The final day of action in the Traverse City Prospect Tournament saw all eight
teams participating in placement games. The first of these games pitted the
Rangers against the Blues in the battle for seventh place (or, perhaps, the
battle to avoid coming last). As with each game of the tournament, the Blues
found themselves down early, but an explosion of goals from two of their star
prospects turned the game around substantially, gave the Blues their first win
of the weekend, and left Blues'; fans with a good feeling about their
prospects.Hat Trick for Kyrou

By far the standout player of the game was Blues'; forward Jordan Kyrou, who
ranked 15th in TSN';s ranking of NHL prospects. Kyrou collected a hat trick in
the game, and each of the three goals was an absolute highlight reel play; even
 the empty netter he scored to finish off the trio.

The first goal was a breakaway created by Kyrou';s incredible speed. He was
able to skate around and past the Rangers'; defense, pull right up to the net,
stop short, freeze the goalie, and tuck the puck behind him into a wide open
goal. The second, equally stunning, was created when he deked between a pair of
 Rangers defenders and created a lane in which to release his wicked wrist
shot. Both goals were absolute displays of the skill that makes him such a
highly regarded prospect.

This kid is good.

Jordan Kyrou has given the #stlblues prospects a 3-1 lead in the 2nd period! 
💻 https://t.co/qVUlZcHmxp 
💻 https://t.co/SDGbj5Neuw pic.twitter.com/NWBitxwy9c

- St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) September 11, 2018

The final goal Kyrou scored was against an empty net, but that doesn';t mean it
 was easy. Determined to collect his hat trick, Kyrou pinched a defender at his
 own blue line to steal the puck, then blazed past both defenders as he skated
up ice and shot a laser from the Rangers'; blue line into the yawning goal.
Kyrou added an assist to his three goal performance, and those four points gave
 him six in the tournament, placing him among the top scorers in Traverse City
and first among his Blues'; teammates.

Kyrou is an interesting prospect for the Blues. At twenty years old, he is
ready for the jump to the professional game; however, the Blues stacked
defensive core makes it difficult to find an obvious place for him on the NHL
roster. The going assumption is that Kyrou will likely begin the season in the
AHL, but if he continues to play like he did today, he may force the front
office';s hand. Either way, he';s an excellent piece who has a very bright
future, and it won';t be long until we see him lighting up NHL lamps.Walman
Makes Waves

Another standout Blues'; player was defenseman Jake Walman, who is among the
Blues'; few legitimate defensive prospects. Walman seemed poised to make the
roster last season heading into training camp, but a poor performance, coupled
with the emergence of Vince Dunn, saw Walman sent down to the AHL. There, due
in no small part to the strange AHL situation for the Blues last season, Walman
 struggled to find his footing and fell in the eyes of many evaluators. That
was the Jake Walman who appeared on the ice in the first days of the Traverse
City Tournament: indecisive, lost, and lacking confident.St. Louis Blues
defenseman Jake Walman (46) against the Columbus Blue Jackets at Nationwide
Arena. (Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports)

But what a difference a weekend can make. Over the course of the weekend,
Walman became one of the Blues'; most vocal on-ice communicators. He was
constantly heard shouting instructions to his teammates and directing play on
the ice. Walman';s best performance came in Tuesday';s tilt against the
Rangers, where he was confident on the puck and willing to sacrifice his body
to make necessary plays. He scored a power play goal in the third period that
put the game firmly out of reach, and, after being on the receiving end of a
dirty hit from Nico Gross later in the third, showed his moxie and frustration
by firing hard slap shots at every opportunity.

Walman';s transformation in the tournament could be a boon for the Blues, who
are thin on left-handed defensemen, particularly if Jay Bouwmeester and/or Carl
 Gunnarsson take longer than expected to recover from surgeries. More
importantly, both Bouwmeester and Gunnarsson are unrestricted free agents after
 the season, and neither is predicted to return, so the time may be now for
Walman to step into a greater role in the organization. If the Jake Walman that
 played in Traverse City on Tuesday shows up to Blues'; training camp this
weekend, it will be hard for coaches not to notice him.Other Traverse City
Notes

The Blues'; 8-4 victory over the Rangers gave them a seventh place finish in
the tournament, and while results are not the ultimate point of this event, it
certainly makes the rough weekend a little more palatable for St. Louis. Here
are the complete rankings for the teams in Traverse City:

Columbus Blue JacketsDetroit Red WingsMinnesota WildChicago BlackhawksDallas
StarsCarolina HurricanesSt. Louis BluesNew York Rangers

Final rankings are the result of today';s placement games, and are slightly
different from the ultimate standings of the event. The Blue Jackets were by
far the surprise team of the tournament, finishing undefeated though boasting
the weakest farm system heading into the weekend. The tournaments'; hosts, the
Detroit Red Wings, could not quite capture first place, but had a very strong
showing, particularly from 2018 first round picks Filip Zadina and Joe
Veleno.Drummondville Voltigeurs forward Joe Veleno (Shawn Davidson/QMJHL)

With the tournament in the books, teams will now return home (save for the Red
Wings, who will remain in Traverse City) to begin training camp. Puck drops on
the regular season in less than a month. Though most of the players featured in
 this weekend';s action will return to various junior and international clubs,
a few will be playing in professional rinks very soon, and for all of them, it
was a great opportunity to impress their front offices and build their cases
for future opportunities.

The post Blues Rout Rangers, Evade Embarrassment appeared first on The Hockey
Writers.

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheHockeyWrite...
--- SBBSecho 3.06-Win32
 * Origin: TequilaMockingbird Online - Toms River, NJ (1:266/404)