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Ðåêëàìà â Èíòåðíåò * Âñå Êóëè÷êè |
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Alexey Toropchenko is a torpedo. Blues forward is sure fun to watch
18 îêòÿáðÿ 2022 ãîäà. Èñòî÷íèê - St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Àâòîð - Benjamin Hochman The Blues scored five times in their first game of the season, and by Towel Man’s fifth arm-pumping, socket-shifting celebration, one wondered if he’d soon need to see Alexey Toropchenko’s shoulder doctor. That doc seems to know how to handle things. Toropchenko’s shoulder sure shouldered the load in last Saturday’s opener, as Alexey executed five hits in his first game since summertime surgery. Coach Craig Berube thought Toropchenko would be back in December. The guy made it back even before November. It was a fun surprise and enhances the Blues’ chances to make a tone-setting start to the season. To me, Toropchenko is must-see hockey because he plays the game with a boy-like passion and a man-like intensity. Yes, he’s a fourth-line player — he isn’t the next Vladimir Tarasenko. But he’s an emerging impact player who plays above his age (now 23) and experience level. Last postseason, time and again, he made a hustle play or a heady play that maybe didn’t make it on the scoresheet, but made it in a reporter’s notebook. “He anticipates the game,” said Berube, whose Blues begin a three-game trip Wednesday in Seattle. “And speed. Has great speed. But he’s moving — he’s skating and working and he anticipates where the puck is going to go. He’s always on time and makes contact.” Toropchenko is a torpedo. He’s a forechecking force with his effortless strides and 6-foot-6 frame (the same height as Colton Parayko). And he can occasionally play-make. There he was in the clincher against the Wild last postseason, unleashing a power move a la his fellow Russian Blue Tarasenko. While Toropchenko didn’t score, it led to an assist on a Tyler Bozak goal. Thus, here’s thinking there are going to be plenty of nights this season when Toropchenko has a great game yet doesn’t get a point. It’s all about having that fourth line eat up time and the other team’s energy. And albeit in the smallest sample size, the Blues’ fourth line has thrived. In the lone game, newcomer Noel Acciardi led St. Louis with six hits — and there was linemate Toropchenko’s quintet. “I thought that fourth line had a great third period for us,” Berube said of the pivotal period — the Blues scored the only three goals and won 5-2. “They were physical and controlling the play for us in the offensive zone and gave us momentum.” Originally from Moscow, Toropchenko spent this past summer in St. Louis. He approached his rehab with the relentlessness he approaches a loose rebound. The kid defined dedication. “It was just hard work all summer — and just staying smart,” Toropchenko said after the Blues practiced on Sunday at Enterprise Center. “Doing everything what the doctors said, what the physical therapists said. Doing everything right and just taking care of the body. That’s probably why it healed so fast — all of the hard work. … “It’s very exciting to make the team and to be with the team. Especially playing my first opening-night game — it feels awesome.” Originally No. 65, Toropchenko debuted his new No. 13 on Saturday. He said it’s been his jersey number — and his favorite number — during his younger days as a player. But another fourth-liner, Kyle Clifford, had it last year. And in the opener, there was No. 13, applying a hit on his very first shift. Asked about crunching an opponent so quickly into his return, he said: “I didn’t think about it too much, because I was already doing it in practice, so I was confident in that. It feels pretty good.” Some casual fans might not know much about — or even know of — Toropchenko. He started last season in the minor leagues, but rocketed his way up to the Blues and even up to the third line a few times. He played in 28 regular-season games and tallied two points (both goals), but then he played in all 12 postseason games and tallied two points (both assists). He’s just one of those guys who, as they say in sports these days, seems to be trending up. Some wondered or even worried if the surgery would be a setback to the start of his season. He sure didn’t. And now, the torpedo on skates is right back in the mix of young Blues players who hope to make career-defining strides in 2022-23. |
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