Patrik Berglund

09; he has just eight goals and 19 points.  Probably the biggest disappointment is 21-year old Patrik Berglund.  Expected to pick up from his 47-point rookie season, Berglund has just 12 points in 34 games played.  He has been a healthy scratch at times and has even seen games where he plays less than ten minutes a game on the fourth line.

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his promises, Davidson has brought in a coach who favors veterans over youth.

Youngster Patrik Berglund has definitely hit a snag on his road to success.  His six goals and six assists are not what the team is expecting out of him, but he is not the only forward who has struggled this season.  In fact, David Backes had 31 goals just one season ago; now, he has just nine.  So anyone can see why it is confusing that Backes has played in all 39 games and Berglund has been a healthy scratch for six games.

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d be lacking grit.

Another player that was snubbed from the list is young Blues prospect Patrik Berglund.  While Berglund is not enjoying the best season (6-5—11), he did register 21 goals and 26 assists in 76 games played in 2008-09 as a NHL rookie.  His speed and passing only compliment his size (6'4” 215 lbs.). 

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d Line” as it has been nicknamed, contributed for 136 points last season.  David Perron, Patrik Berglund and T.J. Oshie were impressive throughout 2009, once Berglund and Oshie fully recovered from their injuries.  All 3 of these players were dazzling Blues fans with their brilliant puck-cycling along with their willingness to work the puck in front of the net.  Perron is known for his speed and puck-handling skills, but has been criticized in the past for his small stature and the inability to hold onto the puck when hit.  It seems that he worked on that over the summer though, as rumors are swirling that Perron bulked up a bit and put on about 10-15 lbs. 

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Oshie and Patrik Berglund were nowhere to be seen in the post-season.  They both combined for 0 points and 9 shots on goal in the four games.  Putting two young prospects on an international stage such as this cannot be good for their development speed.

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Oshie, Patrik Berglund and David Perron play in their second full season together, they will also be glad to see Erik Johnson and Paul Kariya return from long injuries.

The Columbus Blue Jackets had an intense season in 2008-09.  After starting with rookie Derick Brassard scorching the ice for the first 31 games, he would fall to a season-ending shoulder injury.  But the Blue Jackets just kept winning with the likes of hot rookie goaltender Steve Mason and top point-getter Rick Nash leading the way.  Finishing seventh in the Western Conference, the Jackets can only get better with Brassard coming back for training camp.

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Oshie and Patrik Berglund rebound from their dreadful playoff performances?  Yet another query Blues fans are scratching their heads about.  The players both combined for 0 points and 9 shots on goal in all 4 playoff games against Vancouver.  The easy answer is that the two young phenoms were inexperienced and will bounce back with more experience next time around.  But the flip side is how the poor performances has effected them during this long summer.  April 21st to October 2nd is a long time to dwell on a tough loss...

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lays that they were given.  Every play was the same; Carlo Colaiacovo would slide it to either Patrik Berglund or Andy McDonald, and he would set Boyes up on a one-timer from the left face-off dot.  The Canucks noticed this trend early in game one, and every time Boyes would either shoot wide or hit a defenseman.  The Blues continued this strategy through game four, and it did not work once.

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Oshie and Patrik Berglund, has terrified opposing goaltenders night in and night out, the defense has stepped up their play and Chris Mason has been stellar between the pipes.  The most important reason for the success of this team has been the damaging team play.  Every line is finally clicking and every player is contributing in their own way.

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If you have ever seen the movie “Slap Shot,” you probably know that player/coach Reg Dunlop got pretty annoyed by people telling him how to run his team.  In a bar, a man approached Dunlop and simply stated, “Get the power-play going, eh?” Reg’s response:  “Yea, we’re working on it,” while looking away and paying attention to something else going on in the distance.  To me, I feel like head coach Andy Murray has the same response to media and the St. Louis Blues fans.  It doesn’t seem to me that Murray is putting an honest effort to improve the Blues’ power-play. 

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Oshie and Patrik Berglund:

“Somewhere along the line, some of these guys are going to hit,” Davidson said. “And then we’re going to be in pretty good shape.”

Blues management has been raving to their fans about Oshie and Berglund making the big squad this season, and about how they will be rookie standouts.  The fans did see David Perron have a strong rookie season in 2007-08, ranking number one on the team in plus/minus with a 16.  He also finished twentieth on the club with 12:33 time-on-ice per game.  Perron had his faults though.  He was accused all season by broadcasters and columnists of carrying the puck for too long at a time and not coming back and helping his team when they were hemmed in their own zone. 

Continue reading "What It Will Take to Win"