Yesterday the St. Louis Blues announced the signing of 2012 first-round defensive pick Jordan Schmaltz to a three-year entry level contract. Schmaltz leaves behind a three-year career at the University of North Dakota as a Fighting Sioux where he got on the score sheet with 28 points in 42 games and was an all-National Collegiate Hockey Conference pick.
He gives up his fourth and final year of college eligibility in signing with the St. Louis Blues, but it’s none too soon for the St. Louis Blues, who suffered defensive breakdowns during the postseason.
The major defensive issues among the Blues came not just from being a team that was exhausted by the start of the post which led to a number of turnovers in their own end and allowing shots that should have gone unblocked, but also from a lack of offensive production (aside, of course, from the inestimable and irreplaceable Kevin Shattenkirk, who lead the team in postseason points).