One of the signs that Blues center Patrik Berglund wanted to quickly erase last season from his memory, he says, was the fact that he spent only one month back home in Sweden this summer.

Berglund was in St. Louis all but June, rehabbing an injured shoulder and getting his body in shape for what he himself is labeling a critical season in his development.

"It was important to be here for many reasons," Berglund said recently. "First of all, I wasn't at all happy with my season. I think that was a lot of motivation just to be here.

"And I like to have the same routine: work out, get on the ice and hang out with a couple of the guys. So I just sacrificed a lot of time at home to be here because I want to have a really good year, and I felt like this is the summer that I had to sacrifice to be great."

The Blues, who open training camp Sept. 17, will be counting on Berglund to be one of the team's top two centers this season. But which Berglund shows up will determine how much faith the organization has in him to hold down one of those key positions.

In his first NHL season in 2008-09, Berglund earned all-rookie honors after scoring 21 goals, netting 26 assists and finishing with a team-high plus-19 rating. His 47 points ranked fourth among rookies, one point ahead of the No. 1 overall pick that year, Tampa Bay's Steven Stamkos.

But while Stamkos returned as a sophomore and put up 51 goals and 95 points, Berglund, the No. 25 overall pick in 2006, slumped to 13 goals and 26 points last season. His plus-minus rating sunk to minus-5.

During one stretch in October and November, Berglund had only two points — both assists — in a span of 13 games. He snapped his long goal-scoring drought Nov. 21 but then was a healthy scratch for three straight games.

"The second year is always hard, but I didn't expect it to be that hard and have that many ups and downs," Berglund said. "I don't think I 'brought it' as much as I should have."

Although Berglund would put together a three-game goal-scoring streak in late December, collecting five total points in that stretch, he was slated to be a healthy scratch again Jan. 2 when the Blues faced Chicago.

But early that morning, the club fired coach Andy Murray and replaced him with Davis Payne. Payne kept Berglund in the lineup that night, albeit on the fourth line, and although Berglund was a minus-3 against the Blackhawks, Payne continued to show faith in him.

"After Davis took over, I think my curve went up and up and everything felt great," Berglund said. "He gave me a chance to play and get into it."

Revisiting a line combination that he used in mid-January, Payne put Berglund in the middle of David Perron and Andy McDonald on Feb. 9 and kept the threesome together for 12 consecutive games. Berglund responded with a season-high six-game scoring streak and points in eight of nine games.

"We had good chemistry," Perron said. "Every time we played together, we played well. So hopefully we'll keep that going forward."

Said Berglund: "When you get put on a line for one game, sometimes you expect a miracle and that everything is going to be great. It takes awhile to find a connection. (Payne) made us find that connection."

But then in late March, Berglund went through a self-inflicted disconnection when he overslept significantly, missing a 10 a.m. practice. The Blues made Berglund a healthy scratch for one game.

"It's nothing I want to talk about anymore, but it's still in my head," Berglund said. "It was a mistake that I thought I would never make. It will always be in the back of my head. It can't and it won't happen again."

Blues assistant captain Barret Jackman said Berglund learned a lesson.

"He's a kid that really cares about his teammates and cares about what people think about him," Jackman said. "He made a mistake, and we've all moved past it. We know what type of guy he is."

Berglund had hoped to end the season on a high note, but a left shoulder injury suffered April 5 against Columbus knocked him out for the final three games of the season. He spent the early part of the summer rehabbing his shoulder, and once he was able to lift heavier weights, the 6-foot-3 center added eight pounds to his frame and is now checking in at 220 with camp three weeks away.

"I think (the shoulder injury) made me even more focused to have a really good summer," he said. "Right now, I've never been this strong, and my head has never been in such a good place as it is now."