NHL

Training Camp is Under Way in St. Louis

September 15 marked day two of training camp for the St. Louis Blues. While it was open to the public many things were going on around the Enterprise Center to entice the fans in attendance. There were Hockey Sauce Kits set up as well as a giant Jenga game for fans of all ages. The fans got to take a look at many of the new gathering areas as part of the open house, as well as pick out season ticket plans, half season ticket plans, and 12-game ticket plans for the season. While all the events happening around the facility were great, we are going to focus on the main event, St. Louis Blues Training Camp.

Day Two

There were two groups for the camp today: Group A and B.

At 9:00am, Group B practiced followed by a scrimmage between the two groups. Following the scrimmage was a Group B shootout which lead to Group A’s practice.

Group B

Group B started the events with their practice. Things were moving well as the group did two-on-twos, three-on-twos, five-on-twos, then five-on-five. Many of the prospects looked strong today. Robert Thomas and Jordan Kryou both made a few mistakes but other than that the two were flying all day. Jordan Nolan danced around the defense early on showing off his slick skating and speed ability today. Ville Husso looked sharp in net as he stayed true to his positioning and great with the rebound control. Overall, today’s camp was exciting getting to see the ‘new kids’ skate with the NHLers.

During the shootout, each skater got one shot to score and make it to the next round. Robert Thomas, Colton Parayko were two of the four that made to round two. After only two rounds, Robert Thomas was the winner and the only skater to score two goals.

Scrimmage: Group A vs. Group B

Today’s scrimmage saw the St. Louis Blues play the St. Louis Blues… Obviously but the top two lines were split up and playing each other. Group B had the Maroon – O’Reilly – Tarasenko Line against Group A’s Schwartz – Schenn- Perron.

During the first of two periods, Alexander Steen scored a goal on a redirect from the shot of Joel Edmundson. In the second period, three goals were scored, one by Schwartz, one by Oskar Sundqvist and the final by Alexei Toropchenko. The final score was 4-0 in favor of Group A.

Group A

Group A looked good but not as good as Group B while practicing. There wasn’t really a huge highlight to take a look at during Group A’s camp. Schenn and Schwartz set each other up a few times. Chad Johnson did not really impress me today but I’m sure he will step up in the big moments.

It did seem like Group B had the bigger prospects while Group A had more of the NHLers. Also it looked like Group A was getting yelled at more by the coaching group. Overall both groups looked good and the coaches seemed happy with the way everyone looked.

Injuries

• Jake Allen will miss 10-14 days due to back spasms.
• Nikita Soshnikov is out with a concussion.
• Luke Opilka is injured and will miss time this season due to a hip injury.
• Erik Foley has a concussion and is will not be back for training camp.
• Tanner Kaspick is out with a rib injury.

Signings

• Jordan Schmaltz and the Blues have agreed to a two year deal worth $700,000 annually.

Releases

• Dmitri Sergeev was placed on termination waivers to terminate his contract. According to Jeremy Rutherford, Sergeev did not meet the conditioning standards set by management for the Blues.

Social Media

Follow Jared on Twitter @jared_pettus_00

Photo Credit

Photo courtesy of SportsInsights