Eric Brewer

oung players in the Blues organization could be seeing more playing time.  Currently, veterans Eric Brewer and Barret Jackman are leading the team in time-on-ice per game (Brewer with 22:51 and Jackman with 22:34), but that could be a trend that changes over time.  In one of Murray's final games as coach, youngster Erik Johnson was a healthy scratch due to a poor performance as of late, despite veteran

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st the Predators in their 4-3 losing effort.  It does not end there though.

Captain Eric Brewer does not have the numbers in his favor either.  Being a -10 on the season, he is currently tied for 249th in plus/minus out of 265 NHL defensemen.  Yet, he is also the Blues' leading average ice-time getter.  Constantly being played against the top lines, Brewer has a -69 in five seasons with the Blues.  Brewer should be happy that the NHL does not recognize turnovers as an official statistic.

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igning of Sydor to a 1-year, $1 million contract, he more or less did it to replace injured captain Eric Brewer to fill out the veteran defensive core.

“Darryl Sydor is a true professional in our game," Davidson said shortly after the signing. "He's a proven winner who brings valuable leadership to our blue line and will be a positive mentor for our younger defensemen."

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ounger defensemen."

This makes sense for the team mostly for the fact that captain Eric Brewer will be injured for, at the very least, the start of the season.  Much like Davidson said, Sydor adds leadership and know-how to a mostly inexperienced blue line.  Placing Sydor on a pairing with youngster Pietrangelo can be looked at as a great learning experience for the rookie.

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te last season.

The questions just keep piling on.  What will the status of captain Eric Brewer be?  While the team seemed to rally around his loss, Brewer is still paid a handsome sum and is needed for a tighter defense.  Blues beat-writer Andy Strickland reported last week that Brewer may not be ready to return for training camp in time.  His back surgery has caused him to feel better, but he is not on schedule to be skating by training camp.  With a loss comes a better return though; Erik Johnson will be kept off the golf course and will be in a Blues uniform come September.

Continue reading "Oh Those Summer Blues"

Eric Brewer has an upbeat attitude about his current situation.

"There's never been the thought that I'm never going to play again," Brewer told the media recently. "I never had one doctor or one therapist tell me anything other than you'll be playing. It's been a little bit longer than I would have liked, but that's never been an issue. I've always been told, and I continue to be told, that I'll be fine and I'll be playing hockey."

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is that up-and-coming defenseman Erik Johnson missed all of last season with a torn ACL and captain Eric Brewer missed 54 games with a herniated disc-injury in early 2009, leaving Jackman with the most of the workload.  Jackman was forced to play 23:26 on average per game throughout the season, placing him second on the team just behind Brewer.  In the playoffs, Jackman saw 25:18 average time played, which currently places him 11th in the league.

Continue reading "Barret Jackman: A Bust in St. Louis"

f picture on December 13th, 2008 when they received even worse news; captain and leading minute-man Eric Brewer went down with a herniated disc in his lower back.  Things seemed dreary for the Blues hockey club.  Fans already started calling for the first-round draft choice in 2009 and pretty much gave up hope on any playoff dreams.

Continue reading "Blues Have Been Strong Without Brewer, Legace"

This mostly contributes to the fact that players such as Erik Johnson, Eric Brewer, Jay McKee and Roman Polak have all seen considerable time off the ice due to injury.  But the defense that is on the roster now simply has to play the body better in the defensive zone.  All too often opposing forwards are being left open in front of the net, as well as given free range behind the net.  Barret Jackman in particular has played better as of late, but had a horrid start defensively to start the season.  He has not taken the body like he used to before his shoulder surgery far back in the summer of 2004.  He has been hitting more and staying in position better, although he still ranks tied for last on the team in plus/minus with a -14

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ames) are the only players that were on the plus side of the plus-minus statistic in 2007-08.  Eric Brewer and Barret Jackman are the top minute-eaters on this roster, and they need to prove that they deserve it by stopping the top players from other clubs. 

Continue reading "What It Will Take to Win"