MARYLAND HEIGHTS, Mo. -- Day 2 of St. Louis Blues training camp found coach Jim Montgomery a little more boisterous – and animated – towards his players.
With just two days of organized practices before the Blues play their first preseason game on Saturday against the Dallas Stars, the coach wanted to hone in on as much as possible.
“Yesterday was defense, today was offense,” Montgomery said. “We were focused on our forecheck, our entries and our O-zone play, primarily.”
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The Blues will release their gameday roster on Saturday morning, but Montgomery did say that the lineup will include a lot of players looking to make an impression, particularly the younger ones, including 2025 first-round pick Justin Carbonneau and 2023 first-round pick Dalibor Dvorsky.
“You’re going to see a lot of young players get an opportunity,” he said. “Carbonneaus of the world, Dvorskys. They’re going to be playing.”
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In the first two days, one particular player that’s stood out – and not out of place – is 2003 first-round pick Otto Stenberg, who is skating with Robert Thomas and 2022 first-round pick Jimmy Snuggerud.
“It’s the reason we did it,” Montgomery said. “There’s a reason he’s a first-round pick. He looks like he fits up there. It’s nice to see that he has the brain to think at the same speed level as those two and complement them.”
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Jake Neighbours continues to be absent from the start of training camp after the Blues announced on Thursday that the forward will miss the first three days to attend a personal, family matter.
At the earliest, the 2020 first-round pick will get back on the ice Sunday.
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A bit of an unheralded forward with the Blues once again seems to be 2022 third-round pick Aleksanteri Kaskimaki, who put together a solid first season with Springfield of the American Hockey League last season, putting up 34 points (11 goals, 23 assists) in 63 games.
The 21-year-old is skating to start camp with Oskar Sundqvist and Mathieu Joseph.
“You see a lot of good habits and details,” Montgomery said. “I do want to see more pace and see him do more out there. He’s done a good job, you don’t make the team doing a good job.”