After the jump, the most current and complete set of Blues' prospect scoring, penalty, and goaltending statistics available anywhere in one place on the 'Net.

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By Brian Weidler, "Game Time" Prospect Department

THE REGULARS:

Portland Winterhawks' forward Ty Rattie was cold as ice this week, posting just one assist in two games played. Despite the cold streak, however, Rattie continues to lead the Western Hockey league in scoring.

Over in Mother Russia, SKA St. Petersburg's Vladimir Tarasenko also experienced a bit of a chill this week. Tarasenko scored only one regulation goal in three games, but did score the only goal in a shootout vs. Yugra on Feb. 3 to give SKA a win.

The Blues' other 2010 first-round pick, Colorado College sophomore Jaden Schwartz, picked up much of the slack that the other two premier prospects left. Schwartz score the game-winning goal on the popwer play in a 2-0 shutout win over arch-rival Denver University on Feb. 3, and tallied a late goal to help put CC back into the second game of the two-game set on Saturday before the Tigers and Pioneers skated to a 2-all tie.

AFTER THE JUMP:

After the jump, your weekly look at the players in the Blues' organization who are "Trending Up." The organization's goaltenders hogged the spotlight this week, as every goalie in the organization except Jake Allen (who did not play this week) below the NHL finds himself in the "Fab Five" or on Honorable Mention this week. Also, a new face makes his "Trending Up" debut for this season; will he also be a new face in Peoria later this season for the Rivs' playoff push? Stay tuned...

Ty RATTIE	Jaden SCHWARTZ	Vladimir TARASENKO
Portland (WHL)	Colorado College (WCHA)	SKA St. Petersburg (KHL)
** 2 games played this week	** 2 games played this week	** 3 games played this week
** 0 G, 1 A, even	** 2 G, 1 A, plus-2	** 1 G, 0 A, plus-1
** 0 PM, 0 PP, 0 SH, 0 GW	** 0 PM, 1 PP, 0 SH, 1 GW	** 0 PM, 0 PP, 0 SH, 0 GW

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By Brian Weidler, "Game Time" Prospect Department

BISHOP, RIVERMEN COME BACK STRONG FROM AHL ALL-STAR BREAK:

All three AHL ASG participants have solid weeks as Rivs win a pair of division games.

Ben Bishop began his week by taking the Top Goaltender and MVP awards at the 2012 AHL All-Star Game, and finished it off with a pair of outstanding performances against division rivals to keep the Peoria Rivermen solidly in the hunt for an AHL playoff berth.

On Friday, Feb. 3, Bishop turned aside 24 of 26 shots by the Milwaukee Admirals to help lead Peoria to a 4-2 win, and the following night, against their arch-rival Chicago, Bishop and the Rivermen ended the Wolves' four-game win streak with a 4-1 win.

But it wasn't just Bishop who followed up a solid All-Star performance with a good week as the Rivermen returned to regular-season play and the AHL playoff chase. Veteran forward TJ Hensick, who scored a late goal in the third period of the All-Star Game and a shootout goal that sealed the West's 8-7 comeback win, chipped in three assists in Peoria's pair of wins over the weekend to remain among the league scoring leaders.

And rookie defenseman Cade Fairchild continued his memorable rookie pro year. After being honored with a starting assignment in the All-Star Game, where he chipped in an assist, Fairchild contributed another assist during the Rivs' two wins this weekend. Fairchild also was a plus-3 for the weekend, adding to his league-leading plus-24 total.

Veterans up front helped power the Rivs to their two wins on Friday and Saturday. Derek Nesbitt scored twice this week, including the game winner on Saturday against Chicago. Brett Sterling chipped in a goal and an assist, while Adam Cracknell scored twice and added a helper, and former NHL 50-goal man Jonathan Cheechoo had a four-point week with three goals (two vs. Milwaukee, including the game winner) and an assist.

Cheechoo and Cracknell were both plus-5 for the week, while Fairchild and Ian Cole led the defensemen with plus-3 marks.

BLUES MAY BE SHOPPING BISHOP, BUT THEY WON'T SELL HIM CHEAP:

The Blues aren't saying what their plans are with Ben Bishop, per Doug Armstrong in this article in the Peoria Journal Star by Rivs' beat writer Dave Eminian... but if the Blues do intend to trade Bishop, the potential return gets better and better with every passing day.

Bishop's All-Star performance earned him the Top Goaltender award in the Skills Competition and MVP of the All-Star Game, and his performance this week will only raise his stock as the Blues explore their options with the pending free agent.

Bishop's two wins this week give him an AHL-leading 20 wins for the season, and his six shutouts also lead the league. His current goals-against average of 2.30 is seventh in the league (and he has played at least 200 more minutes than anyone ahead of him in that category), and his save percentage of 92.8% is tied for second in the league with Dov Grumet-Moris of the San Antonio Rampage, who has faced just over half as many shots (583) as Bishop has seen (1008) so far this year.

THE WEEK IN REVIEW:

Peoria 4 at Milwaukee 2, Friday, Feb. 3, 2012.

Peoria 4 at Chicago 1, Saturday, Feb. 4, 2012.

THE WEEK AHEAD:

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Friday, February 10, 2012 ... Game Time 7:00 PM CST at Carver Arena, Peoria, IL. NHL Affiliate: Colorado Avalanche.

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Saturday, February 11, 2012 ... Game Time 7:00 PM CST at Carver Arena, Peoria IL. NHL Affiliate: Carolina Hurricanes.

RIVERMEN NEWS LINKS:

02/03/12 -- Cheechoo nets pair as Rivermen rally past Admirals, 4-2 (Peoria Journal Star).

02/04/12 -- Rivermen beat back the Wolves (Peoria Journal-Star).

By Brian Weidler, "Game Time" Prospect Department

PROSPECT PROMOTIONS / DEMOTIONS:

01-29-12 -- F Chris Porter returned to St. Louis (NHL) from conditioning assignment to Peoria (AHL).

PROSPECT TRADES:

None to report this week.

PLAYERS ON SICK CALL:

02-04-12 -- F Philip McRae (Peoria/AHL) out indefinitely with facial injuries. (LINK).

01-09-12 -- F Jay Barriball and D Jake Gannon (Peoria/AHL) remain on IR with concussions. (LINK).

01-08-12 -- C Jori Lehtrera (Sibir Novosibirsk/KHL) out for the season with a broken leg. (LINK).

PLAYERS RETURNED TO DUTY:

02-03-12 -- F Tyler Shattock (Peoria/AHL) returned from upper body injury.

02-03-12 -- D Brock Beukeboom (Niagara/OHL) returned from unspecified injury.

PLAYERS ON SUSPENSION:

None to report this week.

LEGACY PLAYER ON GTPD RADAR FOR 2012 DRAFT:

He's not a member of the Blues' system -- yet -- but "legacy" player Timothe Bozon is definitely a guy that we here at the Game Time Prospect Department have on our radar for the 2012 NHL Entry draft... and we feel strongly that the Blues should have him on theirs, too.

Bozon is the son of Philippe Bozon, who picked up 16 goals and 41 points in 144 NHL games with the Blues in the early 90's. Timothe was born in St. Louis during papa Philippe's most productive NHL season in 1993-94, grew up in Switzerland, plays for France in international tournaments like the 2011 U-18 Division I World Junior Championships, and is currently scoring at better than a point-per-game clip for the WHL's Kamloops Blazers.

Bozon's scoring exploits earned him a berth in the annual CHL Top Prospects Game, which was played this year in Kelowna, BC, just down the road from Bozon's present home base of Kamloops.

We found some video of the Skills Competition, in which Bozon participated, on the WHL website; sorry, no direct link, but click HERE for the video, and fast-forward to the 2:55 mark to see Bozon's amazing stickwork and balance on a scoring attempt in the Showdown Breakaway event.

Bozon will also stickhandle in more conventional fashion at 3:24 of the video, and score after some nifty fakes right at the top of the crease.

This is a solid all-round player with evident puckhandling skills, and the word is that he's pretty good on faceoffs as well. Bozon was ranked 39th in North America by Central Scouting at midterm, and will likely climb up a bit for the final rankings if he continues on his current pace. This currently looks like about as solid a second-round pick as the Blues could make.

St. Louis is home to the Blues, both the hockey club and that uniquely American style of music that draws on the sorrows and pain of everyday life.

This song is not, strictly speaking, a blues tune... but it is an original written and performed by one of the greatest blues-inspired bands of the British Invasion era, which featured at various times three of the greatest blues-inspired rock guitarists ever to pick a string.

Plus, the lyrics of this song are reflective of a man with the blues, and reflective of how your GTPD is feeling right now and has been feeling for quite some time.

The band is The Yardbirds, the guitarists in this particular performance are Eric "Slowhand" Clapton and Jeff Beck, and the song is "Heart Full Of Soul," which goes out to someone who has been seen here at the Game Time site from time to time...

Check it out.

Rush also does a pretty nifty cover of this particular tune.

If you're interested in the blues, check out "Those Lowdown Blues" on the 'Net every Sunday night from 7 to midnight (St. Louis time). Your Game Time Prospect Department heartily endorses this program.

FEATURES THIS WEEK:

RIVER READINGS

Ben Bishop and the Rivermen come back strong from the AHL All-Star break to post two big wins over division opponents. Details at 2:00 PM Central Time.

TRENDING UP

Goaltenders dominate the "Fab Five" for this week, taking three spots and an honorable mention; Jake Allen is the odd man out. Details at 3:00 PM Central Time.

WEEKLY PROSPECT STATISTICS REVIEW

The most complete weekly source of Blues' prospect scoring and goaltending stats available anywhere in one place on the Internet. Details at 4:00 PM Central Time.

After the jump, the most current and complete set of Blues' prospect scoring, penalty, and goaltending statistics available anywhere in one place on the 'Net.

Continue reading this post »

By Brian Weidler, "Game Time" Prospect Department

THE REGULARS:

Portland Winterhawks' forward Ty Rattie continues to lead the Western Hockey league in scoring with a 42-44-86 scoring line in 48 games. His 42 goals are second in the league behind the 44 in 44 games scored by 2011 Anaheim first-rounder Emerson Etem of the Medicine Hat Tigers, and his 44 assists place him 11th in the 'Dub in that category. His two-way play is worrisome, however, as he is a minus-7 in his last five games, and a minus-6 for the month of January.

Vladimir Tarasenko's first goal with SKA St. Petersburg was just a small part of the story for the Blues' 2010 first-round selection. Tarasenko struck for a hat trick in SKA's 8-3 win over Torpedo Nizhniy Novogord on Thursday, giving him four points in two games for the week and moving him back to the brink of that point-per-game standard with 43 points (21 G, 22 A) in 44 games.

The Blues' other 2010 first-round pick, Colorado College sophomore Jaden Schwartz, enjoyed a mid-season weekend off along with his team, as the Tigers were not scheduled to play this week.

AFTER THE JUMP:

After the jump, your weekly look at the players in the Blues' organization who are "Trending Up." Defense is in the spotlight this week, as three of this week's Fab Five are blueliners, and one is a goaltender. Stay tuned...

Ty RATTIE	Jaden SCHWARTZ	Vladimir TARASENKO
Portland (WHL)	Colorado College (WCHA)	SKA St. Petersburg (KHL)
** 4 games played this week	** 0 games played this week	** 2 games played this week
** 0 G, 5 A, minus-4	** 0 G, 0 A	** 3 G, 1 A, plus-4
** 4 PM, 0 PP, 0 SH, 0 GW	** 0 PM, 0 PP, 0 SH, 0 GW	** 0 PM, 0 PP, 0 SH, 1 GW

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By Brian Weidler, "Game Time" Prospect Department

TWO STEPS FORWARD, ONE STEP BACK:

Rivermen continue to tread water in AHL playoff race.

Two wins in three games this week helped move the Rivermen back into the AHL's Western Conference playoff race, but they continued to lose ground to the division leaders.

A 6-3 win on Tuesday afternoon over Milwaukee was followed up with a solid 4-2 win over Grand Rapids on Friday night, but a 5-3 loss to the Griffins on Saturday, coupled with the Chicago Wolves' third straight road win on Friday, left the Rivermen five points out of second place in the Midwest Division as the AHL All-Star Break looms this week.

According to Rivs' beat writer Dave Emenian, there was Blues' brass aplenty in attendance Saturday night, including Doug Armstrong and Director of Player development Tim Taylor. None of them could have been any too pleased with Allen's performance, and especially not with the goal he gave up to Fabian Brunnstrom on the play that starts at 0:21 of the video below:

At the very least, Allen's sophomore slump is making it harder for Armstrong to pull the trigger on a Ben Bishop trade. If "Jake The Snake" cannot put the team on his back and carry it successfully without Bishop to fall back on -- and if Saturday's game is any indication, that's not an option at this point -- Armstrong has got to know that trading Bishop means the end of Peoria's playoff pursuit, and the Blues are counting on a Peoria playoff run to fuel the development of players like Allen, as well as Philip McRae, Tyler Shattock, Anthony Nigro, Stefan Della Rovere, Mark Cundari and others.

STONE COLE BELIEVER:

Per Dave Eminian, it's possible that defenseman Ian Cole could be staying in Peoria for a while, but don't think that he's not aware of his place in the organization's present -- and it's future.

"I was talking to some buddies back home, and they said 'Don't you want to get traded, be somewhere you can play right now?'" Cole said. "I told them no way. I believe I could play in a top six defense unit every night for some other NHL teams. But I look at what is happening in St. Louis, a young team rising fast — and that's where I want to be. The Blues are going to be a top team in the NHL for a very long time, and I want to be a part of it."

THE WEEK IN REVIEW:

Peoria 6 vs. Milwaukee 3, Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2012.

Peoria 4 vs. Grand Rapids 2, Friday, Jan. 27, 2012.

Peoria 3 vs. Grand Rapids 5, Saturday, Jan. 28, 2012.

THE WEEK AHEAD:

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Friday, February 3, 2012 ... Game Time 7:00 PM CST at Bradley Center, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. NHL Affiliate: Nashville Predators.

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Saturday, February 4, 2012 ... Game Time 7:00 PM CST at Allstate Arena, Rosemont, Illinois. NHL Affiliate: Vancouver Canucks.

RIVERMEN NEWS LINKS:

01/24/12 -- Rivermen delight 7,082 area students with 6-3 win (Peoria Journal Star).

01/27/12 -- Blues assignees Porter, Cole lead Rivermen past Griffins Peoria Journal Star).

01/28/12 -- Rivermen fade in 3rd, lose 5-3 to Griffins (Peoria Journal Star).

By Brian Weidler, "Game Time" Prospect Department

PROSPECT PROMOTIONS / DEMOTIONS:

01-24-12 -- D Ian Cole assigned to Peoria (AHL) by St. Louis (NHL). (LINK).

01-25-12 -- F Chris Porter assigned to Peoria (AHL) on two-game conditioning assignment by St. Louis (NHL). (LINK).

PROSPECT TRADES:

None to report this week.

PLAYERS ON SICK CALL:

01-21-12 -- F's Tyler Shattock and Stefan Della Rovere (Peoria/AHL) out indefinitely with upper body injuries. (LINK).

01-09-12 -- F Jay Barriball and D Jake Gannon (Peoria/AHL) remain on IR with concussions. (LINK).

01-08-12 -- C Jori Lehtrera (Sibir Novosibirsk/KHL) out for the season with a broken leg. (LINK).

PLAYERS RETURNED TO DUTY:

01-23-12 -- F Ryan Tesink (Saint John/QMJHL) returned from knee injury after missing eight weeks.

01-24-12 -- F's Stefan Della Rovere and Philip McRae (Peoria/AHL) returned from upper body injury.

.

PLAYERS ON SUSPENSION:

None to report this week.

AND NOW, FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT:

In the last couple of weeks, Game Time readers have scooped me twice with Vladimir Tarasenko videos. While we think it's great that folks are paying more attention to the Blues' prospects -- and we like to think here at Prospect HQ West that our coverage has significantly raised awareness of the Blues' prospects -- we're experiencing a shortage of fresh prospect video to feature here.

So, we have a request... we do not want to put the kibosh on Fan Shots, and we encourage all Game Time readers to post whatever prospect videos they can find, if they are so inclined. Please, please, however, also drop us an e-mail (tomorrows.blues@gmail.com) with links to whatever videos you find. That way, if you don't post them, we can.

And now, as the headline reads, for something completely different. This week, instead of reposting a video that many of you have already seen (or can see by clicking HERE and following the link), we're going to post some of our random observations and opinions on various Blues' prospects. This differs from the normal presentation of "straight" news, and hopefully will stimulate some discussion on these prospects.

ITEM: Paul Karpowich. The Blues' seventh-round pick (185th overall) has been carrying the Clarkson University Golden Knights on his 6' 2, 185-pound back all season long... and the weight may finally be wearing him down.

Karpowich has started 26 of Clarkson's 28 games this year, and has garnered all of their points (all 12 wins and all five ties) in a 12-11-5 season; fellow senior Richie LeVeau and Islanders' draftee Cody Rosen have played a total of two games between them, both losses, and the pair has a combined GAA/save percentage of 5.04/84.1%.

Karpowich also has all five of Clarkson's shutouts this year, but has not posted one since the week ending Dec. 3, 2011. In calendar year 2012, Karpowich has played six games, and his goals-against average has gone up from 1.98 on New Year's Day to 2.21 now, while his save percentage has shrunk by ten percentage points (93.8% to the current 92.8%).

Those are still the best GAA and save percentage of any goalie in the system, outside the NHL, and Karpwoich's ability to carry a mediocre team all season and post great individual numbers bides well for his immediate future in Peoria after Clarkson's season ends. "Jake The Snake" Allen has faltered in his second pro season, and with a trade of Peoria starter Ben Bishop looming, Karpowich may well be the guy to ride in on a white horse -- as a Golden Knight should -- and carry the Rivermen into the AHL playoffs.

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