Welcome to the latest series here at Last Word on Hockey. Each day, we will take a look at a new team and examine three of their potential breakout or bounce-back players. These players have the chance to make a serious difference with their teams this upcoming season. These players can be new faces or familiar ones looking to have a strong return to form. Each day we will be looking at a different team! Today we will take a look at the potential 2020-21 St. Louis Blues key players.
2020-21 St. Louis Blues Candidates
Oskar Sundqvist
Oskar Sundqvist has become a real cult-favourite among Blues fans, since his acquisition during the 2017 NHL Draft. While he hasn’t shown off much pizzazz, he’s proven to be incredibly versatile, incredibly reliable, and perfect for the Blues defensive-zone system. He spent much of his time in St. Louis camped out on the wings, normally on the fourth-line, which has heavily hindered his score sheet appearances.
But the Blues lineup is seeing a lot of change, even if there aren’t too many new names. Kyle Clifford is the only notable acquisition on offence. But the retention of Jacob de la Rose and MacKenzie MacEachern effectively clutters up the Blues bottom-six and really troubles their fourth-line options.
Reasons for Optimism
But with Alex Steen and Vladimir Tarasenko expected to miss the start of the season, the third-line could look drastically different. Robert Thomas might break into the top-six and, if he does, Oskar Sundqvist is sure to fill his incredibly important third-line role. This would give Sundqvist an added layer of responsibility in all three zones. While it’s not a terrific improvement to his current role, it’d likely be enough to make his presence known.
What’s more, Thomas being in the top-six could mean drastic mixing of the traditional top-two-lines that the Blues have rolled out. If head coach Craig Berube feels that Ryan O’Reilly is better fit to centre Thomas and Jaden Schwartz, there’d be a notable hole at second-line center, with a second-line left-wing spot that’s in doubt as is. Sundqvist has proven absolutely dominant in the few top-six appearances he’s been given. When the Blues played Sundqvist alongside O’Reilly and David Perron last season, the line set an xGF/60 (expected-goals-for per-60) of 4.31, eighth-best in the entire NHL. That’s to say, when the trio was together, they had the eighth-best shot quality of any line. In the entire NHL.
That’s seriously, seriously incredible and is over double the xGF/60 posted by the typical line of Zach Sanford, O’Reilly, and Perron; a line that actually had a negative-shot quality (2.14 xGF/60, below average). Simply put, Sundqvist is demanding a top-six role. It seems the Blues are finally in a spot to give it to him. If they do, he’ll be a name to watch for sure.
Robert Thomas
But the man most affected by Tarasenko’s injury will be Thomas himself. This is a no-brainer to Blues fans, who have watched Thomas shatter expectations in every single season since being drafted. He’s a hard-working, dirty-nosed forward that Craig Berube has taken a warm liking to.
Reasons for Optimism
There’s really no beating around the bush here. Thomas scored 42 points in 66 games, good for sixth on the Blues. This was a pace of 52 points over a normal 82-game season and proved that Thomas has the scoring touch to back up his gritty play, especially considering the fact that the forward did it despite very little ice time.
Thomas spent nearly all of last season camped out on the third-line right-wing, a far cry from the top-line centre potential that he’s boasted. He was also not a consistent name on the Blues power-play, playing in only 94 minutes of man-advantage time through the entire year. Despite this, he proved productive every time he stepped on the ice and is undoubtedly transforming into the Blues’ next legend.
With top-line minutes, and top-line power-play time, Thomas could seriously thrive. His ability to win puck battles and set up plays is terrific. It makes him one of the best playmakers on the Blues lineup. Alongside the speedy Schwartz and either Brayden Schenn or O’Reilly, Thomas’ playmaking could prove invaluable. All three names have a special knack for putting the puck into the net. They’re stars and instilling an up-and-coming star alongside them would be a terrific move.
Thomas has broken out every year but it’s always felt like he’s had more to give. Next season, he could truly find his groove and become a top-end scorer, if given the top-six minutes he deserves.
Sammy Blais
Sammy Blais has been beaten up for years now, heavily holding him back. It’s been a sad track record for a player who has shown plenty of ability to adapt and thrive in unique roster roles. This was especially true when Berube filled the head coaching role and instilled a much more aggressive style of play. In that style, Blais has shown off a whole new style. Yes, he’s always been a feisty player, but he’s turned things up a notch. He led the Blues in hits last season, despite only playing in 40 games. Had he appeared in all 66 games, he would’ve been on pace for 256 hits, which would’ve been third in the entire NHL.
Reasons for Optimism
On the back of this ferocious play, Blais has found a way to keep his name on the scoresheet. He netted 13 points in the 40 games he appeared in. This is a pace of 27 points over the course of a typical 82-game year. That is again impressive scoring. Especially given the fact that Blais saw very insignificant power-play time and spent most of his time on the Blues fourth-line.
But again with the thought that lineup promotions could be on the way, a third-line role and some modest power-play time — serving as the Blues front-net body — could spell out some awesome production from a now-healthy Blais. He has proven to be a very solid role-player for the Blues in recent years and has always had some sort of challenge holding him back. The clear hope is that the Blues can finally get a released Blais next year. If they do, and they use him right, he could do some serious damage… both physically and on the scoresheet.
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