St. Louis Blues Stockpile Depth, Recall Four More Players
With the St. Louis Blues having advanced into the second round of the postseason for the first time since 2012, they’re able to reward a group of “black aces” with a promotion.
With the St. Louis Blues beginning practice in Dallas on Thursday in advance of Friday’s second-round opener against the Stars, the team added four more “black aces” who will give the team some extra depth coverage in case injuries become a problem during the later rounds of the playoffs.
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Forward Ivan Barbashev, defensemen
Peter Harroldand Jordan Schmaltz, and goaltender
Jordan Binningtonwere recalled from AHL Chicago, where their season ended nearly two weeks ago. The latest round of promotions gives the Blues 32 players: 17 forwards, 11 defensemen, and four goalies.
Since the Blues already have so much depth, the promotions realistically have more to do with rewarding a few players who stood out this year for the AHL club, and particularly for the three rookies–Barbashev, Schmaltz, and Binnington–exposing them to the culture and excitement that surrounds a deep playoff run, along with getting an extended evaluation of them for later on.
Harrold’s a bit different since he’s 32 years old and a veteran of 274 NHL games. In his case, the chief motivation in bringing him up was likely that he has experience playing in the Stanley Cup Finals, having suited up for three of six Finals contests for a 2011-12 New Jersey Devils team that ultimately lost to the Los Angeles Kings. While Harrold isn’t going to suit up for a game unless absolutely catastrophic circumstances occur, it will be nice to have another voice in the room who’s been on this type of run before. Troy Brouwer is the only other player on the roster who’s played in the Finals before (and the only one who’s won a Cup).
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Only Barbashev will be joining the NHL club for the first time this season, as Harrold and Schmaltz spent time with the team in February (though both failed to see any game action), while Binnington had two stints with the club while Jake Allen was injured and spent 12:47 in net, relieving Brian Elliott, during a January 14 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes.