Tim Taylor evaluates Blues prospects at Development Camp
just start there like uh you know what’s your reaction to promotion and uh oh I’m excited I’m excited to be a blue uh this is a tremendous organization from ownership group down to to to Doug and and down to everyone um I’m excited to to build a help build a new chapter here uh and keep going we’ve had a lot of success and and now it’s time to to keep pushing forward as far as what you’ve seen so far this week out of this crop of Pro Prospects what are your general thoughts on well we’re bigger and we’re faster that’s for sure I think you see the the the draft that we had this year there’s a lot of big guys coming in um we see what we did yesterday and the trades we’re trying to get faster uh we’re trying to add speed to our team um again the growth of the the prospects has been good um you know that’s the one thing that these development camps are for is to to recognize the newly drafted players see what they’re all about as well as is kind of see the the growth of of your guys you drafted in years past so um you know again the out here is I said it last year it’s been up again this year uh the speed has been up so uh I’m I’m really uh excited about the future with the blues especially with all these young guys coming in and and what we have on our team now what have been your impressions of a guy like Theo lindstein well you know what I I didn’t know much about Theo uh obviously saw him last year at uh at development camp and I went over to World Junior this year and and he was a standout for for team Sweden so again uh just trying to get bigger trying to get a little stronger uh get his feet under him he’s he makes good good plays he’s solid he’s one of those guys you don’t noce a whole bunch because he’s not going to Flash and Dash but he makes good plays all over the ice and the world did Junior when you’re playing against your peers the best in the world at that time uh he stood out so I’m I’m really excited about his uh his year coming up he’s going to play in the Swedish Elite League again he’ll get more minutes and again for his his growth and development playing against men it’s going to be huge for him you feel like the fact that he’s been playing against grown men over there has that kind of giv him a leg up I think so yeah I I think so it’s we we do like the CHL and and us colleges here again you’re playing against kids your own age um but when you’re playing in men’s league and only certain players can adapt to that pretty quickly and like he did last year um but the growth is faster when you do that so I I think that with him you have to make sure that these kids can can handle that not not not just physically but mentally they’re playing against men and and you know those guys that they’re playing against have careers they have children their family so they it’s a lot of goes into that um and he’s adopted so it’s been a good situation for him is Stenberg in the I guess in the same exact same yeah yeah again there’s another guy that had a great world junior it was fun to watch and you know it’s it’s fun to to be a part of that that World Junior going over there and everyone says that all your St Louis Blues prospects just keep scoring and they all had great uh great tournaments and it was fun to watch and and again we’re looking forward to to the growth of them and and they have to take another step over there this year and they have gotten bigger have gotten a little stronger so that’s that’s the growth and development of each player I don’t know when the last time you saw dorski before this Camp was but do you does he look like he’s further along than the last time you saw him he’s stronger that’s for sure and and again that last year’s situation when he when he started over in the league wasn’t playing a whole bunch and and Doug made a quick reaction and got him over here and and uh everyone raved about his play this year so uh he had a great year um he’s a he’s a so driven uh kid he’s going to come over and and try and in August and be around the team and skate with them and be around him so uh he wants to give himself every opportunity to to make the lineup at the end of the day he’s still 19 years old he still needs to grow but this is this is up to him you know we’re going to allow him to to uh to prosper here and and uh give him every opportunity and and he’s excited for he’s just so driven he’s just like you see out here in the the games and practices when things don’t go his way he gets a little frustrated but he’s just a driven kid which we love with guys like divorce steber what areas of their games have grown besides you know getting bigger and stronger well it’s it’s a cliche but defensively just understanding that that every play on the ice matters uh you know you give up the puck in in a certain area it can cost you uh your team spends 30 40 seconds in your own zone so it’s understanding the details and importance of of what they they cost the team or or you know the assets that you can bring and and I think these kids as they grow they understand the importance of of those details and it is winning and losing as far as snug is concerned it’s probably unfair there there’s a certain fan base out there that wondering why he’s buling at at making the jump from an organizational standpoint do you respect his decision and the fact that maybe he feels like he wants to get better and he’s not quite ready yet yeah absolutely um you know he he’s he’s wants to go back he wants to get Bigg he wants to be stronger he wants to be a leader there um and again we we support his decision uh when he come when he’s ready he’s going to turn pro and he’ll be a real good St Louis blue so uh again we’re just there to help him and and help him along and making sure that he’s he’s uh getting bigger getting stronger doing the right things understanding again the details on the ice those are things that he’s going to learn and go through so he’s going to play on a good team again this year he’s going to be a leader uh that’s another step when these kids come out you want them to be leaders want them to be count on every single night so he’s going to get that at Minnesota and it’s it’s you know for him he’s just not mentally ready and every every every situation is differently if he was mentally ready he would have come out and and he does some feel he’s just mentally focused or not focused but wrong words he’s just not mentally ready to take that next jump as of yet he is close and uh we support him because I think this going to be a great year for him he’s looking forward to it all his teammates are back there working out now and skating so it it’s a good situation for him what areas you feel like he’s improved him over over the last year well you know what I I think that I’ve again I’ve been locked in back in that room for two days of free agency stuff but coming out and watch them he’s got a extra step this year in his stride you know that and that’s one thing that I think that that we all want him to work on and he’s done a good job of that he’s going to be at the University all summer again working out with his rest of his teammates so getting a little bit I mean it’s a it’s a it is a cliche but as these kids get older they get stronger and they develop differently and he’s developed a a half a stride here now so we want to keep moving that d Direction one guy that we don’t ask a lot about Dylan Peterson um just where does he track like where does he how do you guys view him in the organization well he came in last year after a season at beu obviously disappointing losing in the final game um but he came in and and uh played really well he was he was such a uh uh inspiration those two games in Springfield he’s a again the direction we’re going big and can skate uh he brings both those elements to his game so we’re excited for for him uh we like to see him how he does a full year uh at at Pro but but uh now coming in he’s got I guess a fresh state but because he spent those four years at bu now he’s coming to turn pro hockey and he seems to be ready there’s a there’s a you know a kid that’s ready to go he’s ready to make that jump he’s really excited so um It’s A Hard leak turning pro from for us and and US colleges to and CHL that hardest jump is that level to to the AHL to Pro Hockey NH AHL to NHL the guys are going up and down all the time there’s not much of a difference there is a difference but not much of a difference on the everyday scale but these guys that biggest jump is is from college and and to the pro hockey and and he made it last year so we’re we’re excited to see what he can bring for 82 games this year is is costaki coming over this this season we’re hoping so we that’s not 100% yet um we’re hoping he will spend the full season over here but we’re looking forward to now he’s a year post of um the world junior so he’s looks like he’s ready to come over um so we’ll decide that in in August if he’s going to be full-time and then with with Robertson who is coming over he’s coming over yeah yeah what makes you ready for for him well he again he’s a a stalker bodybuild he could skate and and again another thing that we’re looking for um he knows his role that’s the one thing that was it was good for him as development last year he’s defined his role as a pro player in that uh Swedish Elite league so now he comes over and he’s he knows in his mind what he has to do to be a pro player here what was that Ro for him uh third fourth line guy good skater creates energy uh he gets on Puck creates turnovers a guy that that can kill penalties he’s just one of those energy guys that that uh every team needs that doesn’t not get overlooked in our organization because you need every piece of the puzzle to win we’ve asked Doug and Tony’s commented on them too but from your perspective uh what stands out to you and why was your check the right guy for you well obviously Tony saw him a lot more than I did uh I I saw when he got injured there in the world junior but he we we are trying to to get uh uh bigger in the back end with more skill uh with throt or hole organization and uh he brings all those elements obviously we we signed him yesterday so we’re excited to have him he had the knee injury so he I think he he’s about 3 weeks to a month away here from getting on the ice so again another young young player that uh we’re excited to have an organization uh great attitude uh he’s eager to go and u a guy that brings some more skill in the back end from us with the parari what kind of jumps did he make it with debut this year he had a great year he had a great it’s almost like dorski you know he came over and uh he started playing against kids his own age and being around kids his own age and and he really blossomed uh he runed with Marty St Louis boy um Lucas last year so I’m I still stay very close to Marty suit as well still so he clued me in every uh every other day and how it was going so they had a good team and he took strides again coming over from from uh um Europe at the bigger ice service to smaller ice Service uh it it’s you have to make plays a little quicker and get that style of of north south and he adapted that pretty good he’s got a big body that pushes guys off he plays heavy a heavy game he’s not where he doesn’t go through guys putting through legs he kind of pushes and goes over guys so he learned to do that and hang on to pxm more at debuk so that’s going to help his game this year moving forward so he’s going to be in the CHL um this year uh playing we just can’t tell you what team it’s going to be but he is going to play in CHL this year Tim I should know this but is that AR kid out there is he related yes he is yeah yeah the relation uh that’s a son yeah yeah I didn’t know yeah so it’s it’s it’s Wade or not the agent yeah and then just on stanil obviously he’s injured what is he dealing with how long is that uh he is very close I think he is two weeks away from doing some therapy on it so again we’re hoping that he can come over and play in CHL he’s should be ready for the start of the season but as you see walk him walking around another big guy that could skate and he was one of those guys that played really well at the world championship or World Juniors last year so looking forward to see what he can bring uh his added strength this year and and his development with from last year carryover just just broadly speaking I mean a lot of these these Europeans you seem to want to to get over to North America whether it’s USHL CHL uh just what does that help from an organizational perspective well we just want what’s best forther development what what’s going to keep them because sometimes when they’re over there again it’s a really tough League there and and some guys just can’t can’t adapt right away or there’s not not to the point where they can play the minutes they need to play to to to uh develop so um every situation is totally different um we do we do like them coming over we just like them to play in the best spot that’s possible for for to reach their goals in each year we don’t like players to to be stagnant for a full year because it’s such a young league now you can’t afford to have guys not develop they have to take a step every year so that’s our philosophy they just have to play in the best spot uh that’s available to them to to grow
St. Louis Blues Assistant GM Tim Taylor talks to the media to share his thoughts on Blues prospects at the team’s annual Development Camp.
