Pietrangelo headed back to Juniors

[Udog]

According to Bluenotezone and Stltoday.com Petro is being returned to us...I would assume that a trade has been worked out as St. Louis has indicated that he would only be sent back, if he were sent to a contender. Let's hope it's Barrie and we get Strome and some other future assets (not picks). Check out the red text at the bottom or go to the following link...
http://www.stltoday.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=689545


Later this evening, Alex Pietrangelo will be taking aim at his second and Canada’s sixth straight World Junior Championships gold medal. Along with fellow Blues draftee goaltender Jake Allen, Canada will take on the U.S. team, also with two Blues draftees in Philip McRae and David Warsofsky, at 7:00 p.m. on NHL Network in the U.S. and on TSN in Canada.
While Allen, McRae and Warsofsky know where they will be playing the rest of their respective seasons, where Pietrangelo will finish out the season is still very much up in the air. Will he finish the season with the Blues or will he be returned to finish out the season in the OHL? If he returns to the Blues, how much will he actually play? If returned to juniors, will the level of skill there sufficiently challenge him? The Blues have many factors to consider before deciding what to ultimately do with Pietrangelo.
Prior to the World Junior tournament, Blues President John Davidson stated that “Petro” will be returning to the Blues after the World Juniors, not immediately being returned to the OHL but did not commit to Alex staying with the team for the rest of the season. Davidson then stated in a radio interview with Bernie Miklasz on 101.1 ESPN Radio earlier today that they have mostly already made their decision regarding Alex but was mum on what the decision was.
Due to an agreement between the NHL and CHL, Pietrangelo must be returned to his OHL team if he is not retained on the Blues’ roster; AHL Peoria is not an option for him. Pietrangelo has played nine games for the Blues so far this season and if he plays a 10^th, this season counts as the first year of his contract. On the other hand, if the Blues return Pietrangelo to the OHL without him playing in another NHL game, they can delay his contract from starting until next season. The Blues also have the option of playing Alex in 10 or more games this season and then at a later date returning him to the OHL but his contract would still count for this season. Thus, this is an unlikely option since if they are going to burn a year of his contract, they will likely want to utilize him. The main problem with keeping Pietrangelo is where do the Blues put him? They already have seven healthy defensemen in Erik Johnson, Eric Brewer, Barret Jackman, Roman Polak, Carlo Colaiacovo, Mike Weaver and Darryl Sydor. It’s doubtful the Blues would carry eight defensemen. For Alex to remain with the Blues, that would likely require one of the current seven to either be traded or injured to open up a spot for “Petro”. How willing the Blues would be to potentially make roster moves to accommodate Alex is uncertain.
Another twist to the debate is that the Blues are likely not too keen of the idea of returning Alex to the Niagara Ice Dogs, currently with the worst record in the OHL at 12-22-2-3. Niagara currently holds Pietrangelo’s rights and Alex has been Niagara’s top player for a couple of years now while largely dominating OHL competition. Since the AHL is not an option for him, and if the Blues decide to not keep him in the NHL, they will likely want him playing for a top-tier OHL team if they decide that’s the way they want to go. For the Blues to feel comfortable returning Pietrangelo to juniors, Niagara would likely have to trade him to a top OHL team. The problem is, how can Niagara trade an asset they don’t really have? Why would a top-tier OHL team give up assets to Niagara while the possibility that the Blues keep Petro in the NHL still exists? For this option to work, a gentleman’s agreement between the Blues, Ice Dogs and whichever OHL team “Petro” might be trade to would likely have to be worked out. Many OHL teams appear to be interested in Alex’s services, notably the Barrie Colts, currently the team with the best record in the OHL.
The Blues could very well use a defenseman with the offensive skills Alex possesses and Alex would benefit from continuing to learn at the NHL level yet at the same time, the Blues already have enough defensemen and can delay the start of his contract for another year if they decide to return him to the OHL. The Blues also have to consider how willing they are to put up with the defensive lapses of a 19 year-old defensemen. It’s no secret that Alex still has quite a bit of development yet to do in the defensive zone. I’m sure newly appointed Blues head coach Davis Payne will have his input on the decision as well. Numerous factors will end up determining Alex’s fate:
How will Pietrangelo perform in practice after returning from the World Juniors?
How will the other seven defensemen perform?
Will one of the current seven suffer an injury?
Will one of the current seven be traded or waived?
How do the Blues feel regarding Alex’s development in the OHL?
If willing to return him to the OHL, will the Blues and Ice Dogs be able to orchestrate a trade to a contending OHL team?
Given all of the factors, the Blues decision on what to do with Alex for the rest of the season will not be an easy one. Looking at the situation from the outside, I would think that for the Blues to make room for Pietrangelo at this point in the season and to start the clock on his contract, Alex will have to be very impressive in practice to remain with the Blues. If not or if the Blues simply cannot justify keeping him on the NHL roster for the remainder of the season, finishing off the year on a top-tier OHL team and then likely going deep into the OHL playoffs would not be the worst thing in the world for him. He will likely learn and develop a little more by finishing the year with the Blues but long-term, it likely won’t matter much. I could see the decision on Pietrangelo really going either way at this point. Regardless, we should all know where Pietrangelo will be playing the rest of the season fairly soon.
EDIT: Only a few hours after the U.S. beat Canada in the gold medal game, the Blues announced that Pietrangelo will be returned to his junior team, the Niagara Ice Dogs. While there were plenty of reasons to keep Alex with the Blues, it appears it ultimately came down to the Blues not wanting to make room for Alex in the lineup, didn’t want to burn the first year of his contract and perhaps wern’t comfortable with his defensive game enough quite yet.
From here, I’ll be interested to see if “Petro” gets traded to an OHL playoff contender. I would be quite surprised if Alex spends the rest of the season with Niagara.

I would love to see him finish his career as a Dog, but it's not what's best for him...or us!

Great Job at the World Juniors' Petro...if you are traded we will miss you...

[Udog]

http://www.stltoday.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=689545

Post subject: Pietrangelo headed back to Juniors
Posted: 06 Jan 2010 00:05 am
According to Rutherford's latest "tweet".

http://twitter.com/jprutherford

"The Blues have just announced that they are sending d-man Alex Pietrangelo back to junior hockey."

http://blues.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=512551

Blues Assign Pietrangelo to Junior Team


Prospect will head to Niagara Ice Dogs after winning silver at World Juniors


Wednesday, 01.06.2010 / 12:03 AM / News
St. Louis Blues

Pietrangelo

ST. LOUIS – St. Louis Blues President John Davidson announced Wednesday the club has assigned defenseman Alex Pietrangelo to the Ontario Hockey League’s (OHL) Niagara Ice Dogs.

Pietrangelo, 19, was drafted by the Blues in the first round, fourth overall, in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft. A native of King City, Ontario, Pietrangelo has skated in nine games for the Blues this season, registering two points (one goal, one assist) along with six penalty minutes. The 6-3, 204-pound defenseman played in eight games for the Blues last season and appeared in 36 games for Niagara, recording 29 points (eight goals, 21 assists) and 32 penalty minutes.

Pietrangelo made his second consecutive appearance at the 2010 World Junior Championship for Team Canada, leading all tournament defensemen with 12 points (three goals, nine assists) and won the silver medal.

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[hockey123]

He will be in Barrie by the end of the weekend IMO.

[Passionforhockey]

its official:

http://blues.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=512551

[B-Rad]

Great news, please trade him DB, best of luck Petro

[Phil Margonis]

very exciting time for icedogs fans. if brown does this right, he can get a truck load for Petro.

[blackjeep]

It would be real nice if he were in the lineup on Thurs for us even if it is one last game.

Let the Petro sweepstakes begin!

[hockey123]

Strome, Hall, Bennett + picks?

[fishfan51]

Originally Posted by blackjeep

Let the Petro sweepstakes begin!

My guess is... there will be no "sweepstakes". I think there is a deal already in place, otherwise St.Louis wouldn't have sent him back.

Hopefully the rumours of Petro to Barrie for Strome, a defencemen, and picks are true.

[Phil Margonis]

Originally Posted by hockey123

Strome, Hall, Bennett + picks?

i'd be so happy if the dogs got Strome and Hall. i'd prefer Wiggan over bennett though.

Hall has 47 pts in 27 games for the Couchiching Terriers. i watched him in the pre-season and i thoguht he played better than Strome. but there was no way they were going to keep their 2nd rounder over their 1st rounder and they have lots of offensive depth so there's no room for him. he probably deserves to be in the OHL right now though