AHL: Big Ben and the Rivermen

The St. Louis Blues AHL affiliate in Peoria will be a veteran-laden squad this season expected to compete for a division title and two key prospects will share the workload in goal in Ben Bishop and Marek Schwarz. McKeen's correspondent Max Giese has notes on Bishop as well as several other St. Louis Blues prospects.

Ben Bishop (StL), G, Peoria

Blessed with a massive frame that could block out the sun, Bishop gives shooters no daylight to look at when he challenges .. possesses unreal net coverage even from his butterfly and is doing an effective job at closing holes low and in tight that most larger goaltenders struggle with .. an offensive weapon from the goaltender position that is very adept at playing the puck, Bishop takes advantage of opponent line changes by sending cross-ice passes on a rope to his teammates .. mentally strong with a composed and confident demeanor .. athletic with the ability to recovery quickly from the butterfly back to his stance .. will need to upgrade his lateral quickness from the butterfly, however he is doing a better job remaining in control of his movements and is no longer taking himself out of position .. dialed in and competitive with the ability to make big saves at the big moments of a game .. like a shortstop in baseball, Bishop uses his fast glove hand to vacuum in pucks from all-around his body .. more efficient in his technique than he was in college, however he must upgrade his rebound control.

Nicholas Drazenovic (StL), C, Peoria

Intelligent and spunky two-way center .. has a nippy stick and will be asked to be a key offensive catalyst this season, as he's centering the second line and playing on both special team units .. quick and nimble on his feet, but it's his heady play that keeps him buzzing around the puck every shift .. takes minimal amounts of time to identify open options while carrying the puck and delivers crisp passes to his teammates .. small, but competes and could possibly be a bottom-six forward in the NHL with further development.

T.J. Fast (StL), D, Peoria

A former Los Angeles Kings second rounder, Fast is seeing a lot of time on the powerplay .. an agile and compact skater that pivots cleanly, although his stride is short and it stunts his speed .. not a natural puckmover, as he lacks the vision to create from the point and dead-ends himself when carrying the puck .. uses a small stick and controls the puck well in tight with the ability to make the first pass .. likes to carry the puck and is sturdy on his feet .. a train-wreck defensively that runs around and chases after the puck while getting trapped up-ice and out of position routinely .. gets caught flatfooted in one-on-one situations and doesn't sense danger well, which leads to tardy defensive reads.

Alexander Hellstrom (StL), D, Peoria

Stay-at-home defenseman with a blossoming game in his own end .. a sloppy skater with poor backwards acceleration, Hellstrom can get beaten wide by speed .. effectively establishes inside positioning around his own net and his strength allows him to clear the crease well .. a sturdy defender inside his own zone with a strong stick .. fronts the puck well and is an effective shotblocker that is especially adept at killing penalties .. a much more polished defender compared to last year.

Tomas Kana (StL), C, Peoria

Drafted 31st overall in 2006, this will be Kana's first full-season in North America .. needs to get quicker, but he is sturdy on his feet with good balance .. covers the puck well in traffic and buries his opportunities with a quick and accurate shot .. does an adequate job moving the puck up-ice with the ability to execute one-touch passes in the neutral zone .. the pace of the AHL is a bit much for him right now, as he was slow to react in his own zone and failed to pick up his defensive assignments.

Nikolai Lemtyugov (StL), RW, Peoria

Relaxed skating the puck with languid strides, Lemtyugov still needs to upgrade his foot speed and quickness .. a flashy puckhandler with a natural finishing touch that can weave through traffic with ease thanks to his effective head fakes .. still guilty of trying to accomplish too much on his own, although he did create on the powerplay with deft touch passes in tight around the goal .. uses his body well for positioning, but he never finishes a check .. skilled with the ability to handle pucks fluently from his feet to his stick .. one dimensional and is simply non-existent defensively.