Кэм Фаулер өнгөрсөн улирлын бүтэлгүй тоглолтоо мартаж, шинэ улиралд амжилттай оролцохыг зорьж байна

MARYLAND

HEIGHTS, Mo. — When Cam Fowler stepped to the podium last week,

there was no sugar-coating. There was no hiding from what he

considered the harsh reality of facts.

“Last

year it’s no secret, it was a difficult season for me personally,”

the 34-year-old defenseman said succinctly. “I’ll be the first

one to say that I wasn’t anywhere near the player that I expect to

be.”

This

is a player with 16 years’ worth of experience and 1,124

regular-season NHL games. You take him at his word for it. And you

wouldn’t expect anything less than the honest truth, but watching a

step back, Fowler isn’t off with his assessment.

When

the St. Louis Blues acquired him from the Anaheim Ducks on Dec. 14, 2024 for

minor league defenseman Jeremie Biakabutuka and a second-round pick

in the 2027 NHL Draft, it was a steal of a deal. Fowler came to St.

Louis and made an immediate impact.

After

having just four assists in 17 games with the Ducks, he flourished

with 36 points (nine goals, 27 assists) and a plus-19 in 51 games for

the Blues, helping them go on a tear and reach the Stanley Cup

playoffs to face the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Winnipeg Jets, and

Fowler had 10 points (two goals, eight assists) in a seven-game

series ultimately won by Winnipeg.

The

Blues were so impressed with the return they got from a player that

thrived playing with Colton Parayko, they signed him to a three-year

extension at $6.1 million average annual value that carries a full

no-trade clause until Jan. 29, 2027, to which it becomes a 15-team

NTC.

Fowler

played in all 82 games last season, but there was something missing;

he did finish with 30 points (four goals, 26 assists) but was a

minus-11 averaging 21:05 time on ice per game after averaging 21:42

the previous season.

“I

went home this summer, reflected on a lot and really just got back to

basics,” Fowler said. “I really had an emphasis on working hard

this summer and making sure that I’m ready to go, and that’s

mentally as much as it is physically. They know what they’re

getting from me. I’m happy to slot into the lineup wherever they

feel is the best opportunity for me. I’m looking forward to getting

back to some competitive hockey and getting back to the player that I

know I can be because I just felt like I let a lot of people down

last year in that regard. I don’t want that to happen again.”

At

the outset, the Blues are pairing Fowler with fellow veteran Brandon

Carlo, acquired from the Toronto Maple Leafs on the second day of the

2026 draft for two 2026 third-round picks. It looks like it could be

a good match, but in order to get the Fowler of old back into the

fold, Blues coach Jim Montgomery likely paired Carlo with Fowler to

put a reliable, stable, defensive-minded guy there so that Fowler can

get back to doing what he does best: jump into the offense and make

his mark there.

“It’s

a guy that’s taking the puck and skating,” Montgomery said of

Fowler’s best attributes. “He was in a 4-on-2 and a 3-on-2 today.

He almost tipped in a backdoor pass. It’s him getting in and out

and it’s him dictating plays going north. When he’s playing on

his toes offensively, the rest of the game takes care of itself.”

Perhaps

adding a familiar face should help Fowler get back to his top-end

game again with the addition of former Ducks coach Greg Cronin, who

the Blues hired as an assistant that will work with the defensemen

and who coached Fowler in Anaheim in 2023-24 and 24-25 prior to being

traded here.

“Obviously

I have a good relationship with ‘Crow,’ playing for him in

Anaheim,” Fowler said. “I think anyone that spends time with him

knows he’s a hard-nosed guy that demands a lot but also is fully

transparent with his players and wants us to be the best version of

ourselves. He’s going to push us every day. I think he wants us to

be uncomfortable in the things that we’re doing to help push us to

be better players, but he does have a soft side to him. He really

does care about us as people and our families. I’m looking forward

to getting the opportunity to working with him again.”

Perhaps

making a veteran feel uncomfortable may be the best medicine Fowler

can get, and get him back to the 2024-25 Blues version.

“It

was definitely something that was unique for me the first time I met

(Cronin), some of the things that we were working on in training camp

there in Anaheim,” Fowler said. “I can honestly say the way that

he approaches the game, especially from a defensive mindset and

working with the ‘D’, that stuff, if we get more and more

comfortable with it will help us defensively as a team and

individually. There are times, if you guys are watching, you’ll see

some of the things that we’re doing, it’s definitely unique to

hockey but it’s a lot about body position, making sure that our

shoulders are staying square and that we’re in between the player

and the net and making sure that we’re not giving up easy

opportunities. Those are big, key factors for him and something that

we’ll really be working on in training camp.”

A

more well-polished Fowler and Carlo third pairing behind Philip

Broberg and Logan Mailloux along with Parayko and Theo Lindstein can

really balance out this Blues defensive unit.

“We

understand that there’s going to be wins and losses along the way

but it’s about the approach that we have and the process of what

we’re doing that’s most important to us,” Fowler

said. “I don’t feel like we

did a good enough job of that last year and that’s everyone, myself

included. There’s definitely an emphasis on that this coming

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 rightRyan 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 BluesTen St. Louis Blues Players To Keep An Eye On As 2026-27 Training Camp Opens ThursdayFrom Mason McTavish to Connor McMichael to Robert Thomas to Jordan Binnington to Adam Jiricek, plenty of storylines to unfold with the Blues looking to get back into the Western Conference playoff mix

For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News atTHN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending storiesby subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.