Compiled by Brian Weidler, "Game Time" Prospect Department
St. Louis Game Time PROSPECT SUNDAYS
The 2007 NHL Entry Draft will likely be remembered as the most productive single draft in the history of the St. Louis Blues.
Shrewd maneuvering by John Davidson and Larry Pleau put three first-round selections into the hands of Jarmo Kekalainen and his staff, and as of this week, all three of the first-round selections are playing pro hockey. David Perron (26th overall) was the first to make the jump in 2007-08, then Lars Eller (13th overall) started this season in Peoria, and has had a cup of coffee with the Blues as well.
The last of the 2007 first-rounders, defenseman Ian Cole (18th overall) opted this week to forego his senior year at Notre Dame, signed an entry-level contract, and has reported to Peoria... where he didn't take long at all to make his presence felt.
After making his pro debut on Friday night in a 4-3 road loss at Rockford, Cole said "hello" to the home fans in Peoria for the first time ever by tallying his first pro point - an assist on Cam Paddock's 11h goal of the season, 14 seconds into the third period. The Ann Arbor, MI native then followed up with his first pro goal at 16:39 of the third. His defense partner, veteran Nate Guenin, retrieved both pucks for Cole's collection, and the points helped the Rivermen to a 4-1 victory over Houston in a "must-win" game for Peoria's playoff chances.
In major junior, a pair of Ontario League defensemen played big roles in helping their clubs to first-round sweeps of their opponents.
2008 first-rounder (4th overall) Alex Pietrangelo chipped in a goal and seven helpers in the Barrie Colts' 4-0 sweep of the Sudbury Wolves in round one. The towering defenseman also racked up a plus-6 mark in four games for the Colts, who await the winner of the Kingston-Brampton series unless the Niagara Ice Dogs can come back from a 3-1 series deficit against forward prospect Anthony Nigro and the Ottawa 67's.
In the OHL's Western Conference playoffs, 2008 free-agent signee Mark Cundari and the top-seeded Windsor Spitfires launched their defense of the 2009 Memorial Cup by eliminating the Erie Otters and 2009 draftee David Shields in four straight. Cundari posted a 1-4-5 scoring line with a plus-2 mark and six penalty minutes in the four-game set, while fellow d-prospect Shields was held scoreless, posting a minus-4 and 12 PM in the series.
The arrival from the Chicago organization of goaltending prospect Joe Fallon seems to have lit a fire under the 6' 5 frame of Ben Bishop.
Fallon started strong with the Rivermen after coming over at the end of February in exchange for Hannu Toivonen, but has since faltered, posting an 0-2-0 record, 5.93 GAA, and 82.6% save percentage in 81 minutes of playing time this past week.
In the meantime, Bishop has picked up the slack and re-established himself as a front-runner for the title of "Goalie Of The Future" in the Blues' organization. In 156 minutes of playing time this week, Bishop allowed just three goals total on 60 shots for a 1.15 GAA and a 95.0% save percentage, picking up both of Peoria's wins this week against division-leading Chicago and the Houston Aeros.
In the Quebec League, Jake Allen and the Drummondville Voltigeurs swept the Lewiston MAINE-iacs out of the playoffs in four straight. For the week, Allen posted two wins, a 1.50 GAA and a 94.2% save percentage. His totals for the series are similar, with a 4-0-0 record, 1.50 GAA and 93.2% save percentage (6 GA on 88 shots).
Your Game Time weekly prospect statistics update after the jump...
ST. LOUIS BLUES 2009-10 REGULAR SEASON PROSPECT STATS as of 03-28-10 -- DEFENSEMEN/GOALTENDERS |
Lines with GREY backgrounds denote players above "prospect age" of 25 years. |
Lines with BLUE backgrounds indicate statistics for players in the NHL at any point in the 2009-10 season. |
Acq'd | Player | Ps/Sh | Ht | Wt | Birthdate | Birthplace | 2009-10 Club/League | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | PIM | PP | SH | GW |
5 (125) '08 | BERGLUND, Kristofer | D/L | 5-10 | 180 | 11-09-88 | Umea, SWE | Luleå HF (SEL) | 55 | 6 | 16 | 22 | + 1 | 22 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Trade '10 | BOYLE, Darryl | D/R | 6-01 | 200 | 02-24-87 | Sparwood, BC | Rockford (AHL) | 52 | 4 | 16 | 20 | - 3 | 29 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Peoria (AHL) | 13 | 2 | 4 | 6 | + 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |||||||
AHL Totals | 65 | 6 | 20 | 26 | + 1 | 31 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |||||||
1 (18) '07 | COLE, Ian | D/L | 6-01 | 211 | 01-18-89 | Ann Arbor, MI | Peoria (AHL) | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | + 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Notre Dame (CCHA) | 30 | 3 | 16 | 19 | -16 | 55 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |||||||
F/A '08 | CUNDARI, Mark | D/L | 5-10 | 200 | 04-23-90 | Toronto, ON | Windsor (OHL) | 63 | 8 | 46 | 54 | +45 | 139 | 3 | 0 | 2 |
4 (96) '07 | FAIRCHILD, Cade | D/L | 5-10 | 190 | 01-15-89 | Duluth, MN | Minnesota (WCHA) | 39 | 4 | 17 | 21 | - 5 | 36 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Trade '08 | FAST, T.J. | D/L | 6-01 | 190 | 09-02-87 | Calgary, AB | Peoria (AHL) | 17 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Alaska (ECHL) | 42 | 9 | 21 | 30 | -15 | 26 | 3 | 0 | 2 | |||||||
Trade '09 | GUENIN, Nate | D/R | 6-02 | 210 | 12-10-82 | Sewickley, PA | W-B/Scranton (AHL) | 41 | 3 | 2 | 5 | - 3 | 63 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Peoria (AHL) | 20 | 1 | 9 | 10 | +15 | 26 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |||||||
AHL Totals | 61 | 4 | 11 | 15 | +12 | 89 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |||||||
7 (184) '06 | HELLSTRÖM, Alex | D/R | 6-02 | 207 | 04-17-87 | Falun, SWE | Luleå HF (SEL) | 45 | 1 | 1 | 2 | -11 | 99 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
3 (64) '06 | JUNLAND, Jonas | D/L | 6-02 | 200 | 11-15-87 | Linköping, SWE | St. Louis (NHL) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Peoria (AHL) | 69 | 13 | 27 | 40 | + 9 | 49 | 10 | 0 | 1 | |||||||
1 (4) '08 | PIETRANGELO, Alex | D/R | 6-03 | 206 | 01-18-90 | King City, ON | St. Louis (NHL) | 9 | 1 | 1 | 2 | - 9 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Barrie (OHL) | 25 | 9 | 20 | 29 | +20 | 27 | 4 | 1 | 0 | |||||||
Canada (U20 WJ) | 6 | 3 | 9 | 12 | + 9 | 14 | 1 | 1 | 0 | |||||||
4 (48) '09 | PONICH, Brett | D/L | 6-06 | 205 | 02-22-91 | Edmonton, AB | Portland (WHL) | 66 | 1 | 13 | 14 | - 3 | 87 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
1 (17) '09 | RUNDBLAD, David | D/R | 6-02 | 190 | 10-08-90 | Lycksele, SWE | Skellefteå AIK (SEL) | 52 | 1 | 13 | 14 | + 4 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Sweden (U20 WJ) | 6 | 1 | 4 | 5 | + 9 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |||||||
6 (168) '09 | SHIELDS, David | D/R | 6-03 | 216 | 01-27-91 | Rochester, NY | Erie (OHL) | 68 | 7 | 12 | 19 | +10 | 42 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
F/A '08 | STRACHAN, Tyson | D/R | 6-03 | 225 | 10-20-84 | Melfort, SK | St. Louis (NHL) | 6 | 0 | 2 | 2 | + 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Peoria (AHL) | 59 | 3 | 20 | 23 | 0 | 71 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |||||||
4 (94) '06 | TUREK, Ryan | D/R | 6-00 | 185 | 09-22-87 | Southfield, MI | Alaska (ECHL) | 57 | 3 | 7 | 10 | - 4 | 85 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
4 (95) '08 | WARSOFSKY, David | D/L | 5-08 | 170 | 05-30-90 | Weymouth, MA | Boston Univ (HEA) | 34 | 12 | 11 | 23 | + 4 | 48 | 3 | 4 | 1 |
USA (U20 WJ) | 7 | 0 | 2 | 2 | + 5 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Acq'd | Player | Ps/Ct | Ht | Wt | Birthdate | Birthplace | 2009-10 Club/League | GP | Mins | GA | SO | GAA | W-L-OT | Shts | Sv % |
2 (34) '08 | ALLEN, Jake | G/L | 6-02 | 175 | 08-07-90 | Fredericton, NB | Montreal (QMJHL) | 23 | 1241 | 55 | 1 | 2.66 | 11-11-0 | 624 | 0.912 |
Drummondville (QMJHL) | 22 | 1271 | 37 | 3 | 1.75 | 18-3-0 | 550 | 0.933 | |||||||
QMJHL Totals | 45 | 2512 | 92 | 4 | 2.20 | 29-14-0 | 1174 | 0.922 | |||||||
Canada (U20 WJ) | 5 | 291 | 10 | 2 | 2.06 | 3-0-0 | 102 | 0.902 | |||||||
4 (106) '06 | BERRA, Reto | G/L | 6-04 | 189 | 01-03-87 | Bulach, SUI | EHC Biel (NL-A) | 8 | ... | ... | .. | 3.30 | ...... | ... | ... |
3 (85) '05 | BISHOP, Ben | G/L | 6-05 | 205 | 11-21-86 | Denver, CO | Peoria (AHL) | 43 | 2489 | 116 | 0 | 2.80 | 21-16-3 | 1164 | 0.900 |
Trade '10 | FALLON, Joe | G/L | 6-03 | 210 | 02-01-05 | Bemidji, MN | Rockford (AHL) | 29 | 1545 | 68 | 1 | 2.64 | 15-10-1 | 770 | 0.912 |
Peoria (AHL) | 8 | 410 | 23 | 0 | 3.37 | 3-5-0 | 223 | 0.897 | |||||||
AHL Totals | 37 | 1955 | 91 | 1 | 2.79 | 18-15-1 | 993 | 0.908 | |||||||
7 (185) '08 | KARPOWICH, Paul | G/L | 6-03 | 185 | 10-25-88 | Thunder Bay, ON | Clarkson (ECAC) | 31 | 1744 | 101 | 0 | 3.48 | 8-19-4 | 991 | 0.898 |