At the start of February, I posted in this article about the plan David Perron had to help raise money for the disaster in Haiti. The plan was simple: For each new follower Perron received on Twitter in the month of February, he would donate $1 to the Red Cross to assist the efforts in Haiti. The final total came to a whopping $4,500 – all through the power of social media.

It really is amazing what technology can do these days. It can connect fans from cities, states and countries away. It connects players to their fan base, none more evident than David Perron who regularly checks in to both his Facebook and Twitter pages.

Not only is Perron an extremely talented hockey player, but it is obvious he loves to interact with his fans and give back to those that follow him with the team. Perron regularly gives out autographed pucks, sticks and other memorabilia to those that follow him, and holds special contests for his followers. From a marketing perspective, Perron is doing a fantastic job of engaging his audience, though it is clear he is not doing any of this for himself or for any self promotion.

No one really knew just how many followers Perron could gain in a month, but his goal was a massive one. Just after he announced his $1 per follower plan, he received a wave of new faces over the next few days that numbered somewhere around the 2k mark.

The final donation came to $4,500 – not too bad for just a few words on Twitter. Perron’s donation shows what a tremendous individual he is both on the ice and off, and his interaction with the fan base truly stands out and should be recognized/appreciated.

We all tend to focus on wins and losses, goals and assists, but there is much more to the game and to these athletes than that. Perron’s actions off the ice are really second to none, and are a big reason why I hope he stays in St. Louis for many years to come.

This team is not a Stanley Cup contender, and likely won’t be for the next couple years despite how bright the future looks. However, this team is a potential playoff contender and is still treading on the brink of the second season despite a thrashing at the hands of the Colorado Avalanche this past weekend. It’s never a good thing when you have absolutely no clue what this team’s identity is some 65 games into the year. I give a lot of credit to T.J. Oshie.

While he has had his ups and downs like the entire St. Louis roster, his consistency from last year to the present campaign is something the rest of the team should pay attention to. Just take a look at his numbers:

2008-09: 57 games – 14 goals, 25 assists – 39 points.
2009-10: 61 games – 15 goals, 25 assists – 40 points.

The intangibles won’t show up in any boxscores, but you can be certain that Oshie continues to motor around the ice and deliver crushing checks were one seemingly shouldn’t exist. His production from his rookie season to present has seen growth and is a huge bright spot when looking toward the future.

I’ve talked about it numerous times this year. Consistency. The Blues are consistently inconsistent, which was a label I gave them just a bit into the 2009-10 season. Great five game winning streak followed up by an effort in Colorado that leaves me scratching my head. Every team has a “night off”, but to put forth a performance like that against a contender is just … confusing. The Blues obviously lack big name scoring and lack what many would label as a true number one goaltender. Several Blues have gone the opposite direction Oshie has, and have seen their numbers fall off considerably – Brad Boyes, I’m looking at you. These holes are tough to fill, and when several guys don’t turn in a solid effort you get what we saw in Colorado.

That being said, what should we expect? Down the stretch, will we see more of the high scoring Blues we saw during the win streak or more of the team that got destroyed in Colorado? I won’t pretend like I can answer that question. I do think we can all count on one thing – the Blues will play some fantastic hockey and will have some more serious meltdown ala the Avalanche game.

Ultimately, I don’t think the Blues will be able to leap into the 8th spot and more importantly, hold on to it. When the season is on the line, who knows which form of the Blues will show. Who knows what sort of performances will be turned in. The road to the end of the year should be a wild one – and one filled with highs and lows.

The offseason should feature the Blues making moves they couldn’t pull the trigger on at the deadline. I expect several new faces to come in and several faces to exit. Aside from the obvious holes mentioned at scoring and possibly in net, the defense probably needs to be called in to question too – something I can not say I have done too often.

The game against Colorado was disgusting and should serve as an example of what can happen if you take a night off defending. I’m not giving any Blues defender a pass on that one. This sort of inconsistency at defense is exactly what could keep the Blues out of the 8th spot, in addition to the already mentioned scoring waves.

So the question is posed: 2009-10 edition of the St. Louis Blues – playoff contender or pretender?

I think we will fall just short, but I am hoping I am mistaken. I feel the inconsistent mentality mixed with effort that frankly seems to come and go as it pleases will be the demise of this squad.

Oshie I feel brings intangibles to the ice each time he skates, regardless of whether or not his play earns him a goal or a point. However, the majority of this squad fails to bring intangibles to the ice on a regular basis, and I think it will be these intangibles that leave the Blues on the outside looking in.

The Blues handled the Dallas Stars with ease last night, winning 6-1. Playoffs – this team is knocking at your door. Through 64 games, the Blues have now collected 69 points and hold the 10th spot in the Western Conference. Granted, St. Louis has played one more game than 8th place Detroit, 9th place Calgary and 10th place Dallas, but the fact remains that this Blues team is now within one point of a postseason spot.

Five wins in a row. The Blues are picking a perfect time to go on a run.

Things got off to a bang early when enforcer D.J. King dropped the gloves and destroyed Krys Barch for the second time this season (view it below).

Decision: King.

While this fight was a great one to see King participate in (without getting injured I might add), the real story of the night was the continued burst of offense we have seen from this club. Six goals last night added to the impressive streak where the Blues have won 4-3, 4-0, 4-3 and 5-2. Offense was tough to come by early this year, but it’s coming in abundance as of late.

The main man last night was Paul Kariya, who turned in two goals and an assist just a day after most speculated he could be dealt at the trade deadline. Kariya, like most of the Blues roster, has struggled to produce offensively all season long, but now has a run where he has notched eight points in his last five games. One wonders what took so long to get in gear this season, but I don’t think anyone is complaining now that the veteran winger is showing up in the boxscore.

Brad Boyes added a goal for his second straight games and T.J. Oshie chipped in a late goal and an assist.

Chris Mason got the start in net and channeled his best form, turning away 29 of the 30 shots he faced. He was outstanding and denied numerous chances that looked to be certain goals that might have gotten Dallas back in the game before the Blues had a chance to close things out. Some speculate that Mason is night the answer for the Blues in net if they hope to make a serious playoff run, but if he plays as well as he did last night, I’d take my chances. I don’t believe he is the answer in net looking long term but his play of late has been the strongest I think we have seen all year.

For those that believed Dallas goaltender Marty Turco could be headed here this summer, I think the Blues did a fantastic job of showing he is not the answer in net moving forward and should not play into the Blues’ future plans.

Up ahead lies Colorado on Saturday, so the Blues will be doing a bit of scoreboard watching as Nashville, Detroit and Minnesota all skate tonight.

The NHL Trade Deadline is growing ever closer. The deadline is supposed to come and go at 3:00 eastern time on March 3rd. Who will stay and who will go around the NHL? More importantly, who will head to St. Louis and who will exit? Is it possible this team will stand pat with all of their current players? These questions all need answers, and you can find them each time you check back to this post. This post will be updated whenever a move is made, or whenever any rumblings in the NHL world occur. Be sure to check back regularly.

All times are Central.

March 3rd – 3:58pm: Thanks to everyone that followed along. Feel free to comment and discuss what moves you wish the Blues would have made, and how you feel about the couple moves they did pull off.

With the deadline behind us, time to look ahead to the frantic finish for the last couple playoff spots in the Western Conference.

March 3rd – 2:17pm: According to JR from the Post-Dispatch, the Blues are done trading and no deals involving the team will be announced.

One blogger’s opinion: I’m surprised. With all the speculation concerning Boyes, Tkachuk and Kariya of late, I thought we might see one of these three heading to a new club. When approaching this deadline, I believed one of two things would happen. 1) The Blues would dump some of their bigger contracts to try and get a return on a skater like Paul Kariya or 2) the team stands pat and we see a big shakeup this summer.

Aside from a few deals that will impact the minors, the Blues mostly remained quiet. With Paul Kariya’s contract set to expire at the end of this season, I expect him to leave the team along with several others that we didn’t see move before the deadline. While I am a bit disappointed the deadline was so quiet overall, I expect from a Blues perspective that this will pave the way for an active summer.

March 3rd – 2:08pm: Former Blue Lee Stempniak is headed out of Toronto to Phoenix. Best of luck Stemps.

March 3rd – 2:01pm: The deadline has come and gone. Now the waiting game as the last second deals file in. Blues have been notorious in recent years concerning last second deals. Could this year be the same? Or are they confident in standing pat with the roster they’ve got?

March 3rd – 11:39am: Looks like the rest of the Yan Stastny picture is complete. Stastny will make his way to Vancouver and Pierre-Cedric Labrie will join the St. Louis organization. Statsny (pictured right) has spent most of the year down in the minors, but did skate in four games with the Blues this season chipping in one goal. He originally came over to the Blues from Boston back in 2007 when the Blues traded a fifth round pick for him.

On the flip side, Cedric Labrie will report to the AHL as he has yet to make an appearance at the NHL level. Labrie was rated as the 20th best prospect in the Vancouver organization, and is touted to be roughly a third line forward by Hockey’s Future.

An extremely minor deal, the Blues only action so far before this year’s deadline has been strictly of the AHL variety.

One blogger’s opinion: Not much to get excited about or to breakdown here. The Palushaj/D’Agostini deal will at see a new face at the NHL level for the Blues, but this one will take a while to see an impact at the professional level. We might have expected bigger deals involving faces on the current St. Louis roster, but so far it has all been AHL centered.

My question about all this is what can Edmonton offer in return? Talent is few and far between on that squad, so I’d have to imagine it’d be picks rather than players. Keep in mind, that’s just speculation. I’m not about to let this site turn into a place where rumors are treated as fact like certain other sites that I will leave unnamed.

So who is Matt D’Agostini? The right winger is skating in his third season at the NHL level, all with the Canadiens. Last season he skated in 53 games and put up 21 points. This year has been more quiet, with just four points in 40 games.

On the flip side, leaving the St. Louis organization is Aaron Palushaj, a forward who was ranked the team’s fourth best prospect. You can read all about Palushaj over at Hockey’s Future.

One blogger’s opinion: I thought pretty highly of Palushaj based on what he demonstrated in the Blues’ youth camp way back this past summer. He seemed to be a solid with the puck and could bring out some nice stick-handling if need be. His shot was a snipe, at times. Hockey’s Future ranked him between a potential second line and first line forward if he continues to develop.

I’ll be honest, I’m not very familiar with the face coming back on the other end of this deal. Matt D’Agostini is still young (23) and has a solid OHL and AHL career to his name. Through 139 AHL games, D’Agostini tallied 102 points. This same success has yet to carry over to the NHL level, but clearly there is talent there.

The win makes the race for the playoffs that much closer, and I think tips the scale a bit more in the direction of buyer rather than seller. I expect a lot to happen between now and tomorrow afternoon, so stay tuned for what I hope is a fun ride.

Not much of a shocker here. Boyes has 10 goals on the season, down from 33 last season and 43 the year before. Boyes is third on the team in points, but he is on the team to score goals – a feat he hasn’t accomplished with any regularity this year.

“You won’t find too many players on Blues roster who aren’t available. Outside of an Oshie and Johnson u won’t find too many others”

One has to imagine that David Perron has to be on that list as well. The more intriguing part of this Tweet was that it makes it seem that the Blues are willing to deal just about anyone – assuming that the price is right of course. Strickland followed this message up by saying that:

“If Boyes and Colaiacovo are moved they would love for it to be in a package deal.”

Whether this is a quote/fact or just Strickland’s interpretation is anyone’s guess. Strickland is around the team a lot, but his link to the phony and rumor producing Hockey Buzz must make the reader take all of his comments with an enormous grain of salt.

“Paul Kariya has informed the Blues he has zero interest in getting traded and will not wave his no trade clause. Tkachuk also reluctant.”

Tkachuk has said he doesn’t want to move far from his family, and has grown accustomed to staying in St. Louis. Kariya is a whole other story. Perhaps his move from Nashville to St. Louis was one he thought would be his last, and perhaps he just wants to finish out the year in St. Louis before weighing his options. One thing is for sure, Kariya should not be expecting a contract any where near his enormous $6,000,000 pay day he is getting this year.

Interesting. The Blues are in as awkward a position as any team in the NHL, treading on the thin line between buyer and seller. One can only wonder just what sort of negotiations/calls might have been made during the trade freeze, but as for now we know that no serious talks have transpired with the Blues in the past day or so. This of course could change at any moment as teams examine all of their options.

The freeze lifted and the Blues have made a deal. No, hardly one of the blockbuster, noteworthy or even one that will crack the casual fan’s interest, but a move is a move. With Keith Tkachuk set to miss time with an injured pinkie finger, Derek Armstrong has been called up to help out. In other news, the Blues did make a swap at the AHL level, acquiring goaltender Joe Fallon in exchange for netminder Hannu Toivonen and Defender Danny Richmond.

The three player deal features all AHL players that are 25 years old, and have yet to make an impact for their team at the NHL level.

Toivonen was 11-11-3 with a 2.73 GAA this year with Peoria, while Richmond collected 16 points and 135 PIMs over the course of 54 games with the Rivermen. Fallon comes to the St. Louis organization from the Rockford IceHogs where he went 15-10-1 with a 2.64 GAA.

The Hannu “Ears” Toivonen era has come to an end and really never got rolling as some Blues fans thought/hoped.  Back in 2008, there was speculation that the netminder could be Manny Legace’s backup in the 2008-09 season. Andy Murray was curious to see what exactly Toivonen could bring to the team, but I believe the general consensus was that he lacked the mindset to be a capable number one.

These moves barely scratch the surface of what I would deem “news” but this is the only story to report as the Blues approach the deadline. I don’t expect this to be either the last move or the most significant move the team makes before the deadline comes and goes.

The Olympic road has ended for Roman Polak as his Czech Republic side lost to Finland 2-0 last night. The young member of our St. Louis Blues side has no reason to hang his head following the loss, as he performed very well throughout the 2010 Olympics. The 23-year-old Polak is skating in his fourth year with the Blues, but really only his second full season and has already established himself as arguably the best defender on the team.

Polak is the first Blue to be eliminated from the Olympic competition, and leaves Erik Johnson and David Backes of Team USA as the lone representatives. Polak does not receive the same attention that former #1 overall pick Erik Johnson does, but all you need to do is stop and look at his profile to appreciate how far the defender has come.

Drafted in the 6th round (18oth overall) of the 2004 Draft, Polak was mostly overlooked behind the team’s first pick Marek Schwarz. Some fans are probably asking, “Who?” It’s a fair question. The Blues picks in the 2004 draft lead to many unfamiliar names aside from Polak. Schwarz for instance is also from the Czech Republic, but unfortunately has not enjoyed the same success that Polak has. Schwarz has only played 110 minutes at the NHL level and it appears unlikely he will make a name for himself at the NHL level anytime soon.

Polak on the other hand overcame his late selection and now is a well known name on the Blues’ roster. Polak’s road was a long one that sent him around the Western Hockey League, before returning back to the Czech Republic to skate in the Czech Extraliga.

He then came back to North America and made his debut with the Blues in the 2006-07 season where he skated in 19 games. Following a 2007-08 that saw him appear in just 6 contests, the defender finally broke through last year and has been a stable, reliable defender since.

Roman returns back to St. Louis and now must prepare to take on the Coyotes on March 2nd. There’s been a lot of trade talk and speculation as to what the Blues might do approaching the deadline, but one name that hasn’t come up is Polak’s, who could be the core of the St. Louis defense for years to come.

Most of the attention has gone to David (Inglorious) Backes when the Olympics and the Blues are talked about. Not today. Today Erik Johnson deserves some attention due to his outstanding performance against the Swiss today in the USA’s 2-0 win. Ryan Miller was the hero against Canada, but this game saw a plethora of heroes up and down the ice, but the defenders and shot blockers deserve special attention.

The shot totals (44-19 in favor of the U.S.) really don’t tell the story. The USA did get a majority of the chances and opportunities, but through two periods the score still read 0-0. The Swiss were threatening throughout these two periods and the USA could have surrendered a goal at any time.

Cue Erik Johnson and the rest of team USA. Maybe it’s just me, but this game seemed to see the USA play a much better game in terms of defense and shot blocking. The Swiss would wind up for a slapper and instantly a blue jersey would get in the way. The Swiss would look to wrist a puck toward the net and a USA stick would break things up. Solid, sound defense.

There were lapses, but the overall effort was one worth noting. Johnson had a risky moment early in the game were he was unable to move the puck out of his zone leading to a 3-on-1. Following a pass across ice, Johnson followed the puck before diving and extending his stick to disrupt the Swedish opportunity. An error salvaged by an incredible defensive display.

The praise doesn’t stop there. Johnson used his body well down low, separating would-be attackers from the puck, creating space for himself and moving the puck to a teammate. He used his stick well, disrupting lanes and chipping the puck away from the Swedish side. Johnson, along with other members of the USA side (Chris Drury for one) kept launching their bodies at the puck, stopping potential shots before they had a chance to come near Ryan Miller.

The USA offense finally clicked into gear following two waived off goals (one coming just after the buzzer and one canceled by a penalty) in the third and were able to hang on the rest of the way, adding an empty netter for extra measure. Zach Parise sprung to life and played probably his best game of the tournament. The team will need his offense to start clicking if they hope to survive the latter stages of the tournament.

Great to see Johnson really living up to expectation, this time at one of the game’s highest stages. Our Blues defender and team USA are in for bigger tests ahead, and will have to continue to play sounds, solid and hard hitting defense to survive.

All eyes are focused on the Olympics right now and rightfully so. The USA has been captivating to watch and matchups such as Russia against Canada keep hockey fans coming back for more. However, looming just over the horizon, is the all important NHL trade deadline on March 3rd. I’ve touched on the subject a few times over the past couple weeks and given my thoughts as to what might happen, but now it is time to get more serious on the matter. The Blues will need to improve in several areas if they hope to ever make a serious run at the Stanley Cup. Aside from scoring, the Blues will need a more prominent goaltender to lead their team as opposed to the current system.

The Blues return to action on March 2nd against Phoenix. Shortly after, the trade deadline will come and go on March 3rd. One would think that the outcome of the Phoenix game might influence what deals are arranged before the deadline, and that could certainly be the case. My money however is on the idea that the St. Louis front office, like all other front offices, have been very busy during this Olympic break. In reality, who knows what deals might already be near completion that have just been put on hold until the Olympic freeze is lifted.

Have the Blues been actively negotiating? My feeling is a big 100% yes. Whether they have reached any outcomes is a different matter, but I doubt the organization has been idle during the Olympics. With this in mind, what will we see? I’m not going to make any bold predictions – I’ll leave that to others (cough, Eklund, cough). I’d rather report and talk about what I know and not just churn out rumors that have no foundation in fact. That being said, I am all up for discussion and speculation. The Blues sit just outside the playoff picture (4 points) but more importantly sit behind four teams as well. The team is still very much in contention.

One name that has appeared regularly in trade rumors is Keith Tkachuk. Walt has been linked to numerous teams and would make a solid addition to a club that needs a guy that can hold his position at the top of the crease. However, Andy Strickland (from KFNS) has reported that Tkachuk would rather remain in St. Louis and retire as a Blue. Other sites have mentioned that Tkachuk doesn’t want to move too far from family just to serve out his time as a rental player, so to speak.

Still, I could see Tkachuk considering a move if it was to a team 1) in contention and more importantly 2) to his liking. His hometown, Boston, might be a fit for the second category, but far now I’d assume Walt will be staying here.

Looking beyond Tkachuk, the Blues have plenty of spare parts that could be packaged for fresh faces. The defense is a crowded group and I wouldn’t be surprised to see one go prior to the deadline.

Fans have mentioned their desire to move Paul Kariya and Brad Boyes but hefty salaries and lack of production have left few (if any) teams interested. Moving them is much easier said than done.

Other fans have stated they want the Blues to stand pat, and move forward with the faces we have currently. I’m on the fence with this one. Yes, I do think this team has greatly underachieved and is capable of winning games like we saw near the end of last year. However, I do not think the current group is capable of making a splash in the playoffs, assuming they reach them. In my opinion, there are several areas on this team that definitely need some upgrading.

- Goaltending
- Scoring

The defense I really can’t say much about, as I feel Erik Johnson has plenty of room to grow and Roman Polak is just a beast back there. Maybe another puck moving defenseman would do the team well, but clearly there are other areas in much greater need of improvement.

Goaltending
I’m as big a Chris Mason fan as anyone, and I think the addition of Ty Conklin prior to this season was a great one. However, if the Olympic have shown us one thing it’s that a star goaltender makes an enormous difference on the ice. Currently the Blues have been using a tag team rotation of goalies that are realistically more backups than they are stars. Just look to Ryan Miller, Tomas Vokoun and the others involved in the Olympic competition and watch how they can change the shape of a game in a way that Mason and Conklin can’t – at least not on a regular basis.

Obviously, these goaltenders are extremely tough to find and have an enormous price tag when talking trade. However, this will be an area the Blues must address moving forward.

Offense
The Blues have scored the fewest goals since the lockout ended. It’s true – you can look it up yourself. The team hasn’t just lacked offense this year but in each of the past several seasons and will have to address this point as well. I imagine the front office thought they had this point addressed when bringing in Kariya, but injuries and age have destroyed that notion. The team needs a star – one that can move the puck and help create chances in any situation. The Blues right now have a lot of good parts/pieces, but currently no great ones. The youngsters could grow into the role, but likely will never reach the high-scoring ways the Blues could use.

Looking Ahead

So where does that leave us? Long term, the Blues need to add a star player to help run the offense and need a goalie that is not only reliable each night but can change the shape of a game on a more regular basis. These are extremely tough holes to fill as the price will be monstrous.

The trade deadline could see the Blues patch some of their holes (Tim Thomas could be on the move), but I look to the summer as the point when the real moves could go down.

The Blues need only look to the Olympics to see how pivotal having a star in net can be and how important it is to have a guy who can steal you a win (Ryan Miller).

This was no second coming of the Miracle on Ice nor was it something that will change the face of the game of hockey as we know it, but let’s sit back and be honest with ourselves for a moment. Few people saw this coming. Few people thought the USA would pull out a 5-3 win against Canada IN Canada. Nobody thought Chris Drury and Brian Rafalski would be the heroes. Ryan Miller saved the day – again and again and again. Boy was it sweet to see. Canada carries an attitude toward hockey similar to the one the USA carries with basketball: “It’s our game, we are the best”. On this night, that wasn’t the case. On paper, Canada has a much more talented squad, but on this night hard work is what won the fight.

The picture above really reflects the effort turned in by David Backes last night. Most will look back at the boxscore, see he recorded an assist and move on to those that stand out such as the previously mentioned Rafalski. Don’t turn a blind eye to his performance – without his work down low, the USA struggles and does not score their pivotal third goal to gain a lead. Just prior to this photo from inside the net was snapped, Backes was planted at the top of the crease, causing mayhem for the defenders and Martin Brodeur behind him. Backes used all of his six feet three inch frame to block the vision of those behind him. This sort of effort usually never makes the boxscore and the impact it carries is tough to measure. Most hockey fans know that traffic in front of the net usually leads to good things, and it certainly did with the USA’s third goal. Aside from this moment, I would rate Backes’ game as another solid one. He won’t appear often in the highlights, but he wasn’t a weak point on the ice. Unfortunately, he didn’t continue to try and fight all of Canada as we saw leading up to the Olympic break, but he still was able to deliver some complete checks and use his size to win battles in the gritty areas of the ice.

This brings us to Erik Johnson. His effort won’t stand out and definitely won’t be labeled his best, but perhaps you should take a second look. Johnson, skating in his first Olympic Games (as is the majority of the U.S. roster) was asked to square off against some of the best talent the game of hockey has ever seen and shut them down for a full 60 minutes. For 57ish minutes, Johnson and his fellow teammates limited the damage to two goals. When the final horn sounded and all 45 of Canada’s shots had been fired, only three found the back of the net. An enormous effort by Ryan Miller, but also a solid effort by the defenders and forward who threw themselves in the way of countless other shots that don’t show up in the shot totals. Johnson did well at using his stick the way a defender should – to clog up passing lanes, lift the sticks of opponents (why does this always sound dirty to me?) and to chip the puck lose down low.

When the game was on the line in the closing moments, both David Backes and Erik Johnson were on the ice. Odds are, neither player has skated under the pressure they did last night and I think it goes to show us a lot about what types of players these are with how well they handled it. My hope is that when they return to the Blues, regardless of the outcome of the next few games, these two will share what they have learned with the others Blues skaters. Last night Backes and Johnson had a whole country behind them and a whole country against them. They handled themselves with poise and knew how to respond to the pressure under countless glaring eyes. These Olympic Games should be one huge learning experience that hopefully will carry over to their NHL career.

As the games role on, you can be sure that FrozenNotes will continue to monitor Backes, Johnson and of course Roman Polak.

But for now … USA! USA! USA!

I hoped our Olympic representatives from the Blues would play well, but so far they have completely exceeded my expectations. Evidence you ask? Take David Backes. Until he started picking fights with a string of Canadian players, Backes was for the most part relatively unknown around the NHL world. Fantasy hockey players knew him as the guy that might score 30 goals and put up a ton of penalty minutes, but since he has played poorly this year he fell out of their vision as well.

Boy has Backes made a lot of people remember his name and in a hurry. Team USA’s first game saw him deliver some crushing blows capped off by an impressive coast-to-coast goal. The team’s second game saw even more attention thrown Backes’ way with the play-by-play keeping a sharp eye on each of the Blues forward’s movements. With each big hit, NBC continued to stack on the praise for what we have seen for quite some time now. Backes didn’t score in the game, but did contribute an assist.

For St. Louis Blues fans, this performance might come off as frustrating as you wonder where this type of play has been all season from Backes. Like most of the team, Backes has been inconsistent but has had more positive spots than negative.

One thing is for certain, Backes will likely be focused upon in great detail Sunday against Canada considering his scraps leading into the Olympic games. Can he live up to the hype that has renamed him Inglorious Backes? Or will he get lost when facing the incredibly talented Canadian team? Time will tell.

Erik Johnson once again skated well and more importantly seemed to show no effects from the hit he took in the team’s first game that caused the defender to get up slowly. I’m probably analyzing that hit more than I should, but considering recent history and the player we are talking about, I think it’s warranted. Johnson has been held completely out of the boxscore sitting at 0 points and a plus/minus that reads EVEN, but that point aside I would say he has played very well. He may not be contributing to the attack, but he hasn’t been a negative on the ice in his first Olympic Games. Canada brings a whole other test and it will be interesting to see how Johnson (and the rest of the U.S. defense) answers the call.

Finally, Roman Polak. Polak was on the winning side of a 3-1 battle against rival Slovakia and takes on Latvia this evening. Through one game, Polak sits at a +1 and skated hard just as we have seen from him all season long. He skates with an air of confidence and his determination often keeps the opponent at bay down low in his own end. Just like the USA will face a big test Sunday, Polak and his Czech team will as well as they take on Russia.

All in all, a lot to be proud of and excited about so far from the trip of Blues. My hope is they take their Olympic experience and build upon it in the NHL season and help carry this team. Backes has emerged as a leader on the Blues team and I fully expect him to be an integral part of the St. Louis side for years to come. Johnson needs the experience and should only improve as he gains confidence and gets more games under his belt. Polak is already a force at defense and should continue to learn the subtle aspects of the game to make him a more complete defender.

Stay tuned as your Blues skate through the rest of the Olympics.