Friday, Jun. 26, 2009

Scouts play a key role for Kekalainen

They cover the globe evaluating hockey talent

There are hidden gems in every NHL draft, even in the first round.

However, there wasn't exactly an instantaneous roar when the Blues selected Minnesota prep star T.J. Oshie 24th overall in the 2005 draft.

Some teams wondered about his size and how he would hold up during the rigors of an 82-game season. But the Blues -- especially amateur scout Mike Antonovich -- were totally sold on Oshie's potential.

"When I first went to see him, Mike Antonovich was raving about him right from the start," said Jarmo Kekalainen, the Blues' assistant general manager and director of scouting. "I saw a player that worked extremely hard and had good skills, but I wasn't convinced from seeing him at the high school level he would be as good as some thought."

Oshie went on to become an All-American at the University of North Dakota, then spent all of last season with the Blues. He had 14 goals and 39 points in 57 games, but became an instant fan favorite because of his intensity and hard-charging style.

Antonovich's persistence finally paid off for Oshie and the Blues.

"He kept telling me, 'This guy's going to be great, this guy's one of the best high school players I've ever seen,''' Kekalainen said. "I kept going back and going back and finally I started seeing exactly what he was seeing, and that gave me the confidence to get him up there on the overall list."

Kekalainen said trusting his scouts in the field is one of the most important aspects of his job. Especially when they are entrusted with digging up information on players from all over the globe.

"You want the guy sticking to his guns," Kekalainen said. "The more I have confidence in those scouts, the easier it makes it for me to take their word when they go to bat for some player."

While Erik Johnson was the first overall pick in 2006, the Blues have enjoyed great success later in the first round with players like Oshie, David Perron (26th overall in 2007) and Patrik Berglund (25th overall in 2006).

"A lot of people passed on them for various reasons," Kekalainen said. "Oshie's was probably the size and the skating and Perron, there were some doubts about his work ethic or drive or whatever it was. (Blues scout) Bill Armstrong did a lot of homework on Perron's character and dug into his background really deep.

"We thought he was a good fit."

But like scouting directors in any professional sport, Kekalainen can't hit a home run with every first-rounder.

In 2003 the Blues selected defenseman Shawn Belle with the 30th overall pick. Belle had a lot of the things that make a successful player -- size, speed, skill -- but still hasn't earned a full-time NHL gig.

While still only 24, he's played in only nine NHL games and spent the past two seasons in the American Hockey League.

"There were some concerns about his hockey sense," Kekalainen said. "We looked deep into it and we thought it was fine. We took a little bit of a gamble on the physical ability we thought that he had, and for sure he has it. He's a tremendous athlete."

The Blues wound up trading Belle to Dallas for another former first-round pick, goalie Jason Bacashihua. Bacashihua had some good moments in St. Louis, but eventually was traded to Colorado and spent last season with Lake Erie of the AHL.