges shooters and many believe the sky is the limit for this kid.
Bishop will likely sign an Amateur Tryout contract with the Blues on Tuesday. Assuming he passes his physical he could be in Peoria as early as Wednesday or Thursday.
The club Bishop played behind this season for the Black Bears wasn’t nearly as strong as the team he had in front of him the last two seasons. Unfortunately Bishop was unable to advance his team to the playoffs. Don’t blame him, he’s played some of his best hockey recently and saw tons of work this season.
John Davidson and Larry Pleau could care less about his win/loss record this year, if you look at his stats, his save % and goals against average are very strong.
Bishop wouldn’t be leaving school for the remainder of the semester if the Blues didn’t assure him he would see plenty of game action right away in Peoria.
He’ll get plenty and the Blues would love to see Bishop do what Carey Price accomplished last season in Hamilton where Montreal’s former first round pick led the Bulldogs to a Calder Cup and was named the MVP of the playoffs.
Bishop, who was drafted in the third round by St. Louis in 2005 will sign his entry level deal this summer where he falls under $850,000 maximum with a 10% signing bonus. He was drafted after leading the Texas Tornado to a National Championship.
With Legace under contract next year it would make little sense to have Bishop sit on the bench next season in the NHL. He will likely stay in Peoria in 08-09 and get adjusted to the pro game.
The St. Louis native was hoping to sign with the Blues following his sophomore season at Maine, but the organization didn’t feel he was ready to turn pro. He will no doubt benefit from the number of shots he saw this season.
This is a smart move by the Blues to get him signed now so he can get some quality experience in the American League.
It certainly worked for guys like David Backes and Steve Wagner who signed ATO’s the last few years.
Rink Rats!
Former Blues D-man Dennis Wideman played 34:34 in boston's 1-0 shootout loss to the Rangers on Sunday.
Rangers D-man Christian Backman has 1 G and is a +1 in 5 games played since the Blues traded him.
Devils D-man Bryce Salvador is a +1 in 5 games since being traded from St. Louis. Salvador has seen at least 20:00 of ice time in all 5 games with New Jersey.
Blues Clues!
John Davidson and Larry Pleau took in the Peoria game Sunday afternoon vs. Chicago.
More to come,
Andy Strickland
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St Louis Blues Blogger •1380 ESPN • 
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