As noted elsewhere on this site, the big Blues picture remains promising. Step by step, the franchise is transforming a last-place team into a playoff contender.

One by one, older players are giving way to younger players. John Davidson traded moved Doug Weight for Andy McDonald.

With Barret Jackman and Bryce Salvador both headed toward unrestricted free agency, J.D. elected to invest in the younger Jackman and give 24-year-old Jeff Woywitka more ice time.

Petr Cajanek, 32, finished out his Blues career on loan to a Russian team. Yan Stastny, 25, is now filling the role Cajanek once had here.

The once exception to this trend was the shedding of Christian Backman, who turns 28 this season. Yes, Backman was in his athletic prime. No, he wasn’t fitting into this system.

Another prime-age player, Matt Walker, will get playing him in his absence. Davidson must decide whether he and Woywitka merit further investment as Roman Polak (21) and Steve Wagner (24) push for regular roles next season.

So the roster continues to evolve. T.J. Oshie will join the mix after this season. Patrik Berglund may come to North America next season.

And here is one more kid it would be fun to see for a spin or two : winger Nikolay Lemtyugov.

The 22-year-old Russian import has gathered steam during his rookie AHL season for the Peoria Rivermen. With Wagner sidelined by a broken leg, Rivermen coach Dave Baseggio has been using Lemtyugov on the point of his power play.

“We’re trying to get our best offensive players on the power-play unit,” Baseggio told the Peoria Journal-Star.

“Five-on-threes, five-on-fours, I like playing on the defense spot now,” Lemtyugov told the newspaper. “It doesn’t matter who plays what spot, we need to win. We’re just trying to make the playoffs.”

Maybe, just maybe, this guy could become a near-term asset. He scored 18 goals in his 52 AHL games while making the transition to North American hockey.

Many Russians players refuse to test themselves in the AHL, as Lemtyugov has. They don’t want to come to North America without a one-way NHL contract. There is good money and good competition back home.

The Rivermen have plenty of candidates for promotion, including leading scorer Charles Linglet, reliable Mike Glumac and rugged Chris Porter.

But Lemtyugov is a wild card and maybe, just maybe, he would be worth playing a few times before the season ends.