ST. LOUIS -- Blues training camp just got serious.
Nearly half of the 59 players on the roster got dismissed last week, leaving 30 players who coach Ken Hitchcock says are all in the mix for the final 23 spots. For the first time Monday, that included Jaden Schwartz, who signed a two-year contract Saturday for a reported $4.7 million, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
"I think the players can count," Hitchcock says. "But I also think the veteran players, they know what time of year it is. If we were to play a game like we practiced today, we'd have won by seven goals."
That would be quite a dramatic change from the first four games of the preseason, all losses by a combined five goals. Slow starts and poor special teams doomed St. Louis, which saw some struggles from both veterans and younger players.
But Hitchcock says he's not reading too much into those results, and it's worth noting the defending Central Division champion, the Colorado Avalanche, hasn't won in five games. The last two weeks have been primarily for evaluation, and younger players such as 2014 draft pick Robby Fabbri and 21-year-old defenseman Petteri Lindbohm were among those good enough to earn an extended audition.
Now, just as Hitchcock told everyone when camp opened 10 days ago, it's time to start preparing for the season. That means figuring out lines, making sure everyone buys into the team's identity, and paying more attention to ice time and results in the last three preseason games.
"This is a week where you get to gauge where you're at," Hitchcock says. "I would say if we didn't play well in these games here and didn't put a good foot forward, I would be concerned."
The lineup he puts on the ice in tomorrow night's game will be considerably better than the one that lost to Columbus, 5-4, in the team's home opener last Thursday. No longer are the Blues divided into two teams, and last year's leading goal scorer Alexander Steen will return from a minor injury that kept him from making his preseason debut last week.
Schwartz won't be ready to go until Thursday night's home game against Minnesota, but Hitchcock liked what he saw from the 22-year-old forward. He feels like he arrived in good shape, thanks to some power skating workouts with a coach in Canada over the past few days.
Of course, it will take some time to catch up, but there's a reason Hitchcock and general manager Doug Armstrong never seemed overly concerned during the holdout. Schwartz's return -- along with his spot on the roster -- was always an inevitability, and this week's practices matter a lot more as he finds out where he'll fit in the lineup, which might even include center for the first time.
"It was fun," Schwartz said of Monday's practice. "It was nice seeing everyone at the rink this morning, just really exciting, kind of had butterflies coming in to finally get back here on the ice."
Surely, the feeling was mutual, and it seemed a different teammate came over to talk to Schwartz along the boards during every break in practice. Hitchcock says Schwartz was one of the Blues' best players toward the end of last season, and there's no reason to believe he won't be even better in his second full year in St. Louis.
Nonetheless, it will take at least a few days for him to get better acclimated to the intensity of drills, let alone the demands of his first game. The most brutal part of preseason conditioning may be over, but getting up to speed with how the Blues want to play may be even more difficult.
More than anything else, that means more checking to win possession and better handling of the puck in the defensive zone, two of Hitchcock's biggest concerns this preseason. The Blues gave up at least four goals in every game so far, including six on the power play and even one shorthanded goal against Brian Elliott in last Thursday's 5-4 loss to the Blue Jackets.
Those will be the key areas to watch going forward, as well as how key newcomers such as forwards Paul Stastny, Jori Lehtera and Joakim Lindstrom are progressing. All three have shown the potential to add some serious punch to the Blues' offense, and now it's time for the team to find its identity and take that next step forward.
"I don't think we're there yet until today, but today was a sign where this is how we're going to play," Hitchcock said. "It was a hell of a hockey practice."
You can follow Luke Thompson on Twitter at @FS_LukeT or email him at lukegthompson87@gmail.com.
