Armstrong before the 2025-26 season

Armstrong before the 2025-26 season

Tell us about Sunwist and and his status. Yeah, he’s got a lower body injuries. He’s going to be week to week. So, he won’t be playing obviously uh against Minnesota or on our road trip. I don’t think it’s serious, but it’s it’s week to week. So, you just roll with 22? Yeah. Yeah. Um anything uh moving forward here with Luchi and you made a decision there. Yeah, he’s he got uh banged up the last uh couple of games really. So, uh, his PTO is obviously over. What we’re going to do is rehab him here. Uh, get him back up to to, uh, to healthwise to 100% and then likely reconnect on a PTO with an inseason PTO uh, to get him up and running and see where he’s at. Then, what have you thought about him in camp? Well, it’s been hard for him. He hasn’t played in so long and then he gets hurt. Uh and uh his style of play is more uh presented to NHL games. Uh he didn’t play against the cal the caliber of competition was good, but he wasn’t looking to to impose his will on on a junior kid. Uh so I I think I think he he showed that uh areas that he can improve our team. He’s got and he’s got a he’s got a massive reput reputation and uh that that’s an important part of our game when you see what’s going on in preseason. So we we we want to continue down the path with them. So trending towards a contract or is that yet to be determined? I guess yet to be determined. Yeah. Yeah. He has to he has to knock out somebody that is healthy on our roster and uh we’re not there yet. What’s he dealing with right now? Uh lower body. Yeah. As far as the 10day PTO, is that something that you had discussed with him in the summer as a as a possibility or No. No. It was obviously we were hoping to have the the answer by now, but when he got hurt early in camp and it was early, he was fighting through it and and my belief was is you you got to get healthy to give yourself the best chance. And you know, an old pro, he kept fighting through it. Uh and then to the point where he couldn’t any longer. So, I talked to him about just taking a deep breath, understanding that there’s light at the end of the tunnel with another inseason PTO that we can talk about, but get yourself healthy first. Doug, compared to what you thought about the team going into camp, uh just what are your thoughts after watching these three weeks heading into the season? Yeah, I think there’s some excitement. I think that uh we’re a balanced group. uh you know the it was a hard preseason uh uh just because we we never really played our team against another team uh of of the same caliber u so I didn’t gain a lot quite honestly from the games this year uh I liked our practices uh but that doesn’t transfer always to to the games so I thought Jim ran a competitive camp a hard camp uh but I personally didn’t learn a lot from the games uh that that you sometimes normally learn. In hindsight, I, you know, it was on me. I should have done a better job of understanding what Dallas was bringing that Tuesday and we should have, that would have been the time to dress our lineup. They had, they had a hell of a team that night. How different is the the loot chief situation um just with the CBA changes and the fact that you’re able to have him on a on a 10day now. Uh you you could have PTO’s before, so not nothing’s really changed. We just got to get him up and running. Doug, were you surprised to lose Colton Ellis on waiverss or was that something you had maybe anticipated? Uh, I I’d say somewhat surprised only only because he doesn’t have that NHL resume. So, uh, when he gets put into that first contest for the Sabres, it’s his first contest. Sometimes when you’re dealing with uh, injuries, you’re looking for stability of someone that’s got a proven track record that the players can see. Uh, but he had a great year last year. He’s a he’s he’s progressed uh very well. Uh I when I called him yesterday, I said, “I’m I’m really happy for you and really disappointed for the organization because you’ve done everything you could do to put yourself in a great spot.” He was clearly our our number three going into the year. U now he has the opportunity uh to take take whatever Buffalo gives him and and carve out an NHL career quickly. He wasn’t going to get that here obviously with Bennington. How does that impact the organization in terms of Springfield? Uh right now we we’ll go with with Z and Cranley. Uh uh it’s it’s it’s a great business. The agents are always looking out for the St. Louis Blues. My phone is ringing off the hook on potential guys to to help us. So it’s great to see everyone cares about us. You had spoken about a guy like Mayu. It’s his job to lose. What did you feel about like about his progression here throughout camp? I I he’s certainly an NHL caliber talent. Um we quickly realized when even in the talking to the guys about the summer skates in in you know October or I’m sorry in uh August, September when he got here, they saw an NHL caliber player shotwise, skating wise. I think he’s fit in very well. I think there’s going to be a growth pattern there for him, but uh he’s been told to get a place. He and Snuggy have been told to get a place, not not shockingly. Uh but uh we’re expecting them to to to help contribute in in our group that plays every night. Monty had mentioned that nobody really grabbed that third line right wing spot. Are you concerned about it at all? Uh it’s it’s still open for for competition. So I’m not sure concerned is uh the right word. Uh just again that our camp went like that though a little bit. you know, in the games that we played, uh, when when you address that line that sometimes you view it as a third line, but it’s the first line against the competition you’re playing where the first line against the the players that we sent along, you know, we didn’t send a a group there where it was that defined. So, uh, it’s still open competition, you know, and uh, what the Sunquist injury uh, might move Buches uh, to to center uh, down a rung and that so it’s back open. he could have started the season there. So, again, it’s it’s it’s a moving parts now for the coach, but Sunny’s uh injury is certainly going to open an opportunity for someone. He was in our opening day lineup. It’s just a tough break for him given, you know, his injury history and that he’s finally was healthy coming into this year. Yeah, it was I felt so bad for them. uh Hamley’s we had a little family event on Sunday and his his uh wife was here about 5T from him when he went flying into the boards and uh last last drill of of training camp. I felt bad for him, but he’s such an upbeat guy and and again, it’s not this isn’t something that we’re concerned about. Like week to week is more like a week a week. But uh so yeah, I feel bad for him because he he continually puts in the work in and one day his luck is going to turn the other way. Which of the young guys, D’Vor Steinberg, showed you something that if you need to call somebody up, it would be them. I would say they all show different areas of of uh maturity in their game. Uh I think Casamaki and Stenberg because of their role as support players, it’s easier to see that than it is a lead horse. You know what I mean? Like D’vorski is a he’s a top 10 pick. He’s going to drive a line. I think uh Stenberg, Casamaki are going to support a line and they they played very well with with other players of of the top end caliber players that can push the game along that can put the puck in the right areas that can do the things that make that job easier. So, I thought they all had very good training camps. I think it’s all beneficial for them to to start in Springfield. Uh but they in our opinion uh they they proved why they were selected where they were.

St. Louis Blues GM Doug Armstrong shares his thoughts on the team’s training camp and provides updates on forwards Oskar Sundqvist and Milan Lucic ahead of the season opener on Thursday.