St. Louis Blues: Kenny Agostino Remains Productive After Promotion to NHL
Kenny Agostino was the most productive player by a wide margin in the AHL this season. In his St. Louis Blues debut on Monday, there was no drop-off.
Despite the fact that he’d played just 10 NHL games with the Calgary Flames during his first three professional seasons, 24-year-old winger Kenny Agostino had done virtually all that a player can do to prove that he’s an NHL player through 48 AHL games this season. Prior to receiving a call-up from the Blues on Sunday morning in the wake of Robby Fabbri‘s season-ending ACL injury, Agostino led the AHL with 60 points (18 goals and 42 assists). The player with the next-best total, Flyers prospect Jordan Weal, had 45 points in 42 games.
With the Blues struggling mightily to generate scoring opportunities, many felt the promotion was long overdue for Agostino, who played in the AHL’s All-Star Game last week. Clearing lineup space for him was somewhat harder than it may have seemed at face value, however; the Blues have been reluctant to remove Dmitrij Jaskin from the lineup for long periods, presumably because he’s one of the club’s sturdier defensive forwards, and they’ve repeatedly tried to get preseason trade acquisition Nail Yakupov going despite the fact that he has just six points this season and has a 12-game pointless streak dating back to December 15.
Despite his poor performance all season long, fired coach Ken Hitchcock and now current head coach Mike Yeo have kept center Jori Lehtera in the lineup, likely under pressure from the front office due to the fact that he’s owed $9.7 million over the next two seasons. The Blues desperately need to get him going, whether it’s to salvage his value as a member of the Blues or to drum up interest in him as a trade or expansion draft candidate.
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With Fabbri (a player who had underperformed in his own right since the new year) on the shelf for the rest of the season due to an ACL injury, a perfect opportunity was created for Agostino. It’s very debatable as to whether he’ll be in the Blues’ long-term plans, but he can help influence that decision for at least the next little while. With few alternatives available, it’s virtually a guarantee that Agostino will be in the Blues’ lineup at least until they trade for a more experienced forward, but with the team toeing the line between playoff contention and rebuilding mode, it’s highly possible that he’ll be given a three-month audition over the remainder of the season.
He certainly made a strong impression in his Blues debut on Monday night, scoring on a beautiful breakaway at 2:10 in the third period. He also registered a team-high four shots on goal, and he made an admirable effort to return to the ice after Alex Pietrangelo shot a puck off his knee in the second period.
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Agostino delivered something on Monday night that the Blues haven’t had in a while–consistent scoring opportunities from a forward–and while the real test will be whether he’ll be able to keep it up over the long term, it was an encouraging sign from a player who has done more than enough to earn a chance in the NHL this season.