Browsing: WellDeserved

MARYLAND HEIGHTS, Mo. — These
days when entering the St. Louis Blues locker room, veer to the right
and thereâ€s defenseman Tyler Tucker, low-keyed as usual.

But
thereâ€s a difference these days: thereâ€s smiles and laughter to
go along with it, and for good reason.

For
the first time in his NHL career, the 25-year-old can finally feel a
bit comfortable with his surroundings; he can feel comfortable what
heâ€s doing and most importantly, he can finally feel at home.

The
NHL has always been the destination, but itâ€s been quite the
journey for the Blues†seventh-round pick
in the 2018 NHL Draft.

This
is Tuckerâ€s eighth training camp, and in the previous seven, itâ€s
always been about proving himself. Thereâ€s never been a guarantee
he would land a job in the NHL.

But
thatâ€s all changed in the past year or so, so much so that instead
of chasing after someone elseâ€s job, now otherâ€s are chasing
Tuckerâ€s position, and thatâ€s OK with him. Because since he
arrived at his first Blues training camp in 2018, itâ€s been quite
the ride.

“Itâ€s
been a long journey but well worth it,†Tucker said.

The
6-foot-1, 204-pound left-handed shot is healthy again after the most
unfortunate of injuries, a right knee injury late in the third period
of Game 4 of the Western Conference first round against the Winnipeg
Jets and part of the Blues†top six and most likely in the opening
night lineup.

Through
ups and downs, learning on the fly and good and bad play, recalls and
options back to the American Hockey League to exceptional play,
especially last season under Jim Montgomery and when inserted into
the playoffs, Tucker has arrived on the scene as one of the boys.

“I
feel like Iâ€ve obviously taken a lot of steps and then had a little
setback,†Tucker said. “Just kind of keep on proving throughout
the camp and into the preseason and what not. Just trying to get
better every day is big for me, and playing with confidence.â€

Confidence.
Itâ€s a word players often speak of, but itâ€s so vital to oneâ€s
success. Tuckerâ€s confidence has obviously soared within the past
year and he felt the momentum on his side finally. And instead of
shying away from it, heâ€s looked back on seven-plus years of blood,
sweat and tears and learned to embrace the pot of gold.

“He
definitely has worked for everything heâ€s got, and heâ€s done it
the hard way,†Blues
captain Brayden Schenn said of Tucker.
“The hard way is fighting guys, blocking shots and playing a hard
game, obviously which he needs to play. And then a little bit of up
and down and up and down. You can tell he feels more comfortable and
I think youâ€re going to get a really good ‘Tucks†this year.
Heâ€s one helluva teammate and normally me saying it, the majority
of the guys in this locker room would say youâ€d take Tyler Tucker
as a teammate every single day of the week.

“He
actually has one of the best sticks of getting guys, and getting in
guys†faces and just being reliable with his body and his stick and
breaking up plays and heâ€s very good at it.â€

Tuckerâ€s
momentum built with a strong showing with Springfield of the AHL last
season when he put up 10 points (four goals, six assists) in 19 games
and a plus-6. When he got recalled on Dec. 19, 2024 and Montgomery
was hired a week later on Dec. 25, there was no turning back. He
played 38 games in the regular season and put up seven points (three
goals, four assists) averaging 14:35 minutes per game but a steady,
reliable skater on the Blues†third pairing.

“I
got to play a lot of games with a very experienced D-partner in
(Ryan) Suter, and that was a big help,†Tucker
said.
“I feel like you learn a lot of little things. Not the flashy
things or anything, but just simple, little things that you take and
they go a long way, I feel like, throughout a series or throughout
multiple games. So I think thatâ€s the biggest thing. Other than
that, confidence is one of the biggest things for me.â€

Tucker
didnâ€t open the series against the Jets but entered it in Game 2
and had he not been injured, likely would have stayed in the entirety
of that series. His style of play helped change the complexion for
the Blues that ultimately turned it into a seven-game series after
losing Games 1-2 on the road.

“He
played to his strengths. He knows who he is,†Montgomery
said.
“He was physical, but also, heâ€s a hockey player. Heâ€s around
the puck. His instincts take him to where the puckâ€s going to be.
So heâ€s either ending plays defensively or offensively, heâ€s
keeping pucks alive for us.â€

But
when Tuckerâ€s right knee buckled toe-picking a check in the D-zone
corner against Brandon Tanev, his playoff and season ended in a snap.

“Obviously
tough,†Tucker
said.
“I felt like I was playing real good hockey towards the end. Tough
to go down, obviously kind of in a meaningless game towards the end
of the period. Just sucks, but happy to be back, happy with all the
rehab and what not, hard work, stuff I did in the summer paid off and
just happy to be back on the ice.â€

Tucker
is healthy, and barring any change in tactics, he will open the
season on the third D-pairing with newly-acquired Logan Mailloux.

“Iâ€ve
played against him in the minors,†Tucker
said.
“Obviously see what he did in junior. Very, very talented player.
Big guy with a lot of skill. Those are very hard to come by.
Obviously just try and get him the puck and heâ€ll do good things
with it. Weâ€ve spent a lot of time here in the last month or so. I
feel like I know him pretty well. He came in and weâ€ve been friends
right away. Itâ€s been nice. Heâ€s super easy to get along with.
Iâ€m sure everyone can tell you itâ€s been a real easy transition
for him.

“I
feel good,
really good. Obviously a long summer, a lot of rehab, a lot of boring
stuff. I feel ready to go. Obviously first game in a while in
Columbus there (last
Sunday),
but it felt good. Everything with the knee is going well.

“It
definitely took some time. Probably two-, two-and-a-half months
before I kind of started back to regular training and what not.
Obviously I was in the gym, but doing more so rehab and knee-specific
exercises and trying to rebuild my muscles and what not rather than
just lifting with the other guys, team aspect of the gym in the
summer. It went well. Obviously very thankful for the team to help me
get back.â€

The
Blues know who Tucker is, big, strong, physical and willing to drop
gloves. But what about his offense? Did he show something last season
that can help putting pucks into the net on a more frequent basis? This shot against Connor Hellebuyck and the Jets that turned out to be the game-winner in Game 4 speaks volumes:

“I
think itâ€s very underrated because the things he did offensively
last year, I donâ€t know if he had three or four goals,
but he had opportunities to have a lot more and he gets pucks through
and we had a lot of almost-tips,†Montgomery
said.
“Heâ€s looking for sticks and stuff. Very underrated offensively.â€

“Whenever
Iâ€ve gotten the opportunities to be an offensive guy, I like doing
that,†Tucker
said.
“Itâ€s kind of how I played in juniors, but Iâ€m just worried
about taking care of my own end first and then if those opportunities
present themselves, Iâ€ll take them.â€

Now
the big question: how does Tucker build off that strong momentum
gained last year? If he can find that success again, his ceiling is
waiting.

“I
think just continue where I left off,†he
said.
“Towards the end of the summer, I felt like I was a little behind.
So just trying to ramp things up, keep getting better every day,
trusting myself and playing with confidence is a big key for me. I
thought especially down the stretch last year, that was a huge thing
in my game is I felt confident with the puck, playing and doing
things … not to say I normally donâ€t feel comfortable with but
not as comfortable. I think just building and keep going in the right
direction, trusting myself, trusting my instincts, just simple
things. Obviously when you get hurt, you feel like youâ€re a long
ways out. But I feel like Iâ€m right around the corner.â€

The
Blues hope so.

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