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Ryan TESINK |  |
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| RW, shoots L. 6' 00, 170 lbs. Born 05-21-93, Saint John, New Brunswick. | |||||||||||
| STL 6th pick (162nd overall) in 2011. | |||||||||||
| SEASON | CLUB | (LEAGUE) | GP | GL | AS | PT | +/- | PM | PP | SH | GW |
| 2012-13 | Saint John (QMJHL) | 35 | 16 | 21 | 37 | + 3 | 75 | 7 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2012-13 | Blainville-Boisbriand (QMJHL) | 6 | 1 | 3 | 4 | + 3 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| 2012-13 | ... TOTALS | 41 | 17 | 24 | 41 | + 6 | 81 | 7 | 1 | 1 | |
| 2013 | Blainville-Boisbriand (QMJHL) P/O | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | - 3 | 23 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
Thursday, May 16, 2013
Tesink Test File
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Thoughts On The Past... And The Future
This post represents the rebirth of "Tomorrow's Blues" as a site where the future of the Blues can be discussed and analyzed by all who are primarily interested in that topic.
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So the Blues haven't won a playoff series since 2002. BFD. Since 2002, there was a lockout, and a team owner who gutted the franchise pitilessly. That explains away a good chunk of those intervening seasons.
This franchise has committed to building -- and ultimately sustaining -- a winner, from virtually the ground up. Dollar Bill Laurie drove this franchise down further than it has ever been; even when it was on the verge of becoming the Saskatchewan Blues, this franchise was not in as bad a shape as Laurie left it.
The Blues were all the way down, and after the lockout, yes, they were in fact the very worst team in the league. They were on the brink of erasing that stigma this season before the injury bug bit them, and then the lack of depth caused by under-financing reared its head. By season's end, they were back to being very competitive vs. the rest of the NHL, but January put them in too big a hole to dig out of.
Since the Laurie disaster, this team has drafted extremely well, and the majority of their NHL roster is now composed either of players that they drafted and developed themselves, or players who were acquired for drafted prospects (such as Halak for Eller, Steen/Colaiacovo for Stempniak, or Stewart/Shattenkirk for Johnson/McClement).
A strong case can be made that the Blues "won" each of the cited trades, and most of the other trades that have been made in the last decade besides. Indeed, the only trades that come immediately to mind that haven't paid dividends (yet) for the Blues, have been this year's trades of Boyes and Brewer for draft picks... and both Joel Edmundson and Jordan Binnington, the players drafted with those acquired picks, have excellent potential to fill future areas of need in the organization.
They added a GM (Armstrong) who is perhaps more in tune with the needs of a franchise that develops players for the long haul than the previous GM (Pleau), who was hired for a franchise that seemingly had the pieces in place.
Armstrong has made some pretty shrewd moves to address the depth issue for the upcoming season. During this upcoming season, the players below the NHL level will continue to progress and develop so that they can either move up to the NHL, or else fill the depth roles for seasons beyond 2011-12.
The Blues exercise full control over their primary developmental organization (AHL Peoria), which is a luxury that not a lot of NHL clubs have any more. This level of control makes it possible for the Blues to build systems at the NHL and AHL levels that are synchronous, allowing for players to come up to the NHL from the AHL and be able to fit in right away. Most of the players the Blues bring up from P-Town have been able to come in and fill a role in the short term without looking out of place, and use that experience to build upon so that when the time comes for them to mesh with the NHL club on a full-time basis, they can avoid being a square peg in a round hole.
All of this is not to say that the Blues should not focus on a long drought of playoff success... indeed, they should be using this drought as a motivating factor, and also looking to the Red Wings as an example of an organization who also had a long dry spell and ultimately built, and have so far sustained, a contending team.
At several points in the last decade, the Blues could have easily gone the Blackhawks' route and shot their wad on one magic season. But the Hawks are paying the price now for their logistical errors, and only a die-hard Hawks' fan could consider them a serious contender for another Cup any time soon.
It's one thing to build a one-shot winner; lots of organizations, in all sports, have done that. It's another thing entirely to sustain excellence over the long term. It takes time and concentrated effort to do that, and the Blues have been working patiently towards that goal for several years now.
It's not unreasonable to expect a payoff, certainly... but speaking strictly for myself, I'd rather the payoff be delayed until the organization is a juggernaut that will sweep all before them, like (as much as I hate to admit this) the Red Wings have been in the past.
Some of us have been waiting 45 years for that juggernaut; I for one can wait a little longer without kvetching about "playoff droughts" and so-called "losing cultures."
----------
So the Blues haven't won a playoff series since 2002. BFD. Since 2002, there was a lockout, and a team owner who gutted the franchise pitilessly. That explains away a good chunk of those intervening seasons.
This franchise has committed to building -- and ultimately sustaining -- a winner, from virtually the ground up. Dollar Bill Laurie drove this franchise down further than it has ever been; even when it was on the verge of becoming the Saskatchewan Blues, this franchise was not in as bad a shape as Laurie left it.
The Blues were all the way down, and after the lockout, yes, they were in fact the very worst team in the league. They were on the brink of erasing that stigma this season before the injury bug bit them, and then the lack of depth caused by under-financing reared its head. By season's end, they were back to being very competitive vs. the rest of the NHL, but January put them in too big a hole to dig out of.
Since the Laurie disaster, this team has drafted extremely well, and the majority of their NHL roster is now composed either of players that they drafted and developed themselves, or players who were acquired for drafted prospects (such as Halak for Eller, Steen/Colaiacovo for Stempniak, or Stewart/Shattenkirk for Johnson/McClement).
A strong case can be made that the Blues "won" each of the cited trades, and most of the other trades that have been made in the last decade besides. Indeed, the only trades that come immediately to mind that haven't paid dividends (yet) for the Blues, have been this year's trades of Boyes and Brewer for draft picks... and both Joel Edmundson and Jordan Binnington, the players drafted with those acquired picks, have excellent potential to fill future areas of need in the organization.
They added a GM (Armstrong) who is perhaps more in tune with the needs of a franchise that develops players for the long haul than the previous GM (Pleau), who was hired for a franchise that seemingly had the pieces in place.
Armstrong has made some pretty shrewd moves to address the depth issue for the upcoming season. During this upcoming season, the players below the NHL level will continue to progress and develop so that they can either move up to the NHL, or else fill the depth roles for seasons beyond 2011-12.
The Blues exercise full control over their primary developmental organization (AHL Peoria), which is a luxury that not a lot of NHL clubs have any more. This level of control makes it possible for the Blues to build systems at the NHL and AHL levels that are synchronous, allowing for players to come up to the NHL from the AHL and be able to fit in right away. Most of the players the Blues bring up from P-Town have been able to come in and fill a role in the short term without looking out of place, and use that experience to build upon so that when the time comes for them to mesh with the NHL club on a full-time basis, they can avoid being a square peg in a round hole.
All of this is not to say that the Blues should not focus on a long drought of playoff success... indeed, they should be using this drought as a motivating factor, and also looking to the Red Wings as an example of an organization who also had a long dry spell and ultimately built, and have so far sustained, a contending team.
At several points in the last decade, the Blues could have easily gone the Blackhawks' route and shot their wad on one magic season. But the Hawks are paying the price now for their logistical errors, and only a die-hard Hawks' fan could consider them a serious contender for another Cup any time soon.
It's one thing to build a one-shot winner; lots of organizations, in all sports, have done that. It's another thing entirely to sustain excellence over the long term. It takes time and concentrated effort to do that, and the Blues have been working patiently towards that goal for several years now.
It's not unreasonable to expect a payoff, certainly... but speaking strictly for myself, I'd rather the payoff be delayed until the organization is a juggernaut that will sweep all before them, like (as much as I hate to admit this) the Red Wings have been in the past.
Some of us have been waiting 45 years for that juggernaut; I for one can wait a little longer without kvetching about "playoff droughts" and so-called "losing cultures."
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