The Blues signed their 2010 first round draft pick (14th overall) Jaden Schwartz to a professional contract on March 12th, and fans have been anxious to see him in action. He didn’t debut against the Chicago Blackhawks, and he didn’t debut against the Carolina Hurricanes, but tonight he finally gets his chance against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Unfortunately, the injury to Andy McDonald on the Tuomo Ruutu hit Thursday night has him listed week-to-week. The silver lining to this cloud is that the hole in the line-up is giving Schwartz a chance to hop in. Where will he be used? GM Doug Armstrong believes he’s a top-nine kind of guy, but chances are even better that he’ll be filling in top-six for McDonald. He’ll be starting the game on a line with Jamie Langenbrunner and Patrik Berglund, but who know where he’ll end the night. The Blues have been playing sloppy hockey and Lightning goalie Dwayne Roloson is an easy target — Schwartz could be seeing more ice time than he expected.