Blues players at World Championship make good showing

MARYLAND HEIGHTS, Mo. -- There was a glow in Doug Armstrong's eye in the immediate aftermath of another international gold medal for Canada.

The Blues general manager has been the orchestrator of the country's top finishes in the past, from Olympic competition to now the World Championship recently completed in Tampere, Finland and Riga, Latvia where Canada reigned supreme winning the gold medal over Germany.

Armstrong, who met with the media for a roundtable chat to discuss the current goings on with the Blues, was not only happy at standing on the mountain top for Canada but for those Blues players that participated overseas in the tournament, including those that played for Canada [forwards Sammy Blais and Jake Neighbours and goalie Joel Hofer].

Blais scored twice against Germany in the gold medal game, a 5-2 win, and finished with eight points (six goals, two assists) in 10 games; Neighbours had a goal and four assists, including one against Germany, in 10 games; Scott Perunovich finished with a goal and seven assists in 10 games for USA, which finished fourth in the tournament; Kasperi Kapanen had three goals and two assists and was a plus-8 for Finland in eight games, and Hofer was 1-1 with a 1.46 goals-against average and .925 save percentage playing primarily as a backup behind Montreal Canadiens goalie Sam Montembeault.

"I thought it was good," Armstrong said Friday from Centene Community Ice Center. "Joel got in a couple games and played well. He got lit up in one of the shootouts, but his play during the 65 minutes in the game he played was really strong. I was really happy for Jake Neighbours, went over there as the 13th forward and worked his way into a top nine role and played really well. 'Blaiser', as advertised, scored and was a big player for us. Got obviously big goals in the most important games. ... Scotty played very well over there. I think again continuing to play, get more games under your belt was important for him and for Blaiser. Both did very well in the tournament too.

"All in all, it was a really good event for our guys. Kapanen played in Team Finland and and they reward the top three players for their country and he was one of those players, so he had a good tournament too. All in all, I'm a big supporter of the World Championships. I think when you're a hockey player playing hockey is the thing to do. I was happy all those guys went and I think they had a good time doing it."

It turned out to be a real benefit for each player that chose to go over and play hockey after the Blues failed to make the playoffs for the first time since 2017-18.

"Yeah, it was a challenge this year," Armstrong said. "There's a certain level of player you understand that have been there, that have done that, that have family issues and it was maybe more a difficult time getting some of the younger players than in the past. When we were putting the group together, we talked about we don't want anybody coming over that was maybe on the fence. I've been over there where guys were half in, half out and it's an awful experience for them and the team. The 23 players Canada took were 100 percent committed and I think it showed as the tournament progressed."

Including Blais, who picked up where he left off after the Blues re-acquired the forward from the New York Rangers on Feb. 9 in the trade that sent Vladimir Tarasenko and Niko Mikkola to Broadway.

"I think it's just continuing to do what he does well in the NHL, which is going to the net," Armstrong said of Blais, who signed a one-year, $1 million contract on March 9. "He's abrasive, he's physical, he has a little bit of a chip on his shoulder.

"When you look at the second goal that he had in the final game, it's two feet out, that's how he's going to score goals. He played really well, but it's his north/south, play-through-people that he did here when he got here that he did over there. It's a huge year for him. I hope he can take advantage of a full summer of training, get himself in top, physical condition. Not only does it help the St. Louis Blues, but the salary cap's going to go up a year from now and he's going to be a free agent a year from now. Having motivated players for all the right reasons is going to be good, and one the reasons is it's a business and he can make a lot of money if he can parlay what he did when he got here to the World Championships all into next year, he can have a good next July."

Blues fans have asked why some players did not go over and participate in the tournament, such as Robert Thomas and Jordan Kyrou for Canada and Jakub Vrana for the Czech Republic.

Thomas and Kyrou were not permitted to play due to the ongoing investigations into the alleged sexual abuse incident involving members of the Canadian World Junior team in 2018, to which each has denied, but it's evident Armstrong would have liked to see some more of the younger Blues, at least, take part.

"It's certainly not like working on the Olympic team where you know what the answer's going to be when you pick up the phone, but it is what it is," he said. "I respect everyone's individual decision on what they think is best for their careers, but I'm a big believer that playing hockey is what they should do. If you want to get comfortable playing in May, you should play in May."

"... It's a positive experience going and it's a positive experience when you play well when you're there."