Unless you left your house early Saturday morning, it’s unlikely you had good seats (or seats at all) for the Blues’ Pro Orientation camp scrimmage.

The finale to the week-long summer camp drew roughly 2,000 Blues fans to the Mills Mall in Hazelwood. The Gold team, with two goals from Philip McRae and two assists from T.J. Oshie, toppled the Blue squad 5-3.

Here are a few pictures I took of the crowd . . .

The Blues were tickled with the support.

“I love it,” Blues President John Davidson said. “It’s like the old days of the Montreal Forum, Boston Garden, the old rink in Winnipeg, the old rink in Quebec. Those intimate rinks are neat when the fans are right on top of you and you were playing. These people were special. There was a lot of people who got up awfully early this morning to make the trip, stand in line and fill up the place. We got in as many as we could. This place was full all week, and these fans were very respectful. We’ve tried hard to reconnect with our community here, and it’s getting to where we need to be.”

Of course, some Blues fans were turned away unfortunately, and that’s disappointing for everyone. I watched a father carrying his young daughter on his shoulders walking back to their car because they couldn’t get into the scrimmage. As they were leaving the rink before the scrimmage started, the young girl repeated: “D-A-D-D-Y, I wanna watch H-O-C-K-E-Y.”

A year ago, the scrimmage game was held at Scottrade Center, which is obviously big enough to hold everyone who wants to come. But Scottrade is an expensive option for the Blues because of the fact they have to put in new ice just for the week-long event. I heard whispers of $20,000 just to put in the ice in July . . . that’s compared to a few hundred dollars to rent the ice at the Ice Zone.

So it makes economic sense to hold the camp at the smaller practice rink, but with the Blues’ growing popularity, they seem to be outgrowing the venue.

Kudos to the team, however, for streaming the scrimmage on-line. I got this text message from longtime Blues fan Tim Austin: “Pass along my thanks to JD and Co. for showing this on-line. It’s great . . . John Kelly and Bernie Federko are doing a great job of explaining who’s who.”

********

If McRae played only scrimmage games with the Blues, he may be a Hall of Famer some day. He had two more goals in Saturday’s scrimmage. In last year’s scrimmage, McRae had a goal in regulation and added another goal in the shootout.

Both of McRae’s goals Saturday were assisted by Oshie.

“I just tried to work hard out there,” McRae said. “I was on a line with T.J., so I was just trying to get him the puck and go to the net. One time, I think he dangled the whole team and I just banged in his rebound. It’s pretty easy when you play with a guy like that.”

Oshie, who was by far the best player on the ice Saturday, said he thinks McRae could be a good NHL player.

“The kid has a shot,” Oshie said. “He can score goals. He has a knack for it, and you can see that he wants to score. He’s very aware of his surroundings, and most important, especially with the guys out here that you don’t normally play with, he was talking quite a bit. Two times in front of the net (Saturday), I found him just by hearing him, not by seeing him.”

Davidson said of McRae: “Philip is a kid that you can see the size he has (6-2, 187) . . . and he’s growing. He’s going to be a very important part of his team in London (Ontario) this winter. And he’s got an NHL shot already. We think he’ll have a real good year. He’s progressing, he’s got some real good instincts out there and he’s a great kid.”

********

The praise for defensive prospect Brett Ponich continued to pour in on Saturday. The Blues drafted Ponich (6-7, 205 pounds) in the second round of last month’s NHL draft, a pick that was considered a reach. But Ponich proved all week to be a better skater and puck-handler than many expected, and he showed more of the same Saturday.

“I thought that Brett Ponich, in the first period, was outstanding,” Blues assistant GM Jarmo Kekalainen said. “I don’t often single out individual players, but to me, he made the hair on my arms stand . . . the way he had the poise to make the plays under pressure . . . first-year guy coming here for his first camp . . . 18 years old . . . it was a high-tempo game and he just made the right play every time he had the puck on his stick.”

********

Forward James Livingston, who was a third-round pick of the Blues last season, played Saturday like it was the Western Conference finals and the opponent was the Chicago Blackhawks . . . not like it was a July scrimmage with teammates.

Livingston (6-2, 213 pounds) scored a goal and was mixing it up with several players Saturday.

He netted the Blue team’s only goal during regulation, burying a wrist shot after receiving a centering pass from Brett Sonne. He also got physical, trading shoves with the 6-7 Ponich. Later in the game, Livingston didn’t like a slash he took, so he turned around and laid a vicious cross-check to the shoulder area of the player who hit him (who I believe was Chris Morehouse).

“He played with an edge,” Kekalainen said. “That’s why we drafted him. He’s a physical player who can score and go to the net. He knows what he’s got to do and he did it today.”

********

Center Lars Eller did not play in Saturday’s scrimmage because of his shoulder surgery. Instead, he watched from the bleachers and signed a few autographs. But it will go down as a positive and productive week for Eller, who was impressive during the on-ice training sessions.

“Whoooo,” Davidson said of Eller’s camp. “I”m sorry he couldn’t play in the game . . . (the fans) would have been oooohing and ahhhhing like they do for Oshie. He played in the Swedish Elite League last year, which a huge accomplishment for somebody his age. He’s got great legs, very light, fast feet, great shot . . . does everything quick. I’m really excited about where he is. Boy was I impressed with him.”

********

Play of the day: It didn’t happen on the ice.

In the middle of Saturday’s scrimmage, at the urging of Davidson, fans belted out a verse of ”Happy Birthday” to Al MacInnis, who turned 46 on Saturday.

The ever-reserved MacInnis blushed and acknowledged the crowd. He will most certainly repay Davidson one day.

********

Quick hits:

- Defenseman Kris Berglund, the Blues’ fifth-round draft pick in 2008, has good puck skills and good poise. He’ll return to the Swedish Elite League next season, and he’s cleary on the Blues’ radar.

- Forward Ian Schultz, who signed with the Blues this week, is a bruiser and has the potential to be a player like Chicago’s Dustin Byfuglien. Schultz will return to play for the Calgary Hitmen next season.

- Goaltender Paul Karpowich is not to be forgotten in the list of goalie prospects. Jake Allen may have been the best netminder at the camp, but Karpowich, the Blues’ seventh-round pick in 2008, made some noticeable stops.

- Defenseman Ian Cole had a solid week at the camp, and after hearing Davidson and Kekalainen say that he’s ready to turn pro, I can’t imagine Cole will return to Notre Dame. Cole really seemed to get the NHL bug this week.

********

Davidson on the camp: “It was a good week. You want to set a road map up for the young players. It was a real good cross-section of people . . . from Canada, from the U.S., from Europe . . . kids out of college, kids out of junior (hockey) . . . some of them will become real high-end professional players, some of them won’t . . . but we, I think, as an organization achieved the idea of a road map for these kids. We gave them some guidance in a lot of different ways. From the psychology of sports, to nutrition, to working with (Blues strength coach) Nelson (Ayotte), to being good teammates, to being respectful of an organization. We’re thrilled with the way the week went.”

JR