Sunday, Jul. 12, 2009

Blues camp scrimmage proves popular with fans

Davidson liked what he saw from young players

ST. LOUIS -- Fans began lining up at St. Louis Mills before 7 a.m. Saturday for an 11 a.m. pro orientation camp scrimmage featuring mostly St. Louis Blues prospects.

The Ice Zone was packed to the hilt and some fans were turned away, unable to get seats. To Blues President John Davidson, it shows the progress the team has made toward reconnecting with its fans during a rebuilding process.

"This was great, these people were special," said Davidson, whose players signed a lot of autographs and posed for a lot of pictures during the four days. "There were a lot of people that got up awfully early this morning to make the trip and stand in line and fill the place."

St. Louis Mills and Blues officials helped arrange some extra seating and standing room Saturday to squeeze in a few more fans. Davidson also got the big crowd involved by having the public address announcer ask them to sing "Happy Birthday" to a slightly embarrassed, but appreciative, Blues Hall of Fame defenseman Al MacInnis.

"This place was full all week and these fans were very respectful," Davidson said. "I love the fact there were a lot of kids here. We've tried hard to reconnect with our community here and we're getting where we need to be."

Davidson likes the camp's basic purpose, which is bringing in the team's prospects from around the world and all levels of hockey and uniting them in St. Louis for a week of intense training both on and off the ice.

"You want to set a road map up for the young players," Davidson said. "Some of them will become real, real high-end players and others won't. We gave them some guidance in a lot of different ways, from psychology of sport to nutrition, to working with (our strength coach), being good teammates, being respectful of an organization, the whole thing.

"We're thrilled with the way the week went."

Here are Davidson's thoughts on some of the team's top prospects:

Lars Eller: Eller missed the scrimmage game because he hasn't been cleared for full contact after undergoing offseason shoulder surgery.

But after watching the 13th overall pick in the 2007 draft fly around the rink with an effortless skating stride while firing off laser-like shots, Davidson was more than pleased with his performance.

"I'm sorry he couldn't play in the game because that was a great crowd," Davidson said. "They would have been ooohing and aaahing like they did for (T.J.) Oshie.

"He played in the Swedish Elite League last year and that's a huge accomplishment for his age. It's the No. 1 league in Sweden and he was coached by Ulf Dahlen, who was a really smart, two-way player in the NHL for a number of years.

"He's got great legs, very light, fast feet, instincts, a great shot, does everything quick. I'm real excited about where he is."

Alex Pietrangelo: Pietrangelo is hoping to begin the season with the Blues, but a lot depends on the health of defenseman Eric Brewer and any potential deals the team might make to add a veteran defenseman.

He picked up a wealth of experience last season after playing with the Blues, Niagara of the OHL, for Canada at the World Junior Championship and finishing up the year with the Blues' Peoria farm team.

"He's come a long way," Davidson said. "He's no longer the wide-eyed kid, he's kind of a veteran of this thing now. He's carried himself well, you can see how silky smooth he is with the puck. His body's gotten bigger and he's a little more intense in drills, things like that.

"That long year he had last season was beneficial, all the experience he gained. He's right on cue, he's getting it done.

Brett Ponich: The 6-foot-7 defenseman was the Blues' second round draft pick last month. It's clear he is still a work in progress, but he generated a lot of positive buzz from, front-office types and coaches at the camp.

"For a kid that we drafted in the second round, we know with the homework we've done on him, he has a chance to become a very good player," Davidson said. "But he's better than I thought he was going to be already. His street smarts, his hockey sense, he's got a little bit of an edge.

"He's just starting to grow and fill out."

Old rivalries never die

As a former All-American for the Fighting Sioux at the University of North Dakota, Blues forward T.J. Oshie tried to be friendly with former rivals like Erik Johnson and Jay Barriball from Minnesota and Notre Dame's Ian Cole.

"We haven't talked about the rivalry at all," Oshie said. "I heard with Cole, someone asked him to sign a Sioux jersey and he walked away. It's to be expected, I wouldn't be signing (Minnesota) Gopher stuff (either)."

Blues notes

Defenseman Erik Johnson and forward prospects Eller, Aaron Palushaj, Max Tardy and Anthony Nigro were held out of the scrimmage game because of injuries, recuperation from surgery or illness.

Contact reporter Norm Sanders at nsanders@bnd.com or 239-2454.