Шведийн довтлогч Оскар Сундквист NHL-ийн карьераа үргэлжлүүлэх баталгаатай боломжуудаас татгалзаж, Сент-Луис Блюз багтай нэг жилийн хугацаатай, хоёр талт гэрээнд гарын үсэг зуржээ.
Сент-Луис Блюз багт 11 улирлын турш тоглохдоо 2019 онд Стэнлийн цомыг хүртэж байсан 32 настай Оскар Сундквист энэ хот болон багийг эрхэмлэдэг тул ийм шийдвэр гаргасан байна. Түүний байгуулсан гэрээ нь NHL-д 850,000 ам.доллар, AHL-д 300,000 ам.долларын цалинтай бөгөөд тэрээр багийн үндсэн бүрэлдэхүүнд багтахын төлөө өрсөлдөхөөр бэлтгэл сургуулилтаа эхлүүлжээ. Өнгөрсөн улиралд 52 тоглолтод оролцож 17 оноо (5 гоол, 12 оновчтой дамжуулалт) авсан довтлогч энэ удаагийн бэлтгэлийн баазад эрүүл мэндийн хувьд бүрэн тэнхэрсэн байдалтай байгаагаа онцоллоо.
Багийн дасгалжуулагч Жим Монтгомери Оскар Сундквистийн бие бялдрын бэлтгэл сүүлийн 4-5 жилийн хугацаанд байгаагүй сайн байгааг онцлоод, түүнийг багийн бүрэлдэхүүнд үлдэхийн төлөө тэмцэхэд бэлэн байгааг тэмдэглэв. Оскар Сундквист өмнөх улирлуудад өвдөгний бэртлийн улмаас хүндрэлтэй тулгарч байсан ч энэ зун мэс засалд орох шаардлагагүй, өвдөлтгүйгээр бэлтгэл хийж байгаа нь түүнд илүү их итгэл төрүүлж байна.
Хэрэв Оскар Сундквист үндсэн багийн бүрэлдэхүүнд багтаж чадахгүй бол “waivers” буюу тоглогч солилцооны журмаар шилжиж, улмаар AHL-ийн Спрингфилд багт очиж тоглох нөхцөлтэй байгаа юм. Тэрээр өөрийн тоглолтын хэв маягийг тогтвортой байлгаж, дасгалжуулагчийн өгсөн үүрэг даалгаврыг биелүүлснээр NHL-д үлдэх байр сууриа хамгаална гэдэгтээ итгэлтэй байна.
Дэлгэрэнгүйг эх сурвалжаас харах
↓Эх сурвалжийг нээх ↓
MARYLAND
HEIGHTS, Mo. — Opportunities
presented themselves for Oskar Sundqvist to depart St. Louis one more
time to prolong his NHL career in a guaranteed fashion.
But
that’s not what the 32-year-old wanted, because St. Louis is where
his heart is, and the St. Louis Blues organization means so much to
the Boden, Sweden native.
Sundqvist,
who has spent eight of his 11 NHL seasons in St. Louis and met his
wife here, has been through it all at this level, including reach the
pinnacle of winning the Stanley Cup with the Blues in 2019. But this
is somewhat uncharted territory, and when he signed a one-year,
two-way contract worth $850,000 NHL/$300,000 AHL, there was reasoning
behind it: his love for this city and franchise.
“Obviously
everything. This is where I want to be, this is where I wanted to
sign the whole time,” Sundqvist
said Friday.
“There’s never really any thought anywhere else. It is different,
but like I said for me, I love being here, I love being in this
organization, I love ‘Monty’ and those guys and obviously ‘Otter’
too. It was an easy decision and obviously how much I like this
organization and this city.
“It’s
different, but it doesn’t change anything for me. This competition
is very healthy for
especially the bottom six. This is the tightest it’s been in my
years since I’ve been here to grab a spot. All that’s healthy and
you’re just pushing each other to be the best version of yourself
every day and every play you make out there. For my own sake, I’m
just looking at this positively and just trying to do the best I can
every day.”
Sundqvist
has been part of Group B at the start of training camp, meaning he’s
with all the prospects that are likely Springfield-bound or with guys
like Nathan Walker, Jack Finley, Dillon Dube, Otto Stenberg, Aleksanteri Kaskimaki
and perhaps Dylan Peterson vying to win the remaining two spots (Nos.
13 and 14) on the opening night roster.
If
Sundqvist, who had 17 points (five goals, 12 assists) in 52 games
last season and has fought his own injury demons that have included a
pair of torn ACL’s, doesn’t
win out a roster spot, he is prone to waivers and if unclaimed, head
to Springfield and play for the time being under Steve Ott.
That’s
why he understands he’s in a fight for his livelihood to stay in
the NHL and with the Blues.
“Play
my game and be consistent and show that I want one of those spots,
show that I can do what they’re asking me to do and be consistent
and be reliable and play my game,” Sundqvist
said.
“I lost it a little bit last year I feel like the second half
especially. It’s more just getting back to where I was and how I
was playing and obviously getting the speed up. It’s different
skating. It doesn’t really matter how hard you’re trying before
training camp starts. It’s a different breed. Just these two days,
now we’re back up to speed I feel like and just keep working on
it.”
What
does Sundqvist, who has played in 545 regular-season NHL games in his
career with the Blues, Pittsburgh Penguins, Detroit Red Wings and
Minnesota Wild, have going for him more than anything? Health.
Blues
brass and the coaching staff know more than anyone who Sundqvist is,
but coming into a training camp completely healthy for the first time
since 2024 has its benefits.
“Just
that he has the capability of handling more ice time, he has the
capability of not breaking down, his body’s not breaking down,”
Blues
coach Jim Montgomery said.
“There’s a lot of games last year where he was playing and he was
playing on a leg and a half, and that’s not the case right now.
It’s just to see how much energy he has.
“It
says how much he loves being a Blue (signing
a two-way contract).
I think that’s the simplest thing it says and I think he’s
willing to fight for his way into the roster. I do know that this is
the best that he’s felt physically in four or five years because
it’s the second summer in a row where he hasn’t had to have a
surgery. Chronologically, he’s
not old, like even for a hockey player.”
Sundqvist
said he’s grateful to finally feel healthy again, something that
hasn’t been the case for prolonged stretches of his career.
“I
talked
to Ray (Barile)
and
he knows about it too and (Ryan)
Podell,
especially when you have ACL surgeries and knees and stuff like
that,” Sundqvist
said.
“It usually takes two years before it’s fully healed. Last year,
you go into a third period and your knees are hurting pretty bad.
This summer and these skates that we’ve had a couple week before
this and now these two (training camp practices), it’s probably
been pain free in the knee. It feels much better and it feels like
you can take your stride out a little bit more and push off of it
more. It feels really good actually. I’m happy to feel this way.”
And
when was the last time he felt this way?
“Right
before my second ACL surgery, so that was 2.5 years ago probably,”
Sundqvist said. “It’s been a while. It’s good to be totally
pain free and feel like I can keep up with guys out there and not
limping around.
“It’s
nice now, these two days have been a great test for it. It’s been a
lot of skating and a lot of moving out there and I haven’t had any
problems. It’s been a good test and I’m really happy I don’t
have any pain.”
St. Louis Blues Defenseman Cam Fowler Feels There’s More To His Game Than What Was On Display Last SeasonVeteran, acquired from the Anaheim Ducks in 2024 and burst onto the scene with a high success rate in St. Louis, feels he “let a lot of people down” with his play last season
Blues Open Training Camp With In-Season Mode Drills Due to Shortened, More Compacted ScheduleJim Montgomery divides up players to resemble one that looks more like an NHL roster, one that has veterans competing for limited roster spots
‘I Want To Be Here … I Love This City’ — Jimmy Snuggerud Wants To Be Part Of Long-Term Future With St. Louis Blues2022 first-round pick didn’t sign maximum eight-year extension by Tuesday’s CBA deadline before new one kicked in that allows max contracts to be seven years, feels process will work itself out when time is right
Ryan Reaves, A St. Louis Blues 2005 Draft Pick, Announces Retirement From The NHLFifth-round pick in the 2005 NHL Draft was one of top enforcers in game during his 16-year career, of which first seven years was spent with Blues
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