Sources tell me Roman Polak finished first overall in the Blues fitness testing ahead of Erik Johnson who finshed second.
I'm told Jay McClement Brad Winchester and Barret Jackman round out the top 5 although not necessarily in this order.
Polak, who I mentioned below, came into camp leaner as ever and is no surprise to take home top honors. How excited should Blues fans be knowing Johnson has reported to camp in such terriffic condition? Word is Polak bench pressed 315 pounds compared to Johnson's 305.
David Perron recorded the fastest time during on-ice sprints followed by Andy McDonald and Erik Johnson.
Earlier story....
First of all it’s always good to be back at the rink. This is by far the best time of the year and there’s nothing like watching players compete for a chance to live out their lifelong dream of making an NHL roster.
The obvious problem is that there are only so many spots available. Breaking down the forwards is far easier than what’s taking place on the back end. The competition is far more interesting on defense.
When you break down the Blues training camp roster you can realistically point to 16 forwards who have a shot at boarding the plane to Sweden.
You can easily pencil in the following players as locks to make the roster.
Backes, Berglund, Boyes, Crombeen, Janssen, Kariya, King, McClement, McDonald, Oshie, Perron, Steen, Tkachuk, Winchester.
That leaves virtually no room for guys like Yan Stastny, Derek Armstrong, or even Chris Porter who at times has his name come up in conversation. Hockey fans should never rule out the possibility of injury or trades that could certainly create a space for one or two guys.
Stastny is on a one way roster who is guaranteed $500,000 this season.
On defense it’s a lot foggier.
Unless Alex Pietrangelo is spectacular in camp I just can’t see him landing a spot with this club. Five D-men are obvious locks to make the Blues.
Jackman, Polak, Johnson, Colaiacovo, and Weaver are a given.
That leaves Tyson Strachan, Brendan Bell, Darryl Sydor, Jonas Junland and Pietrangelo battling it out. Sources with the Blues tell me they won’t hesitate to send Pietrangelo back to the OHL for one more season if they don’t feel he’s ready. The Blues feel another opportunity to play for Canada in the WJC will do him some good. He played some very solid hockey last week in Traverse City which is a very positive sign but will it be enough to land a job in St. Louis?
It’s going to be tough.
You can add Steve Wagner as a D-man who registers on the radar but will have a difficult time beating out the above mentioned players.
Junland is an interesting player when you consider he was one of the final cuts a season ago. You can make the case if he didn’t suffer an injury late in camp last fall he would have seen some NHL games to begin the year.
I don’t want to sound too dramatic but it’s time for Junland to step up to the plate and at the very least let the organization know where his commitment level is. I find it somewhat hard to believe he spent virtually no time in St. Louis this off-season to physically prepare his body to play in the NHL. He has a reputation that has surfaced of being slightly over confident and it’s nearing time for the Blues to know what they have in this kid.
If I were picking the team, it would be hard for me to choose a kid like Junland over a player such as Strachan who spent all summer in St. Louis working with his teammates to get stronger and become better.
Junland physically looks no different than when we saw him for the first time a few years back which certainly raises a red flag. With all this being said, he has the skill set to become a regular NHL D-man, unfortunately for him it takes more than skill to play in the show. He will obviously need a strong showing in camp.
Junland stayed off the ice this summer and hired a personal trainer who he worked with in Sweden. He arrived in St. Louis in August. In fairness, Junland did show very strong endurance during the on ice testing on Saturday finishing first in his group.
He did lie down on the ice for several minutes afterwards which couldn’t have sat too well with the coaching staff. Next time it might be a better idea to get off the ice before you lay down. I realize it’s very easy for me to say as I never made it to the bigs! In reality it was a nice showing on day one for Junland.
Eller Update!
Who has shown signs of mono could be cleared to return to action as early as Monday September 21. The good news is Eller’s surgically repaired shoulder is 100% and is good to go from that standpoint. Eller is hopeful he’ll be able to participate in the Blues pre-season game in Dallas on the 26th.
Several players were kept off the ice on Saturday including Paul Kariya whose, (hold your breath), groin is a little tight. Ok now you can breathe, there is a possibility Kariya skates Sunday. The Blues will be careful on how they manage Kariya moving forward following double hip surgery last season. I’d rather see him participate in live action as opposed to on ice testing anyway. There appears little reason for fans to be concerned as this could be a situation of just Paul being Paul who operates under a different program.
Goaltender Hannu Toivonen is suffering from a cut on his calf which has the Blues concerned about the possibility of infection.
Cam Paddock still being cautious following hip surgery.
Darryl Sydor has a mild groin irritation and is considered day to day.
Captain Eric Brewer is back on the ice skating in British Columbia following minor knee surgery. His return remains up in the air although the club fully expects him to play this season.
Alex Steen’s wife went into labor over night as they are expecting their 2nd boy. Congrats to the steens!
Blues Clues!
The NCAA Ice breaker will feature some elite programs in 2010 and 2011 when the event will be held in St. Louis. Notre Dame, Boston U., Wisconsin, and Holy Cross will play in 2010 while Michigan North Dakota, Boston college, and Air Force will battle in 2011.
A major youth hockey tourney is expected to take place in St. Louis at the same time as the Ice Breaker.
I realize the Blues goal heading into this season is to be better during 5 on 5 play which at times was a concern last season. In my opinion this wouldn’t be nearly as alarming if the Blues matched their top line against the opposition’s.
People seem to pay a lot of focus to Brad Boyes plus/minus stat, and I guarantee it wouldn’t be nearly as alarming if he was playing against other teams offensive players. Andy Murray likes to check opposing club’s best players by primarily using a line centered by Jay McClement which has been successful.
My point here is this gives other teams the option of using their checkers to shutdown the Blues best offensive players 5 on 5. Any skilled player will tell you they would love to play offense vs. offense and if It were up to me (which it’s not) that’s how I’d match up. This is sure to generate some quality hockey discussion between me and the coach!
Former Blues forward Dan Hinote has accepted a tryout with San Jose. Hinote trained this summer with Blues forward Derek Armstrong.
When I evaluate Boyes, I see a clutch offensive player who’s buried nearly 80 goals the last two years including 20 game winning goals.
Carlo Colaiacovo has dropped 4% body fat compared to where he was a year ago.
David Perron registered the fastest time during on ice sprints ahead of McDonald. Perron is excellent at making plays by delaying and slowing down the pace, but if he can show the ability accelerate and beat defenders one on one with speed he could become an extremely dangerous offensive player.
With this being said there are very few players who are capable of controlling the pace of the play by hanging on to the puck and making plays off the pass as well as this guy can. Adding the dimension of speed to his game and moving the puck quicker at times could be good for him.
Speaking of Perron, he’s come into camp in excellent shape by adding 22 pounds of muscle since the day he was drafted.
Erik Johnson has added close to 20 pounds of muscle since his rookie season and will play this season closer to 240 pounds. It will be interesting to see if he’s given the responsibility of being a guy who can handle playing in the 22-25 minutes per game range. I find little reason why he plays less than 22 mpg this season.
Johnson will without a doubt anchor the power play with Kariya likely manning the other point. The Blues have Colaiacovo as an above average option if kariya struggles playing up top.
Roman Polak is the leanest he’s ever been since joining the Blues after weighing in seven pounds less than he did a year ago. Fans know better than to ask if he’s lost any strength, this dude is a beast.
I’d be surprised if Brendan Bell doesn’t land a spot with this club when you consider how aggressive the Blues were in pursuing him this off-season. Bell spoke at length with Andy Murray, Al Macinnis, and larry Pleau for several weeks prior to deciding on St. Louis. He wouldn’t have signed here if he didn’t feel confident there was a spot for him on the roster. With that being said, nothing is guaranteed and he’ll have to earn it.
Besides the fact he can flat out pound it, you can tell just by spending a few minutes with him that this isn’t his first rodeo and he handles himself like a pro. Here’s guy who skates well enough to escape pressure and can move the puck up ice.
I’ve written several times that the Blues should name an interim Captain while Eric brewer is sidelined. After taking an informal poll Barret Jackman and Keith Tkachuk took home the majority of the votes.
Look for the David Backes show to premier in early October on 590 the Fan KFNS. Yours truly will be hosting.
Blues Buzz will return to Johnny Mac’s on Tuesday October 6th after the team returns from Sweden.
Strachan has switched his number to 33 for this season.
Darren Pang has found a place in downtown St. Louis and is settled in after moving to St. Louis about a month ago. Good to have Panger around who will fit in very nicely with the fans and the entire organization.
The Blues will be sending their radio team to Sweden to open up the season. Darren Pang will still be doing the color with Detroit play by play man Ken Daniels.
More to come,
Andy Strickland
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St Louis Blues Blogger •1380 ESPN • 
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