By Brian Weidler, "Game Time" Prospect Department
PROSPECT PROMOTIONS / DEMOTIONS:
2010-12-13: Adam Cracknell (RW), called up to St. Louis (NHL) from Peoria (AHL)
2010-12-13: Chris Porter (LW), called up to St. Louis (NHL) from Peoria (AHL)
2010-12-13: Dave Scatchard (C), called up to St. Louis (NHL) from Peoria (AHL)
2010-12-16: Andrew Carroll (C), signed to PTO from Greenville (ECHL) by Peoria (AHL)
2010-12-16: Marc-Antoine Desnoyers (D), signed to PTO from Elmira (ECHL) by Peoria (AHL)
2010-12-16: Nikita Nikitin (D), called up to St. Louis (NHL) from Peoria (AHL)
2010-12-17: Adam Cracknell (RW), returned from St. Louis (NHL) to Peoria (AHL)
2010-12-18: Marc-Antoine Desnoyers (D), released from PTO by Peoria (AHL)
2010-12-18: Nikita Nikitin (D), returned from St. Louis (NHL) to Peoria (AHL)
2010-12-18: Todd Perry (D), signed to PTO from Reading (ECHL) by Peoria (AHL)
PROSPECT TRADES:
None to report this week.
WORLD JUNIOR SELECTION:
The past week was a notable one for two Blues prospects, as they were each named to their country's final roster for the World Junior Championship scheduled to begin Christmas Week in Buffalo, NY.
Jaden Schwartz (shown at left in Team Canada livery) and Sebastian Wännström (Sweden) were both named to a WJC roster for the first time in their careers.
Schwartz and Team Canada are headquartered in Toronto over the next week (LINK to WJC coverage at tsn dot ca) leading up to the tournament after Christmas. The 5-10, 180-pound native of Melfort, Saskatechewan, was drafted 14th overall by the Blues in 2010, and has been dominant as a freshman at Colorado College (WCHA) this season. In 17 games with the Tigers, Schwartz has an 11-15-26 scoring line with an even plus-minus, 20 PM, five power-play tallies and two game-winners.
Wännström and his Småkronorna teammates will be training in Niagara Falls, Ontario, over the next week leading up to the World Juniors (LINK). The 6-01, 187-pound forward, drafted 44th overall by the Blues in 2010, has played most of the season to date with his hometown IF Brynäs Gavle club of the Elitserien, where he has a pair of assists in limited ice time over 26 games. Last year's leading scorer in the J20 Superelit with Brynäs has also skated in five games at the junior level this season, with five goals and seven points.
Two other players drafted by the Blues in 2010 are also in the mix to represent their countries at the World Juniors.
First-round selection Vladimir Tarasenko (17th overall) is training with Team Russia, and is considered to be a virtual "lock" for their squad. Fourth-rounder Jani Hakanpää (104th overall) survived the first two cuts for Team Finland, and has traveled with the squad to Canada. The Finns will play a series of exhibition games over the next week, with one more cut at forward and defense scheduled to occur on Dec. 23.
AFTER THE JUMP:
The Featured Prospect Of The Week this week is rookie forward Stefan Della Rovere. Developing as both an agitator and a scorer, Della Rovere made his NHL debut earlier this month. Get a look at what SDR brings to the table, as well as this week's "Fab Five" of players in the organization who are "Trending Up." The Peoria Rivermen continue to roll along in the AHL, and they're getting contributions from players who were expected to chip in... but the Rivs also got a boost this week from a more unexpected source. Stay tuned...
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FEATURED PROSPECT OF THE WEEK:
The Game Time Featured Prospect of the week for Dec. 19, 2010 is rookie forward Stefan Della Rovere.
The "McKeens Hockey" prospect website had this to say about Della Rovere in February 2009:
A surprise invite to Canada's WJC, he played an instrumental role on the fourth line giving the team much-needed size and strength .. was effective when he was not taking penalties, which occurred often as he still needs to learn to curb his aggression at times .. a tall upright skater with good straight-ahead speed .. is a big freight train once he gets moving and is difficult to stop .. he has a nice glide to his game and uses it well to cover the ice .. often coming back and playing all 200 feet of ice, he leads by example and wears the 'C' as a result .. bullies his way into the zone and his balance and overall footwork have improved for him to get into traffic areas, fend off players and get his shot off .. has a decent shot which is heavy .. Della Rovere's career has been all about surprises, as he originally went to the draft to accompany his friends and found himself getting drafted himself .. he beat out many other players to earn a spot on Team Canada and earned a gold medal for his efforts .. this type of determination bodes well for his NHL playing chances, as he has marked considerable improvement since coming into the league..
In the featured video of the week, we see Della Rovere lay a big hit on Washington's Tom Poti during SDR's brief cup of coffee with the Blues earlier this month.
"Rover" established himself as a leader and a character player in his junior career with Barrie of the OHL, where he skated last season alongside current NHLers Alex Pietrangelo and Alexander Burmistrov. Serving as Barrie's captain, Della Rovere helped lead the Colts deep into the OHL playoffs last year before finally falling to eventual OHL and Memorial Cup champions Mark Cundari and the Windsor Spitfires.
| Jake ALLEN | Nick DRAZENOVIC | Paul KARPOWICH | Philip McRAE | Anthony PELUSO |
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| Peoria (AHL) | Peoria (AHL) | Clarkson Univ. (ECAC) | Peoria (AHL) | Peoria (AHL) |
| ** 2 games played this week | ** 2 games played this week | ** 1 game played this week | ** 2 games played this week | ** 2 games played this week |
| ** 120 mins, 3 GA, 2-0-0 | ** 0 G, 3 A, plus-2 | ** 60 mins, 2 GA, 1-0-0 | ** 1 G, 2 A, plus-2 | ** 2 G, 0 A, plus-1 |
| ** 1.50 GAA, 94.4% sv pct | ** 2 PM, 0 PP, 0 SH, 0 GW | ** 2.00 GAA, 93.1% sv pct | ** 0 PM, 0 PP, 0 SH, 0 GW | ** 5 PM, 0 PP, 0 SH, 0 GW |