Thursday, Jul. 09, 2009

Brewer still isn't back on the ice

Defenseman is recovering from a pair of surgeries

ST. LOUIS -- St. Louis Blues coach Andy Murray probably ached to get on the ice and begin blowing his whistle Wednesday, but he watched pro orientation camp from the stands alongside the team's front office staff.

One of the first questions for Murray concerned the progress being made by veteran defenseman Eric Brewer following two surgeries to repair a herniated disc and related nerve issues.

Brewer underwent surgery in December, then again in April after a piece of the damaged disc broke off.

"It's just coming along slow," said Murray, who spoke to Brewer 10 days ago. "He sees improvement, but it's slow."

Brewer still hasn't returned to the ice and his strength and mobility are not back to normal. Isn't that a concern with training camp just over two months away?

The Blues also chose not to re-sign veteran defenseman Jay McKee. Their six veteran defensemen right now are Brewer, Erik Johnson, Barret Jackman, Carlo Colaiacovo, Roman Polak and Mike Weaver, with rookie Alex Pietrangelo also pushing for a spot.

"I think it's slower than he would have liked to have seen it so far," Murray said. "There is some improvement, so it's encouraging. Really, none of our real veterans are doing any skating at all, so he's not missing anything by not skating right now."

Brewer had one goal and six points in 26 games along with a plus-minus rating of minus-14

Quick impressions

The hard, quick shot of former No. 1 pick Lars Eller was hard to miss Wednesday. So were the speed and skill demonstrated by 2008 second-round pick Philip McRae and the raw size of 6-foot, 7-inch defenseman and 2009 second-round pick Brett Ponich. Also tough to overlook were the size, skill and energy demonstrated by former No. 1 pick and University of Notre Dame defenseman Ian Cole.

The Blues have signed right winger Ian Schultz, their 2008 third-round pick. Schultz had 15 goals, 41 points and 127 penalty minutes in 58 games last season with Calgary of the WHL.

Metro-east connection

Tyler Elbrecht's hockey travels have taken him form his native Edwardsville to Alaska, Omaha and back to St. Louis.

On Wednesday, the 6-5 defenseman found himself at the Blues' pro orientation camp taking part in drills with 2006 No. 1 draft pick Erik Johnson and sharing a dressing room seat close to former No. 1 draft picks Eller and Cole.

"You definitely have to get out of the area to take hockey seriously," said Elbrecht, who was an all-star defenseman with the North American Hockey League champion St. Louis Bandits last season. "I've been everywhere from Alaska to Omaha to St. Louis. It's a good opportunity to come out here and prove what I can do, so I'll give it everything I have."

Elbrecht is the second metro-east player to join the Blues for their summer prospect camp. Former Miami (Ohio) University goalie Charlie Effinger from Belleville attended the Blues' camp last summer and wound up playing for the Gwinnett Gladiators and Trenton Devils of the East Coast Hockey League.

Elbrecht, who weighs 225 pounds, grew up playing roller hockey and didn't switch to ice hockey until age 12.

"Compared to a lot of guys playing ice hockey, I got on the edges a little late," said Elbrecht, who played Triple A hockey for former Blues defenseman Jeff Brown with the St. Louis Junior Blues.

Brown also coached the Bandits last season and was helping out at the camp Wednesday.