Last Minute Blues Podcast – Ep. 154 – January 5th, 2024

Alex Ferrario is in the studio with Donny to discuss the continued growth and excellence of Robert Thomas, the TREMENDOUS amount of talent brewing with the BLUES prospects, and the win last night against the Canucks! Plus, we talk about Drew Bannister, and how the team has progressed since his arrival.

He scor this is the last minute Blues podcast with Donnie Fandango Jeff Burton Alex ferrario and former Blues defenseman Jamie Rivers it is the last minute Blues podcast Donnie Fandango joined in Studio by Mr Alex ferrario from 101 ESPN also handling your pre your postgame your intermission uh St

Louis Blues coverage we’ve got Jeremy Rutherford is on the road this week with uh with his young hockey player right yep and Nashville probably enjoying himself little too much he’ll say he’s watching hockey but we know what Jr’s doing how cool is it for those that’s so

Rad that those kids have the opportunity to have those experiences you know I I never uh was um particularly great athletically so so I didn’t really make it on any teams that would be able to travel I wasn’t talented so I said let’s talk sports because that’s where I’m

Smart in all right well wait real quick before we get started what did you play when you were a kid so I played did soccer for a couple of years was off aw at it uh did a lot of basketball I only did a very small portion of hockey

Because hockey was just expensive at the time so when I got older I did more roller hockey I did floor hockey I didn’t get to do ice hockey which sucks because it’s like my area of expertise now uh only did a few years of baseball and then one did one year of football

And realized I was way too thin with it so um but all of them the longest one was basketball I think I did basketball from grade school all the way up until I was a senior in high school oh wow that’s awesome then I realized I was

Awful at that too and I’m like I should talk sports I can honestly remember being in ninth grade all right and I had never played football before but I just wanted to be on a team same that’s why I did it and I knew that if you showed at

The practice and you worked hard that you would at least be on the team all right so I’m in I think science class with this kid and we start talking and he starts talking about football and how he can’t wait to try out for football and how he

Can’t wait to start hitting people and like he is so focused on how he can’t wait to hit people at some point during that conversation Alex I realized that he was going to be hitting me at some point or the other I was like you son of

A and then I said to myself you know what I don’t know that I want to try to do this so I so I did the tryy outs and then I did like one practice and I’ll never forget they put me as like a cornerback or something I don’t know was

This little skinny kid that they thought could run fast which I couldn’t I was like cornerback and they were doing some drill and the running back got through all of the defense and came at me and he trucked me and I got up off the ground I

Said NOP this Sports not for me I got home like I’m in pain we’re good I’m going to stick with the non- cont Sports dude that’s fantastic but it’s wild how it works too because like you now all of these sports that you’re a s huge fan of

Like big fan of hockey wish I would have stuck with it big fan of baseball which I would have stuck with it I play golf all the time now with my dad man I wish I would have spent a day every year in high school just practicing golf cuz who

Knows what you could do with it now can I tell you something and I don’t I mean I’m I’m sure that this is cool but I got to give a shout out all right one of my daughter’s very dear friends was named the post- dispatch golfer of the year

High school golfer of the year uh she’s a sophomore wow and um it’s so unbelievable to talk to her about it and then to also talk to her dad about it because her dad is the band director at my daughter’s high school and is an incredible human being but it’s so

Amazing to talk to him about her and her athletic Pursuits and the way that that that I feel like the parents do it the right way when they I don’t know the but like there’s obviously a responsibility the desire to take it seriously the desire to work

Hard at it but I also know that if she came to him and said this isn’t fun anymore I don’t like this yeah it’d be done yeah so it’s just so unbelievable to me because now she loves it yeah she loves it and I’m betting that she’s

Going to play D1 golf oh absolutely because of it and it’s just so freaking impressive a sophomore dude and to be named that prestigious award for being a sophomore I mean just to give credit like my parents did that too man and that like now I feel like it’s like man

I wish they would have pushed me more but at the time I’m so glad they didn’t because my dad I mean he wanted me to be involved with all kinds of sports he wanted me to try everything do them all and see what you like but as soon as I

Said n you know what I don’t like it he’s like cool move on to the next thing you know like I did it with baseball he was like cool if you don’t like it don’t worry about it I stuck with basketball and he loved that but he was never pushy

To the point where it was like stay with this you’re going to love it at the end cuz then you hate it afterwards right absolutely so man I mean you see the guys on your own teams that’s that’s parents dad specifically just boom boom boom and you know they’re not having any

Fun right dude like I stopped I stopped having fun in the ninth grade when the curveball got introduced to the party that that that’s when I was just like oh well I guess I’m not going to be able to do this that goes baseball for me you

Know but it’s so it’s crazy though but also too and Jamie has said it before as well that like you know the idea of a kid focusing on one sport all year just seems one like a lot and two it just doesn’t maybe seem like it’s that much

Fun man don’t these kiddos they they have got to have a balance here or it’s going to backfire well it’s the same thing in school where they tell you like don’t pick one career and stick with it like explore everything and then decide which direction you want to go same can

Thing can be said with sports it doesn’t have to be that we’re pursuing this as a career but you should get to explore all of them and say like do I like doing this what about this one because the more you do all of them and I know Jim’s

More the athletic side that can say like you don’t want your body to just get tradition to one area like in baseball it’s just arm arm arm arm arm because that’s not keeping your other body part strength but to be able to explore it all and figure out what you enjoy most

That’s the most important part of it all so PSA to all the parents out there man keep it going with these kids dude it’s so funny though cuz I I’ve got three kids one kid that loves sports my oldest just loves it you know the whole thing

My youngest to could not give a crap I mean they’ll like to go to games with me they have a great time you know pardon me they’re great they’re they’re great company for the games but like as far as you know trying to teach them things

They don’t care and so I mean you know what I mean l just still going to go to the game and have a good time I’m in the early stages of it I got a two and a one-year-old girl so the two-year-old girl every time I’ll say a sport she

Goes yuck Daddy and I’m like okay cool but then my my one-year-old now now she doesn’t really get to fight back because she’s a one-year-old but she’ll watch football with me so I just get her to sit there and watch football I’ll get to watch hockey every once in a while so

I’m like you know what I’m starting to make improvements here it has begun it has begun Katie hates it and I said just get used to it because it’s going to be a tradition all right so uh the last time that we had a podcast and we didn’t

Go uh directly uh to the gut with hockey people got mad at us so so but and there is plenty of blue stuff to talk about we just got off on a little bit of a tangent um when you sat down here today and there’s a bunch of stuff to talk

About obviously but one of the things that um that I woke up and did this morning is I watched the postgame press conference last night with Drew Bannister with Robert Thomas with Colton Paro and B and um it was so dude I feel like in just a couple in

A short time that Robert Thomas is sort of one kind of coming in to the captain’s role or or what you know what I mean like it just seems like it’s kind of fitting him a fitting him a little bit more but but just the way that I

Think he’s handling the press and all of the attention it just feels like it’s getting to a point where maybe he’s getting a little more comfortable at it and a little good a little bit better at it but also too Alex we are watching what very well could be one of

The best St Louis Blues to ever do it Yep this kid is something special he gets named to his first NHL Allstar team in Toronto he’s going to be able to have the entire family I think he was even talking in the presser about his

Grandma’s going to be able to go I it is so amazing to watch this happen and you know Alex you watch every single play of every single game what have you seen man from this guy and just say the last year as far as maturity level goes as far as

Growing into his game like like how have you seen the the strides that he’s made to get to this point I I mean you’re seeing an elite centerman take form and I mean let me ask you this when was the last time you can think the blues had an elite

Centerman oh boy I mean Paul stasy but Paul was kind of towards the the start of the end of it not saying Paul wasn’t great but the last one that I can go back to would probably be Doug Wade like Doug W when they got him I mean that was

Like one of the best centerman around and you’ve had Adam Oats but like think about this for a minute Robert Thomas is among the best centerman in the National Hockey League right now he’s more than a point perame player he’s 41 points now in 37 games here’s the the part that

Answers your question what I’m seeing from him in one year last year it was The Changing of the Guard to where you still had the the leader of the pack and Ryan O’Reilly and Robert Thomas was kind of that next guy but a lot of fans were

Like well but when he going to take that next step they trade Ryan O’Reilly and from the moment they trade Ryan O’Reilly Robert Thomas became your number one centerman last year at this time 37 games through the season he was a minus8 was playing about 19 minutes a night and

Was close to being a point per game player he was like two point shy of a point per game player but a minus 8 now I know people don’t think plus minuses are fickle stats whatever that is when it comes to centerman that are playing 19 minutes a night and putting up points

If you’re a minus that means defensively you’re struggling MH Donnie he is a plus4 he has scored 41 points in 37 games and is averaging around 20 minutes a night that so just to put this in a perspective for people that don’t understand goal differential the plus

Minuses what that means is plus 14 he is on the ice for more goals that his team is scoring yes than the other team is scoring so he is more of a positive impact on his team’s play than when he’s off the ice and then I got one more for

You I’m going analytical nuts I love it I love it so sorry to everyone but our our good buddy BK my co-host he and I were texting last night about this when Thomas is on the ice at even strength this season the blues are outscoring their opponent 39 to 23 so they have

Scored 39 goals in their opponent has scored 23 goals at even strength when he is not on the ice St Louis has been outscored 71 to 46 a minus 25 so what I’m telling you Donnie is he’s an All-Star rightfully so he is starting to build the resume of what I believe will

Be the next 100o player for the blues I don’t know if it’s this season I don’t know if it’s next season but I think Robert Thomas will be the next guy to get to 100 points and the last guy to do that was Brenan Shanahan but I also

Think that this is a sky trophy candidate this year and and that and that’s what going to be my follow-up question because last night wasn’t he up against Patterson yep and then and JT Miller like I think they used him in two different roles right and then before

That or the last week it was the Colorado game where they did less than nothing rope hints Jason Roberts in the Dallas game so I mean so he is not only putting up these unbelievable offensive numbers but he is also literally literally locking down the best players

And the best lines in the NHL and still producing that’s the part that’s impressive and producing by the way with two guys that offensively have been inconsistent like Jordan Kyu has had his ups and downs Pablo banavi has had his ups and downs think of the guys that are

In the sky trophy conversation always like Patrice berson in years past Patrice berson an incredible player I’m not taking anything away berson also got to play with David Pastak and Brad marshan who are going to put up points ridiculously that helps Nathan McKinnon I mean he is passing to Moo ransin a

10th overall pick who is a pure sniper in the National Hockey League barov with the Florida Panthers playing with Matthew kachuck Robert Thomas is playing with Pablo B navic who I think is an very underrated player in the National Hockey league but two guys that are very

Inconsistent so Robert Thomas is I mean he has had a massive turnaround and uh Steve vot was talking last night on postgame with curbs and Joey and I love the way he talked about it because seeing the progression from a kid who came into the league in 2018 fresh off

Of winning the uh Memorial Cup for his junior team winning a gold medal for Team Canada and then joining the Blues team he played on a third line with Pat maroon and Tyler boac as a right winger and he was scratched most of that season

And then the next year he was still a right winger then the next year he started to play more Center but it was a third line Center and then two years later we’re talking about this kid who’s 25 years old as a number one centerman

On the St Louis Blues I mean Blues fans should be very excited about this because if you want to get out of this retool Donnie this is the start you have to have this type of player well and and the thing that’s so exciting and I think

That’s one of the reasons that I got all flipping just excited watching the the post game last night watching the highlights is um you know man we and we talked about it on Tuesday when we did the podcast the blues have a sizable number of players in the world juniors that are whooping

Ass that are making an impact and so I’m starting to think and then and then all right man that game last night all right so listen I was listening to the pregame I listen and I don’t I should talk about this on the podcast way more than I do

But I listen to the the pregame and postgame and the intermission stuff like virtually every game with you guys so I’m listening before the game last night and you’re talking about the uh gold differential for Vancouver in the first and second periods and they’re dominant

Like 19 and plus 21 just crazy yeah two minutes into the game Vancouver scores and I’m boy I’m mfing you God dang you ferrario I I wish I wouldn’t have heard that but man but but y they dug in this this was not a team that let the second

Goal happen and then they were back on their feet for the their heels the remainder of the game man they dug in and went after it and they played those guys tight and like Drew banister said it before the break or or somewhere in the last couple days you know like some

Of those games that Colorado game we got to get we got to tie that game up the the the the uh Pittsburgh game we got to tie that game up and figure out a way to get into overtime oh this was in the postgame or pregame last night too so

Like to see them do that last night and against a tremendous team dudes yeah that’s fantastic news for these guys that’s huge I mean to me that was tied for first Tony larusa es best game they’ve played all season because I put up there that Colorado Avalanche where

They scored eight goals like that was very impressive but to do that against Vancouver now you heard the goal differential it was plus 19 plus 21 that offense that you just went up against they have scored a 142 goals this season that is 20 more than the second best team in the

National Hockey League that team was averaging almost four goals per game Donnie you allowed the first goal which was a defensive breakdown I mean plenty and simple you just didn’t cover the guy but other than that what did they do I mean Natural stat trck who has a a

Really good like hockey analytics ingame numbers for people that want to look at it they rank high danger scoring chances which the blues kind of call it in the house so if you draw a line across the faceoff dots in the offensive zone and then draw two lines down and then kind

Of make a house towards the goal tending net that’s in the house that was the only goal that they scored in that area the blues didn’t allow much in the house the rest of the game which is credit to their defense but that offense is Elite

I mean it is Elite offense and you found a way to not only stifle it the third period they had their push which is expected but here’s the part that I don’t think enough people are talking about Donnie that team had the goenda pulled like when the goalie was

Pulled you were thinking this game’s going to get tied up you just killed off 3 minutes and 17 seconds of a penalty kill essentially to win a 2 to1 game they’s six1 and one in one goal games this season which they were not that good last season I think they barely got

To six wins in one goal games last year so that’s showing you the progress but you mentioned when one goal goes in you’re expecting more I’ve kept track of it all season Donnie 17 times the blues have given up two or more goals in a three minute or less span so like it

Comes in waves they’ve only done that twice since Drew banister has taken over so I don’t know what it is it could be coaches it could be players what I’m telling you is this Blues team is different than what they were pre Drew banister they’ve got confidence and they

Know how to lock games down boy and there is some kind of like um I don’t know the best way to say it sort of this like Steely quiet confidence with Drew banister oh yeah like like I could just imagine that if he loses it whoa baby but he just seems

Like I mean there is just it’s not that Craig bar Ruby did not have an intensity about him obviously I think even when he was in a good move he looked intense he was intense because looked at him and you thought he was going to drop his

Myths but but but banister man I mean he just seems to have almost the same sort of matter of fact qualities about him that barui did but there’s just this sort of Steely thing going on and this dude this team looks different and it hasn’t looked different every minute

There has obviously been times where it hasn’t looked great whatever but but I feel like this is this is way more indicative of the Blues team that we should see as opposed to maybe some of the stuff that we were seeing before Drew Bannister yeah well and to it’s a

Great Point Drew banister to me has just got a silent confidence to himself and I think that silent confidence comes from knowing the game and knowing his players I mean he’s had a lot of these guys in the minor leagues like it’s no coincidence they brought Nathan Walker

Up for that game last night and the fourth line was impactful I mean naan Walker had himself a scoring chance Drew Bannister knows the players that he has and he knows how to get the best out of them and I also think some of that silent confidence comes from trusting

His coaching staff because you also got to remember like Drew banister still was in the early stages of being the interim head coach he’s still learning the nuances of his team and I I would say he’s not like taken over the coaching and like changed everything he’s kind of

Slowly implementing stuff that he wants to see but I’ll go back to a quote that Robert Thomas had talking with him and he and he talked about how like what Drew banister does best is he’ll tell you what’s wrong with a certain play or certain that you’re doing and he backs

It up with video now I I don’t know if barui did that I’m I’m assuming barui did because barui wouldn’t be here for as long as he was if he didn’t but to hear a player like Robert Thomas say that and flashback to when Doug Armstrong talked about trying to connect

With younger players if you got a player like Robert Thomas saying that and you’re seeing the fruits of that labor on the ice your banister must have something correct and clicking right now and it’s not just Robert Thomas you look at the Way Colton pero has been playing

You look at how Scott perunovic is playing you look at the way that Jordan kyou has been playing and I know the points aren’t there but overall this team is has taken on that confidence that Drew banister seems to have on the bench that you’re seeing just as much as

I’m seeing and I think that’s a massive reason why the team’s performing well I would really like and I know we have more important things to talk about than the fourth line but I would like for that fourth line to be Walker torpo and sunny yeah the hard part is you don’t

Have anybody to play in your top nine now yaku Verana is back yeah my assumption which we all know what you what happens when you assume things but my assumption would be this is an opportunity for Yak Verana to try and get back to the form we saw last year

Under a different Coach and he’s going to be in that top nine role I love toropchenko I don’t think anybody worked harder than toropchenko on the ice but Toro’s Toro’s not able to finish like other guys are in certain areas but I think the way that he plays

Identify so well with that fourth line because every team has it Vancouver’s got a line they call the pulse line and it includes Teddy Bluer Connor Garland and Dakota Joshua that’s the line that scored last night it’s a pulse line for him um every line has a go-to line when

Things aren’t right the blues don’t the blues don’t have a line that like other than Robert Thomas but they’ve got other duties in games but like in a game where you need to just steal the momentum back you don’t have that line you did when it was Neighbors sunny and torup chenko now

I think they’re going to try and get back to having torup chenko sunny and I love Nathan Walker’s game Nathan Walker doesn’t get pushed off of pucks very much so who knows if it works tchenko has got all of the size and skill to be

A top nine forward and he has shown it but man does he identifies so well with that fourth line if you need a line that can get things going all right a couple things here real quick that I I want to make sure that we that we mention one um

You just talked about Scott perunovich five assists in his last five games yep so and and and just please because I don’t remember is this his longest uh streak of PL of playing games in a row I gotta think so so the only other one that I

Can think of would be that first year and I’m going to look it up while we’re talking that first year where he played towards the end of the season and then played into the playoffs that year but that was seven games in the playoffs and

19 games so even if he did that from end of the regular season to the playoffs which I don’t think he did I mean we’re talking 22 games right now I think he’s played about a stretch of 18 17 games so yeah I would say in terms of just

Regular season play right now is the longest stretch we’ve seen of Scott perunovich and so he has done what he needs to do obviously duh to stay in the lineup every game yeah absolutely period yeah he has I I mean he’s not right now Drew banister says he’s still trying to

Get the confidence level for perunovich up to what he was in the AHL and I understand that because the guy has missed like three whole Seasons due to injuries but the way for me and I think I’m in the minority with this one but for me the way to instill that

Confidence is just to give him more responsibilities and I mean he’s earned everything last night that pass that he made to Robert Thomas whoa baby that was the play that was the offense Donnie that we saw in the playoffs two three years ago when we saw him on the power

Play where he picked up four points in seven games everyone was was like Scott perunovich is the next big thing and then the injuries took place I I don’t know where his defensive game is at maybe it’s too much to ask him to play with a Colton pero right now but by the

End of the season man I’d love to see him play in the top four I’d love to see if Scott perunovich can go Toe totoe with at least some of these Top Line players because if if you’re Doug Armstrong in company that’s that’s what you need to find out like he’s a

Restricted free agent according to cap friendly at the end of the season which means you have his rights but it’s arbitration rights so you’re going to have to go to arbitration if you can’t come up with a deal but if you know that he can be a top four defenseman for you

Which I personally think he can I think he’s got a lot of Quinn Hughes in him the ability to to skate that blue line to make those Elite passes defensively it’s just how quick he is with his decision making I think he’s a top four defenseman for you and I think that’s

What you need for this Blues team to again to take that step out of the retool Five Points in five games is impressive but the fact that he’s playing 12 13 minutes a night and he’s coming coming out of this looking like a net positive that’s what you want to see

From him and I personally hope that by the end of the season we’re talking about 18 17 minutes a night average for Scott perunovich to see what he looks like wow all right so uh also to a gentleman that over the course of the last year to two years has just been

Absolutely hammered by Blues fans far and wide last night played in his 64th NHL game I believe tying Barkley plager for blues or did he surpass think he tied because he just the Pittsburgh game he tied mckennis so then the next game he would have surpassed mckennis so yeah

I think he ties Barkley Colton pero 614th NHL game uh he gets a goal last night and man oh man this dude is looking like the real deal and I don’t know you know man I don’t know how we categorize him I don’t know that I say I

I don’t feel like I say he’s our number one guy but at the same time time as I’m looking at this every night and watching him play I’m thinking I don’t know who the hell else is the number one but Justin Faulk is so great obviously and

And you know Tory Krug obviously but but boy Colton Paro is really having himself one freaking hell of a season and it finally seems like Blues fans are off his ass absolutely and I mean not to toot my own horn but toot toot I think

Two years ago I was on with you this podcast and I started to talk about how Coulson pero is a top defenseman in the National Hockey League and I got push back on think of the number one defenseman in the National Hockey League to me it’s Drew dowy it’s Victor Hedman it’s Alex

Petrangelo it’s Roman Yosi kale Mar kale Mar but then but see that’s the thing you isolate two different ones kale Mar Quinn Hughes Adam Fox those guys are number one defenseman on the offensive side Quinn Hughes and kale Mar though are better defensively than people give them credit for me included Eric Carlson

Is basically a forward who calls himself a defenseman right but the guys of Hedman and dowy and Roman Yosi the difference between those guys and Colton pero are the points that they put up Colton pero is just not a point getter until this season that’s a different

Topic but he’s a guy that plays almost 24 minutes a night he’s a guy that goes up against the other team’s Top Line if we’re going to talk about Thomas shutting down McKennon and Pon and rope hints then you got to talk about Colton pero and Nick lety because these guys

Are doing the exact same thing but Colton pero is playing penalty kill he’s playing even strength he’s not really missing shifts he’s staying healthy All Season knock on wood everything about what Colton pero is doing right now is a number one defenseman and I’m not sure

What his plus minus is at right now after that last game but he’s close to being a neutral or a plus which last year he was like a minus 25 now let’s bring in the offense defensively we know what Colton pero is to me you’re paying him $6.5 million

Compared to a Darnell nurse who’s making 9.5 million Seth Jones who’s making $9.5 million like look at the comps to what paro’s making to other defenseman in the NHL and you’d take Colton pero over any of those guys offensively he’s got seven goals on the season he’s on Pace for 15

This year last year there were only three defensemen that scored more than 10 goals so Colton per goes doing that now all seven of those Donnie have come at even strength the only other guys that have more even strength goals than Colton pero right now are Quinn Hughes and Jake

Walman and he’s got three game winning goals which is tied for the most in the National Hockey League so defensively you know what you’re getting every single night and to me you can call him a top defenseman number one defenseman whatever you want but if I know what

That guy’s going to give me every night he’s my best defenseman yeah and now you’re getting the offense from him he’s shooting the puck more I’m not sure what people would want and I’m not saying people because Blues fans are starting to realize it but on the national stage

I’m not sure what else you need to see from a from a defenseman other than somebody who’s going to put up 15 to 20 goals and that’s just never going to be Colton pero maybe right so do you uh do you see are there any other blues

Players that you think might might make it to the all-star game is Paro one of those guys potentially or no if if if there were so the way that it works is they they vote in one player from every team and then I think it’s five other

Players get selected by the fans for each conference they’re doing the draft this year again which I love that they’re doing that I hate that the old the way that they’ve been doing the draft was so much fun I if there were there were guys that were going to get

Selected it would either be pero or Bennington I don’t think Bennington gets picked right because there are three goenda take Bennington not saying you shouldn’t be in but his numbers aren’t going to back it up to where people are going to vote sure I don’t think pero

Gets voted in just because the points don’t match the points or the plus minus don’t match what you’d be voting for on the other side I personally would say pero is an All-Star because I think when I look at all the defensemen you know the ones in the Western Conference that

Get in petrangelo Roman Yosi Quinn Hughes kale M Meo hkin and those guys are going to be the defenseman that get in but I’d put Colton pero in for how he’s played this season specifically I think he’s been one of the better defend in the National Hockey League in the

Western Conference man Alex the way that this is all working out and and I I hope that everybody has had a chance if you have the athletic to read the really great article that Jeremy Rutherford did about uh dalbor de dorski am I saying that right umed because not only um did

He have a hell of a tournament but when his team lost and they were done the way that he handled it just seems like somebody that already wants it so bad like that’s going to come into the league like froing at the mouth to get that cup and it’s not going

To so it just feels like Alex that the the nucleus that the the next generation of this Blues team and I think that that includes like a a Robert Thomas colon Pere go all the way to dorski and all like the future is really bright and

It’s very exciting to me it should be and I I’ll go back to something that Tom Stillman told curbs on our broadcast a couple of nights ago and he said like people got to understand and that there’s a patience factor into it these guys aren’t going to be here right away

And they’re not going to contribute right away it takes time look how long it’s taken us to get to this level with Robert Thomas but to to think about where the blues are now in this retool that we’re talking about and then look at some spots that for a lack of a

Better word are placeholders you’re in a position to where Jimmy snuggerud Otto Stenberg um dalbor dorski those those three guys alone are projected to be top six Wingers top six forwards then look at your top six now of Thomas Kyu maybe B navic Braden Shen you know he going to

Be your long long term like Jake neighbors by the way like Jake neighbors right like that’s that’s the nucleus and now you’re implementing that next nucleus and don’t go don’t forget about a player like Theo lindstein who is having a incredible tournament for team Sweden I I mean this guy wasn’t even a

Part of the roster and he is a plus 11 leading the team right now and he’s got nine points I think don’t don’t don’t quote me on that one we’ll say is yeah ish but like that’s another guy that like we’re just talking about now so they’re stocked in terms of prospects

And depth two things real quick one uh I love Jake neighbors it it honestly there are times where it’s like somebody peed in his Corn Flakes he’s like got that got that to him and I like that and then the skill on top of it for this kid Joe

Called him a cowboy last night on the broadcast and I love I love the comp because he’s like he’s like a little kid in cowboy gear out there he’s always going out there to have a good time and go out there and fight how about the one

Play where it was him and uh I think it was him and deota Joshua maybe or him and Tyler Myers regardless they were in a scrum and then the one guy punched Neighbors in the face and neighbors just yanked him out of the scrum and started

Throwing bows at his head like he had eight shots on goal last night like the dude does not quit so this I I’ll go back to what I’ve said before I couldn’t tell you the last time maybe since big Walt that they have had the blues a legit power forward Pat maroon probably

But like a legit power forward there are not a lot of them in the National Hockey League anymore everybody’s a sniper or a playmaker with the size Jake neighbors is a power forward and like it’s only a second season like imagine what happens when he gets into into his like grown

Man strength that’s the dangerous part of Jake neighbors I don’t want to put you on the spot here but just uh Curiosity has got me as we’re talking about younger players in Springfield the Zack Deans the the bald dues is there anybody down there right now that’s kind

Of raising their hand uh baluk and Dean both are Dean if you look at his numbers they don’t match what people would like to see for a first round pick somebody you got for Ivan barbashev but he’s used in a third line role I think he’s having

A little bit of a slower grasp on the AHL Pro Hockey than say Zachary buluk but Zachary buluk I mean I I think he’s at like six or eight goals right now for the Thunderbirds he’s been playing in a second line role he was on a line with

Yaku Verana in the Thunderbirds when Veron was down there and Veron was a point perame player for them um so baluk is starting to he’s starting to Showcase what they’re hoping that he can become I don’t I don’t think we see any of those guys this season though I think Doug

Made it very clear that the goal is to keep those guys and the miners all season so that they know what a full season looks like in terms of being a pro so that next year at training camp they come in with the mindset of okay I

Got a year of being pro underneath me and you don’t have to worry about the back and forths of the AHL and NHL my guess is unless a massive injury bug hits this team or they get way out of the playoff race and they want to see

What these guys are you won’t see Bal duer Dean with the NHL this season that will be next year but that’s fine I think that’s perfect best that’s almost best case scenario got develop these guys and the only way to develop them is to keep them in Big Time roles like now

Nathan Walker is up with the with the blues bul du’s going to be getting more ice time because Nathan Walker is up what happens when alexandrov gets brought back up after his conditioning stint more opportunities for for baluk and Dean I would much rather that take

Place then bring one of those guys up here and put them on a fourth line or a third line roll and Str Str and lose the confidence let them play in the AHL All Season heck maybe get to a playoff run with the Thunderbirds this season and

See what you can do with it it’s so amazing to me I mean the the the the the the the Player Development part of this is just so freaking fascinating to me man it’s so fascinating how it’s it’s it’s literally different for every guy but you still kind of have the same

General idea that you want to take but more than anything else it’s just incredibly exciting for this organization because you know again I I don’t you know who knows what happens tomorrow night in Carolina right we still I’m sure are in for some more roller coaster moments this year

Absolutely I completely get it man but all you want to do is you want to have hope going forward and not and I feel like we should have a sizable amount of Hope as blues fans well think about what we’ve talked about today you’ve got an elite centerman you’ve got a top

Defenseman you’ve got incredible goal tending which we really didn’t even get into the way that Ben has played and Hur has played like those are the elements that teams need those are the Staples teams need to build something think about the LA Kings we always talk about their

Retool comp drew dowy a copar they had Jonathan Quick not there anymore but like you got two of the three the Vancouver Canucks Thatcher Demco Quinn Hughes Elias Pon Robert Thomas Colton pero and Jordan Bennington like that’s the that’s the the pillars and you build everything

Else up and like that’s the part that there’s a lot of optimism right now on top of the fact that you’re seeing all of these younger players dominate over in the world juniors and let’s not forget the cap is going up $4 million next year $4 million the year after some

Contracts come off of the books that’s where Doug Armstrong is his is at his best is molding a roster when you feel like you’re ready to take that next step man oh man hot damn Donnie I just I’m telling you I came in this morning I watched the highlights

Again from last night and then like I said earlier I watched the press conference thing and I was just I was jonesing to talk to you guys about it you what I could go for right now some Rascal Flats some Life is a Highway Donnie okay listen I I wish we could

Play this song in the podcast we we we can’t but so honestly and this is this is an honest thing that happened before you got here today uh I sat down and was like you know what I got to listen to this cover of Life as a highway and I

Was expecting it to be different than the Tom Cochran OG version Alex the way that you made it sound in the last podcast is that one of these songs is so is just slow and then the other one your Rascal Flats one is just it’s the same damn song Alex no man

There’s just a bump to it you know there’s just a just just you know what I want to put the foot on the pedal and just go where Tom Cochran was more like well you know what I’ll put it on cruise control and I’ll be comfortable there’s

No cruising in life is the highway Donnie you got to go at the speed limit listen I guess if we’re going to do a hockey podcast for 45 minutes and talk about all the things that we talk about and this is the only thing that we disagree about we’re probably doing all

Right and I’d say that’s great for our friendship yeah yeah yeah very much disagree on this one man we’re golden all right so for our homeboys Jeff Burton Jamie Rivers who is on the road with the saintt Le blues and Jeremy Rutherford uh who is on the road with

The next generation of of hockey players little bles Alex ferrario from 101 ESPN Donnie fan Dango saying thank you very much for checking out the last minute Blues podcast as always let’s go Blues the last minute Blues podcast hear more at 1057 theo.