A few weeks in the past, TJ Friedmann, who grew up in South County and now performs NCAA hockey at Quinnipiac College in Connecticut, obtained an surprising telephone name. It was from Keith Tkachuk.
Tkachuk, who performed 9 seasons with the Blues and has the third-most objectives of any American-born participant, holds the title of director of participant recruiting for the workforce, and one in every of his jobs is to search out undrafted faculty gamers, like Friedman. Tkachuk was calling with an invite to take part within the Blues’ growth camp.
Friedmann’s response was speedy.
“About 10 seconds,” he mentioned. “It was a fast sure, for positive. I noticed it as an incredible expertise and I could not flip it down.”
Together with all of the draft picks, a few of whom will quickly be taking part in in occasions just like the junior worlds, and up to date faculty graduates who have been on the town for the Blues growth camp final week, there was one other constituency on the ice. . Six gamers who participated this week at Centene Group Ice Heart have been merchandise of St. Louis’ rising hockey group. For them, carrying a Blues jersey, even when it was only a observe jersey in July, was an enormous deal.
Individuals are additionally studying…
“It is particular,” Friedmann mentioned. “Rising up, you go to all of the video games, you see them, they’re just like the idols of the realm, they’re legends to you. So being a part of a small a part of the group right here at camp, it has been time, with the ability to get in, study a couple of issues right here and there between the off-ice video that they are doing with us after which the on-ice utility. It has been expertise for us.”
Together with Friedmann, who just like the others performed a few seasons of highschool hockey, in his case at CBC, earlier than starting the itinerant lifetime of a younger hockey participant in North America and taking part in juniors elsewhere 5 different locals have been there: goalie Jake Barczewski, from O’Fallon, Missouri, who now performs for Canisius; defenseman Christian Berger, who performed at SLU Excessive and is now at Penn State; goalie Jack Caruso, who additionally performed for the CBC and was a backup goalie for final season’s NCAA champions in Denver; Swansea ahead Garrett Dahm, who performed at Belleville Excessive and is now at Mercyhurst; and Ladue ahead Ryan Roth, who went to Chaminade and is now on the College of New Brunswick in Canada. All of them performed for the AAA Blues sooner or later, and Caruso and Dahm additionally performed for the Chesterfield Falcons.
“Once we have been in search of guys to herald,” mentioned Blues director of participant personnel Tim Taylor, whose tasks embody developmental camp, “we wish to hold the numbers small, however now there are such a lot of youngsters from St. Louis and I am studying. that there are such a lot of round, it is good to carry them as a result of that is what they love, the St. Louis Blues, proper? And they’re all superb gamers. It is good to carry them in and get them concerned and provides them a bit of style as effectively. And I feel it is nice for the group to try this. And it is good for these youngsters to get that have.”
The goalies, for instance, started working with each David Alexander, the workforce’s goalkeeping coach, and Dan Stewart, the group’s goalkeeping growth coach.
“There have been little particulars that we talked about,” Caruso mentioned, “pointers and ideas alongside the way in which. So I am stripping that away and taking within the greater image, taking in all of the expertise of what it takes at this stage, the place all of us wish to be. There’s lots you may get out of that.”
The St. Louis hockey group continues to be sufficiently small that when Friedmann heard about Tkachuk, he wasn’t completely blown away. Tkachuk and one other former Blues, Jeff Brown, had skilled Friedmann with the AAA Blues. Lots of the Blues who’ve stayed in St. Louis after their taking part in days have remained energetic within the sport.
Many members of the group know one another from coaching with Jeff LoVecchio at RIPT Hockey and skating collectively on the Maryville Hockey Facility in Chesterfield. If the six, who posed collectively for a gaggle photograph after the ultimate sport of camp, did not know one another personally earlier than camp, they actually knew one another’s names (and in a number of instances, performed with one in every of their brothers).
“St. Louis follows St. Louis very effectively,” Caruso mentioned. “If somebody within the St. Louis space does one thing huge, everybody appears to find out about it. Everyone knows or have heard of one another, so it was nice”.
It could have solely been 4 days for these gamers, however it was an expertise that may stick with them, particularly once they return to their faculty groups in a couple of months.
“Clearly it was an incredible and unforgettable expertise,” mentioned Caruso. “Not only for me however for all the youngsters in St. Louis. It is one thing that we’re very grateful to each (GM) Doug Armstrong and Tim Taylor for giving us the chance to return to camp and expertise and luxuriate in all week. … Simply to get a style of what it is wish to be round a day-to-day NHL scenario, and on prime of that, to be round guys and meet a few of them.”
“I grew up going to all of the Blues video games,” Friedmann mentioned. “I cherished coming over and seeing Keith Tkachuk, Al MacInnis, all these guys, Chris Pronger, all of the legends of previous. So it was a enjoyable expertise rising up, they actually helped develop the sport in St. Louis.
“It has been a variety of enjoyable, for positive.”