MARYLAND HEIGHTS, Mo. -- Leo Lööf wanted to be here in July.
Unfortunately for the St. Louis Blues' third-round pick in the 2020 NHL Draft, visa issues disrupted the chance to compete at prospect camp, and it was another missed opportunity for Blues fans to get to see the hype of what they have in the organization.
"Of course I wanted to go to that camp, show my game because I haven't been here since I was drafted," Lööf said Thursday. "Of course that was tough that I couldn't go, but I'm happy I can be here now and I'm excited."
Blues fans will get that opportunity -- finally -- to see the defenseman play this weekend when Lööf and Blues prospects compete in the Tom Kurvers Prospect Tournament against the Minnesota Wild and Chicago Blackhawks on Friday and Saturday.
The 21-year-old, who was skating in a pair with Matthew Kessel at Centene Community Ice Center before the Blues leave for St. Paul, Minn. to face the Wild on Friday at 7 p.m. and Connor Bedard and the Blackhawks on Saturday at 6 p.m., is in St. Louis for the first time, all 6-foot-1, 187 pounds of him.
All Blues fans have heard have been good things about Lööf's game, which includes a physical element and a player that shows poise with the puck as a left-handed skater.
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7TG_VeRE6Q[/embed]
"It's going to be fun, show my game," Lööf said. "Of course practices is fun too but you want to play the games. It's really nice we can play a game already [Friday]. I'm excited to show my game and play as good as a team, go good together as a group and have fun together.
"I want to show my game. I feel like I've improved a lot the last two seasons. It feels like I am ready to take the new step."
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xVZDsNhxQCU[/embed]
When the Blues drafted Lööf, he spoke of his joy of being picked to one day play in the NHL, but that was three years ago. He spent the following season with Farjestads BK Karlstad of the Swedish Hockey League injured, only playing in nine games. But Lööf took his game to Finland and has toiled with Ilves Tampere of SM-liiga, Finland's top league, for the past two seasons; he had 26 points (eight goals, 18 assists) in 103 regular-season games and five points (one goal, four assists) in 22 playoff games.
Lööf felt the time was right to make the jump to North America and begin the journey of his NHL dream.
"I think it's the right time," he said. "I've been playing professional hockey in Finland the last two years. I feel like I'm ready and I have played against men now for two, three seasons. I feel ready and as I said, I feel excited."
Lööf really impressed Blues brass for his showing at the 2022 IIHF World Junior Championships; he played in six games representing Sweden there, helping it win the bronze, then signed a three-year entry-level contract April 28 with the Blues and is likely destined for Springfield of the American Hockey League this season.
"Leo was a wrecking ball at the world juniors," said Tim Taylor, the Blues' director of player personnel. "He hit everyone in sight. He caught guys with their heads down. He’s a simple, first-pass guy, but he plays really hard and he catches a lot of guys. He’s a little bit of a throwback with his physical play."
Which is exactly what the Blues need. It's been a pivot from what they trotted out on a nightly basis going back to their Stanley Cup-winning season of 2019.
"I like to play physical, but I can play with the puck too and make plays," Lööf said. "But of course the physical game is a part of my game."
The leg up Lööf has that will help him in the long run is his experience playing against, what he called earlier, "grown men." That's his reasoning detouring to Finland before making the trek across the Atlantic Ocean to North America, which Lööf hopes is his last stop but will have to adjust to the smaller ice surface.
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=el-mpT_TJm8[/embed]
"I got offered by the Swedish team [Farjestads BK Karlstad] but was I injured the whole season," Lööf said. "I decided to go to Finland, just took the chance and I don't regret it.
"Of course, I played in a smaller rink in World Juniors. I feel it fits my style a little bit, I play physical and tight to the corners."
Along with Blues fans who have waited to see Lööf make it to the NHL, he will have at least one interested fan cheering on his progression: twin brother Linus Lööf, a center playing in Sweden for Karlskrona HK of HockeyEttan.
"He's still playing in third Swedish league," Leo Lööf said of his brother. "We cheer for each other. It's always nice to have a best friend when you have the time of course, especially now. We talk every day and he means a lot to me.
"Yeah of course he's my No. 1 fan. We cheer for each other and he keeps training to be a better player too. I hope he's doing well."
