To assume goaltender Jason Bacashihua can’t play his way onto the Blues NHL roster would be irresponsible.
For Bacashihua to assume he can make an impression on Head Coach Mike Kitchen wearing a t-shirt and shorts is even more irresponsible.
Bacashihua along with defenseman Dennis Wideman and minor leaguer Greg Mauldin were held out of Fridays practice after they showed up late to a mandatory team meeting Thursday night.
It’s pretty hard to make an NHL roster when you don’t participate in training camp. That’s especially the case when you have less than 20 games of NHL action under your belt.
Still unproven as an NHL player, Bacashihua helped his cause by maturing on and off the ice as a professional last season. He was rewarded with an invitation from USA Hockey to compete in the World Championships last spring.
Now it’s time for the former first round pick to take the experience he’s received and elevate his game to another level. Rarely are jobs handed to you in the NHL.
Just ask fellow netminder Curtis Sanford, who many believe should have already secured a spot on the Blues roster after turning a few heads last season. Sanford turned down a guaranteed three year contract this summer, with the hope that a strong showing this year might increase his value on the open market • a gamble that could prove to be costly if he’s badly outplayed by Bacashihua in camp. Although, in my opinion Bacashihua has to stand on his head and then some to beat out Sanford, and Friday was definitely not the start of camp that Bacashihua was looking for.
Blues camp is a tighter ship these days. It is clear that Kitchen is out to make each player equally accountable, which was evident on Friday when he held the above-mentioned players out of practice. Instead, the players enjoyed an arduous workout with the Blues strength and conditioning coach. Even if the players were only one minute late to the meeting, it didn’t matter. Kitchen is not going to allow players to drift away from the overall game plan.
A lot of hype has been made about Keith Tkachuk reporting to camp in the best shape of his career.
The transformation process for Tkachuk began last April, when he met face to face with Blues owner Dave Checketts. Checketts looked Tkachuk squarely in the eye and challenged the all-star forward to take his work ethic and overall play to another level. Basically, Checketts told Tkachuk that if he wants to finish his career in St. Louis, he’s going to have to earn it on the ice. In a way you can say the two made a deal with one another. Checkketts told Tkachuk he’s here to win. Basically Checketts is saying I’ll do my part, but you have to do yours also to make this work I’ve been told behind closed doors Checketts has a way to motivate people. He definitely left an impression on Tkachuk.
After that meeting, Tkachuk made the decision to get it together. Tkachuk has a chance, with a couple more great seasons, to leave a legacy behind after he retires from the league as one of the greatest American-born players to ever take the ice.
How’d he do it?
Tkachuk maintained a strict diet throughout the entire summer, eating meats and avoiding fats and carbs, while performing a regular routine of ridiculous strength exercises. In the end, the guy deserves credit, and he’s got a lot to prove.
When Tkachuk is on his game, he is easily one of the top power forwards in the world, and he’s looking to regain that status. Playing in a contract year will certainly help. When was the last time Tkachuk played for a contract? Has he ever?
One can reasonably make the argument that the Blues will go as far as Keith Tkachuk can take them. He’s their best player, and other than a goaltender he is probably the one player who can carry this team.
Pittsburgh Sale Nearing?
Sources tell me that CEO of RIM/Blackberry, James Balsillie, is involved in a group that includes Dallas Mavericks owner, Mark Cuban and Andy Murstein, president of Medallion Financial Corp. in New York looking to purchase the Pittsburgh Penguins. Balsillie could sign a purchase agreement as early as next week.
Blues Clues!
Ryan Macmurchy, a former Blues ninth round draft pick in 2002, is in camp but has yet to sign a contract. He will not participate in any preseason scrimmages, but the club is hoping that he will be able to sneak in a preseason game or two with Peoria. Doctors are saying that his shoulder is currently at 85%. He underwent shoulder surgery following last year’s championship season with the University of Wisconsin.
Radek Dvorak was one of Edmonton’s top penalty killers a season ago. The Blues will be very deep up top on the penalty kill. A former teammate of his recently told me he thinks he would have success playing with Martin Rucinsky.
Martin Rucinsky told me President John Davidson was a major reason as to how he ended up back in St. Louis. I have a feeling the two year contract played a small part as well.
Oh yeah, and the no-trade clause.
Rucinsky said Davidson called him last July expressing interest. He also has extensive experience playing with both Petr Cajanek and Dvorak in international competition. Runcinsky went as far as to say he thinks Cajanek is one of the more underrated players in the league.
Goaltender Chris Beckford-Tseu should be confident after leading the Alaska Aces to a Kelly Cup championship last year. After Houston eliminated Peoria in the AHL playoffs, Beckford-Tseu gained valuable experience in Alaska, including winning a game six in double overtime and a game seven triple overtime thriller en route to the championship.
Beckford-Tesu spent the summer paying pick-up hockey at the Pavilion Ice Rink in Toronto. Some of the best off season hockey takes place at this rink. You just never know who will stop by on any given day.
These games feature players such as Curtis Joseph, Eddie Belfour, Alexander Ovechkin, Jason Spezza, Raffi Torres, and Mike Cammalleri among others.
Beckford-Tseu worked extensively with goaltender coach John Elkin during the summer. Elkin has a strong reputation serving as the personal coach for Toronto goalie Andrew Raycroft as well. Beckford-Tseu has worked with Elkin since he was 14 years old.
He has certainly earned the right to be a full time AHL goaltender. I would be stunned if he doesn’t begin the season in Peoria.
Bill Guerin has bought a house in Frontenac. He said that he, his wife and four kids are truly enjoying life in St. Louis. He can make it more than a one-year stop if he lives up to the name on the back of his sweater. Guerin had no problem tucking the puck under the bar at will during his first practice as a St. Louis Blue.
Manny Legase spent the last several weeks skating with Nicklas Lidstrom, Tomas Holmstrom, Ryan Kesler, and others from the University of Michigan. The Red Wings organization screwed themselves when they failed to acquire Roberto Luongo or Martin Gerber via trade. Even after that, there was no way Detroit’s ego would allow them to go back to Manny and ask him to return to Detroit.
Times have changed in Detroit. Players used to want to play there for two reasons • they knew that they had a chance to win, and they knew that they would be paid a substantial amount of money to play there. Now, Detroit has to sell itself to attract talented players. In case you didn’t know it, Detroit isn’t the most attractive place to live. Keeping Brendan Shanahan proved to be too tall of a task even though Detroit offered him 2 years at 4.5 per season compared to the one year deal he accepted from the Rangers.
More to come,
Andy Strickland
[email protected] 
St Louis Blues Blogger •1380 ESPN • 
Join the Discussion:
»