Goal Line Report
High Hopes for Blues’ Alex Pietrangelo
by Patrick Hoffman on 09/08/09 at 10:24 PM ET
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From Larry Wigge at NHL.com:
Looking back at the 2008 draft, there are some who will say that the riches on defense in ‘08 could not be argued—and will be talked about for years as potentially the best ever. No argument, not after what Drew Doughty, the second pick in the draft behind center Steven Stamkos, did for the Los Angeles Kings. Not after the glimpses of greatness Zach Bogosian showed Atlanta fans after the Thrashers picked him third and before he sustained an early season injury. Not after the shutdown minutes Luke Schenn, picked fifth overall by Toronto, provided the Maple Leafs as a rookie. And not after Pietrangelo gave the Blues eight poised teen-aged games at the start of last season, before he was returned to Niagara to get more minutes and further his development.
Sure the Blues could have kept Alex, but they wanted him to play more minutes that could not be provided at the NHL level. Plus, he also could work on a few small items in his development.
“We sent him back to juniors to work on having the same intensity each shift, not like in juniors when a quality defenseman plays 25-30 minutes a night and kind of saves up his energy for key points in the game,” said Blues coach Andy Murray. “Alex went back there and did everything we asked—and then he got stronger and more confident with where he’s at in our summer training program in St. Louis.
“I think young players, particularly defensemen, find it difficult to cope with the speed of the game in the NHL. Things obviously happen faster—and that’s an adjustment that is hard to make. But seeing Alex on the ice now, he seems to be playing with more speed and passion—almost like the game is slowing down for him like it does for a lot of defensemen who play like quarterbacks out there.”
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