Join Blues beat writer Jim Thomas for his live chat at 1 p.m. Wednesday
Get your questions ready and join in at 1 p.m. Wednesday for our weekly Blues chat.
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Barring some kind of setback tomorrow, Buchnevich will play tomorrow against his old team - the New York Rangers. Buchnevich practiced Wednesday and centered a line with Jake Neighbours and Jakub Vrana on the wings.Berube said after practice he's expecting Buchnevich to play.Thomas, however, will not play, per Berube.. Nor will Bortuzzzo For the defense, that means that Calle Rosen and Matt Kessel once again will from the third pairing.
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Good afternoon, Mr. Thomas. Thank you for the chat, and best wishes on your well-deserved upcoming retirement. We will miss you! My question/comment concerns Jordan Kyrou. I know he has the ability to be an elite goal-scorer, but he cannot be a face of the franchise if he continues such half-hearted efforts on playing defense. People excuse him as being young. Well, he's been in the NHL long enough to know better, and it's time to grow up. As former basketball coach Bob Knight said, playing defense is more about desire and commitment than ability. What is your take on Kyrou's defensive deficiencies, please? Thanks for your time.
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Kyrou has that goal-scorer's mentality, which means he's always looking for the open ice and scoring opportunities. On the other end of the ice, it means he frequently starts heading down the ice to initiate offensive opportunities before he should - in other words before the Blues have actually gotten full control of the puck.I truly believe Kyrou wants to improve his defense, but sometimes he falls into old habits.He also realizes he needs to continue to get stronger in the offseason, which will help him win puck battles and/or be able to absorb a bump without losing the puck.And thanks for the kind words.
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Thank you for your dedication to your trade over the decades. I can only imagine the personal sacrifices you have had to make. Missing key family moments, foregoing other occasions, and sometimes living alone in a hotel room for days on end (Edmonton bubble anyone?) Any way. Thank you...enjoy your next chapters! -
Very kind of you to express these thoughts. Yeah, I have missed some family moments over the years, but the Post-Dispatch, particularly sports editor Roger Hensley, have always allowed me to take a large chunk of time off in the summer - via vacation time or comp time - to re-charge the batteries. I don't think I could have done it for all these years without that down time.My kids are all grown now and not living at home, but I've found that the older I got, the more I missed my wife when I'm on the road. Go figure.
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Jim thanks for all the hard work. Enjoy retirement although you did say you have a book in the works. I hope the Blues promote Buchnevich or Thomas as the face of the franchise. Kyrou has been handed keys to the castle without earning them. He seems very "put off" in interviews. There are better options on the club.
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Thanks for the kinds words. Yeah, the plan is to collaborate on a book with former Rams coach Mike Martz. We'll see how that turns out.I don't know if the Blues actively try to prop up one player over others in terms of being the face of the franchise. But I have already seen Buchnevich take more of a leadership role in practice and in games. Thomas is taking steps in that direction as well.As for Kyrou, he could definitely do better with the interviews. I still think he's a little media shy.First and foremost, he gets paid to score goals, and he's scored one out of every 7 Blues goals this season. His 37 goals is the third most by a Blues player over the past 20 years. So he's fulfilling that end of the bargain. Although I think we all agree that he needs to be a more well-rounded player.
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Jim, Thanks for all the great writing and insight over the years. I don't know if you're old enough to have seen both, but I think the healthy Bobby Orr, before the non-breakaway goals took his knees, was easily the greatest defenseman, but how do you compare him with forward Wayne Gretzky. I think Orr was better. He would lead the rush and set up scores or score himself--as a defenseman, he led the league with OVER 100 pts in a low scoring era--then get back first and break up the other team's attack. If they came to his side of the ice, he broke it up. Be well and happyy.
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I was a teenager for most of Orr's career and covering football for most of Gretzky's, so I may not be the best one to ask about this comparison. But both obviously were generational talents. But you make a great point about Orr's scoring productivity. He had more than 100 points for six consecutive seasons. That's amazing for a defenseman. One year, he even had over 100 assists. When you combine that with his defensive acumen maybe you can rate him above Gretzky. Although Orr certainly didn't have Gretzky's longevity. I'd be curious as to what others think.And thx for the kind words.
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Mr. Thomas -- Congratulations on a great career. I think I'm old enough to remember you covering high school sports for the Post-Dispatch. That is a long time in one place. When is your last official day? Do you have any plans in retirement? Might we see you writing elsewhere on a par-time basis? I know you have mentioned in the past about your sons' military service. Any grandchildren for you and your wife yet? Any plans for a book? I know that's a lot but I hope we have not seen the last of you.
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You are old then. I covered high school sports for several years in the late '70s and early '80s - initially at a St. Charles edition of the Post-Dispatch called the St. Charles Post. There was only one Fort Zumwalt, one Wentzville and one Francis Howell high school back then.In 1984, I started covering high school sports for the entire St. Louis area for the main Post-Dispatch. In 1985, I started covering Mizzou football and basketball.Some of my favorite or most stirring memories were covering high school sports. I remember covering back-to-back state championships for Francis Howell. I covered a state wrestling meet in which the father of a Maplewood wrestler died of an apparent attack during a tight, tense third-place match.One of the favorite football games I ever covered was a state semifinal between SLUH and Mehlville, with several future Division I players on the field that day. I think SLUH's roster had future Illinois WR Jason Dulick and Northwestern QB Steve Schnur. Mehlville's squad included future Mizzou LB Darryl Major.I came very close to leaving the Post-Dispatch in the early '90s for the Dallas Morning News. Had some nibbles/job offers from a few other papers over the years, but for various reasons have stayed put.No grandchildren yet. Have plans to write a Mike Martz book; have also thought about writing a history of the St. Louis Rams.Thx for the kind words. Much appreciated.
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Thanks for all you do, Jim, and enjoy your retirement. I am truly impressed with how quickly you learned the game of puckey after the football team left town. Can you give us a scouting report on Matt Kessel? He is 6-3, 215, 5th rounder, fresh out of college this season. Stats seem to indicate an offense-first D-man, averaging nearly half a point per game in Springfield. Is there a chance he could fill a needed role as a big and rangy, R-shot defense-first complement (a la Bortuzzo but hopefully with more speed) to our abundance of L-shot offensive minded skaters?
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Yes, Kessel last played in college in 2021-22 at UMass. He won a national title there and also led the nation's D-I defensemen in goals one year, although I think he translates more into a 5-6 goal type of D-man in the NHL. Once the college season ended last season, he was able to play 33 regular-season and postseason games with Springfield in the AHL - which was a great jump-start on his pro career.I think he's somewhere in the 4 thru 7 range as an NHL defenseman. He skates pretty well, has a decent shot, is a pretty good passer. (He had 4 assists in a game for Springfield just a week or so ago, the most ever for a Thunderbirds' D-man in one game.)And yes, it certainly helps to have a right-shot defenseman who's just about NHL ready. I don't think Kessel is overly physical. But he looks like a smart player who keeps it simple, and doesn't overthink or over-complicate the game.
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Happy Hump day Jim, thank you AGAIN for sharing your knowledge with us on these chats. I would think this is our last time chatting with you, I wish you the best on your upcoming retirement.
Blues management should have named Schenn team captain after Sunday's game. His performance reminded me of Brian Sutter and Barclay Plager, we want our captain to be known for hard nosed play and a will to win.. In addition, Schenn was on the cup winning team. What say you? -
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I'm working through the first week of May, so I could get another chat in. Maybe two.As for Schenn as captain. I couldn't agree with you more. Obviously they will wait until right before the 2023-24 season starts but I can't think of a single reason why Schenn shouldn't wear the "C" next year. And I love your description of what a Blues captain should be: "hard-nosed play and a will to win." That certainly is Schenn. And he's still a productive offensive player. He's at 63 points this season, which is the second-highest total of his career. And with an assist Tuesday agianst Philadelphia, he has tied his single-season career high (42).And thx so much for you kind words.
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The chain-gang crew never flipped the down marker over after a play (I think from second down to third down). That's how they got behind on the downs. Nonetheless, at least one member of the officiating crew was supposed to keep track of the downs - and didn't.I always keep my own play by play in a little reporter's notebook. And after what should have been the fourth-down play. I remember telling myself "Colorado spiked the ball on fourth down!" Almost all of the other reporters had left to go down to the field by then. I stayed in the press box. And after the fourth down play, I almost turned to a member of the Missouri sports information office to tell them that the ball should have turned over to Mizzou on downs. But a voice inside my head said: "You shouldn't be part of the story. Just let it play out."I love that in the official play-by-play book handed out to the media by the Mizzou sports information people _ it read: "Fifth-and-goal: . . . ." on the winning touchdown. I saved that play-by-play book for years and then in some cleaning-out-the-basement moment threw it away. Should have kept it. Might be worth something now.
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Jim, I am just old enough to remember the great one Bobby Orr, and I agree with Easy Ed, Orr was better than Gretzky. Orr didn't need anyone to protect him like "cement head" Eric Semenko protected Gretzky, and Orr could fight unlike Gretzky. Thank you Easy Ed, I have been trying to convince my brother Gordon in San Antonio that Bobby Orr is THE MAN and should be called "The Great One".
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Interesting. Yeah, because the Rangers are playing tonight, they won't have a morning skate in St. Louis on Thursday. So we won't be able to get to Tarasenko until after the game. But I'm sure there will be several St. Louis reporters over in the visitors' room after the game.And for sure, Tarasenko will be emotional. He's an emotional person.
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I would like your opinion.....I don't think the Blues would have been any better with O'Reilly and Vladi than we have been without them. And I believe this summer Army with trade our draft picks for a shut down d-man AND a grade A centerman to get the Blues back to where they belong, at the top of the Western Conference.
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The Blues won 3 in a row after the Tarasenko trade and were just 6 points out of a wild-card spot at that time. And then O'Reilly (and Acciari) got traded, and that seemed to hit the team hard. But I think you might be right. Maybe the Blues wouldn't be better off had Tarasenko and O'Reilly stayed. And if so, maybe just a little bit better. That's in large part true because of how Blais, Kapanen and Vrana have performed.I don't think Armstrong wants to trade the Blues' original first-rounder - which still figures to be a top 10 pick. But I think he's very much open to the possibility of trading the two other picks (from the Rangers and Toronto), which figure to be late-round picks.It's going to be extremely tough to land a shutdown D-man. They're hard to find, and under most circumstances teams don't want to trade them. Landing a top 9 centerman either via trade or free agency should be a priority.
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would like the join the chorus thanking you and wishing you godspeed going forward. i am a few years younger than you, and go back to your time as mizzou beat writer. i "discoverd" newspapers in the mid 70s, and looked foward back in the day when stl was a two newspaper town and reading columns from both bobs and from bylines from yesteryear writers like kaegel, dorr, cobb, archibald, leucking, sonderegger, grow, etc.
hopefully gordo has no immediate plans to retire, as post losing nearly 100 years of history with your and hummels retirements. add in gordons 40 years . . . -
Bob Broeg was very good to me over the years - and also my older brother Stephan, who spent about 30 years at the paper working the agate page and doing some work with graphics. He used to call us Big Poison and Little Poison after the Waner brothers of baseball lore.Dave Dorr was a guy I idolized growing up. He had such bounce, such energy in his writing.When I started out as copy boy for the Post-Dispatch in the mid-1970s, Rick Hummel was one of our high school writers. How about that?Yeah, with Hummel and my retirement you're losing a lot of institutional knowledge. I should also mention Don Reed - who although behind the scenes, was a tremendous editor and desk chief, who really kept the sports department running at night. He retired a year or so ago.And Mike Smith, who was a fine writer in his own right covering Mizzou before I took the beat - and then a well-respected editor in the sports department. Mike was victim of some down-sizing a few years back, but loved the P-D as much as anyone, and was very helpful to me throughout my career.As for Gordo, I'm pretty sure he's sticking around for a while.
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Jim, would you consider writing a book, after you write the book with Mad Mike of course, about your 48 year career covering major league sports, how you got started and the breaks you had, what made you want to be a reporter, the people you rubbed elbows with stories, inside information we would all like to know, and, most importantly, advise you would have for future sport reporters? The J schools don't make em like you and your generation anymore, we need more of you reporting sports (and news). I don't think many in the media would agree to meet with readers like me when you and the Blues come to our town for games, I really appreciate what you did for me and my son. You made Blues hockey personal for me, and for us readers.
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I'm sincerely touched by you sentiment. But I'm not sure such a book would sell many copies!And just for the record, although I took some journalism classes, I was a political science major. (But that's a long story.)Barry I'll miss you and all the readers. Even Roy Hobbs! One of the best parts about this gig was the opportunity to interact with readers.
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Thanks Bill.tt's complicated. On the one hand the organizational shelves need to be replenished with prospects, which fits into the point you're making.On the other hand, Armstrong doesn't want to make this a long rebuild/retool. So I think if he can get someone right away who can have immediate impact, he might trade some picks. But as I mentioned in an earlier post, I don't think Armstrong wants to trade the Blues' original pick - which figures to be a top 10.
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No doubt that Barry knows his hockey and I always enjoy his posts. But c[mon, man! When I asked Gordo, who is arguably the smartest hockey pundit south of Detroit, for prospective names of shut-down defensemen that Barry describes in his post, he punted. These guys are like pass-catching tight ends in Power 5 and NFL football, just not many around.
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I will be emotional tomorrow night too. I will be wearing the same Tarasenko 91 sweater I've worn to all my Blues games for the last ten years and then it's being retired. It had a good run, as did Vladi and the Blues.
As for the No. 1 defenseman, that's what you've got to get with the top 10 pick in my opinion, unless you hit the lottery. -
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Very interesting. So what jersey will you wear after tomorrow? Or will you wear a jersey?As for defenseman with that top 10 pick, that sounds like a pretty good way to go. But make sure it's a good value at that pick. Whether it's football or hockey, don't reach for need. And the higher you're picking, the more you should use that guideline. The Blues have picked a D-man in the top 10 since Alex Pietrangelo at No. 4 overall in 2008. They haven't picked a D-man in the first round since Jordan Schmaltz at No. 25 overall in 2012..
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In a quick perusal of NHL prospect rankings, there are only two D-men in the top 15, two-ways from Switzerland at #10 and Sweden at #15. But good luck with drafting one of those two who play the big ice Euro game and will take time to develop and adapt to the rougher and tougher NAm game.
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Thanks for that. Maybe it's not a banner year for D-men in the draft. The Daily Faceoff has three D-men rated in the top 16 and all are from Europe/Russia: No. 10 - Alex Sandin Pellika from the Swedish Hockey League; No. 14 - Mikhail Gulyayev from Russia; No. 16 - David Rheinbacher, an Austrian currently playing in Switzerland.