Texier / Joseph

[callitwhatyouwant]

I think Joseph has another gear to give the Blues. But that's contingent on linemates. I think Sunny and Faksa definitely played a role in how line 3 and 4 operated last year. With Suter centering line 3, I think it benefits both lines and there is more talent distribution. I am not saying that I'm wishing for them to make the roster, but I think they were playing on a very defensive oriented mindset last year and that caused some issues in their games.

[BalotelliMassive]

Joseph and Texier have not blocked Snuggerud's path to the NHL, he was deemed ready and he played to the exclusion of one of them when he was available. I mean, what better evidence could there possibly be?

I don't think he was deemed ready - he got his end of season contract/9 game stint and it worked out so far. I think putting him in important games at the end of the season and post season did a lot more for his confidence than sending him to the AHL. Giving him a chance to play worked out - now it's about building chemistry under the right coach imo.

[DawgDad]

Joseph and Texier have not blocked Snuggerud's path to the NHL, he was deemed ready and he played to the exclusion of one of them when he was available. I mean, what better evidence could there possibly be?

I don't think he was deemed ready - he got his end of season contract/9 game stint and it worked out so far. I think putting him in important games at the end of the season and post season did a lot more for his confidence than sending him to the AHL. Giving him a chance to play worked out - now it's about building chemistry under the right coach imo.

Respectfully, I disagree, I DO think the brass deemed him "ready" or they would not have thrown him in there. Army has been out there numerous times now speaking to the need to be careful with these prospects and not overexpose them too quickly. There were other options with Holloway out, Joseph, Texier, Dvorsky, others. Contractually I believe you are right, he conveniently fell into the 9-game window. Hockey-wise, giving him a shot was viewed as an option with more upside potential than playing one of the other veterans. I seriously do not believe they would have thrown him to the wolves if they did not believe he was ready. By comparison, they dipped Dvorsky's toes into the water and quickly pulled him back.

NOW, camp and the upcoming season is different. Snuggerud could still get sent down if he spits the bit. I don't believe the Blues brass expects that to happen, though there will likely be some rough moments. More likely they will make him earn his minutes and level of responsibility via line slotting.

[Harry York 37]

Its a nice vacation, but this is the Sargasso Sea of Hockey action, so my mind wanders.

I wonder if Texier is :
a) Over whatever trauma he suffered when "Two close family members died suddenly in close succession".
The best guess was that it was his Grandmother passing fairly close after the death of his Grandfather.
From the Athletic, almost five years ago

‘A very close family’
It was early October, and Alexandre Texier was just getting settled in Kuopio, where he’d spent the 2017-18 and 2018-19 seasons playing for KalPa. He got the news he never wanted to hear: His beloved grandmother, Annie, was sick back home in Grenoble.

This would be rough news on its own, but Texier was still living with regret after missing his grandfather’s final days less than a year earlier. Michel Texier, 78, died during Texier’s rookie season in Columbus.

“It’s a game day, and you wake up to a call from your mom,” Alexandre Texier said. “She doesn’t know how to say this to me, but my grandfather died.

“It was pretty tough to be focused on the game, to be honest. I tried to keep it to me. I didn’t tell anybody during the day or after that. I didn’t want to talk. I kept it for me and tried to play the game for him.

“I didn’t score, but I played a good game. I remember because I put everything into it for him. I loved my grandfather. Really, really loved him. So everything inside of me was for him.”

Texier has an extremely close-knit family, all of them living within a few miles of each other in Grenoble, a city of 150,000 in southeast France. When his mother called early last month, he felt an unrelenting urge to get back home.

His grandmother, after all, was responsible for driving young Alexandre to the hockey rink most days for practice.

“I don’t want to not see my grandmother again, so I was going home to take care of her,” Texier said.

Texier contacted his agent, Markus Lehto, and the KalPa club management and departed the following day. He quickly signed a contract with his old club team in Grenoble, a member of France’s top league. He last played for the Brûleurs de Loups (Wolf Burners!) as a 17-year-old in 2016-17.

Play: Video

The very good news is that Texier’s grandmother is doing better.

The rough news is that Texier played only one game with Grenoble before the season was put on hold because of the pandemic.

So Texier is biding his time in Grenoble. He practices with the team in the morning but otherwise is allowed to leave his apartment for only one hour per day to run necessary errands such as going to the grocery store or pharmacy.

France’s lockdown has been as strict as any in Europe. Restaurants and bars are closed, as are most non-essential businesses. Schools and factories are open. Anybody seen in public without a mask is subject to a fine of 135 euros, or about $160 U.S.

“That’s in place until Dec. 1, but they might be extending it,” Texier said. “The situation here is pretty bad.”



It seems His grandmother passed in early 2022 as he was rehabbing an injury, so the Jackets let him rehab back in Grenoble France, where he lgre up and played hockey.

Its gotta be tough being a very young man alone on a foreign continent while your family slowly dies.

He is an enigma who has frustrated many people other than myself, because when he turns it on... he is a Second liner for sure.

[Nublues69]

Seems like everyone on here has written these guys off already for this season. Don't get me wrong..........I'm not pining for them to have bigger roles this year but I thought Joseph came on by the end of the season. He's got good wheels and plays physical. Texier has his merits as well. What do others think?

Joseph could stick and be injury insurance (and I’m not sold he’s even capable of that) but Texier was given multiple chances and was/is hot garbage.
We need to raise the talent bar so that we don’t have these two or the Sunny’s of the world on our roster.

I agree texier showed very little.

[Harry York 37]

Seems like everyone on here has written these guys off already for this season. Don't get me wrong..........I'm not pining for them to have bigger roles this year but I thought Joseph came on by the end of the season. He's got good wheels and plays physical. Texier has his merits as well. What do others think?

Joseph could stick and be injury insurance (and I’m not sold he’s even capable of that) but Texier was given multiple chances and was/is hot garbage.
We need to raise the talent bar so that we don’t have these two or the Sunny’s of the world on our roster.

I agree texier showed very little.

Texier's inconsistency indicates he is ready to play near home, in Europe. His shot and playmaking are excellent... when he shows up.