(9-21-15) BLUES NOTEBOOK

Ott, Pietrangelo tangle; Schwartz, Fabbri trying new positions; Ewen mourned

By LOU KORAC
ST. LOUIS -- Steve Ott could only joke about it. 

It's training camp and that's why some tempers get fully blown, but in this case with Ott and defenseman Alex Pietrangelo, there was a little bit of heat but more in the playful manner.

During a scrimmage Sunday morning, Ott and Pietrangelo got involved in a bit of a tangle after Pietrangelo slashed the stick out of Ott's hands. 

Ott went to the Blues' defenseman and tried knocking his stick out of his hands to make it an even battle on the ice during the scrimmage.

"That's all fun," Ott said. "I'm going to play hard against him, he's going to play hard against me, especially training camp. He's the type of guy that can embarrass me pretty quickly with his good hands. I'm going to play him hard just like he would do to me."

Ott looked like he tried to playfully get his teammate to drop the gloves.

"We thought about having a friendly fight out there and then I figured if something happened, I'll tell you who the guy that's going to be getting in trouble, and it's not him," Ott joked. "So I thought it was a good idea to let's just hang out."

The play started before Pietrangelo knocked Ott's stick out of his hands.

Apparently, Ott laid a check on Pietrangelo, which prompted the next series of events.

"Yeah, I think you missed the play before when he was laying on the ice from a little body check," Ott joked. "It was all good. It's all fun, good stuff. Veteran on veteran stuff."

* Schwartz, Fabbri trying new roles -- Robby Fabbri is a center by trade, but when he came to training camp a season ago, he was experimenting playing on left wing.

Coach Ken Hitchcock is doing it again with the Blues' 2014 first-round pick this year, too.

But Hitchcock is also getting a look at Jaden Schwartz, a left wing by trade, but looking at him at center.

Schwartz has been centering a line with David Backes on right wing and Fabbri on the left and looking quite comfortable doing so.

"It's really good," Hitchcock said of Schwartz playing the middle. "It's quickness, speed, tempo through the middle of the ice, playmaking ability. Looking more and more comfortable every time he goes out on the ice."

As for Fabbri, the Blues are trying to simplify as much as they can for him.

"We prefer him on the wing right now," Hitchcock said of Fabbri. "There's less responsibility so he can just go out and play."

* Mourning loss of Todd Ewen -- Former Blue Todd Ewen, who played 124 games for the Blues from 1986-90, died Saturday. He was 49.

Ewen was drafted by the Edmonton Oilers in 1984 but was traded to the Blues for Shawn Evans in 1986 before the Blues traded him to the Montreal Canadiens in 1990. He won a Stanley Cup in 1993 with the Canadiens.

Ewen, one of the tougher enforcers during his 11-year playing career, lived in St. Louis, coached and was a member of the Blues' alumni.

"We are deeply saddened by the passing of former Blue Todd Ewen," Blues owner Tom Stillman said in a statement Sunday. "Todd was an outstanding individual who called St. Louis home and continued to devote much of his time to the game he loved. On behalf of the entire St. Louis Blues organization, our thoughts and prayers are with the Ewen family during this most difficult time."

* Injury update -- Goalie Jake Allen was back on the ice Sunday after experiencing back spasms Saturday and was removed for precautionary reasons.

Forwards Ryan Reaves and Yannick Veilleux, injured after a Veilleux hit on Reaves during Friday practice, did not skate for a second straight day.

"We expect Reaves and Veilleux to skate in some form tomorrow," Hitchcock said after Sunday skates. 

Robert Bortuzzo, who was limited Saturday, took part in practice but was removed for the scrimmage portion.

"I'm not sure," Hitchcock said of Bortuzzo's removal. "There was really a coaches call on that. He went through the whole day yesterday and I don't know if they just pulled him out for the scrimmage part. It's still kind of him working on it with (head trainer) Ray (Barile) right now."

Q & A with Carl Gunnarsson

Blues defenseman hopes injuries behind him, looking forward to healthy season

By LOU KORAC
ST. LOUIS -- Defenseman Carl Gunnarsson is currently taking part in his second training camp in preparation for his second season with the Blues.

Gunnarsson, who dealt with a hip injury to begin last season along with a concussion, is healthy and eager to prove his worth to a franchise and fan base expecting big things. He talked recently at the team's practice facility at the Ice Zone about feeling 100 percent, the disappointment of last season's ending and other topics here:

Carl Gunnarsson

What are your thoughts on a second camp with the Blues?
Personally, I think this is fun. I have a good feeling about this. I think for me coming in and feeling healthy and all that, it's a huge part. A couple additions, it feels good. We've been skating for a couple days (before camp) and I think everyone's excited for camp.

As a team, how do things feel now?
A couple new guys on here, I think they fit right in. It's going to be nice this year. Everyone's excited. I think everyone's got a good feeling here.

With how last season ended, are you surprised there are as many parts to last year's team as there is?
Maybe you see more changes, but I think management has big belief in the coaches and the group. A couple twitches here and there bringing a couple new guys in here like they did or changes to something in the game, so we'll see. I think everyone's got the same (mindset) as last year, both in the group and the coaching staff.

The fact that you're healthy, is that a big difference for you coming in as opposed to last year?
It feels so good. No matter if it's before the season or during the season, when you're injured, you're a little bit on the side doing your own thing trying to get back. Now you're one of the guys in the group and it's easier. I'm looking forward to playing some games to really get going too, get some exhibition games before really the hard stuff here.

How does putting Petteri Lindbohm and Robert Bortuzzo into the group on a regular basis change things on the blue line and what does it do losing veteran guys?
It's tough to lose 'Jax.' As a player and as a guy in the room. It seems like this always happens. A veteran has got a routine, he knows what it's about. Losing guys like that, it happens all the time. You've just got to find your place, step it up, they get their chance, who knows what they're going to bring. It might be instant success, it might take a little while to get into the group. You've just got to learn to deal with it. It's going to be a little bit different from last year, but those guys have played before. It's not going to be a problem.

What does playing more reckless mean to a defenseman in Ken Hitchcock's system?
We'll see what he says in camp here. We'll probably have a couple meetings about it. We'll figure out what we can do differently because we don't want something like last year happening again.

The fact that you're healthy, how much more do you feel you can bring to the table?
A lot. Just now out here skating around, I have no issues. I don't have to think about injuries or anything. Just play my game and be confident about it. It feels good. Last year was a lot of ups and downs. Hopefully, I can stay on the upside of that from the get-go here.

Did you reflect much on how last season ended or quickly turn the page?
You have to (reflect on it). At first, it's kind of tough; you don't want to think about it. It's all negative, negative, negative. After a couple weeks, you start thinking back, 'Alright, what can we do, what can I do, how can I help the team?' Then after a couple weeks, you've got to turn the page and then you move forward and you look forward to the next season. You can't linger on what (happened) last season or the last couple seasons. It's now that matters and moving forward here what we can do.

(9-20-15) BLUES NOTEBOOK

Stastny returns, still awaiting birth of child; 3 on 3 getting 

long looks; injury updates on Allen, Reaves, Bortuzzo, Lehtera

By LOU KORAC
ST. LOUIS -- Paul Stastny was back on the ice for the Blues Saturday morning for the second day of camp.

Life on the ice was back to normal. Life off the ice is still in a holding pattern.

As of early Saturday afternoon, Stastny's phone didn't ring; no text messages blowing up the screen. It's only a matter of time.

Stastny and wife Haley are awaiting for the birth of their daughter, which has had the families on hold now the past few days in anticipation of the couple's first child.

But the Blues' center, who missed Friday to be with his wife, was back at it Saturday waiting patiently for a phone call, or if time allowed, to get back to his wife after practice.

"No news yet," Stastny said. "So helpless ... you can't even help. I think in that position, everyone knows the mom takes all the pain. I think in the next, probably 36 hours, she'll definitely be here.

"We tried a process yesterday and (doctors) didn't want to force too much. Not too much was happening, so there was a better idea that most likely it won't be until tomorrow afternoon. But if anything, I think like anything, everyone knows if something does happen, it'll still take a couple hours after that. So between sessions, I'm checking my phone. No news, so I guess the one time, no news is good news."

* 3 on 3 getting plenty of work -- On the ice, Stastny wasted little time pairing with Alexander Steen and Vladimir Tarasenko, and the trio would eventually play together in the 3 on 3 session and score the scrimmage-ending goal.

"It's fun," Stastny said. "We're confident out there because I'm comfortable playing the back end or Steener's comfortable playing the back end. If you do give up something, you give up a 3 on 2. If you have three one-way forwards, then I think it's tough to put three forwards out there. If you put a couple two-way forwards and one dynamic forward, I think you can take that chance. It's all trial and error for now, but I think I liked it."

Defenseman Alex Pietrangelo was one of the players on the ice going against the trio. He teamed up with Scott Gomez and Troy Brouwer.

"It's not easy. It's a challenge," Pietrangelo said with a wide grin. "I think you make sure you stay tight, don't give them too many opportunities, keep them to the outside, hope that they make a mistake ... I don't know."

Coach Ken Hitchcock calls the 3 on 3 a challenge for not only coaches but players, too.

"There's a lot of strategy. There's a lot of chemistry (and) continuity that needs to take place because there just seem to be so many scoring chances, so many errors, so many little mistakes that end up being odd-man rushes," Hitchcock said. "Lots of planning. You can see guys planning on the bench. You can see lines that are combinations that can be very dangerous. You're looking at little things like when to change, when to give it back to the goalie, all kinds of stuff. It's just amazing when you take one player off the ice. The difference in the 4 on 4 to 3 on 3 game is just amazing to me.

"... The eye-opener for me is that the scoring chances aren't there in the in-zone play; they're all on odd-man rushes. You're looking for teams that can capitalize and have great instincts to know when they catch people. It just seems when you make a little angling mistakes and the next thing you know, it's an odd-man rush and it's in your net. It's going to be fun for the fans because it's back and forth, up and down, no rest. You see this stuff and there might be one whistle in the five minutes and it's how do you get your players on and off the ice, how you control your changes because you're adding on long change here, too."

Make no bones about it, the players would rather see games end with competition between two teams on the ice; not a skills challenge.

"This is more exciting," Stastny said. "There's more offense and it shortens the game up. Sometimes a shootout's good, but then they do the dry scrape and it takes a little time before the shootout gets going. This is more hockey. It's constant action and constant entertainment.

"Some guys don't mind the shootout. You'd rather do a breakaway with someone on you with less thinking. Plus I think it's more reactionary compared to if you have a shootout. It's almost like golf; you're thinking too much a little bit. It's just you and no one else." 

"It's great for the game," Pietrangelo said. "Some guys are going to have five, six, seven more goals than they had last year. It's great for the game. It's fun to watch."

* Focused observer -- Hitchcock sat up above at Scottrade Center and was a non-participant on the ice, using Saturday more as an evaluation rather than hands-on strategy.

"I don't put a lot of stock in the scrimmages right now," he said. "I put a lot of stock in the stuff that's going on in the practices. I thought it was really good. Yesterday was a tempo day. A lot of the things that we did today, I use the term reckless play, but today was a big part of what we're going to do gap-wise defensively. This was a tough day if you were trying to carry a puck, because you had people in your face, there was no room on the ice during the practices. This is the type of stuff that we want guys to do and it's going to take some time to get used to playing this way. It's going to make us better as a team because it's going to make us include all five guys om the ice, it's going to create more turnovers for us, it's going to create a team that's much harder to play against. But we're going to have to do these type of practices at least four or five more times before we get used to playing at this type of level."

* Injury update -- Goalie Jake Allen left prior to scrimmaging in the second group of the day Saturday with what Hitchcock called back spasms. Right wing Ryan Reaves and Vannick Veilleux (lower-body injuries) were involved in an on-ice collision Friday and sat out Saturday's session. Both are day to day.

"He had back spasms and we opted to just pull him out for today rather than keep him in there," Hitchcock said of Allen. "His back was a little bit sore, so we pulled him out.

"(Reaves) and Veilleux got hurt on the same play. Both guys are day to day. We'll see tomorrow if they come back in or not, but they both got hurt on the same play."

Defenseman Robert Bortuzzo, a limited participant Friday, was on board full-bore on Saturday and took in double duty by practicing in both sessions.

"Bortuzzo joined both sessions today, so he's back in, not only practicing but scrimmaging," Hitchcock said.

It is presumed Bortuzzo is dealing with an upper-body injury; not the same as at the end of last season, and Hitchcock said, "This one's different. Similar but different. We've monitored it, and today was the first day he was a full participant. He was a partial participant before, but today was the first day he was a full participant, which is a good sign.

"All these guys are kind of just day to day. ... The only guy we don't have a time frame on is (Jori) Lehtera. This is the fourth day he skated very aggressively. Until he joins us, we won't know the exact time frame on him, but the other guys are just day today."

St. Louis Blues 2015-16 Training Camp Lineup

TEAM A

Magnus Paajarvi-Paul Stastny-Vladimir Tarasenko

Alexander Steen-Scott Gomez-Troy Brouwer

Steve Ott-Ivan Barbashev-Jordan Caron

Jeremy Welsh-Justin Hodgman-Danny Kristo

Spencer Asuchak-Evan Trupp-Jacob Doty

Zach Pochiro-Ryan Tesink-Adam Musil

Petteri Lindbohm-Alex Pietrangelo

Jay Bouwmeester-Colton Parayko

Chris Butler-Peter Harrold

Stu Bickel-Konrad Abelthauser

Brian Elliott/Jordan Binnington/Luke Opilka

TEAM B

Robby Fabbri-Jaden Schwartz-David Backes

Dmitrij Jaskin-Kyle Brodziak-Ty Rattie

Scottie Upshall-Pat Cannone-Ryan Reaves

Vannick Veilleux-Zach O'Brien-Cody Beach

Liam Dunda-Jaedon Descheneau-Eriah Hayes

Samuel Blais-Glenn Gawdin-C.J. Yakimowicz

Joel Edmundson-Kevin Shattenkirk

Andre Benoit-Robert Bortuzzo

Carl Gunnarsson-Jordan Schmaltz

Vince Dunn-Thomas Vannelli

Jake Allen/Pheonix Copley/Niklas Lundstrom

OUT: Jori Lehtera (ankle), Patrik Berglund (shoulder), Dmitrii Sergeev (undisclosed)

Gomez, Upshall to give Blues something to consider

NHL veterans in camp on professional tryouts want to make it a difficult decision;

Stastny misses opening day; notes on Fabbri, Brouwer, Brodziak, Lehtera 

By LOU KORAC
ST. LOUIS -- Scott Gomez has been around the NHL long enough to know there are no guarantees.

But never in his previous 15 seasons has the 35-year-old veteran gone into an NHL training camp without a contract in hand.

But for Gomez, like many other NHL veterans heading into the 2015-16 season, he's faced with the possibility that he'll have to earn a contract through a professional tryout.

If Gomez were to land a job with the Blues this season, it would be his fifth in five seasons. That doesn't matter to Gomez though.

(New Jersey Devils photo)

Scott Gomez (pictured) hopes to land a contract with the Blues this season.

He's in camp on a professional tryout.

He landed a spot to compete for a job in St. Louis after putting up 27 assists and 34 points in 57 games with the New Jersey Devils last season.

"It is what it is," Gomez said after his first on-ice session at Blues training camp. "There's a lot of guys in this situation. No matter if you've got a contract or not, you've got to make them keep you and that's always been the bottom line."

The Blues have left wing Scottie Upshall (with Florida last season) and defenseman Stu Bickel (Minnesota) here in PTO's. Defensemen Andre Benoit (Buffalo) and Peter Harrold (New Jersey) signed one-year, two-way contracts and are in search of jobs at the NHL level.

Blues coach Ken Hitchcock said both Gomez and Upshall bring different elements to the table that can make them appealing to the Blues.

"He's a puck-control guy," Hitchcock said of Gomez. "He's a guy that can speed it up, slow it down, control, find quiet ice. That's what he's got to do. He's an old-school centerman. He's a throwback to where every team had two of those guys on your team. That position has changed, but I think because of his smarts, his hockey sense, he's still able to find the quiet ice and make plays off of that. He's smart, and that's what he's got to do, is play his game. His game is different. That position has changed, but there's still players like Scott that are still effective. If he can play the way he normally can play and keep up to the pace, I think he's going to give it a real go here.

"Upshall for me, he was as advertised today. High energy, really hard player, fast, in your face. That's a good fit for the way we want to play. He had a good first day today."

Gomez had his pick of where he could go for a tryout, but having the familiarity with assistant general manager Martin Brodeur and the fact that the Blues are one of the upper echelon teams in the Western Conference made this an appealing destination.

"Obviously a lot. I talked to Marty," Gomez said. "It's a well-balanced team and obviously Marty, the relationship we have, I talked to him a lot. This is the best opportunity for myself and the Blues and I trust Marty and always have. All you can ask from any guy is a fair shake and this is where I want to be and I know I can help this club out.

"... I think the talent, the group of individuals and the coaching staff. You look up and down their lineup, it's a great team. It's right there right on the verge and I want to be a part of that. I did my homework and it's a great club. When they called, I definitely was excited. It's my job to make them keep me. That's been my idea every training camp ever since I was a rookie."

But it's not to say Gomez hinged on every word of Brodeur's.

"No. He can say jump off a bridge ... I don't know if I'd be doing that," Gomez joked. "We all know the game. Obviously Marty's position, he's come a long way and I know the history we've had. We talked. I had concerns, I had questions. I've always trusted him and that's what you want to hear. In the past, I've gone to certain situations where they might say something, it's probably not going to be what happened. I doubt that here. Like I  said, I know how to play the game and I know how to help the team out."

With the Blues' injury situation of Patrik Berglund (shoulder) sidelined until January and Jori Lehtera (ankle) in question for the opening of the regular season, there appears to be a legitimate spot and chance for Gomez to crack the lineup. 

And after a bit of a points resurgence with the Devils last season (he had 38 points combined the previous three seasons), Gomez feels he can help the Blues in any role given.

(Florida Panthers photo)

Scottie Upshall (front) is the kind of player that Blues

coach Ken Hitchcock calls "a good fit."

"I've felt great every year," Gomez said. "It's a situation where I went back to the basics. Obviously I got the opportunity. I never forgot how to play hockey, I've always had legs and hands. I was just put in a different situation last year. I'm probably not the best grinder or fourth-line checker there is, but last year, they put me in a situation ... I still know how to pass the puck, I still can play. I never lost the ability to pass. It wasn't a shock to me. A different opportunity presented itself and that's the way I can play.

"I know my strengths and I know my weaknesses. I'm not the best fourth line (player), I can go up and down and check a guy, but if you put me in a situation where I can pass the puck and set someone up to score, yeah I know how to do that. Last year playing for Adam Oates, it taught me aspects of the game that I never had. It took some things out of my game and added (others). That was last year, but I think the mentality every year is you've got to go in and earn a spot. That's where I want to be."

* NOTES -- Center Paul Stastny missed the opening of camp for what Hitchcock called "personal time." Stastny's wife Haley is expected to deliver the couple's first child any day now, and Hitchcock said he wasn't sure when Stastny would be back. "We're not sure. We're hoping he's back tomorrow. It's personal time for him and we're hoping he's back tomorrow." Stastny is listed as the center for camp between Magnus Paajarvi and Vladimir Tarasenko. Alexander Steen, who is supposed to be skating with Gomez and newcomer Troy Brouwer, skated between Paajarvi and Tarasenko on Friday.

... Robby Fabbri, the Blues' first round pick in 2014, played on left wing with Jaden Schwartz at center and David Backes on the right wing in Group B. Of Fabbri when asked to compare him to last year, Hitchcock said, "He's better than he was last year, a lot better. A lot stronger, a lot more comfortable. He was a good player today."

... Lehtera, who is recovering from ankle surgery in August, is getting closer to a return to the ice after another day of skating Friday. "Two or  three he's skated, did real well," Hitchcock said of Lehtera. "We'll just see day to day here moving forward when he joins us."

... Speaking of Brouwer and another newcomer, Kyle Brodziak, Hitchcock said, "They were good. This is all new to them. It's not just do drills, it's new teammates, it's new surroundings. I thought they were a little conservative at the start and then really got going. They both showed when the puck was dropped and then they scrimmaged, I think a lot of the drill stuff, they're just trying to figure out their place on the team. I think as you see them get into Day 4 and get into exhibition games, you're going to really see them show up. Big bodies, strong on the puck and hopefully learning their way here."

Q & A with Ken Hitchcock

The Blues' coach talks different approach to training camp, looking back or 

moving forward, coaching 3 on 3 overtime, chances PTO players make team

By LOU KORAC
HAZELWOOD, Mo. -- Blues coach Ken Hitchcock returns for his fifth season with the organization after signing a one-year extension in May.

Hitchcock has helped the Blues to regular season success (100-plus points in each of his three full seasons here; there was the 48-game lockout season too) but has only one playoff series victory in four years to show for those great seasons.

He talks about changing the way he approaches year No. 5, what his plans are as training camp opens Friday; what kind of style the Blues will implement; chances that Scott Gomez, Scottie Upshall and/or the remaining NHL veterans brought in on PTO's and one-year, two-way contracts have of making the team and a host of other questions looming:

Blues coach Ken Hitchcock

What's the thought of you not being on the ice at the start of camp?
I don't think that you can, with what we're going to do, with as much as we're going to scrimmage, I don't think you can evaluate close to the ice. It's hard. It's like coaching. By sitting in the stands, it's like looking at the game through video. I'm going to get a better read on players, on chemistry, on things that I need to get a read on moving forward. That's No. 1 for me. If we were just running practices, this would be different, but because we're scrimmaging, I need to be able to observe what we're doing. Every day gets themed, so whatever we worked on the first session, the scrimmage part of that will be put in place. We want to see some of that stuff in the scrimmage, the stuff that we work on the first 50 minutes when we're on the ice. I'd like to see it from a little higher up. Second part is, I've got lots of time during the second phase. I just think the first week of camp is an evaluation phase. I need to get a good read on some of the players that we're just learning about and things like that. I can do that from further up. I'm looking forward to it.

So are you going to have more scrimmages?
Yes. More scrimmages and more game-like situations; just more competition. We want to see ... there's some openings here and we want to see who can look like they've got a chance to take some of these spots because with the injury to Berglund and where we're at, there's some openings and I want to see who can take some of those jobs.

Are drills something more you've emphasized more in the past and you want to get to the scrimmaging aspect of things now more?
This is the first time we've had four complete practices in four complete days before we've played a game. This is pretty significant to have that many days of having nothing but practice before you play your first exhibition game, so there's an extended time to work on things. We spent the summer as a coaching staff, each guy had a specific area for us to get better in. Each guy had a study session on areas that we want to get better in so they provided video, they provided drills to back up the video, they provided practice sessions to back up the video. Why not let them run it? They did all the work during the summer. Each guy were all given specific tasks on elements of our game that we wanted to improve. We want to put those four major areas of improvement in place the first four days, one per day. Each coach was given that task to do it, so why not let them run the whole thing? And that's why we decided to go. The specific area of Day 1 is mine, Day 2 is Brad's, Day 3 is Ray's and Day 4 of Kirk, and each coach was given that element back in June, late June and he worked at it all summer; not only in getting video to back it up but getting drills and practice plans in place to put it in place for the season.

What are you working on?
Mine is just set the tempo. A lot of mine is just straight tempo, try to get the skating and execution as high as we can on the first day. It's not overly competitive, but it has a strong element of execution in it.

How much will coaching 3 on 3 as opposed to 4 on 4 be different?
Well 4 on 4 was, the more you played 4 on 4, your scoring chances happened in reverse of what you thought it was when we first went to 4 on 4. We thought, 'Put out your best four players and see where it goes,' but what happened was, it seemed like the players that were checking players ended up getting all the scoring chance whereas 3 on 3 is going to be a lot of flow, a lot of odd-man rushes, a lot of taking advantage of little errors. The more you practice 3 on 3, the better you're going to be. I'm curious to see ... we're going to spend a lot of time on it because it looks like it's going to be significant in the ending of games, so I want to know who's going to be good at it, but more important, I want to know how many players I can play, how much rest is a guy going to need before he can go back out there again, who looks like a player that can really take advantage of the situation, how much do you include your goalies. There's all kinds of stuff that's just kind of fun to experiment with and work with. ... Three on three is really a place for smart players, players that can really read situations. The players for me that are successful are really the ones that are smart players.

When you remove two guys off the ice as in a 4 on 4 situation, there's so much real estate on the ice ...
Yeah, but it's everything. When you change, how you change, where players come off the ice, what do you do with the goalie, where does he take advantage of situations, all kinds of stuff. It'll be fun to be able to hopefully end more games with competition.

What are you looking for from players like Gomez, Upshall, etc?
I look at it, anybody that played in the National Hockey League last year, if they're coming into tryout, whether they're a tryout player, professional tryout player or a player like Harrold or like Benoit who happened to sign a two-way deal, out of respect for those players, we want to give them every chance to make the hockey club. That's what we're going to do. They're going to have to earn along the way, but we're going to give them every opportunity ... we're going to treat them like they're signed players. We're going to treat them like they come in, they make the team, we find a way to make room for them. ... We want to give them a fair shake every day, first by who we play them with, secondly by how many games we play them and if they continue to play well, then we continue to move them up the ladder.

Has your thought process changed regarding your center position depending on when you get Lentera back and what happens when Berglund returns?
Lehtera's going to be back in plenty of time to play hockey for the regular season, so I'm not concerned about that at all. There's 25 players who are going to miss the first few days of training camp; he's just one of them. Berglund's surgery, because of when it happened, it's never good, but because it happened before training camp, before the regular season, we've already gone into adjustment phase. We know who is going to fight for that spot. It meant we moved a guy like Fabbri from the center ice position over to the wall because that's where an opening is. We moved Jaskin over there, we moved Rattie over there. We know now where the competition's at. That's why Upshall is here. The players that come from that competition, it's in place now and we'll be ready for it. When Bergy comes back, it's like getting a free good player back. By it happening now, we've been able to adjust and we're ready for it.

How much time will Lehtera need conditioning-wise, etc?
He's doing fine. He'll be fine.

The way you're going to conduct camp, have you ever done anything like this?
I've never stepped back off the ice because quite frankly, it's always been two practices and play a game, so having four days is different for me. I was looking back on it; it's been five years since I've had this many days in a row before playing a game. I haven't stepped off the ice, but I haven't scrimmaged as much either. Even when we were scrimmaging, I was still behind the bench standing there with my skates on watching the scrimmage but not getting a great evaluation. This way, I get four days of really good evaluation. I get to evaluate the things that the coaches have worked on and to me, it's good to have a different voice. These are experienced coaches and I think it's good for the players and good for them, to give them an opportunity to run their own practice. We're all going to have an input on the practice, we've all had input on the practice on what we want to see, but this gives them an opportunity to run their drills that are specific to the areas of improvement. You'll be able to see in the drills what areas we're focused on and that on a daily basis.

So is this more dictated by the schedule rather than the way last season ended or changes made to personnel?
It's dictated by the schedule, but it's dictated by us getting better. When you don't reach your goal, everybody's got to get better. So this is our first chance to get better. This is for us coaches. We're first out of the box. We were the guys that were here in August. The players are doing their thing. They're training and everything, but we're first out of the box; we're the ones running the drill. This gives us an opportunity to get better. And by getting really specific on areas of improvement and really focused on that, the first obligation is, 'What do we need to do to get better?' We drew up specific area of our game; this needs to get better, and then we really drilled down deep on that stuff. But it's all with the aspect of, 'What do we need to do to get better before we even ask anything of the players?' Before we ask and demand of the players, we need to look in the mirror ourselves. What elements of our game are we responsible for that need to get better? That's what we've done and we want to put it in place in training camp.

Do you want the players coming into camp this year with a chip on their shoulder after last season's playoffs or turn the page and focus on task at hand because of the difficulty of getting points?
My opinion is when you sit and think about the past, you do yourself no good. If you learn from the past, that's when you do yourself a whole bunch of good. We want to learn from what happened, which is why we're doing the things we've done in training camp. We've learned and we want to put it in place, but we want to focus on Game 1 and Game 1 of a very important season. But it's like learn, and now move on. And the moving on means getting better and not running and hiding. I've said this before: we own both records. We own the record in the regular season and we own the record in the playoffs, so let's learn from it; lets use it to get better. But to me, any of the debris you carry from last year, once you've sorted through the mess and learn from it, now you need to move on. If you carry that with you, it's just wasted energy. It's nothing but wasted energy. It does nothing to help you perform at a higher level. Nothing. We've done our learning. Now we want to put it in place to get better, so to me, the 18th of September is the start of getting better. I really like where our players are at right now. This is just general conversations, guys hanging around, but I really like where we're at. I really like the camaraderie, the focus, the energy, just every aspect of where we're at right now. I really like it right now. You don't want to get too excited, but I think this is going to come out on the conditioning tests, I think this is going to come out on the fitness tests, which is step 1, but I'm really impressed with the fun and the energy that the players are moving around with. It's fun to see.

Blues set to open camp Friday

New faces arrive, former ones no longer around; Hitchcock to take different 

approach in hopes of fueling team not only in regular season, postseason as well

By LOU KORAC
HAZELWOOD, Mo. -- When the Blues take the ice Friday at Scottrade Center for the start of training camp leading up to the 49th season in franchise history, it will be the fifth for coach Ken Hitchcock.

But in many ways, it will be like his first.

Sort of.

Looking at the statistical record, it will be Hitchcock's fifth with the Blues after signing a one-year extension May 26, but after a third consecutive ouster from the Stanley Cup Playoffs in the first round, Hitchcock will take a different approach as camp unfolds.

(St. Louis Blues photo)

Blues players Alexander Steen, David Backes (second from left), Alex

Pietrangelo (right) and Kevin Shattenkirk (bottom) all return with lofty

goals in mind. T.J. Oshie (second from right) is no longer on the team.

There will be more scrimmages. There will be more off-ice watching from above, and there will be more evaluation.

After countless hours of meetings with the coaching staff, there is a plan in place. Now it's time to execute it.

Game on. Or is it drop the puck?

"I don't think that you can, with what we're going to do, with as much as we're going to scrimmage, I don't think you can evaluate close to the ice," said Hitchcock, whose team has amassed the most points (389) in the NHL during his tenure in St. Louis. "It's hard. It's like coaching. By sitting in the stands, it's like looking at the game through video. I'm going to get a better read on players, on chemistry, on things that I need to get a read on moving forward. That's No. 1 for me. If we were just running practices, this would be different, but because we're scrimmaging, I need to be able to observe what we're doing. Every day gets themed, so whatever we worked on the first session, the scrimmage part of that will be put in place. We want to see some of that stuff in the scrimmage, the stuff that we work on the first 50 minutes when we're on the ice. I'd like to see it from a little higher up. 

"Second part is, I've got lots of time during the second phase. I just think the first week of camp is an evaluation phase. I need to get a good read on some of the players that we're just learning about and things like that. I can do that from further up. I'm looking forward to it."

The Blues, who were 51-24-7 (109 points) last season, lost to the Minnesota Wild in the Western Conference First Round in six games, the third straight season they've been eliminated -- not only in the first round -- but in six games.

There was some question whether Hitchcock would return after his contract was set to expire on July 1. But after a long thought process, sorting through what went wrong last year and getting a boost in wanting to help the Blues finish the job, Hitchcock -- with help from returning assistant coaches Brad Shaw, Ray Bennett, Kirk Muller and Sean Farrell -- went back to work.

There will be one change that goes back in time when Hitchcock proclaimed that the Blues will go back to playing fast and reckless. And in order to do that, this is a step-by-step evolution. 

"I've never stepped back off the ice because quite frankly, it's always been two practices and play a game, so having four days is different for me," said Hitchcock, whose Blues will open preseason play Tuesday in a split squad game against the Columbus Blue Jackets. "I was looking back on it; it's been five years since I've had this many days in a row before playing a game. I haven't stepped off the ice, but I haven't scrimmaged as much either. Even when we were scrimmaging, I was still behind the bench standing there with my skates on watching the scrimmage but not getting a great evaluation. This way, I get four days of really good evaluation. I get to evaluate the things that the coaches have worked on and to me, it's good to have a different voice. These are experienced coaches and I think it's good for the players and good for them, to give them an opportunity to run their own practice. We're all going to have an input on the practice, we've all had input on the practice on what we want to see, but this gives them an opportunity to run their drills that are specific to the areas of improvement. You'll be able to see in the drills what areas we're focused on and that on a daily basis."

Blue fans expected a major overhaul of the roster after a third -- fourth of one counts the second-round sweep against the Los Angeles Kings in 2012. There were changes; just not the quantity that many expected.

Popular T.J. Oshie was traded to the Washington Capitals in a package that brought the Blues tough scoring winger Troy Brouwer, and center Kyle Brodziak was signed as an unrestricted free agent from the Wild. Veteran defensemen Barret Jackman (Nashville) and Zbynek Michalek (Arizona) were not resigned when they became unrestricted free agents, nor were centers Marcel Goc (who signed to play in his native Germany), Olli Jokinen (unsigned) and left wing Chris Porter (Philadelphia).

The Blues have invited veteran center Scott Gomez, left wing Scottie Upshall and defenseman Stu Bickel to camp on professional tryouts. Veteran NHL defensemen Andre Benoit (previously with Buffalo) and Peter Harrold (New Jersey) were signed to one-year, two-way contracts to provide depth.

"I look at it, anybody that played in the National Hockey League last year, if they're coming into try out, whether they're a tryout player, professional tryout player or a player like Harrold or like Benoit who happened to sign a two-way deal, out of respect for those players, we want to give them every chance to make the hockey club," Hitchcock said. "That's what we're going to do. They're going to have to earn along the way, but we're going to give them every opportunity ... we're going to treat them like they're signed players. We're going to treat them like they come in, they make the team, we find a way to make room for them. ... We want to give them a fair shake every day, first by who we play them with, secondly by how many games we play them and if they continue to play well, then we continue to move them up the ladder."

And back among the regulars are captain David Backes and assistant captains Alexander Steen and Alex Pietrangelo (there will be replacements named for Oshie and Jackman). Jaden Schwartz and Paul Stastny come back to play significant roles among the top six forwards; Kevin Shattenkirk, Jay Bouwmeester and Carl Gunnarsson come to camp after injury-plagued seasons, and then there's right wing right wing Vladimir Tarasenko, a budding star who was paid like one (eight-year, $60-million contract) this off-season. 

Jake Allen, who signed a two-year extension in the offseason, and Brian Elliott will man the pipes and compete for game minutes, and Dmitrij Jaskin, Steve Ott, Ryan Reaves and Magnus Paajarvi round out forwards expected to vie for time.

Young defensemen Robert Bortuzzo, acquired last season for Ian Cole, and Petteri Lindbohm will replace Jackman and Michalek in the top six, and St. Louis native Chris Butler was brought back to likely be the seventh defenseman. 

Center Robby Fabbri, the Blues' 2014 first-round pick, and defenseman Colton Parayko will get an extended look at camp, along with a number of others that played for the Chicago Wolves of the American Hockey League last season. 

Patrik Berglund (shoulder) and Jori Lehtera (ankle) both who have had offseason surgeries, respectively. Lehtera is expected to be available for the start of the regular season but Berglund is out until January.

(St. Louis Blues photo)

Blues players (from left) Ryan Reaves, Brian Elliott, Jori Lehtera, Carl

Gunnarsson and Jake Allen look on after being eliminated from the 

playoffs last season in Minnesota. They want to avoid similar situation.

The onus is once again on those back to not only replicate past regular seasons but to find solutions to make this a team to be reckoned with in the playoffs.

The drive begins Friday, and after taking time to reflect on last spring's fallout, it's time to turn the page and move forward.

"If I was to tell you that we lose to Minnesota and I flipped a switch and was golfing all summer and didn't think another thought about it, that would be pretty disappointing and pretty shocking," Backes said. "You wouldn't want that. From me, it was long, individual reflection and then I was here for eight weeks after the season with meetings and conversations and a few beverages to try to talk out and try to solve problems. They've subsided a bit; they haven't completely gone away and we're focused on finding how we take a step forward in the playoffs and not status quo is definitely not acceptable around here. Reflecting on it, yes, and then after reflecting on what happened, you get to the next point and that's problem solutions. Bring me a problem; OK. Bring me a problem with a solution, that's what we're looking for and that's what we spent a ton of time on this summer."