Sunday, Jul. 12, 2009

McRae and Oshie shine in scrimmage; lead their Gold squad to 5-3 victory

ST. LOUIS -- With two goals Saturday, center prospect Philip McRae was the scoring star of the St. Louis Blues' Blue-Gold pro orientation camp scrimmage.

But the obvious dominant player was Blues forward T.J. Oshie, McRae's linemate who showed the team's prospects the kind of talent and work ethic it takes to compete in the NHL.

Oshie got a huge pregame ovation from the overflow crowd of 1,500 at St. Louis Mills. Those fans paid close attention each time he was on the ice as he sliced and diced his way through players who one day hope to get where he is.

"Pretty much I was just trying to get him the puck and go to the net," McRae said. "One time I think he dangled the whole team and I just got his empty-net rebound and banked it in.

"It was a great experience getting to play with a guy like that."

McRae and Oshie, who had two assists and scored a snazzy goal during the shootout, helped lead the Gold squad to a 5-3 victory over the Blue squad.

Oshie is only four years older than the 19-year-old McRae, but spent the week acting as a sort of big brother to McRae and many other prospects.

"It was awesome," McRae said. "He's already one of the better players in the league, so you just try to listen to him and learn as much as you can from him.

"It's nice seeing young guys on (the Blues) like that. It lets other young guys like myself, (Brett) Sonne and (Alex) Pietrangelo, guys like that, (know) that you could be on this team soon, too."

Oshie and Blues defenseman Erik Johnson enjoyed the experience of being a mentor to players like McRae.

"I talked to him quite a bit and hung out with him at the hotel," Oshie said. "The kid's got a shot and he can score goals. He's got a knack for it -- and you can see that he wants to score."

Oshie also noticed an aspect of McRae's play that others might have not, especially in a typical camp setting where players are away from familiar linemates on their own teams.

"He was talking quite a bit," Oshie said. "Two times around the net I found him just by hearing him and not even seeing him."

McRae was the Blues' second-round pick last season, and enjoyed a breakout season with London in the Ontario Hockey League with 18 goals and 46 points in 66 games.

He grew up a Blues fan in St. Louis as the son of former Blues winger Basil McRae, who was an enforcer known more for delivering punches instead of offense.

"Basil's hands were used for different reasons, obviously," Blues President John Davidson said. "He's (Philip McRae) around the puck and he's got a great shot. He's got an NHL shot already.

"It was nice to see Philip get some scoring done out there. He always seems to when we get into these types of games."

McRae's father also was his youth coach. The younger McRae credited his father for helping cultivate the skills that made him one of the top forwards in the 2008 draft.

"It's funny because he wasn't much of a goal scorer or anything, he was more of an enforcer," Philip McRae said. "But he coached me my whole way up and was really big on skills. He did all the stickhandling and skill work, so it really is him that taught me my hands.

"People just don't think it because that's not the kind of game he played. It was all him."

Two other forwards that stood out in the scrimmage from the Blue team were Sonne and James Livingston. Livingston scored his team's lone goal before the shootout, while Sonne created several great scoring chances for himself and his teammates.

Also noteworthy was an between-the-legs move used by winger Jack Combs to score during the shootout.