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MARYLAND HEIGHTS, Mo. — Final 12 months for Will Cranley, going into Minnesota on the Tom Kurvers Prospect Showcase, it was a case of overcoming some psychological adversity.
Or was it?
After all of the St. Louis Blues goalie, a sixth-round choose within the 2020 NHL Draft, wasn’t simply going through photographs from anybody. It was the prize of the 2023 NHL Draft: Connor Bedard.
Bedard scored three targets and had an help in his Chicago Blackhawks debut, however 364 days later on the USA Rink inside Centene Group Ice Middle, the 22-year-old Cranley placed on his finest model of a Velcro.
Cranley stopped 26 photographs, and the Blues accomplished an unbeaten run within the showcase by working away from the Minnesota Wild, 6-2, on Sunday afternoon.
The Blues, who downed the Blackhawks 4-3 in extra time on Friday earlier than the Blackhawks topped the Wild 4-2 on Saturday, completed 2-0-0 in tourney play and had some excellent performances alongside the best way.
Among the strong performances included:
* Will Cranley — The goalie turned final 12 months’s prospect sport — and Bedard — right into a distant reminiscence with a strong efficiency on Sunday.
“In comparison with the final 12 months once I got here in, it is just a little completely different and it is just a little nicer,” Cranley mentioned. “I am hoping simply to construct on the momentum going into exhibition video games right here.
“It is a fairly good participant. He made some good photographs, however I wasn’t very sharp both.”
Cranley was a lot sharper on Sunday. His rebound management was almost impeccable, angles have been tight, puck management was regular and after the Blues opened the sport with a flurry of exercise at one finish in opposition to Minnesota goalie Riley Mercer, when the ice was tilted, Cranley was referred to as into motion.
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He had 11 saves within the first interval and by no means actually was combating the puck.
“He is been good for a couple of days, whether or not it is apply or no matter,” Springfield coach and Blues prospect coach Steve Konowalchuk mentioned. “He appears like he can play. It is a brief pattern dimension, however he was actually regular on the market and made the saves he wanted to. Good sport for him.”
Cranley, who was a mixed 9-15-4 with Utah and Studying of the ECHL final season, hopes to make it an actual goalie competitors with the Thunderbirds, who’ve Vadim Zherenko and Colten Ellis, this season.
“I’ve labored a with Dan [Stewart] this summer season, the Springfield goalie coach,” Cranley mentioned. “Every part from high to backside simply sharpening up my sport and tonight I feel that was a great side to my sport.
“I feel it is simply taking it sport by sport. Regardless of the place I am enjoying, I simply wish to give the staff the very best likelihood to win each night time. I feel previously, consistency’s been just a little little bit of a factor, so this 12 months I feel the largest factor going ahead is simply little little bit of consistency. If I can set up that, we’ll be in fine condition.
“I feel total simply my engagement stage was good. There’s by no means actually a query concerning the talent there. It is simply an engagement stage sort of factor and a psychological factor, and tonight it was there.”
* Dvorsky, Pekarcik rebound; linemate Robertsson shines once more — After having a tricky go of it on Friday, the Slovakian duo of Dalibor Dvorsky (first spherical, 2023) and Juraj Pekarcik (third spherical, 2023) mixed for 5 factors on Sunday — all within the third interval.
Pekarcik scored twice, and Dvorsky assisted on three targets. Mixed with linemate Simon Robertsson, who had two assists after scoring the extra time game-winner Friday, the road mixed for seven factors within the sport.
“We felt actually good these video games,” Pekarcik mentioned. “It was a great sport for us, for me personally, for Robertsson. I feel we had actually good chemistry on the market. It was actually necessary for us.
“It was actually good for us. First shift was actually good after which we nonetheless proceed and it was actual good for us.”
The road was menacing from the get-go. The primary shift Pekarcik spoke of helped the flurry of offensive exercise when the Blues held a 9-2 photographs benefit within the sport’s first six minutes.
“I assumed that line with Dvorsky was fairly strong,” Konowalchuk mentioned. “… I am coming in blind just a little bit. I do know the gamers just a little bit and listening to the group that what, these guys would possibly play good. After which from there, if I wanted to make changes, you may speak about it and do it, however we did not have to. They clicked. We had two good hockey video games, pretty straightforward to educate so far as issues. Guys performed properly. You do not have to shake issues up. You do not have to make a complete lot of modifications. The administration employees and the scouting employees in all probability knew that they might play properly collectively they usually did.”
Dvorsky arrange each Pekarcik targets, at 1:20 of the third interval on a backdoor tap-in, and at 11:03 on a redirection in entrance, targets sandwiched round a great thing about an help on Marc-Andre Gaudet’s shorthanded backhand high shelf tuck at 8:30.
“He was actually extra relaxed on the market,” Pekarcik mentioned of Dvorsky. “We went final night time for dinner and (had) just a little discuss. It was actually good for us and felt actually good tonight.”
* Zack Bolduc — It is fairly evident: Bolduc would not belong in these video games and is prepared for full-time NHL motion.
His objective at 13:06 of the second interval was a factor of magnificence. He took a puck at middle ice and utilizing his pace, reduce previous Minnesota’s Stevie Leskovar and slipped a backhand five-hole on Wild goalie Chase Wutzke to tie the sport 1-1.
“I simply know he performed properly right here and he’ll go to the following camp and what he does,” Konowalchuk mentioned. “There’s lots of hockey however he actually performed properly right here.”
As soon as once more after a terrific sport on Friday, Bolduc and linemates Zach Dean and Aleksanteri Kaskimaki performed impressed.
“They’re good hockey gamers,” Konowalchuk mentioned. “You possibly can put that line out in any state of affairs that may go get it performed for you. I assumed Kaskimaki, he performed properly. He is a great, sneaky-good hockey participant. He matches in properly with them as a result of he is across the web, good physique place, digs the puck out and has the arms to make performs. He does some sneaky-good issues on the market. One other good hockey participant.”
* Sam Bitten, Quinton Burns, Matthew Mayich — The Blues trio get nods only for answering the bell on the battle card.
Every was concerned in scraps earlier than a objective was scored on this one for the reason that sport had some feistiness and chippiness to it.
“A part of the St. Louis Blues, I do know it is the repute they’ve all the time had and wish to have,” Konowalchuk mentioned. “I do know that coming into this group and I actually just like the staff I am working with play laborious. They actually did. It was a great, aggressive hockey sport and our guys stood proper in there and stored enjoying the best approach.”
Burns had a blended evaluation sport on Friday however rebounded properly and slot in properly with the aggressive, forechecking, bodily type of sport, which inserts into his strengths.
Burns fought Carson Lambos after Bitten and Leskovar’s spirited bout opened issues up. Then Mayich, who had an help on Pekarcik’s second objective Sunday, completed issues off with Mason Zebeski in one other spirited bout.
* Dylan Peterson — The third spherical choose in 2020 had himself one other strong prospects sport.
Peterson, listed at 6-foot-4, 192 kilos, was as soon as once more a menace along with his under-the-radar pace, his bodily presence in propecting pucks, a strong forecheck and correct puck placement.
It was the second straight robust sport for the Boston College product, who will attend primary camp starting Thursday.
* Jecho, Gaudet rating good targets — Adam Jecho, a third-round choose in 2024 and Gaudet, a fifth-round choose in 2022, every scored good targets to shut out the showcase.
Jecho’s wrister from the slot on the second interval at 15:39, off a pleasant feed from Robertsson, gave the Blues the lead for good at 2-1, and Gaudet was strong in leaping up on the push from the blue line all through the sport, and his shorthander within the third was a magnificence that made it 5-1.
“Plenty of gamers performed good. It was fairly spectacular, fairly spectacular, very aggressive hockey sport,” Konowalchuk mentioned. “They performed laborious, our guys performed laborious. I preferred the beginning of the sport. I feel the primary 10 minutes, the staff was enjoying quick. Good talent to go together with the quick and forechecking, fairly good tempo and there was undoubtedly some good particular person play as properly to win like that. Good all-around sport, goaltending was good, strong, lots of good issues.
“… I advised the blokes for the 4 days, mentally they have been targeted, practiced good, performed good. I feel it confirmed within the video games. You may inform earlier than the video games that they have been severe. We actually needed to construct as a staff on the best way we managed the puck so we will get going north fast and enjoying with tempo. First sport, it takes a while. A bit little bit of choppiness for each groups, however I assumed that first 10 minutes (Sunday), sort of dictated the tempo. Guys have been actually enjoying a quick sport and skating and transferring the puck. They have been capable of maintain at that tempo and make some issues occur.”
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