Training Camp Thread

[kimzey59]

The thread for all things Training Camp.

https://x.com/MDeFranks/status/1968685595422511188
Group A Lines:

Stenberg-Thomas-Snuggerud
Buchnevich-Bjugstad-Texier
Kaskimaki-Sundvqist-Joseph
Walker-Alexandrov-Wagner
Robertsson-McGing-Jecho/Stange

Lindstein-Faulk
Broberg-Jiricek
Loof-Kessel
Burns-McIsaac
Gaudet-Johannesson

Binnington
Ellis
Koprowski

I'll post the Group B lines when they're available.

[Harry S Deals]

I think Stenberg has to be included in the battle for the 3rd line wing spot. How are we viewing the contenders:?

Texier
Dvorsky
Joseph
Stenberg
Carbonneau

[callitwhatyouwant]

I do like in principle how they handle training camp in regards to the young guys. They give them the best shot to be successful by putting them with the better players. But it does create a later problem with the top lines of being on the same page out of the gate. I guess the other option is the top lines getting a false sense of confidence by beating up on young players in mismatches.

I could be wrong, But I can't remember a start to a season where the Blues came out of the gate playing crisp. I guess the covid year that happened. But even then, I vaguely remember them picking up steam into the all star break. Maybe they were just good that whole time there.

[kimzey59]

I do like in principle how they handle training camp in regards to the young guys. They give them the best shot to be successful by putting them with the better players. But it does create a later problem with the top lines of being on the same page out of the gate. I guess the other option is the top lines getting a false sense of confidence by beating up on young players in mismatches.

I could be wrong, But I can't remember a start to a season where the Blues came out of the gate playing crisp. I guess the covid year that happened. But even then, I vaguely remember them picking up steam into the all star break. Maybe they were just good that whole time there.

The Blues came out of the gate red hot practically every year under Hitchcock.

[sdaltons]

I do like in principle how they handle training camp in regards to the young guys. They give them the best shot to be successful by putting them with the better players. But it does create a later problem with the top lines of being on the same page out of the gate. I guess the other option is the top lines getting a false sense of confidence by beating up on young players in mismatches.

I could be wrong, But I can't remember a start to a season where the Blues came out of the gate playing crisp. I guess the covid year that happened. But even then, I vaguely remember them picking up steam into the all star break. Maybe they were just good that whole time there.

The Blues came out of the gate red hot practically every year under Hitchcock.

He got those guys to "buy in" haha

[STL fan in MN]

I think Stenberg has to be included in the battle for the 3rd line wing spot. How are we viewing the contenders:?

Texier
Dvorsky
Joseph
Stenberg
Carbonneau

You’re missing probably the top 2 - Bjugstad and Sundqvist.

[seattleblue]

Looking forward to reports ... I think I am spared tomorrow/Saturday's junior games since these guys won't be back for them.

[Harry S Deals]

I think Stenberg has to be included in the battle for the 3rd line wing spot. How are we viewing the contenders:?

Texier
Dvorsky
Joseph
Stenberg
Carbonneau

You’re missing probably the top 2 - Bjugstad and Sundqvist.

For the 3rd RW spot? Im hoping the Blues can do better than Sunny on the 3rd line Im guessing its more like this:

Buch Thomas Snuggerud
Holloway Schenn Kyrou
Neighbours Suter XXXX
Walker Bjugstad Torop

I dont see Sunny on the 3rd line although he is a right shot I think either Sunny or Bjug are the 4th centers

[DawgDad]

The thread for all things Training Camp.

https://x.com/MDeFranks/status/1968685595422511188
Group A Lines:

Stenberg-Thomas-Snuggerud
Buchnevich-Bjugstad-Texier
Kaskimaki-Sundvqist-Joseph
Walker-Alexandrov-Wagner
Robertsson-McGing-Jecho/Stange

Lindstein-Faulk
Broberg-Jiricek
Loof-Kessel
Burns-McIsaac
Gaudet-Johannesson

Binnington
Ellis
Koprowski

I'll post the Group B lines when they're available.

So, there COULD be Holloway-Dvorsky-Kyrou line!

Realistically, I would expect them to split up Holloway and Kyrou at the beginning until they cut down.

[kimzey59]

Group B Lines:

Dvorsky-Suter-Kyrou
Holloway-Schenn-Carbonneau
Lucic-Peca-Toropchenko
Susuev-Stancl-Luff
Bitten-Dorion-Peterson

Fowler-Mailloux
Tucker-Parayko
Buchinger-Fischer
Schueneman-Skinner
Kehrer

Hofer
Zherenko
Cranley

Note- Neighbours out for personal reasons(speculation is a family friend passed away)
https://www.nhl.com/blues/news/neighbou ... ining-camp

[STL fan in MN]

I think Stenberg has to be included in the battle for the 3rd line wing spot. How are we viewing the contenders:?

Texier
Dvorsky
Joseph
Stenberg
Carbonneau

You’re missing probably the top 2 - Bjugstad and Sundqvist.

For the 3rd RW spot? Im hoping the Blues can do better than Sunny on the 3rd line Im guessing its more like this:

Buch Thomas Snuggerud
Holloway Schenn Kyrou
Neighbours Suter XXXX
Walker Bjugstad Torop

I dont see Sunny on the 3rd line although he is a right shot I think either Sunny or Bjug are the 4th centers

Yes, for the 3RW spot. I think you’re undervaluing Sunny and Bjugstad. Or at least undervaluing how the Blues likely see them. Given the roster we had a year ago, Sunny played 3C, a position more “valuable” than 3RW or 4C. I doubt he goes from 3C to all the way out of the lineup. Not without some amazing camps from some others. He’s slow and doesn’t provide much offense but he also has high hockey sense, great positioning and very good defensive ability.

Bjugstad is similar in terms of what he brings but with a little more offensive ability but a little lower defensive ability.

Both are also right shots whose primary position after C would be RW. I expect both to play plenty as the 4C but also 3RW. All of Texier, Joseph, Stenberg and Dvorsky are lefties. Carbonneau is 18. I think some here are grossly overestimating his chances. So yeah, the established righties would absolutely have the leg up on the open 3RW spot.

[STL fan in MN]

All that said, I think we’re focusing a bit too much on the open spot being at RW. That’s most likely the case but we have some pretty flexible players. For example, Buchy is a lefty that prefers the right side. But it’s hard to get him over on the right with both Kyrou and Snuggerud here.

Let’s say someone like Dvorsky or another lefty impresses but they don’t want to force them into RW. We could do something like the following:

Neighbours-Thomas-Buchnevich
Holloway-Schenn-Kyrou
Dvorsky-Suter-Snuggerud (maybe flip Buchy and Snuggy if they don’t want 2 rookies on the same line)
Toropchenko-Bjugstad/Sunny-Walker/Sunny

That said, I think the most likely is one of Sunny/Bjugstad takes the 3RW spot…but there’s lots of options and that’s what camp’s for - to see the battles and how it all shakes out.

[Harry S Deals]

I think Stenberg has to be included in the battle for the 3rd line wing spot. How are we viewing the contenders:?

Texier
Dvorsky
Joseph
Stenberg
Carbonneau

You’re missing probably the top 2 - Bjugstad and Sundqvist.

For the 3rd RW spot? Im hoping the Blues can do better than Sunny on the 3rd line Im guessing its more like this:

Buch Thomas Snuggerud
Holloway Schenn Kyrou
Neighbours Suter XXXX
Walker Bjugstad Torop

I dont see Sunny on the 3rd line although he is a right shot I think either Sunny or Bjug are the 4th centers

Yes, for the 3RW spot. I think you’re undervaluing Sunny and Bjugstad. Or at least undervaluing how the Blues likely see them. Given the roster we had a year ago, Sunny played 3C, a position for “valuable” than 3RW or 4C. I doubt he goes from 3C to all the way out of the lineup. Not without some amazing camps from some others. He’s slow and doesn’t provide much offense but he also has high hockey sense, great positioning and very good defensive ability.

Bjugstad is similar in terms of what he brings.

Both are also right shots whose primary position after C would be RW. I expect both to play plenty as the 4C but also 3RW. All of Texier, Joseph, Stenberg and Dvorsky are lefties. Carbonneau is 18. I think some here are grossly overestimating his chances. So yeah, the established righties would absolutely have the leg up on the open 3RW spot.

Im guessing Army brought in Suter and Bjugstad to supplement the center depth, Sunny shouldnt be the 3rd center, 6 goals 20 pts wont get it done. I do agree that Bjugstad is very capable of producing on a good 3rd line moreso than Sunny. At this point i see Sunny as a 4th liner/platoon player i think the Blues are deeper than having Sunny in a top 9 role

[DawgDad]

All that said, I think we’re focusing a bit too much on the open spot being at RW. That’s most likely the case but we have some pretty flexible players. For example, Buchy is a lefty that prefers the right side. But it’s hard to get him over on the right with both Kyrou and Snuggerud here.

Let’s say someone like Dvorsky or another lefty impresses but they don’t want to force them into RW. We could do something like the following:

Neighbours-Thomas-Buchnevich
Holloway-Schenn-Kyrou
Dvorsky-Suter-Snuggerud (maybe flip Buchy and Snuggy if they don’t want 2 rookies on the same line)
Toropchenko-Bjugstad/Sunny-Walker/Sunny

That said, I think the most likely is one of Sunny/Bjugstad takes the 3RW spot…but there’s lots of options and that’s what camp’s for - to see the battles and how it all shakes out.

I'd think there's zero chance of Dvorsky and Snuggerud starting on the same line. Next year, well, we'll see.

I agree with you Sunny and Bjugstad are the top contenders, the most likely to fill out the four lines. I do believe Dvorsky has a chance, but he has to make it untenable to send him down.

Blues may be setting themselves up for a big problem. Next season all five of the 1st round picks could be NHL ready. Stenberg-Dvorsky-Carbonneau (less likely)-Lindstein-Jiricek (with a whole healthy season behind him it is possible).

[Army's Mom]

I think Stenberg has to be included in the battle for the 3rd line wing spot. How are we viewing the contenders:?

Texier
Dvorsky
Joseph
Stenberg
Carbonneau

You’re missing probably the top 2 - Bjugstad and Sundqvist.

For the 3rd RW spot? Im hoping the Blues can do better than Sunny on the 3rd line Im guessing its more like this:

Buch Thomas Snuggerud
Holloway Schenn Kyrou
Neighbours Suter XXXX
Walker Bjugstad Torop

I dont see Sunny on the 3rd line although he is a right shot I think either Sunny or Bjug are the 4th centers

Yes, for the 3RW spot. I think you’re undervaluing Sunny and Bjugstad. Or at least undervaluing how the Blues likely see them. Given the roster we had a year ago, Sunny played 3C, a position for “valuable” than 3RW or 4C. I doubt he goes from 3C to all the way out of the lineup. Not without some amazing camps from some others. He’s slow and doesn’t provide much offense but he also has high hockey sense, great positioning and very good defensive ability.

Bjugstad is similar in terms of what he brings.

Both are also right shots whose primary position after C would be RW. I expect both to play plenty as the 4C but also 3RW. All of Texier, Joseph, Stenberg and Dvorsky are lefties. Carbonneau is 18. I think some here are grossly overestimating his chances. So yeah, the established righties would absolutely have the leg up on the open 3RW spot.

Im guessing Army brought in Suter and Bjugstad to supplement the center depth, Sunny shouldnt be the 3rd center, 6 goals 20 pts wont get it done. I do agree that Bjugstad is very capable of producing on a good 3rd line moreso than Sunny. At this point i see Sunny as a 4th liner/platoon player i think the Blues are deeper than having Sunny in a top 9 role

The "deeper" they are, the less likely they are to put Carbonneau or Dvorsky into the lineup over proven veterans. Remember, Sunny played as 3RW plenty last year.

I'm with you in preferring they give a shot to someone who can generate more offense, but in a world where we've already got two rookies penciled into the everyday lineup, the odds of Dvorsky or Carbonneau claiming 3RW lower exponentially. If they want an offensive look, they've got Tex for another year.

Going back to your original premise of ranking the likely candidates for 3RW (assuming the same top 6 as last year), I think:
Bjugstad (with Sunny as 4C)
Sunny (with Bjugstad as 4C)
Texier (if they want offense and Bjugstad is out)
Joseph (if they want defense and Sunny is out)
Dvorsky/Carbonneau

That's a lot of guys to have to beat out before Stenberg even becomes a consideration...

[DawgDad]

I think Stenberg has to be included in the battle for the 3rd line wing spot. How are we viewing the contenders:?

Texier
Dvorsky
Joseph
Stenberg
Carbonneau

You’re missing probably the top 2 - Bjugstad and Sundqvist.

For the 3rd RW spot? Im hoping the Blues can do better than Sunny on the 3rd line Im guessing its more like this:

Buch Thomas Snuggerud
Holloway Schenn Kyrou
Neighbours Suter XXXX
Walker Bjugstad Torop

I dont see Sunny on the 3rd line although he is a right shot I think either Sunny or Bjug are the 4th centers

Yes, for the 3RW spot. I think you’re undervaluing Sunny and Bjugstad. Or at least undervaluing how the Blues likely see them. Given the roster we had a year ago, Sunny played 3C, a position for “valuable” than 3RW or 4C. I doubt he goes from 3C to all the way out of the lineup. Not without some amazing camps from some others. He’s slow and doesn’t provide much offense but he also has high hockey sense, great positioning and very good defensive ability.

Bjugstad is similar in terms of what he brings.

Both are also right shots whose primary position after C would be RW. I expect both to play plenty as the 4C but also 3RW. All of Texier, Joseph, Stenberg and Dvorsky are lefties. Carbonneau is 18. I think some here are grossly overestimating his chances. So yeah, the established righties would absolutely have the leg up on the open 3RW spot.

Im guessing Army brought in Suter and Bjugstad to supplement the center depth, Sunny shouldnt be the 3rd center, 6 goals 20 pts wont get it done. I do agree that Bjugstad is very capable of producing on a good 3rd line moreso than Sunny. At this point i see Sunny as a 4th liner/platoon player i think the Blues are deeper than having Sunny in a top 9 role

The "deeper" they are, the less likely they are to put Carbonneau or Dvorsky into the lineup over proven veterans. Remember, Sunny played as 3RW plenty last year.

I'm with you in preferring they give a shot to someone who can generate more offense, but in a world where we've already got two rookies penciled into the everyday lineup, the odds of Dvorsky or Carbonneau claiming 3RW lower exponentially. If they want an offensive look, they've got Tex for another year.

Going back to your original premise of ranking the likely candidates for 3RW (assuming the same top 6 as last year), I think:
Bjugstad (with Sunny as 4C)
Sunny (with Bjugstad as 4C)
Texier (if they want offense and Bjugstad is out)
Joseph (if they want defense and Sunny is out)
Dvorsky/Carbonneau

That's a lot of guys to have to beat out before Stenberg even becomes a consideration...

Bjugstad and Sunny, most likely, especially if Sunny is healthy and skating well. When you get down to Texier I go off in a different direction. His value is he can plug in on any line, his drawback is he is likely to disappear on the next shift. Really, if Dvorsky is ready for the NHL I cannot imagine how Texier could be a better option unless they want someone to sit in the pressbox. Dvorsky has more raw talent and upside potential.

Joseph I keep around for depth. His speed and tenacity plug in nicely in small doses, and there is no guilty feeling in sitting him out.