By Brian Weidler, "Game Time" Prospect Department
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME:
And no, I'm not going to tell you how old I am. I was around for the birth of the Blues in St. Louis, so that should give you some indication of my (advanced) age.
Here are a few of the more interesting people who share a birthday with your friendly neighborhood "Game Time" Prospect Department.
| Ginger Baker | Bill Clinton | Ian Gillan |
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| Born Aug. 19, 1939 | Born Aug. 19, 1946 | Born Aug. 19, 1945 |
| Drummer for British rock legends Cream. | 42nd President of the United States. | Lead singer for Deep Purple. |
In the hockey world, no one on the current Blues' roster shares my birthday, but the following NHLer's do: Buffalo goon Steve Ott (8-19-82); Edmonton goalie prospect Frans Tuohimaa (8-19-91); Taylor Pyatt of the Rangers (8-19-81), who's dad Nelson played for the Colorado Rockies when I was just a prospect Prospect Department; and Toronto defense prospect Tom Nilsson (8-19-93).
To celebrate the birthday of all these fine folks (and Steve Ott), I'm going to post the video of my favorite song of all time. This version is taken from my favorite animated motion picture of all time.
RIVS RELEASE 2012-13 SCHEDULE:
(LINK to story at rivermen.net)
The Peoria Rivermen and the American Hockey League (have) announced ... their 2012-13 regular season schedule. The 31st season of professional hockey in Peoria will begin on Oct. 12, when the Rivermen visit the Abbotsford Heat at 9:00 p.m. to kick off the new campaign.
Peoria's 2012-13 home opener will be Friday night, Oct. 19 against in-state rivals the Rockford IceHogs. That game will be the first of 12 games the Rivs will play against their rivals from two hours north, and Peoria will also see the Milwaukee Admirals and their hideous uniforms 12 times during their 2012-13 season.
Midwest Division foe and Illinois Lottery Cup rival the Chicago Wolves will face off ten times against the Rivs this season, and the newest member of the Midwest Division -- Detroit farmhands the Grand Rapids Griffins -- will also face off ten times against Peoria.
44 of Peoria's 76 games will be played within the Midwest Division, and the Rivermen will also host each of the other Western Conference clubs at least once during the 2012-13 season... with the exception, for the third year in a row, of the Rochester (NY) Americans.
If it was me making the schedule, I would play a balanced schedule where you face each division opponent 14 times (7 H, 7 A) for a total of 56 games, and each conference opponent twice (1 H, 1 A) for 20 more games and a grand total of 76 games in the season... but no one asked me.
(LINK to full Rivermen schedule at theahl.com)
SPEAKING OF THE RIVERMEN:
Under no circumstances do I claim to be an expert on contracts, or on what is and isn't allowed under a Collective Bargaining Agreement... but with a lockout a virtual certainty to start the season, does anyone know of any reason why the Blues should not load Peoria to the hilt with their young NHL-level talent?
I imagine there is some provision that would keep the Blues from sending young veterans like Oshie, Perron, or even Pietrangelo down... but why would they not be able to send Tarasenko, Schwartz, Shattenkirk and Sobotka down to start the season? Ian Cole and Evgeny Grachev are on the bubble anyway; send them down too.
Let the Rivermen get off to a monster start in the AHL season with all that talent, and when the owners and players finally come to their senses and decide to get the NHL season under way, Peoria will (hopefully) have a cushion upon which to build the rest of their AHL season with the guys who were going to be there all along.
( / GTPD steps off soapbox )
PROSPECT POLLING CONTINUES:
A pair of major junior teammates captured the most votes in this week's polling, so these two workhorses from out West will be slotted into the 13th and 14th spots in this summer's "Game Time" Prospect Poll.
See who this week's winners were, and vote for the coming week's top prospect, after the jump.
ST. LOUIS BLUES TOP 20 PROSPECTS (1 THRU 14):
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1. | Vladimir TARASENKO | |||||||||
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| RW, shoots L. 5' 11, 210 lbs. Born 12-31-91, Novosibirsk, RUS. | STL 2nd pick (16th overall) in 2010 Entry Draft. |  |
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| 2011-12 | Sibir/SKA (KHL) | 54 GP, 23-24-47, plus-18, 15 PM, 7 PPG, 0 SHG, 6 GWG. 0.870 Pts/Gm. | |||||||||
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2. | Jaden SCHWARTZ | |||||||||
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| LW, shoots L. 5' 10, 180 lbs. Born 06-25-92, Melfort, SK. | STL 1st pick (14th overall) in 2010 Entry Draft. |  |
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| 2011-12 | Colorado College (WCHA) | 30 GP, 15-26-41, plus-6, 18 PM, 5 PPG, 0 SHG, 4 GWG. 1.367 Pts/Gm. | |||||||||
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3. | Ty RATTIE | |||||||||
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| RW, shoots R. 5' 11, 170 lbs. Born 02-05-93, Airdrie, AB. | STL 1st pick (32nd overall) in 2011 Entry Draft. | |
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| 2011-12 | Portland (WHL) | 69 GP, 57-64-121, plus-23, 54 PM, 26 PPG, 4 SHG, 9 GWG. 1.754 Pts/Gm. | |||||||||
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4. | Ian COLE | |||||||||
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| D, shoots L. 6' 01, 225 lbs. Born 02-21-89, Ann Arbor, MI. | STL 2nd pick (18th overall) in 2007 Entry Draft. |  |
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| 2011-12 | St. Louis (NHL) | 26 GP, 1-5-6, plus-7, 22 PM, 0 PPG, 0 SHG, 0 GWG. 0.231 Pts/Gm. | |||||||||
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5. | Jake ALLEN | |||||||||
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| G, catches L. 6' 02, 195 lbs. Born 08-07-90, Fredericton, NB. | STL 3rd pick (34th overall) in 2008 Entry Draft. | |
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| 2011-12 | Peoria (AHL) | 37 GP, 2088 Mins, 99 GA, 1203 SA, 2.84 GAA, 13-19-2, 1 SO, 0.918 Sv %. | |||||||||
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6. | Philip McRAE | |||||||||
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| C, shoots L. 6' 02, 200 lbs. Born 03-15-90, Apple Valley, MN. | STL 2nd pick (33rd overall) in 2008 Entry Draft. | |
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| 2011-12 | Peoria (AHL) | 71 GP, 23-16-39, minus-10, 26 PM, 7 PPG, 0 SHG, 2 GWG. 0.549 Pts/Gm. | |||||||||
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7. | Cade FAIRCHILD | |||||||||
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| D, shoots L. 5' 11, 190 lbs. Born 01-15-89, Duluth, MN. | STL 7th pick (96th overall) in 2007 Entry Draft. | |
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| 2011-12 | Peoria (AHL) | 68 GP, 8-26-34, plus-26, 32 PM, 2 PPG, 0 SHG, 3 GWG. 0.500 Pts/Gm. | |||||||||
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8. | Jordan SCHMALTZ | |||||||||
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| D, shoots R. 6' 02, 189 lbs. Born 10-08-93, Verona, WI. | STL 1st pick (25th overall) in 2008 Entry Draft. | |
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| 2011-12 | Sioux City/Green Bay (USHL) | 55 GP, 10-31-41, plus-11, 29 PM, 5 PPG, 1 SHG, 2 GWG. 0.745 Pts/Gm. | |||||||||
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9. | Anthony NIGRO | |||||||||
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| C, shoots L. 6' 00, 189 lbs. Born 01-11-90, Toronto, ON. | STL 9th pick (155th overall) in 2008 Entry Draft. | |
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| 2011-12 | Peoria (AHL) | 75 GP, 13-12-25, plus-12, 36 PM, 2 PPG, 1 SHG, 1 GWG. 0.333 Pts/Gm. | |||||||||
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10. | Brett PONICH | |||||||||
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| D, shoots L. 6' 07, 225 lbs. Born 02-21-91, Edmonton, AB. | STL 2nd pick (48th overall) in 2009 Entry Draft. | |
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| 2011-12 | Peoria (AHL) | 61 GP, 0-5-5, even, 47 PM, 0 PPG, 0 SHG, 0 GWG. 0.082 Pts/Gm. | |||||||||
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11. | Jani HAKANPÄÄ | |||||||||
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| D, shoots L. 6' 4, 211 lbs. Born 03-31-92, Kirkkonummi, FIN. | STL 5th pick (104th overall) in 2010 Entry Draft. |  |
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| 2011-12 | Blues Espoo (FIN) | 41 GP, 5-7-12, plus-6, 30 PM, 1 PPG, 0 SHG, 0 GWG. 0.293 Pts/Gm. | |||||||||
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12. | Nick WALTERS | |||||||||
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| D, shoots L. 6' 02, 187 lbs. Born 04-11-94, Edmonton, AB. | STL 5th pick (106th overall) in 2012 Entry Draft. | |
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| 2011-12 | Everett (WHL) | 62 GP, 6-12-18, minus-27, 95 PM, 3 PPG, 0 SHG, 1 GWG. 0.290 Pts/Gm. | |||||||||
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13. | Cody BEACH | |||||||||
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| RW, shoots R. 6' 05, 190 lbs. Born 08-08-92, Nanaimo, BC. | STL 6th pick (134th overall) in 2010 Entry Draft. | |
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| 2011-12 | Moose Jaw (WHL) | 58 GP, 15-41-56, plus-12, 229 PM, 7 PPG, 0 SHG, 2 GWG. 0.966 Pts/Gm. | |||||||||
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14. | Joel EDMUNDSON | |||||||||
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| D, shoots L. 6' 04, 191 lbs. Born 06-28-93, Brandon, MB. | STL 2nd pick (46th overall) in 2011 Entry Draft. | |
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| 2011-12 | Moose Jaw (WHL) | 56 GP, 4-19-23, plus-13, 91 PM, 0 PPG, 0 SHG, 2 GWG. 0.411 Pts/Gm. | |||||||||