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The NHL preseason is officially in full swing with multiple games a night on the docket. Tonight the St. Louis Blues take on the Tampa Bay Lightning at the Amway Center in Orlando, FL.
Last the Note were in Orlando to play Tampa was September 21st, 2011. Current Bolts netminder Ben Bishop was still with his hometown Blues at the time. He made 21 saves in a winning effort.
Bishop will not get the start against his former team as Tampa head coach Jon Cooper will go with Cedrick Desjardins and Kristers Gudlevskis. Blues bench boss Ken Hitchcock will counter with Brian Elliott. Jordan Binnington is expected to provide backup services.
Blues Lineup
Jaden Schwartz - Derek Roy - Chris Stewart
Ty Rattie - Vladimir Sobotka - Dmitrij Jaskin
Alexandre Bolduc - Christian Hanson - Mark Mancari
William Carrier - Pat Cannone - Jacob Doty
Ryan Whitney - Jani Hakanpaa
Jordan Leopold - Ian Cole
Taylor Chorney - David Shields
Tampa Notables
Forwards Valtteri Filppula, Teddy Purcell, and former St. Louis tough guy BJ Crombeen.
Defensemen Matt Carle and the 10th overall selection in the 2012 draft, Slater Koekkoek.
What to Watch For
Hitchcock has already said the plan is for Roy and Stewart to be paired together. That assertion leaves the left wing position open to whomever can take it. The line will be counted on to produce offensive throughout the season and opportunity to put pucks in the net will be there. Schwartz will get the first crack. It will be interesting to see how the two smaller forwards work with Stewart. It work beautifully or the lack of size and Stewart's inconsistency could lead to a lack of interior penetration that results in few scoring changes.
Rattie and Jaskin are easily the two most recognizable and well thought of names floating in the prospect pool. They'll have their chances to shine so long as they don't waste them away. That said, Sergey Andronov may have put them on notice in the Blues' preseason opener against Dallas on Sunday. A 3rd round pick in 2009, Andronov has the wheels and hands to be an effective call up option. Will we see Rattie and Jaskin perform on par with an established pro like Sobotka, as Andronov did, or will they look a little less polished? If they do, major concern isn't warranted, yet. Andronov has over 200 games of professional experience between the KHL and AHL under his belt already.
Are Whitney and Cole looking for statement games? If not, they should be as they're battling for the same position. The 7th defenseman. I'll get more in to this a little later on but based on Hitchcock's recent comments about balance and pairings the two will be making their case with different types of play. Whitney will be looked at as a puck mover and offensive contributor considering he's paired with Hakanpaa (a future Roman Polak type player). Where as Cole will need to be solid in his own end as Leopold will be the primary catalyst for transition out of the zone. Still, Whitney needs to not be a complete mess in his own end and Cole will be expected to move the puck safely. This won't be a make or break game for either, but could easily be the starting point of one surpassing the other.
Keep in mind Chorney did see some play time with the Blues in 2011-12 when they claimed him off waivers from Edmonton. A solid game may put him in more direct consideration as well.
Got a feeling we'll see a Doty vs. Crombeen bout.
What to do with Ian Cole?
News from the coaching staff yesterday was very informational about what pairings fans may see on the blueline at the home opener.
From Hitchcock:
“I just think, the way the game is now, you’ve got to have transition in all three pairs. I don’t think you can play the game and play with a lock-down pair anymore. I don’t think you can play like that. I’m becoming more and more convinced that every pair needs to have someone who can transition, with or without the puck. That gives us balance. It’s something we’ve certainly thought about. ... This allows us three pairs that can pretty much play against anybody.”
At the end of last season the pairings put over the boards by Associate Coach Brad Shaw were:
- Bouwmeester & Pietrangelo
- Leopold & Shattenkirk
- Jackman & Polak
Two pairs that excel at moving the puck and one that does not.
The logic is fairly sound from a traditional matchup perspective. A shut down pair that can handle tough assignments bogged down in their own end. Crease clearing, board battling, dirty area going, etc. It's an old school mentality. Something Hitch has been known for employing in the past, but has been moving away incrementally as he feels adjustments are needed.
In the "new" NHL flexibility makes more sense to prize over what worked in a different era. Case in point being how LA has defeated the Blues two post seasons in a row. Inability to exit the zone in possession of the puck led to too much time hemmed in. At that point it doesn't matter how strong your defensemen are in their role. They will wear down and be scored on.
The shift in mindset will yeild new pairings:
- Bouwmeester & Pietrangelo
- Jackman & Shattenkirk
- Leopold & Polak
Balance. Matching a physically strong defender with one better at playing angles to break up plays to take control and move north. Seems very EA Sports-ish, but looking at the most successful teams around the league they deploy their skaters similarly.
Where does this change of philosophy leave Ian Cole?
The 18th overall pick in the 2007 draft has been methodically developed at what feels like a snails pace compared to other rebuilding era first round selections. Now on his first post ELC contract he must find his way on to the final roster.
It's finally time to start ascending to the elevated status that's expected of someone with his draft pedigree.
What is that exactly?
Listed at 6'2 and 218 lbs, Cole has the size to play the physical game similar to the longest tenured member of the franchise, Barret Jackman. However, he is far more mobile, in terms of agility and speed, than Jackman. Sort of a Polak-Lite, but left handed. To date his has displayed and iterated a mentality to match.
Personal opinion, his skill set, in terms of transitioning the puck up ice quickly, surpasses both.
Within the new frame work laid by Hitchcock Cole's future remains as murky as ever.
Balance also means the preference of a left handed shot paired with a right handed one. With Jackman and Leopold signed through 2014-15, Polak signed through 2015-16, and long term commitments to Pietrangelo, Bouwmeester, and Shattenkirk there isn't much room. In actually when all are healthy the top six are set for the next two seasons.
To make his way up the pecking order Cole must:
- Surpass Jackman... Which he isn't likely to due to the whole veteran leadership thing.
- Surpass Leopold... Which he isn't likely to because they play the game very differently. His play with the puck isn't good enough from a balance perspective to match him with Polak.
Injuries will happen. It's inevitable in hockey. Let the 2009-10 season forever be a reminder to the Blues of that axiom. Depth is needed so Cole will have a place. Just not a consistent one.
When he does play, who is it likely to be with?
Over the last handful of years his most common partner is Pietrangelo and they have been good together. In 324+ minutes the two have 55% Goals For % (.678 vs .555) and 54.7$ Corsi For % (18.00 vs 14.92). That means they possess the puck well and it ends up in the oppositions net more frequently than their own. Apart their individual Goals For, Goals Against, Corsi For, and Corsi Against (all per 20 ES minutes) go up. Their togetherness works well.
In 240+ minutes with Shattenkirk the two end up scoring quite a bit, 1.166 GF/20, but also give up a lot, .916 GA/20. In terms of Corsi they're are 18.82 CF/20 and 17.99 CA/20. In the end it's Cole bringing down the possession numbers and Shattenkirk driving the offensive output.
The most intriguing combination is potentially the least likely at this point. In 207 minutes of play with Polak, it's the kid from Michigan driving possession. Combined their CF% is 55.1% (18.79 vs 15.32). Apart Polak is at 49% and Cole is 52.4%. Their GF% together is rather high, 63.6% (.674 vs .385).
Perhaps Shattenkirk getting reps with Bouwmeester early in training camp could mean more than just matching the best RHD with the top LHD...
Should Jackman go down there is a case to be made for Bouwmeester to partner with Shattenkirk instead of Cole so he can skate opposite Pietrangelo. If Leopold moves up or is injured, Cole works well with Polak. If Bouwmeester goes down Cole slides in naturally.
Most negative trickle down impacts, like extensive pair shifting, are minimized.
His track record and flexibility,compared to Whitney's seeming one dimensional nature, may be the upper hand needed to ensure his name is listed on the final roster.
Thanks for reading!
St Louis Blues Blogger • 
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