Jeremy Rutherford: It's 92 degrees and all of the area swimming pools are jammed. It must be time to talk some hockey.

Mark: JR, how likely do you think it is that all 3 of Woywitka, Wagner and Polak start the season with the Blues? Most teams break camp with 7 D and right now, those 3 project to be the 5, 6 & 7 guys after Brewer, Jackman, EJ and McKee (assuming Walker doesn't return). That seems like an awful lot of youth to me. Do you see the Blues adding a defenseman through free agency so that the Blues D isn't so young and inexperienced - either a 4-5 guys or a 6-7 guy?

Jeremy Rutherford: Great question . . . Most teams break camp with seven d-men, however, the Blues like to keep six for two reasons. It keeps everybody on the ice, either in St. Louis or Peoria, and it costs less. In the age of the salary cap, teams don't like to pay a guy with a two-way contract to sit on the bench in St. Louis.

With that said, the top four d-men are obviously Jackman, Brewer, McKee and E. Johnson. I would say Wagner has a spot on this team, barring a bad training camp. The sixth spot would come down to Woywitka and Polak and I think Woywitka would have the edge initially. He's got more NHL games and he has offensive potential.

Keep in mind the Blues will probably draft a d-man, but he probably won't be ready this season. It's too early to say whether they'll add a d-man through free agency.

Tommy Rocker: JR, Hope the day is well,
What is the Blues put a package together that included the 4th pick this year and set that to Tampa for St. louis?

Jeremy Rutherford: I don't think that St. Louis is available for one. And two, Tampa Bay is rebuilding, but the incoming owner has said that he wants the current owner to keep the roster intact.

The Lightning would love to have the Nos. 1 and 4 picks, but with Barry Melrose coming in as coach, the club must keep one of its starts to stay competitive. They've already dealt Brad Richards and there are rumors that Vinny LeCavalier is on the trade market, but I haven't heard anything about St. Louis.

Mark: JR,

Alex Pietrangelo seems to be a logical choice for the Blues at 4th overall assuming both Doughty and Bogosian are already off the board yet I never hear anything about the Blues being interested in him but hear a lot about the Blues being interested in Schenn. Is there a reason for that? Is there something about Pie the Blues don't like? You were able to pretty much tell us the Blues were definitely not taking Filatov...what are your thoughts on their interest in Pietrangelo? I'm hoping the Blues get either him or Schenn but have a slight preference to Pie.

Jeremy Rutherford: Pietrangelo wouldn't be a bad choice. But I think the difference is, Schenn has about 20 pounds on Pietrangelo, he's more physical and he's said to be a good outlet passer. Teams such as the Blues are looking for good outlet passers, with the NHL highlighting speed after the lockout. The Blues can get all the goal-scorers they want, but if their d-men can't get the puck down the ice, it does not good.

Yes, Pietrangelo gives you more offense than Schenn, but if you can somehow get offense from another blue-liner, than Schenn is the better player and the better pick.

Elana: Hey JR, thanks for doing these chats! My question is - what's your view of Ben Bishop and what's the sense you're getting on how the Blues feel about him?

I was surprised to see you agree w/ Gordo last week in calling Schwarz a bust. Did you realize Bishop is only 8 months younger than Schwarz? Schwarz had a bad year but at 21-22, I think it's still too early to give up on him. Goalies are notorious for being inconsistent until their mid to later 20s.

Jeremy Rutherford: The Blues love Ben Bishop's upside. Assistant coach Rick Wamsley glows when talking about Bishops potential. With that said, the Blues hope Bishop will spend the entire year in Peoria next year. They want to make sure he develops properly.

As far as Schwarz, I'm not basing my opinion on age . . . Schwarz is still young, yes. I'm giving you an answer based on what those who have been around Schwarz and coached him are saying. One day the light could click on (as it has with other goalies) and he could be great. But at this point, he's not showing the Blues' decision-makers any signs that he's got what it takes.