2007-2008 Blues Draft and Off-Season thread

[MrCrowesGarden]

So...now we've got two legitimate snipers (Stempniak and Kariya), two legitimate scoring power forwards (Tkachuk and Backes), and two legitimate playmakers (Weight and Boyes).

It's a good time to be a Blues fan.

[JCShutout]

So...now we've got two legitimate snipers (Stempniak and Kariya), two legitimate scoring power forwards (Tkachuk and Backes), and two legitimate playmakers (Weight and Boyes).

It's a good time to be a Blues fan.

Backes and Boyes aren't legit yet and Weighter is on the decline (but is still a top notch playmaker)... but yes, we have reason to be excited. We also have Ruchinsky and Cajanek (who is a really good third line player - and may finally get the chance to be a third line player again)... we could possibly roll out three solid-but-not-spectaculor scoring lines. You can compete with 3 scoring lines

[stlmark]

Is October almost here? I can't effin wait!

[MrCrowesGarden]

So...now we've got two legitimate snipers (Stempniak and Kariya), two legitimate scoring power forwards (Tkachuk and Backes), and two legitimate playmakers (Weight and Boyes).

It's a good time to be a Blues fan.

Backes and Boyes aren't legit yet and Weighter is on the decline (but is still a top notch playmaker)... but yes, we have reason to be excited. We also have Ruchinsky and Cajanek (who is a really good third line player - and may finally get the chance to be a third line player again)... we could possibly roll out three solid-but-not-spectaculor scoring lines. You can compete with 3 scoring lines

I'll give you Backes, but I disagree on Boyes.

[JCShutout]

So...now we've got two legitimate snipers (Stempniak and Kariya), two legitimate scoring power forwards (Tkachuk and Backes), and two legitimate playmakers (Weight and Boyes).

It's a good time to be a Blues fan.

Backes and Boyes aren't legit yet and Weighter is on the decline (but is still a top notch playmaker)... but yes, we have reason to be excited. We also have Ruchinsky and Cajanek (who is a really good third line player - and may finally get the chance to be a third line player again)... we could possibly roll out three solid-but-not-spectaculor scoring lines. You can compete with 3 scoring lines

I'll give you Backes, but I disagree on Boyes.

After two full seasons (with a 26 point regression in the 2nd one) I'm not ready to anoint Boyes as a legit performer yet (I include consistency)... but by that token, really, Stempy isn't legit yet ether. Even Jim Campbell and Eric Boguniecki had 20 goal seasons for the Note. <knocks on wood>

[Leroy]

Um, we got Kariya?

If you are joking I will be angry.

[ThreeAces]

Um, we got Kariya?

If you are joking I will be angry.

No joking going on here. Martin Kariya is indeed a Blue.

Paul too.

[JCShutout]

Over on http://www.checkingline.com (A really great Blues blog), the blogger was recapping an interview with Dave Checketts post kariya signing. This quote gave me hope:

Bernie and Randy also asked Checketts how season ticket sales have spiked since news of the Kariya and Keith Tkachuk signings broke, and Checketts said that the upper bowl is nearly sold out and that 350 of the prime, high-priced seats have been sold since those signings took place last weekend. It also seems as if corporate support is on the rise and given the quality of the current roster and the team’s unquestioned ability to compete for a playoff berth in 2007-08, we can safely say that it won’t be long before the Scottrade Center is consistently filled like it was from 1995-2004.

Management has stepped up signing Kariya (and going 4 million over our budget) despite back to back lowest ticket sales in the league. Its our job now to step up and buy tickets to thank them for their Kariya investment. The die hards have the upper bowl almost completely locked up, c'mon corporations!

[JohnnyJay]

Over on http://www.checkingline.com (A really great Blues blog), the blogger was recapping an interview with Dave Checketts post kariya signing. This quote gave me hope:

Bernie and Randy also asked Checketts how season ticket sales have spiked since news of the Kariya and Keith Tkachuk signings broke, and Checketts said that the upper bowl is nearly sold out and that 350 of the prime, high-priced seats have been sold since those signings took place last weekend. It also seems as if corporate support is on the rise and given the quality of the current roster and the team’s unquestioned ability to compete for a playoff berth in 2007-08, we can safely say that it won’t be long before the Scottrade Center is consistently filled like it was from 1995-2004.

Management has stepped up signing Kariya (and going 4 million over our budget) despite back to back lowest ticket sales in the league. Its our job now to step up and buy tickets to thank them for their Kariya investment. The die hards have the upper bowl almost completely locked up, c'mon corporations!

QFT JC!

I want to see hockey in this town bounce back like it was the way I grew up on. Remember when Hullie was up and coming in the early 90's? I'm more excited right now than I was back then when I was only 12 or 13. JD is a no BS representation of the organization right now.

[ThreeAces]

Interview with EJ on the Blues website:

Q. How does signing your first professional contract compare with draft day?
A. “It’s awesome. It’s similar in a way, too, because it’s kind of like the same hyped up deal in the media. It’s great, it’s a lot of fun, and I’m really excited about everything.”

Q. What’s your biggest highlight of your brief college career?
A. “There was a lot of fun stuff this year. We won the regular season championship, we won a playoff championship, that was great. Getting some individual awards was nice. But the team stuff is nice. We hung two banners out of three, so that was the biggest thing and obviously the most fun.”

Q. How much are you looking forward to putting on a Blues jersey in the fall?
A. “I’m really excited. I put on a blue one at the draft, I put on a white one (on signing day), I wonder if they’ll give me a green one on opening day. But this is great. I can’t wait to do it.”

Q. How much did you follow the Stanley Cup playoffs?
A. “I followed them really close. I loved watching Pittsburgh. They’re just a fun team to watch. They’ve got Crosby, Malkin, Fleury and Staal. They were my favorite team to watch in the playoffs.”

Q. What summer vacation plans do you have before you get your pro career started?
A. “I’m going to go to LA with my advisors and Jonathan Toews and Jack Johnson and some guys to train. I’ll do stuff there. Maybe take a little family trip, but it’s going to be a big training summer for me and getting as physically and mentally ready for the grind of a pro schedule.”

Q. Speaking of training, what kind of training will you do to prepare for a career in NHL?
A. “Right now, I’ve been on the skating treadmill, which is just artificial ice with a treadmill. I’ve been doing that at Minnesota. It gets me in great shape. I’ve been doing a lot of leg stuff. Legs are the most important, and that’s something I want to improve on.”

Q. Will we find you in any major league baseball parks this summer?
A. “I haven’t been to a Twins game yet. I’ll be really excited when they get a new outdoor stadium because I don’t like indoor baseball. But I did go to a Cardinals game over the summer. It was really hot.”

http://blues.nhl.com/team/app/?service= ... eid=331638