Schwartz Headed to the WHL?
Former Blues first rounder Jaden Schwartz impressed during the recent NCAA ice hockey regional held in St. Louis.
Schwartz combined for five points in the two games, four of them coming in the 8-3 beatdown of top seeded Boston College on Friday. Schwartz showed his ability to dominate at the NCAA level finishing the season with 47 points in only 30 games. His numbers are even more impressive considering he missed several games with a broken ankle he suffered playing for Canada in the World Junior’s
We didn’t learn anything new when it comes to Schwartz’s combination of speed and skill. He’s a quality puck distributor with elite level vision and has no problem finding his way around the ice.
What’s next for the 14th overall pick in the 2010 NHL draft?
Does he need another year in college to prepare to play in the NHL? Or would it make more sense for him to play in the Western Hockey League with the Tri-City Americans who own his WHL rights? It goes without saying there’s an open roster spot for Schwartz in Tri-City if he wants it.
Sources close to the Americans tell me they’ve had conversations with the Blues about the idea of Schwartz playing in the WHL for at least one year before he turns pro. As good as he is today it’s safe to say he isn’t physically ready to play in the NHL. John Davidson recently told me there is no plan to rush the young 18 year old.
There are benefits to staying at Colorado College but do they outweigh the positives of playing in the CHL? Major junior is probably geared more towards developing NHL players when you consider the number of games they play as well as the NHL rules that are in place. Last season Tri-City played over 90 games when you include the pre-season, playoffs, as well as a busy 72 game regular season schedule.
In college you basically play on the weekends and your schedule isn’t nearly as heavy. There are benefits to playing college hockey as you spend more time in the weight room as well as on the ice practicing. You also get a free education which is most important. If Schwartz has every intention of staying in college for four years and finishing his education then he should stay. If he’s looking to bounce to the pro’s after only a year or two then the CHL may be the way to go.
Schwartz would probably challenge for the WHL scoring title next season if he leaves Colorado College. The Blues won’t push him to leave school if that’s where he wants to be. Obviously having a chance to play with his brother Rylan is likely one of the main factors in him choosing CC in the first place.
At the end of the day the decision is completely up to him. Would the Blues prefer to see him take his game to the CHL? My sources tell me they would as the CHL would probably best prepare him to make the jump to the NHL in the near future. Again just because they’d like to see him in Tri-City next season doesn’t mean they will force the issue.
Schwartz will sit down with his advisor in the coming days and weigh out all of his options. Signing a pro contract remains one of those options but again I’m told the Blues have no intentions of rushing him. With that being said if he came to Doug Armstrong and said he wants to turn pro I don’t think the Blues would say no. I do think most would agree he could use another year to build up his body and get stronger.
Schwartz isn’t the only Blues prospect Tri-City has their eye on as 2010 third rounder Max Gardiner is also property of the Americans. This season did not go as planned for Gardiner who played only 17 games for the University of Minnesota. Sources tell me the door is wide open for Gardiner to jump to the WHL if he so chooses. He played most of this season on the wing and many people believe he’s best suited playing center.
Blues Buzz airs Monday March 27th live from Johnny Mac’s sporting goods in Sunset Hills. Blues power forward David Backes, who is quietly enjoying his best season as a pro, will be my guest. The show can be heard on am 590 beginning at 6:00.
More to come,
Andy Strickland
strickland.andy@gmail.com
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With Petro I think the big think that helped push him was one, he was good enough to play in the NHL and he had the DESIRE to prove it and 2)last year he played on an outstanding winner and everywhere he played he learned to be a leader, maybe because of his nine game NHL experience.
I think if I'm Max G. I go to the WHL as I keep hearing of problems coming out of Minnesota. They take hockey so seriously there they out think themselves and everybody and their brother who plays for the Gophers thinks they're a future NHLer.
Scwartz might like staying near his family with his sister's issues and all. But if he wants to play in the show he could probabl play next year but it'd probably stunt his development a bit. I say go play juniors. First the Blues should work him for nine games, get him the experience and show him the expectations then play juniors if Tri-City is going to be good. If they're going to suck next year stay in college. College didn't hurt Oshie or Toews any.
But again the big thing is if you have speed and tremendous on-ice vision you can play against bigger bodies. A lot of these guys are a lot smaller than you think for athletes, though we are seeing more and more football sized guys out there. flag this comment
Really like to see a forth line of Cracknell, Sobotka and Reaves next year. Blues will be able to roll 3 scoring lines next year if they can get healthy.
The future is very bright when you think of the talent this team has and the cap space is there to get even better. I'm nervous there won't be a buyer before the draft but with the upside and potential of this team it's hard to believe a buyer wouldn't come forward soon.
There gonna screw around and win too many games and miss out on a really good player.
With the way the team is playing and the players out there unless they lose all the rest of their games and get into the top three or are able to trade to that point to get the first or second overall; Well I think the benefit of finding themselves now and learning to win outweigh the benefits of getting a top ten pick in this draft. Better to get the second now and the first rounder out of the way. Who knows how next season will go? Can we get another freak strong of injuries or something of that nature?
Maybe these guys are buying more and more into the system and that will go a long way next year as these young players become the leaders that know what expect from each other, building a foundation of trust in one another and for any new players coming in they'll be expected to do the same. Winning is good no matter what. The crusher is we can easily find ten points that slipped away throughout the season--the other night against Detroit????? The two Calgary games? The last home in home against Minnesota??? The loss at home to CHicago? The list goes on and on. But it can e erased by good play and believing in themselves and in their coach and team.
Can you believe EJ, McClement and a first rounder that will probably be like fifteenth or sixteenth over all equals Shattenkirk and Stewart???? Not to mention a second rounder.
The Blues are almost back to at least making the play offs and winning a round or two again soon. I don't even know if we'll need to sign anyone unless somewhere we are thinking trade. flag this comment
I don't much care for the college schedule where an entire season ends up being about 45 games. At this age, it helps their development to be playing.
To echo Guru, I really don't know what Colorado was thinking with this deal they made. Chris Stewart is just a beast.
I'm glad the defense is getting a good long look apart from Brewer and Jackman, although I'm not as down on Jackman as others but I would limit his ice time to a third pairing. He's a decent shot blocker and PK'er.