Ryan Pulock and Scott Mayfield came into training camp assuming they were fighting for an open spot on defense. That battle lasted less than a day, with the Islanders signing veteran Marek Zidlicky on Friday to essentially fill the last defense spo
Although Chris Butler was cut by the Blues at the end of training camp last year and dressed in only 33 games after being recalled from the American Hockey League, St. Louis was where the defenseman wanted to stay.
Wideman, the Ottawa Senators’ 25-year-old defence prospect, has a tad more life experience than 23-year-old Mark Stone and 20-year-old Curtis Lazar. He jokes that “I’m the babysitter, I make sure everyone is tucked in early.”
Stastny looked much more at ease Monday, following a pressurizing period in his life last year in which he signed a four-year, $28 million free-agent contract with his hometown team, got married, sustained a shoulder injury in his fourth game and struggled to find his role with his new club.
St. Louis native, goaltender Luke Opilka, posted a shutout in the Blues game two victory and made it clear St. Louis used their fifth round pick in this year’s NHL Entry Draft wisely.
Forward Ryan MacInnis (2014, No. 43), the son of Hockey Hall of Fame defenseman Al MacInnis, also will look to make an impression on the Coyotes’ staff. He had 25 goals and 62 points with the Kitchener Rangers in the OHL in 2014-15.
One prospect you’ll hear the word ‘size’ associated with every single time he’s brought up in 2016 draft previews is Logan Brown of the OHL’s Windsor Spitfires. When you’re 6’6″ and 225 pounds going into your 17-year-old season, that’s bound to happen.
“At times when you’re at center, you expend a lot of energy down low in the defensive end and the offensive end,” Vitale said. “At wing, it’s about having that poise and that position awareness. When the opportunity comes to skate you take that, so hopefully it will cater to my game as far as having a good burst of speed, being on pucks first, and I hope it adds to the physicality of my game.”
With T.J. Oshie dealt to the Washington Capitals in the offseason, Paul Stastny is ready to embrace more of a leadership role in second season with the St. Louis Blues.
Logan Brown is, at the very least, the most physically intimidating forward prospect available for the draft next summer. Standing 6’6″ and tipping the scales at 225 pounds, Brown is a menace on the ice with his combination of skill and hulking size.
