Friday, August 2, 2013

30 Teams in 30 Days - St. Louis Blues

Up next are the St. Louis Blues (and their lone OHL prospect).

Jordan Binnington - Owen Sound Attack
The 2012/2013 OHL goaltender of the year, and well deserved. Binnington was terrific for Owen Sound, from start to finish, this year. Previously, he'd have dominating stretches, but could never put together a truly consistent season. In his 4th, and final OHL season, that finally happened. He looked significantly more confident in all aspects of the game. He was tracking the puck better, challenging shooters, and making consistently big saves for Owen Sound. The Attack did not score a lot of goals this year, so Binnington was absolutely crucial to their success; his margin for error was not large. In addition, I thought Binnington's game really grew in the rebounding department. There might not be a better goaltender in the OHL at swallowing up shots, or kicking out rebounds to the corners. All in all, he's made himself into a terrific goaltending prospect. Next year, he's likely ticketed to a back-up role in the AHL with Chicago or as a starter in the ECHL. The Blues already have top prospect Jake Allen in the AHL, plus Chicago also has veteran AHL netminder Matt Climie signed to a contract. So as of right now, Binnington looks to start the year as an ECHL starter, with a chance to get in some AHL games due to injuries and/or trade. I'd expect his success to carry over rather easily and I'd be surprised if he posted a sub .900 save percentage.


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