This year, Saint John has had to take on the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles, Baie-Comeau Drakkar, Chicoutimi Sagueneens, and most recently, the Rimouski Oceanic to get back into the Memorial Cup finals as the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League’s representative.

Saint John is joined by the Ontario Hockey League’s champions, the London Knights, the Western Hockey League’s champions, the Edmonton Oil Kings, and the host team this year, the Shawinigan Cataractes as the four teams vying for the Memorial Cup.

Yannick Veilleux, forward for the Cataractes, Ryan Tesink and Stephen MacAulay both forwards for the Saint John’s club, are the three Blues prospects who are still pressing hard for this year’s championship.

I had the privilege to chat a big with Sea Dog’s forward, Stephen MacAulay to get an inside look at what these players go through during their run for the Memorial Cup.

BlueNote Zone – You won the Memorial Cup last year with Saint John, and your club is charging back as the “favorite” to win it again this year, does being the favorite add to the pressure’s of winning, or do you try not to focus on it?

Stephen MacAualay - I think it may add a bit of pressure, but it’s not necessarily a bad thing in our eyes. The experience we gained from last year’s championship run is so valuable this time around and I think it will help us at this year’s Memorial Cup.

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BNZ – Your team was bolstered this year with the addition of Charlie Coyle, who left Boston University to join the Sea Dogs earlier this year. What has the addition of Charlie done for your team down the stretch of the regular season and into the playoffs?

SM – Hes been a heck of a player for us. He is big, strong, fast, good hands and has an NHL shot. He was the playoff MVP this year and really stepped up at times we needed him the most. He plays in all situations for our team and one of the best prospects around so we’re glad he decided to come to Saint John for the second half of the year.

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BNZ – Both yourself and teammate Ryan Tesink were both drafted by the St. Louis Blues. Both of you were six round picks, you being drafted in 2010, him in 2011. Has it helped knowing that you’re both in the same organizations with both Saint John and St. Louis?

SM – It’s definitely helped with us being together. We play on the same line here in Saint John for the most part and we play well together. We both play similar styles of game and hopefully we can be playing together again someday at the pro level.

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BNZ – There seems to be something about playing in the post season that you love because your game always seems to improve, and your point totals always seem to jump in the playoffs. Do you believe your style of play is better fitted for the playoffs or does you believe you have another level of your game that you can reach during the playoffs?

SM – I believe I have another level to my game when we reach the playoffs. A lot of playoff games are tight checking and it isn’t easy to make things click all the time. I try to play a hard, simple game in the playoffs and it has really been paying off with big goals and games over the last few playoff runs we’ve had. I enjoy the higher intensity of playoff hockey.

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BNZ – Over your playing career thus far in juniors, you’ve proved to be a reliable two way player who can add bit of offense when needed, do you think you can translate your game to the NHL level?

SM – I believe if I were to make it to the NHL I would play a similar role as I do in junior. I enjoy killing penalties and being hard to play against so I think my game could translate well at the next level.

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BNZ – Almost every player and every fan can rattle off a list of players who have had an impact on their love of the game. Who were the players you admired growing up and watching hockey?

SM – I really admired Joe Sakic when I was growing up. His leadership, talent and the respect that other players had for him are the things I really admired about him.

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BNZ – Last year was a great year for Saint John’s Gatineau to win the QJMHL President’s Cup and then going on and beating Missisauga to win the Memorial Cup, what as it like as a player to lift the Memorial Cup, knowing that you had won Junior hockey’s most prized trophy?

SM – It’s truly an incredible feeling that is hard to put into words. When you hoist that trophy over your head, you feel like it doesn’t weigh a pound because you’ve worked so hard to achieve your goal. Hopefully in a couple weeks I can say the same thing with another Memorial Cup win.

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BNZ – Mathieu Corbeil-Theriault has been tremendous for the Sea Dogs, setting records for most wins and shutouts in team history, yet Nathan Beaulieu has set the team record for points by a defensemen. All the while, team captain Jonathan Huberdeau has been nothing short of phenomenal all year. If you had to pick your teams MVP, who would it be?

SM – We have so many talented players here in Saint John so it is hard to pick one MVP for the year. Huberdeau missed a couple months of the year with a foot injury and while he was at the World Juniors so he didn’t put up as many points as he could have. I would give the MVP to our goaltender Mathieu Corbeil and our overage forward Danick Gauthier. He is a guy that was very underrated in previous years. He played a bigger role with guys being injured and away at World Juniors. He set a team record for goals in a season with 47, which is incredible.

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BNZ – With you likely turning pro next season and jumping into the American Hockey League, what is the best memory you have of playing for the Saint John Sea Dogs?

SM – I would say winning the President’s Cup twice and winning the Memorial Cup last year would be my best memories. Like I said, hopefully I can add this year’s Memorial Cup to that list as well. My entire time here in Saint John has been amazing and I’ve made friends that will last a lifetime.

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Stephen MacAulay know’s what it takes to win, he’s done it all throughout his junior career and he’s on his way to another potential championship as well.

It’s very likely MacAulay makes the jump from juniors to the the pro level this summer. Stephen will likely getting a bottom six role in Peoria next season, similar to the role Anthony Nigro has played for the Rivermen the last two seasons. A third/fourth line role with penalty killing role for with the club.

Now, however, we’ll be sitting back and watching MacAulay, Tesink, and Veilleux fight it out to be the last ones standing and have the chance to lift the Memorial Cup high over their heads as champions of the CHL and of all three junior leagues.

The St. Louis Blues boast a lineup as healthy as its ever been, but that didn’t stop them from adding a few Black Aces to the pool of available players today.

From Blues.NHL.com:

ST. LOUIS – St. Louis Blues Executive Vice President and General Manager Doug Armstrong announced Friday the club has recalled forwards Adam Cracknell (krak-NUHL) and Evgeny Grachev (gra-CHEHV) as well as defenseman Danny Syvret (SIHV-reht) from the Blues’ American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Peoria Rivermen.

For those who don’t know, Black Aces are:

Black Aces is the term for the extra players teams traditionally call up during the playoffs to give the big club options to fill in if needed and extra bodies for practice when the veterans could use some rest. In turn, the young players get acclimated to NHL life and gain valuable experience with first-hand exposure to the intensity of the Stanley Cup playoffs.

This comes as no surprise to those who follow Peoria Rivermen beat writer Dave Eminian (aka @icetimecleve) on Twitter. He mentioned all three specifically in a tweet Monday.

Who got the invite isn’t much of a surprise either.

Captain Cracknell released himself on the AHL world and was quite the impact maker for first year head coach Jared Bednar. In 72 games he racked up 49 points (4th highest on the team) and 23 goals (T-2nd with Phil McRae). In his late 2010-11 season demo he proved to be quite a capable 4th line option who can play center or right wing in the key of Ken Hitchcock’s favorite show tunes. He doesn’t shy away from contact, has a respectable shot for a depth forward and is responsible at both ends. He won’t likey appear in the playoffs, but the nod shows his place in the pecking order heading in to the off season.

Grachev has the skill to move up and down the line up and displayed a suitable compete level to go along with his size in 26 games with the Blues this season. From a practice perspective he can fill in to allow several players a day off if they need it.

Syvret gets the call over rookie Cade Fairchild because of experience. A difference of well over 100 professional games played between the two. It’s not in any disrespect to Fairchild, but most first year pros don’t belong in the playoffs. Jaden Schwartz is an obvious exception.

Speaking of Schwartz, though he wasn’t recalled, he is effectively a Black Ace as well. The likes of Matt D’Agostini and Chris Stewart are more likely to take a skill position opening at this point than the Colorado College standout. Someone like Chris Porter or Ryan Reaves would probably provide the depth line filler in such a scenario.

Who has the best chance of getting in a game? Jake Allen. Pray to the hockey gods every night that it doesn’t happen.

Eminian has covered the Rivermen for 27 years.

Dave Eminian, who many of you might know as @IceTimeCleve on Twitter, has a job many of us can only dream of. Getting paid to watch and write hockey. But he’s earned his dues, and in doing so, he’s been able to cover to Peoria Rivermen, from their East Coast Hockey League days, all the way until now, one of the top organizations in the American Hockey League.

Dave was kind enough to sit down and answer a few questions for us, helping us get another opinion on who’s improving, who’s holding the fort, and stories of some of the history of the Rivermen as well.

The Bluenote Zone – You have covered the Peoria Rivermen for 27 years now, You’ve got to see many players come up through the ranks and produce at the NHL level and you’ve seen players “bust” and never reach their potential. Out of all the players you’ve been able to see, who’s the best?

Dave Eminian – We were just discussing that on March 23-24 as nearly 40 former Rivermen players came back to Peoria to help the franchise celebrate its 30th season with an Oldtimers Game. I’m building an all-time franchise roster — the team has been in the old IHL, the ECHL and now the AHL — and I’m beyond 800 players and still researching.
I count myself lucky to have seen guys like Curtis Joseph, Nelson Emerson, David Backes, Ian Laperriere start their careers here. We’ve had guys who were great at the Rivermen level and are in the team’s Hall of Fame, like goaltender Darrell May, winger Doug Evans (played 700 games here), center Michel Mongeau and defenseman Dominic Lavoie (had a 102 mph slapper).
In that context, Mongeau was the greatest player in Peoria’s team history (165 goals, 282 assists in 328 games, IHL regular-season and playoff MVP honors).
In the NHL context, I’d have to go with Emerson or CuJo. And Backes was a guy who had that intangible aura about him from the moment he got here, no doubt he was going to be a significant NHLer.

BNZ – The Rivermen are now tied with Chicago with 75 points in their division, sit fifth in their conference and are primed for a post season run, much like their parent club. Who has been the top player on the Rivermen this season?

DE – The Rivermen playoff situation? Two weeks ago Peoria was tied with Chicago for the Midwest Division lead and the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference playoff picture. Five days after they reached that high, they were 11th in the conference. Yeah, it’s that tight a race. Through April 3, the Rivermen are sitting at No. 8 overall, on tiebreakers, and have 5 games left in the regular-season. For most of the season, All-Star center T.J. Hensick has been their MVP, sitting among the top three in the overall AHL scoring race. Hensick rusted for 25 days on a call-up to St. Louis, however, and has not been able to make a big impact since returning here. Down the stretch, Peoria’s MVP has been veteran Jonathan Cheechoo, who has 6 goals in his last 8 games while the rest of the team combined for 9 in that span. He’s playing inspired hockey and trying to lead the team.

BNZ -  The Rivermen just got TJ Hensick back from the St. Louis Blues after the signing of Jaden Schwartz, this is a move that can really help ramp the Rivermen up as they close out the season. How will this affect the line up going into the playoffs?

DE -  Hensick’s return to Peoria? Hensick has really struggled since returning from the Blues from a call-up in which he felt he was left to go to waste. His mental frame is not good at the moment, and he has scratched out just 2 goals, 1 assist and a -1 rating in 8 games since returning. Hensick is an elite player — arguably THE elite player — in the AHL and if he regroups and returns to form he can single-handedly push Peoria through the playoffs. Linemate Derek Nesbitt — one of Peoria’s six players to reach 20 goals this season — has gone 13 straight games without scoring and needs Hensick to set him up.

BNZ – One player you’ve got to watch dominate for the Rivermen, Jean-Guy Trudel, was just inducted into the Peoria Rivermen Hall of Fame. Trudel, who still lives in Peoria with his family started his career with the Rivermen when Peoria was apart of the East Coast Hockey League (ECHL) and was a dominant force throughout the AHL in his career. What do you think held him back from making it in the National Hockey League?

DE – Jean-Guy Trudel was one of those prospects who started his pro career with the Rivermen in their ECHL era and came back to play for Peoria in the AHL, too. He won a Calder Cup ring as Houston’s star in the AHL, and blew up defenses for years in Europe. One of the toughest guys to knock off the puck, we just added him to the Rivermen Hall off Fame here in late March. Trudel was a terrific offensive player — heck, he even scored 4 goals in the Oldtimers’ Game in March — but it was his defense that kept him from gaining a foothold in the NHL. He wasn’t quite fast enough maybe, either. Had plus-speed for the AHL level and was so strong on his skates, he created a lot of fun moments for sure.

BNZ – With the trade of Ben Bishop to the Ottawa Senators, the load was given to Jake Allen, the Blues 2nd round pick (34th overall) in 2008. The Rivermen then acquired Alex Stalock on loan from the San Jose Sharks. How do you feel the Rivermen goaltending rank among the American Hockey League?

DE – The Rivermen goaltending? The Rivermen were braced for the trade of Ben Bishop almost before Christmas arrived. He tore up the AHL and is going to be a contender for Goaltender of the Year even though he’s moved up to Ottawa now. Jake Allen had a slow start to his season and seemed lost in Bishop’s shadow, but he has been very good since December, really, and just put together 15 straight starts for the Rivermen down the stretch. Bishop-Allen was the No. 1 tandem in the AHL — maybe Oklahoma City‘s David LeNeveu and Yann Danis were the exception — from January through late February. Stalock is a pretty good fallback position — he won 39 games for Worcester and was an AHL All-Star in 2009-10. Stalock jumped in for his first start on Sunday and promptly tossed a 1-0 shutout to keep Peoria alive in the playoff race.
As for Allen, more than one NHL scout has told me in the last couple months that he’ll be as good in the AHL next season as Bishop was this season.

BNZ – The Blues have one of the top prospect pools in the NHL and many of those prospects reside on the Rivermen roster. Out of all the kids in the AHL this season, who is most likely to make the jump to the NHL next season?

DE – Rivermen players making NHL jump next season? I don’t think we’ll see Ian Cole in Peoria again next season, and injuries in St. Louis this season merely sped up his graduation to the Blues. With Schwartz there, and maybe Tarasenko coming too, the Blues will continue to add young dynamic players. From Peoria, you can look for defenseman Cade Fairchild and center Phil McRae — McRae will be in his third season and needs to make some kind of move forward — to have the best chances in camp. Maybe Grachev as a role player replacing one of the older guys up there.

BNZ – The trade of Brett Sterling to the Portland Pirates in exchange for Patrick O’Sullivan raised quite a few eyebrows for the Rivermen fan base. However, O’Sullivan has four goals, six assists for 10 points in seven games with the Rivermen and Sterling has three goals and an assist for Portland in seven games. Is the trade as lopsided as the stat line suggests?

DE – The trade of Brett Sterling (22 goals with the Rivermen) for Patrick O’Sullivan in early March was an exchange of two great AHL players who do different things. Sterling is a pure finisher. O’Sullivan scores goals, too, but he also has a playmaking skill set that is similar to Hensick, who was in the NHL with St. Louis as the trade deadline arrived. The Rivermen made the move because it was unlikely Sterling was going to re-sign next season, but mostly because they were seeking O’Sullivan’s playmaking to protect them in the case Hensick didn’t return from the Blues.

BNZ – What is it going to take for the Rivermen to make a run in the playoffs for a chance at the Calder Cup?

DE – What it takes for Rivermen to make a Calder run? The Rivermen are an interesting team, one a few of the favored playoff-bound teams would like to see miss the field. I believe Peoria’s forward group ranks among the top 5 in the AHL. Its defense unit, however, is young and took big hits with the loss of Jake Gannon (injury out for season) and Cole. It ranks in the bottom third of the AHL, at best. The Rivermen have both PP and PK units among the league’s Top 10. So there are good pieces here to work with if they can get in. To go far, Peoria’s forward group will have to get hot again, and Allen will have to play at a sub-2,00 goals-per-game clip in the postseason.

BNZ – While covering the Rivermen the last 27 years, you’ve seen your fair share of visiting arena’s. What would you say your favorite arena is, aside from the Carver Arena in Peoria?

DE – Favorite arenas? I’ve been lucky to cover the Rivermen in 31 states and nearly 90 arenas over my 27 seasons. I’ve been in some big, beautiful new arenas in Minnesota, Cleveland, New Orleans, Salt Lake City … but I really loved the old arena in Toledo, Ohio. About 4,000 seats, just a lower bowl. Rink was only 174 feet long. Glass was only 4 feet high. And the press box was an old railroad boxcar lashed to the rafters with chains. Never sat down for a game up there because there were no seats in the press box. Old-time hockey.

BNZ – Out of all players who returned from last season, who has been the most improved player for the Rivermen this season?

DE – Rivermen player most improved? Adam Cracknell made his NHL debut with the Blues last season, but he has continued to improve in 2011-12. He earned his first captaincy, and is having a career-year with 20 goals. Anthony Nigro is having a career year, too. His goals are at 12, up from 9 last season, and his plus-minus is +12, far better than last year’s -1.

I want to thank Dave for giving us the chance to see inside the knowledge of a man who’s covered the same team for 27 years. A man who has spent so much time around the sport of hockey. He helps us see what most of us cannot see, as he’s around the team on a daily basis, compared to maybe catching a few games here and there like the rest of us.

Talking to Dave reminds me of the biggest reason why I enjoy interviewing writers and if I ever get the chance, coaches, scouts, and management over players. Sometimes, you get better stories out of guys who’ve been in one job for a long time, compared to what you get from the players themselves.

Be sure to follow Dave on twitter @IceTimeCleve and be sure to check out the daily Peoria Journal Star Rivermen coverage,  which includes pictures, video and words.

Thanks for reading everybody, and LETS GO RIVS!

Any questions? Message me at randallritchey@gmail.com

Jean-Guy Trudel is headed to the Rivermen's HoF. (photo courtesy, flickr)

In the history of the Peoria Rivermen, we have seen many great players come up through the teams ranks. Many have gone on to have great NHL careers, while some find better luck in the European leagues.

One of these players, who only played three seasons with the Rivermen, finds himself headed to the Rivermen Hall of Fame. Trudel, 37, is to be inducted tonight before the Rivermen face off against the Milwaukee Admirals.

Jean-Guy Trudel played in only 177 games for the Rivermen, but his 234 points proved to be better than many who played twice as many games in Rivermen jerseys. His 87 goals, 147 assists put Trudel at being one of the highest point-per-game players in Rivermen History.

Trudel was a playoff performer as well. In 13 games for the Rivermen, Trudel posted 9 goals and 10 assists, again, more than a point-per-game in the post season as well.

Jean-Guy Trudel will be the 34th person to enter the Rivermen Hall of Fame, joining 23 other players, five coaches, and five “builders”.   He is more than deserving of this honor and will be remembered as one of the more likable players in the Rivermen’s history.

Trudel still lives in Peoria with his family. He is now coach coaching The Peoria Mustangs, a North American Tier III hockey club.

It’s a testament to the Peoria Rivermen organization and Peoria itself, that a man who played only three seasons in Peoria still finds his home in the small town in Illinois.

I for one, love seeing stories like this. Players who come up the ranks and even though they spend little time in the organization, find a way to come back, like Trudel did in 2008. Then he finds his home in Peoria after his career is over.

A player who fits this mold currently? T.J. Hensick, a player who seems to love it in Peoria, who is Peoria’s top offensive player, and while he’ll get some call ups to the big club, was signed primarily to be “the guy” in Peoria. He is signed for another year after this and I wouldn’t be surprised if we returns even past next season as well.

Our winner is “Gloves Off”:

"One linesman to the other: “Train, train, Chechoo train, the Rivermen are gonna win this game, Che-choo! Che-choo!" ~ 'Gloves Off', Caption the Photo Winner 3-12-12

As this week’s winner, “Gloves Off” will receive a Blues 3rd Logo Bumper Sticker.

Congratulations to our winner, and stay tuned for the next round of captioning starting this Sunday!

Decision Time Draws Near for Jaden Schwartz

According to Brian Gomez of the Colorado Springs Gazette, the Blues’ top draft pick in 2010, Jaden Schwartz, will sign a pro contract as soon as tomorrow. The deal would pay $700,000 in the NHL and $250,000 in the AHL. It would be prorated based on the number of games he plays this season.

It’s interesting that the Blues do not seem to believe that burning a year of Schwartz’s ELC on a partial season is a negative. If they did, an ATO contract and time with the Rivermen makes so much more sense and also fits in with the general manner in which the organization has handled prospects in the Dave Checketts era.

Back with more information as it becomes available.

What will the winner of this contest get?? Each week’s winner will get their caption put *permanently* in the photo’s description.  The winner will also receive a small Blues themed gift.

 Contest Dates: Monday March 12 through Thursday March 15 5:00 pm

CONTEST RULES: Comment on the contest post to enter (Facebook comments and Twitter replies will not be entered into the contest).  Give us your best caption; it can be as short or long as you would like.  You can include as many lines as you want pertaining to as many aspects of the photo that you would like.  Keep your captions clean! Major profanity (ie “the F bomb”) will not be accepted in this contest.  Any comments that do not follow our guidelines will be deleted.

Prize: Blues 3rd Logo Bumper Sticker

Photo: Give us your best caption for this shot from the Peoria Rivermen vs Abbotsford Heat game on February 26!

Our winner is Geoff:

"Now hold still, and I’ll get the mosquito for you." ~Geoff (Caption the Photo Winner 2-26-12)

As this week’s winner, Geoff will receive a set of Blues Panini Trading Cards from the February 22, 2012 game.

Congratulations to our winner, and stay tuned for the next round of captioning starting this Sunday!

What will the winner of this contest get?? Each week’s winner will get their caption put *permanently* in the photo’s description.  The winner will also receive a small Blues themed gift.

 Contest Dates: Sunday February 19th 1:00 pm (CST) through Wednesday February 22nd 5:00 pm (CST)

CONTEST RULES: Comment on the contest post to enter (Facebook comments and Twitter replies will not be entered into the contest).  Give us your best caption; it can be as short or long as you would like.  You can include as many lines as you want pertaining to as many aspects of the photo that you would like.  Keep your captions clean! Major profanity (ie “the F bomb”) will not be accepted in this contest.  Any comments that do not follow our guidelines will be deleted.

Prize: This week’s prize is a set of Blues Panini Trading Cards from the February 22, 2012 game.

Photo:  Give us your best caption for this shot of Mark Cundari from the Peoria Rivermen and Michael Latta of the Milwuakee Admirals! (Especially Picked by Scott N!)

Our winner is Jeff W:

"Ponich: 'Ok, Right hand on red. Left foot on Green.' Twister is a lot tougher on ice skates." ~ Jeff W (Caption the Photo Winner 2-19-12)

As this week’s winner, Jeff will receive a Blues key chain flashlight (the flashlight is metal and has LED bulbs).

Congratulations to our winner, and stay tuned for the next round of captioning starting this Sunday!