Several St. Louis Blues players, former players, and St. Louis hockey locals scrimmaged out at the Mills Mall Wednesday.
I was not in attednance, but here is a highlight list of players.
David Backes
Erik Johnson
Patrik Berglund
Brad Winchester
Cam Janssen
Tyson Strachan
Phil McRae
Ben Bishop
Brett Sonne or Vlad Sobotka (some folks say one or the other)
Chris Butler (St. Louis native) of the Buffalo Sabres and Jamal Mayers (former Blue) who just signed with the San Jose Sharks both participated.
Ever wonder where Erik Johnson and Patrik Berglund like to grab sushi? Or what David Perron thinks about the Kovalchuk contract situation? As Twitter becomes more and more popular, an increasing number of athletes are joining in on the fun, and using it to interact with fans.
There are currently 5 Blues players, 1 Blues Prospect (who has an excellent shot at making the team within two years), and even a couple Blues television and radio personalities you can connect with on Twitter. David Peron (@DP_57), hometown kid Cam Janssen (@CamJanssen55) and Brad Winchester (@bradwinchester) were among the first of the Blues players to join the Twitter revolution. Perron seems to enjoy connecting with fans the most, as he can often be found responding to questions from fans and even giving away the occasional signed stick or puck through a trivia contest (more on that later). Blues Radio Personality Chris Kerber (@chriskerber) and Television Color Analyst Darren Pang (@panger40) are also active on Twitter from time to time, most often sharing opinions on hockey news and occasionally taking stabs at players and reporters.
The most recent players to join in on the fun are Erik Johnson (@erikjohnson6), Patrik Berglund (@pberglund21) and prospect Ian Cole (@ICole28). While Cole hasn’t really had time to do a lot of tweeting with summer school in session, Erik and Patrik appear to be having a good time joking around with each other (Swenglish?) and updating followers on their dinner plans. There is also the occasional photo thrown in (Patrik Berglund learning twitter in the locker room and Cam Janssen throwing out the first pitch at the Busch Stadium).
Giving Back
While it’s fun to read about the sushi in Clayton and who won a FIFA 10 Xbox soccer match, some of these players are also having fun with contests and most recently, arranging a contest to give money to charity. David Perron started by giving away autographed sticks and pucks when asking followers to answer trivia questions. Erik wanted to increase his follower number quickly, so he offered up two tickets to the Blues home opener to the first person to answer a trivia question right once he reached 3,000 followers (which he did in less than 48 hours!). Not to be outdone by his teammates, Cam is offering up a pair of tickets to ANY home game to his 6,000th follower (he’s catching up fast). In addition to giving back to the fans, Perron, EJ and Berglund have teamed up to give $5,000 each to a charity of their choice (which they are taking suggestions for) once David gets to 20,000 followers, EJ reaches 15,000 and Patrik has 10,000 followers. So Blues fans, here’s your challenge, let’s get Perron, EJ and Berglund a collective 45,000 followers so that a local charity can be helped.
Update: Erik Johnson tweeted today that once he gets to 15,000 followers not only will he donate $5,000 to charity, but Easton Hockey will match the donation!! He’s almost half way there, let’s get him the rest of the way!
Looking for the latest Blues news? Here is a list of people to follow on Twitter:
Reporters: @jprutherford (Jeremy Rutherford) – Blues writer for St. Louis Post-Dispatch @andystickland (Andy Strickland) – 590 The Fan Radio Personality and NHL writer @lkorac10 (Louie (Lou) Korac) – sports writer for the Alton Telegraph and Jersey County Star @NormSanders (Norm Sanders) – Blues writer for Belleville News-Democrat
Q. King Kong vs. Bam Bam – If you had to pick one to keep, which fighter would it be?
DJ King or Cam Janssen?
BlueNoteZone Recap:
We are welcoming a new Member to the BNZ crew as Stephanie Phillips comes on board. She is hard at work on her first piece. Give her some love and encourage her along.
Apparently, Derek Dorsett wanted to give this guy an elbow noogie. Image via bluejacketsxtra.com
This will be a brief Throwdown Lowdown, because we’ve already covered the Columbus Blue Jackets three times (!) since the report began in January. Division rivalries make my job easy, but add nothing to the product sometimes. Plus, as anticipated, there were no fights between the Blues or the New York Islanders on Thursday night. This leaves The Note at 57 fights on the season, still good for 5th place in the NHL. Their fight record still stands at 23-18-16.
As mentioned, Throwdown Lowdown reports were filed for Columbus games on January 12th at St. Louis, January 18th at Columbus and January 30th at St. Louis. There was one fight in the January 30th game – a declared draw between Brad Winchester and Jared Boll. Add seven more fights since that game, and it brings the Jackets to 43 total fights this season. That’s good for an 11th place tie with the New York Rangers – and oddly enough, the two teams were tied for 11th back on January 30th. Go figure! The Jackets’ fight record since the last report is 2-4-2, bringing their overall fight record to an uninspiring 9-19-15.
Rugged winger Boll (6′2″, 210lbs, 5-6-9) has fought in nearly half of Columbus’s fights this season, and it’s not hard to see why. The dude can, and will, throw bombs. Plus, when you grow up with a last name like Boll, it’s easy to get type-cast as a brawler. Other fighters to look for may be winger Derek Dorsett (5′11″, 187lbs, 1-2-2), veteran winger Chris Clark (6′0″, 198lbs, 0-1-0 w/CBJ and 0-3-1 overall), winger and team superstar Rick Nash (6′4″, 218lbs, 2-0-0) and veteran defenseman Mike Commodore (6′5″, 228lbs, 0-0-2). You’ll notice that, other than Boll and Nash, these fight records are all-too-uninspiring. If the Blues get into a fight with this team, they OUGHT to win said fight.
I would LOVE to see a rematch of Nash against David Backes. Maybe they can swap stories about their Olympic medals or something, or if Nash says something about a silver medal, Backes will imbed his into Nash’s head. That would be awesome! Also, with Cam Janssen still in the press box seat for another couple games, and this being a division rival, I fully expect DJ King to suit up and go at it with Boll. I anticipate blood in this game, what with the Blues being fully into the spirit of the playoff chase and the Jackets still fighting to stay in the hunt.
Just like Thursday, it’s a must-win game for the Blues . . . and it’s a lot more fun when the other team is a division rival. Get it done!
Krys Barch likes to punch people. Image via hockeyfights.50webs.com
A glorious two points earned by the Blues in the desert brings our squad back toward the pack fighting for the 8th spot in the playoffs. Unfortunately, no official fights occurred (the scrum at the end of the 2nd period notwithstanding), so the Blues drop to 5th place while remaining at 54 fights on the season. The season fight record stands at 22-17-15.
The Dallas Stars – former Norris Divison rivals, don’tchaknow – sometimes have problems dropping the gloves. But I won’t hold it against them . . . they’re mediocre at best when it comes to WINNING fights. The Stars have registered 35 fights on the season – good for a tie for 16th in the league with the Florida Panthers. Their fight record on the season is 11-12-12. The Blues have fought with the Stars four times thus far this season, and the Note is 4-0-0, according to the good folks at Fried Chicken’s Hockey Fights. On October 24th in St. Louis, DJ King defeated Krys Barch in a battle that cost King some time with a broken finger . . . also, Brad Winchester defeated Brian Sutherby and BJ Crombeen dispatched of Steve Ott after a questionable hit. In the November 25th game in Dallas, our own Captain Roboto, Eric Brewer, beat the living crap out of Ott in a performance that may have solidified Brewer’s captaincy for the rest of this season.
Winger Barch (6′2″, 220lbs, 3-8-4) is the lead goon on this Dallas squad – and with his size and fighting ability, it’s not hard to see WHY he’s their enforcer. Other multiple fighters for the Stars include center and general league pest Ott (6′0″, 193lbs, 4-2-2, day-to-day with an appendectomy and yes, both losses to the Blues), winger Sutherby (6′3″, 209lbs, 2-1-1, day-to-day with a shoulder issue) and defenseman Mark Fistric (6′2″, 232lbs, 1-0-2). On the season, nine Stars have fought this season, including old friend and defenseman Jeff Woywitka (6′2″, 217lbs, 0-1-0).
It’s Cam Janssen’s 2nd suspension game of five, but with the addition of Matt D’Agostini and the subsequent send-out of Derek Armstrong, it’s still no guarantee that King will get playing time on this squad. If King suits up, look for him and Barch to set a rematch. Otherwise, Crombeen or Winchester may be your best bet to fight Barch . . . but I don’t like their chances against him.
Can the Blues continue their Olympic-extended hot streak? Lord I hope so.
Obviously Matt Greene whizzed in Paul Bissonnette's Cheerios that morning. Image via mlive.com
Well . . . welcome back. It was a long, exhausting Winter Olympic break, but we’ve all finally made it through the horror that is the NHL break. Congratulations to David Backes and Erik Johnson in doing your mightiest to help the United States defend Her honor in Vancouver and for helping give us a hell of a show on Sunday. Sure, silver is disappointing to you guys, but thrilling to most of us. Also, big props to Roman Polak, who played well despite his Czech Republic team falling short of the medal round.
The end of the Olympic break means two things: 1) St. Louis Blues hockey is back, and 2) THE THROWDOWN LOWDOWN IS BACK! YYYYYYYYYES! So let’s get to it.
The final game before the break was an upset of shocking proportions over the Washington Capitals that included suspension-actionable activity followed by a tail-whipping of a fight. Cam Janssen – brainiac he is never known to be – pummeled Matt Bradley to the ice a full three seconds after Bradley released a pass toward the net. To Janssen’s credit, Bradley DID stand there and admire it for a while. That doesn’t excuse what he did; however, five games may have been a bit much for a suspension. Anyway, the questionable hit was followed by an absolute hammering by Janssen over Quintin Laing, who was in trying to defend his teammate. Admirable, but futile. Janssen is now 9-3-3 in fights this season and gets to sit next to Larry Pleau and Company for a short while. The Blues move into a tie with the Philadelphia Flyers for 4th in the league with 54 fights and a record of 22-17-15.
The Phoenix Coyotes have been quite the story in the 2009-10 season. Mired in bankruptcy hell in the offseason and nearly sold (and moved to Hamilton) to the Blackberry Blabbermouth, the club let go of Wayne Gretzky after his ownership responsibilities were properly relieved and picked up a solid coach in Dave Tippett. They’ve been on an absolute steamroll since. The only problem is that they’re not much of a fighting team – only posting 27 fights this season (spread amongst seven fighters), which is good for a tie for 23rd in the league with the lowly Carolina Hurricanes. Not good to be in the same position as THEM this year. In two games against each other, there has not been any fighting.
The conversation about the team’s enforcer role starts and ends with winger Paul Bissonnette (6′2″, 211lbs, 7-4-7). Count ‘em up . . . he’s been involved in 18 of the Coyotes’ 27 fights this season. That is a staggering percentage (for those of you scoring at home – it’s 67%). The other six fighters for the ‘Yotes this year are centers Martin Hanzal (6′5″, 218lbs, 0-1-2) and Vernon Fiddler (5′11″, 201lbs, 1-0-1), defensemen James Vandermeer (6′1″, 211lbs, 1-0-0) and Keith Yandle (6′2″, 195lbs, 0-1-0), winger Petr Prucha (6′0″, 175lbs, 0-1-0, day-to-day because of this obscenely illegal hit by James Neal) and winger/captain/face-of-the-franchise Shane Doan (6′2″, 224lbs, 0-0-1).
Since Janssen can’t be part of the dream matchup for the next five games, we’ll have to pick another. Well, why not DJ King and Bissonnette? Sure, let’s dream that one. If team stars going toe-to-toe is more your thing, why not Backes and Doan? Doan was eligible for Team Canada, after all. Fact is, though, that Backes may be a bit banged up from playing his cojones off in Vancouver. An even size matchup may be Hanzal against Brad Winchester. The possibilities are endless, but to predict a fight against a team that doesn’t fight is sometimes futile.
It’s Game 1 back from the Winter Olympics bizarro world, and it’s time for the playoff push. GET IT DONE, BOYS!
Woah…5 Games?! Not fair!
Ridiculous. Pure BS.
This is hockey, its rough.
This is the type of response I’ve seen from Blues fans today.
I’ve got to be honest, I have to say I totally disagree. This suspension has really progressed my belief that Cam Janssen shouldn’t be on this roster.
Let’s review the hit.
In the video we can see Bradley make a play and is marked by a Blues player. As Bradley moves the puck he is looking at the play infront of him. That is to Boyes (marking him, it looks like) and back to the slot area of the ice where the pass went. Cam Janssen is coming in from his blindside (around the blue line), totally outside of the play. Janssen clearly leads with an elbow to the head of Bradley.
To recap, this is what we have.
- The offender is a repeat offender. (ask Kaberle what he thinks of Janssen)
- The offender was not in the play being made.
- The victim was blindsided.
- The victim was hit in the head directly by the elbow.
I’m sorry folks, I don’t know what part of the world that type of play is allowed. Sadly, Cam thinks it should be. The St. Louis Post Dispatch quoted Janssen as saying “He had his head down and I was doing my job.”…”The bottom line is, I’m going to play the same way.” News flash Cam, if you watch the replay his head isn’t down. Bradley’s head is turned to the play in front of him.
Cam Janssen - Image via blues.nhl.com
Cam Janssen came in with zero attempt to play the puck and hit Bradley in the head. Dare I say that a player skating out of his way to hit another player in the head is similar to what Patrice Cormier did to Mikael Tam? The outcome was different, Matt Bradley wasn’t on the ice in convulsions. However, I would argue that the play was similar. The offender came in to the play and made a path straight to the puck carrier and elbowed him in the head.
This is the play that scares me. Anytime you hit someone in the head, you are not only threatening their career, but also their way of life. There is no need for that type of physical play in the game of hockey. Players like Janssen are out on the ice for one purpose, stir the pot. Sometimes its a fight, sometimes its a big hit. These types of players walk a very fine line. The line between defensible and reckless. Some hits you can justify, this one can’t be. Can we justify this hit in hockey, can we defend it? I can’t.
The Blues are currently evaluating their roster going in to the deadline and for their off season plans. Both Janssen and DJ King are up for new contracts this summer. Both fill a similar role, Tough Guy / Enforcer. Can the Blues afford to pay two of these players when they are trying to raise the skill level of the NHL roster? Many fans may have forogtten King Kong and his brutal punches. This fan has not. I remember seeing him work hard and not look out of place on his shift. King can skate and play a game that is above average for the run of the mill “goon”. Janssen worked hard this past off season and looked to be a new improved Cam at Camp. However, that still doesn’t put him above a healthy King. Cam was brought in as a player to add “toughness” to the roster while not losing longtime Blue Bryce Salvador for nothing come unrestricted free agency in spring/summer 2008. When DJ King went down with injury to open the 08-09 Campaign, Cam became the full time #13 Forward. When DJ re-injured his hand this season, Cam’s spot was solidified again. Now DJ is healthy and playing again. Cam’s roster spot is now called in to question.
I know that he is a local boy. I know he has a big smile, big personality and seems to be a nice face to market for the Blues. Sorry, TJ Oshie and David Backes to a better job of marketing this team. They help this team win nightly without the antics. If Cam is here and his only benefit is PR, why is he on the roster? This suspension has to be the giant red flag that warns Blues fans to question Cam’s spot here. If DJ is back and Cam can’t match his play (or plays so poorly its a negative impact), is he worth keeping around?
My answer is no and has been since King returned. This is just my icing on the cake to hammer my thought home.
You won't see this guy suited up until mid-March at the earliest. Image via blues.nhl.com
St. Louis Blues forward Cam Janssen has received a five-game suspension as a result of his late hit on Washington Capitals forward Matt Bradley in each team’s final game before the Olympic break on February 13th.
At first, I thought the hit was suspicious but not enough to draw a sizable suspension. I still believe the punishment is excessive, but there was no doubt it would draw the ire of the NHL’s front office.
I’ll take you back to last season – Ryan Hollweg (then of the Toronto Maple Leafs), who had already been suspended multiple times for dirty plays such as the one Janssen committed a couple weeks ago, was given an automatic two-game ban by the League for a late hit on Alex Pietrangelo (video here) because of a prior history. Hollweg, who now is toiling with the Phoenix Coyotes’ AHL affiliate (the San Antonio Rampage), had committed a similar act against the Blues in a preseason game and was a multiple repeat offender. Now, here’s the video of Janssen’s hit on Bradley.
You be the judge . . . should Janssen have been given five games for his hit on Bradley, or would a suspension of maybe two games be more appropriate? Considering Janssen had no prior history of dirty play, a suspension of two games probably would have been plenty. Maybe I’m being a homer here, but obviously Colin Campbell and I have a difference in opinion.
With the Blues on a push for the playoffs after the Olympic break ends, Janssen’s energy and intensity will be missed for the five games he is banned, but there’s a chance he would have been in the press box for at least two of those games anyway, so it shouldn’t be difficult to find energy from the pool of 3rd- and 4th-liners already employed by The Note.
Colton Orr is often seen doing this. Image via thetelegram.com
The Detroit Red Wings DID relent and fight in their game against the Blues on Tuesday. Yes, it was the shards of Brad May’s career that fought our own Brad Winchester. It was scored a draw, and rightfully so as no one really landed anything solid. The fight pushes Winchester Cathedral up to 3-1-4 on the season. That is now 51 total fights by Blues players this season, still 5th in the league. Their fight record is now 21-16-14 on the season.
The Toronto Maple Leafs are one of the most violent teams in the Eastern Conference. GM Brian Burke has worked to assemble his squad with players that largely assume his own persona – grit, toughness and strength, namely. He had success with this in Anaheim and he may well gain success with this type of maneuvering in Toronto, but as of yet it has not resulted in a lot of victories. No less, you can pretty much peg the Leafs for at least one, if not several, fights per game. They are 9th in the NHL with 44 fights on the season and they sport a solid-if-not-spectacular 16-16-12 fight record according to the good folks at Fried Chicken’s Hockey Fights. 13 Leafs have fought this season, but only eight of those players are currently with the club.
You see the visage of winger Colton Orr (6′3″, 222lbs, 4-4-7) and you see what I’m talking about with Burke and the type of player he likes. Orr was signed basically to fill the same role as Dave Semenko did for many years with the Edmonton Oilers dynasty of the mid to late 1980’s – keep opponents away from his team’s stars (Gretzky, Messier, Kurri, Fuhr, Coffey, etc.) by blasting the other team’s goons out of the way. In that, Orr leads the team in fights. The man who was second, winger and my former Favorite Current Blue Jamal Mayers (6′1″, 214lbs, 5-1-2 with the Leafs and 6-2-3 overall), was recently traded to the Calgary Flames as part of a monster trade you may have heard about. Defenseman Jay Rosehill (6′3″, 195lbs, 3-2-0) is third, but he is currently with the Toronto Marlies of the AHL. Other Leafs with multiple fights include injured Team USA defenseman Mike Komisarek (6′4″, 243lbs, 0-1-1, done for the season with a shoulder issue) and defensemen Garnet Exelby (6′1″, 215lbs, 1-2-0), Leafs blog favorite Luke Schenn (6′2″, 216lbs, 0-3-0) and Leafs blog least-favorite Jeff Finger (6′1″, 205lbs, 0-2-0). Also, recently-acquired defenseman Dion Phaneuf (6′3″, 214lbs, 1-0-0) fought twice while still with Calgary. He is 1-0-2 overall.
Orr will go with just about anyone. The trend lately has been for coach Davis (Earl of) Payne to only play one of either DJ King or Cam Janssen. Expect Orr to fight with whichever one of those two Payne decides to suit up. I would also not be opposed to Winchester getting involved with Orr or any secondary Leafs fighters that may play. I say this only because other than Phaneuf, the other secondary fighters have been consistently shuffled in-and-out of the Leafs lineup as of late.
Two more games until the Olympic break, and this one appears to be the more winnable of the two. Go get two tonight, boys.
For those of you that care about football (remember, I’m a football guy first) . . . hopefully you enjoyed the Super Bowl and the commercials that came along with it. Congratulations to the New Orleans Saints for a well-played Super Bowl and a victory that was earned and not handed. What a game! And as a lifelong Denver Broncos fans, all I have to say is . . . I guess the San Diego Chargers never really had a good use for Drew Brees, did they? But enough about football analysis . . . this is a hockey blog.
I had the great honor of being in attendance for Saturday’s tilt between the Blues and the Blackhawks. Despite the result, it was a great time – especially since there were TWO fights in the contest. The first one – pretty much a hug-out between SIR JAXX (Barret Jackman) and Cam Barker (I blame it on Barker . . . he seemed not ready to throw fists, but . . . oh well) – was scored a draw at Fried Chicken’s Hockey Fights, whereas the second fight between Eric Brewer and Andrew Ladd was called in favor of Ladd. The second fight, I thought, was even, but I also am biased (obviously). Jackman is now 1-0-2 on the season and Brewer is now 1-1-0. With the two fights, the Blues did not move up or down in the season standings, holding steady at 5th place with 48 fights on the season and a 21-14-13 season fight record.
The Colorado Avalanche are one of those teams with a mixture of a bit of everything – youth, locker room vets, skill players, tough guys, grinders and big boys. Much like the rest of the Northwest Division, the Avs are not allergic to fighting – they have fought a collective 43 times on the season, good for 7th place in the National Hockey League. However, they do not have a propensity to win fights – they’re 7-14-22 on the season, this despite starting the season 0-8-10. The Blues and Avs did not fight in the previous meeting between the two teams back on December 7th at home.
10 Avs have fought this season, and the leading fighters on the team are wingers Cody McLeod (6′2″, 210lbs, 2-3-8) and David Koci (6′6″, 238lbs, 1-4-5). As you can see, McLeod is big but Koci (who last season was a Blue for, like, five minutes) is much bigger. Center Matt Hendricks (6′0″, 215lbs, 1-3-2) is next on the list, but he is on IR with an ankle issue. Others with multiple fights are winger Chris Stewart (6′2″, 228lbs, 2-0-2), defenseman Ryan Wilson (6′1″, 207lbs, 0-1-2), veteran winger Darcy Tucker (5′10″, 178lbs, 0-1-1) and winger Chris Durno (6′4″, 205lbs, 0-0-2). Among these fighters are 6 of the 7 fight victories the Avs have recorded this season. They LIKE to fight, they just don’t WIN fights.
The dream matchup of the evening involves whichever between Cam Janssen and DJ King plays and either Koci or McLeod. If it’s King, I’d like to see him go at Koci. If it’s Janssen, he and McLeod match up well size-wise. I would also not be against a fight between someone like Jackman and a wily veteran like Tucker, although that’s a bit of a size mismatch.
One road game, then back home. The Blues need to make this one count against a very formidable foe on in Denver.
For those of you that care about football (remember, I’m a football guy first) . . . hopefully you enjoyed the Super Bowl and the commercials that came along with it. Congratulations to the New Orleans Saints for a well-played Super Bowl and a victory that was earned and not handed. What a game! And as a lifelong Denver Broncos fans, all I have to say is . . . I guess the San Diego Chargers never really had a good use for Drew Brees, did they? But enough about football analysis . . . this is a hockey blog.