The Two Line Pass: Blues’ offseason recap and prospect preview

During the Blues 2010-11 season, I will be publishing a weekly feature on Hank’s Sports Blog and Hockey Independent called “The Two Line Pass”. Each week I will interview a local hockey personality about the week that was in Blues hockey, look ahead to upcoming match-ups, and get their opinions & analysis on any new hockey news. I will post the story itself on Hockey Independent and a copy of the full interviews as well as a summary on Hank’s Sports Blog.

Kevin Lorenz and Kelsey from The Late Night Score

My first guest for the 2010-2011 season of The Two Line Pass is Producer Kevin Lorenz “The Non-Gay”. The Blues writer for InsideSTL, Kevin has been playing hockey for the past 17 years of his life, starting in the Chesterfield Program. The Non-Gay played 4 years at DeSmet Jesuit High School, including one appearance in the Mid-States Championship Game (that appearance ended in an overtime loss to the CBC Cadets). During college, Kevin played 2 years on Mizzou’s varsity in-line team and coached the B-team for 2 years.

Formerly an intern for The ITD Morning After, Kevin Lorenz now produces and hosts The Late Night Score, an entertainment and St. Louis news talk show, from 10 pm-midnight on 590 The Fan KFNS.  Kevin is joined on the show by Kelsey, Kasey, and Wendy. David Cline of Hedonism runs the webcam.

You can listen to The LNS live on 590 AM in Saint Louis or online at KFNS.com. If you’d like to see the crew, but can’t make it out to that night’s location, there is also streaming video on InsideSTL.com

In addition to his duties with The LNS, Kevin also helps produce The One to Three Show a Saint Louis sports and entertainment talk show featuring Jay Randolph Jr., Joe Pelusi, and Sara Bruce. The One to Three Show can also be heard locally on 590 AM or online at KFNS.com.

You can see a full transcript of this interview at Hank’s Sports Blog. I hope to make this into an actual podcast in the coming weeks so stay tuned. I’m still searching for a copy of Adobe Photoshop, if you or someone you know could help me out please let me know! This is going to be a weekly feature, so if you have a question you’d like me to ask that week’s guest, let me know!

Barrett Jackman on the block

St. Louis Post Dispatch Blues beat reporter Jeremy Rutherford first reported last week that the Blues were shopping around Barret Jackman. Among the teams the Blues were reportedly trying to strike a deal was the Washington Capitals.

Being a specialized defenseman, Jackman’s value depends heavily on the needs of the team trading for him. Among the names being mentioned as trade candidates were Alexander Semin and Thomas Fleischmann. Producer Kevin said that a deal involving either of those players would most likely involve the Blues giving up another player or draft pick.

I asked Kevin “The Non Gay” about his thoughts on trading Jackman and was rather surprised by his answer.

“I know I’m in the minority, but I’m not a big proponent of trading Barret,” said Lorenz. “I think his defense is underrated on a team that did not score much last season, but it is very valuable on a team that expects to score more this season.”

Kevin continued to say that Jackman’s leadership and experience are two intangibles the Blues will need this season, especially without Keth Tkachuk.

In addition to his value as an experienced team leader, many fans overlook the emergence of Jackman and Polak as a “highly talented shutdown pairing” on defense last season.

Contingency plan in net

Should newly acquired goalie Jaroslav Halak start to struggle early this season, the Blues could be in serious trouble. Given the strength of not only the Blues’ division, but also the Western Conference as a whole, head coach Davis Payne may not be able to tough it out with Halak.

If Halak struggles early, the season may not be lost for the Blues. Kevin points out that the Blues have one of the better backups in Ty Conklin and their goalies in the AHL could help out on the NHL club as well.

“Conklin has shown in the past that he is able to handle a demanding starting role; the 2008 season with the Penguins he went 18-8-5 in 33 games, and in 2009 with the Red Wings he posted a 25-11-2 record in 40 games,” said Lorenz. “At the AHL level Ben Bishop and Jake Allen will battle for the starter’s role, it’s possible, but unlikely that Bishop could see some time in the NHL.”

Quick hits: Prospects

On Vladimir Tarasenko staying one more year in the KHL: An extra season in Russia could help him develop as long as the Blues are giving him the proper workouts and he is working on correcting the issues that are keeping him out of the NHL now, however I would prefer he played in the AHL this season. In my opinion, Tarasenko will be contributing to the Blues sometime in 2012 since he will need a short stay in the AHL.

On if Alex Pietrangelo will be on the NHL roster: The Blues are no longer in a position where they need to fast track their top draft picks, especially on defense, so it doesn’t matter to them that “Petro” was the 4th overall pick in 2008. If he doesn’t make the team out of camp this season, it doesn’t make him a bust either.

Other prospects who could make the Blues’ roster: Two other guys who look to make the team this season are Tyson Strachan and Nikita Nikitin; in fact, one of them likely will make the team with Pietrangelo this season. On the forward front, Phil McRae and Nick Drazenovic have outside chances to make the team, but I’d be surprised to see either on opening night.

Parting shot:

Kevin gives a quick summary of the Blues’ ownership situation:

“TowerBrook is going to divest their 75% stake in the Blues, that is for certain, however they will not do so until Dave Checketts and Co can find suitable buyers for that 75% stake. The ownership situation doesn’t help matters in that respect as they certainly aren’t going to go over their internal budget until it is resolved, but Checketts insists it is not affecting the day-to-day operations.”

Thanks for reading!