"All Things Peoria" Part II...
 

The previous thread lasted almost 4 years.

Part I

Wow, a part II for a non-Tarasenko thread? We are moving on up!!

To be fair, the old Peoria thread ran for nearly 4 years!

Peoria is brutal this year. I hope this isn't stunting our prospects' development.

I'm worried about that.

McRae doesn't seem to be developing at all up there. Outside of Polak, what core player spent time developing in Peoria?

Backes spent a little time down there, but other than that, I can't think of anyone.

One reason for that is that The Blues were rebuilding from scratch, and needed to get most of their young, talented draftees into their NHL lineup as soon as possible.

http://atdhenet.tv/52561/watch-grand...eoria-rivermen

2-0 Peoria in the 1st. Goals from Nesbitt and Hensick.

Just checked out Schwartz's stats. Is he alive out there? Brutal.

From my count, this year only Ben Bishop, Reaves, Cole, and Eller will be on NHL rosters to start the season and played the majority of a season at Peoria from our 2005-present drafts.

You could argue that its the scouting staffs fault for choosing inferior players, but Peoria doesnt exactly have a sterling track record with developing players. Their on-ice performance overall has been subpar as well in recent memory.

Pietrangelo played for Peoria's last playoff team, after his final season in junior had ended.

Do we consider Reaves a "core" player? He's as solid a fourth-liner as anyone in the league, and is not likely to be moved off of the NHL lineup any time soon.

You could throw Nikitin in there. Hes not a core player for the Blues, but it seems he has found a nice role in Columbus (although him Tyutin need some help on the back end). He barely played in Peoria though. Eller hasnt set the world on fire either, although I still think his best is still ahead.

I don't hear much about Jake Alen. What's the overall feeling about him?

They fired their head coach last year at the end of the season. IMO, with a fair number of injury call ups he missed key players for large portions of last season - I was a little shocked to see him go. Who ever they have in their now just plain can't get anything going.

Their roster has a decent amount of talent, but seems to be short on dependable veterans, as compared to many other AHL rosters. Still, I'd have expected them to have more wins than losses.

Perhaps the issue is the team just needs more time to gel and bond. I didn't expect them to do as well as in the first half, and the lock out hurt them. Some teams are far more loaded due to the lock out. Really only one player sitting on their roster would have been a consistent contributor in the Blues line up....Ian Cole.

Another thing to consider, it's one thing to get 25-32 year old men getting paid to buy into a system and another to get younger kids to buy into a system, when they are pressing to prove that they belong and are wanting to move to the next level. Everyone seems to forget your mistakes and defensive inefficiencies, when you score goals and put up points. I just think they are pressing and seem to be a bit overmatched.

Sooo.... How about that Anthony Peluso?

Dont think so, never has been a scorer, never will be. Even when he was on a line with Duchene and Grachev in the OHL he only has 22 points in 27 games.

Uhh ok. Nobody said he was going to be a scorer....

He's obviously an enforcer and looks to be good enough to be a future 4th-line NHL'er. Wouldn't be surprised if he saw some time with the Blues next season. Wonder if he could take Porter's spot as an extra forward.

Hooray,

Peoria wins in overtime. Two for McRae with one in overtime. Grachev the other, Allen stops 35 of 37.

Peoria has won 3 in a row, this team just needed some time to gel, it seems. Injuries have also hurt them. And the lockout didnt help them as much as other teams, only adding Cole because of it. I think this team has enough talent to compete.

It's good to hear that McRae has been heating up a bit. I've only been following the twitter feed, but it seems like Cundari has been picking up his game lately as well, at least offensively.

Cundari is a +5, while almost ALL of the regulars have double digit minus numbers (except a couple at -8 and -9). I don't watch the games, so I don't know what defensive shift he's on. But, that stat seems to indicate that he's been somewhat effective. Granted, he's probably not playing against the best forwards on the opponents.

McRae's overall numbers are still not very good by AHL standards, especially for a veteran.

http://atdhenet.tv/54944/watch-grand...eoria-rivermen

Tied 1-1 in the 1st. Bruton assisted by Beach & Andronov

Peoria is being absolutely dominated.

Schwartz is really battling out there. I wish he would keep the puck on his stick more often. I know he's a pass first guy, but they are having a tough time stopping him right now. Nyquist has been great too. He looks like the real deal.

McKenna is the only reason this game is close.

ANNNNNDDDD game. Hensick with a blind pass to absolutely nobody leads to a breakaway and they bury it. Really spoiled a great performance by McKenna.