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10 Wishes for a Better 2017 in St. Louis Sports

By Patrick Karraker

Jun 16, 2015; Kansas City, MO, USA; St. Louis FC fans show their support with a banner during the second half of the match against Sporting KC at Sporting Park. Sporting KC won 1-0. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 16, 2015; Kansas City, MO, USA; St. Louis FC fans show their support with a banner during the second half of the match against Sporting KC at Sporting Park. Sporting KC won 1-0. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports /
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Mike Yeo St. Louis Blues
Dec 3, 2015; Saint Paul, MN, USA; Minnesota Wild head Coach Mike Yeo in the second period against the Toronto Maple Leafs at Xcel Energy Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports /

8. A Smooth Transition from Ken Hitchcock to Mike Yeo

Whenever the Blues’ 2016-17 season ends–in late June, hopefully–Ken Hitchcock will turn the title of head coach over to Mike Yeo, who has been prepping for that role behind the scenes this season as the team’s associate head coach. The 43-year-old Yeo has a strong track record as an NHL head coach, having coached the Minnesota Wild to a 173-132-10 record while winning two playoff series over four-plus seasons.

Though some Blues fans who live in the moment may have trouble believing this right now, it’ll be a challenge for the team to move on from the Hitchcock era. He’s a future Hall-of-Famer who prepares unlike any other coach in the league. In many ways, though, the Blues may be better-equipped to succeed under Yeo. This year’s team actually seems built for Yeo’s desired style of play, which involves a higher emphasis on speed and puck movement and less concern for size and physicality than Hitchcock’s. As the Blues continue to make tweaks over the course of the next nine months, it’s very possible that the roster could be ready-made for Yeo’s system before he even coaches a game.

While Hitchcock’s teams have gone through stretches where they look like they’re tuning out the coaching staff during each season, they’ve always rebounded under the veteran coach’s leadership. Will Yeo, who is by all indications a serious but more subdued leader, be able to do the same? He wasn’t really given a chance to do so before being fired in Minnesota, so it will be interesting to see how he holds up over the long term in St. Louis.

One thing’s for sure: he’ll be coaching a team that has a championship-caliber core, so the pressure will be on as he begins his second stint as an NHL head coach.

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