The Blues' morning skate Saturday looked more like training camp with 26 players on the ice. There were 15 forwards, nine defensemen and two goalies, as the list of injured players inching closer to return is growing.

"It's obviously a good sign when you have all these guys practicing with the team (at 10:30 a.m.) instead of being out on the ice at 8 in the morning by themselves," Blues defenseman Barret Jackman said. "The closer they get, the more excited you get ... but it's still probably a few more games without them. But it shows how hard they're working and how hungry they are to get back."

Andy McDonald, who's been out since the third game of the season with a concussion, continues to practice with the team, but he is still wearing a red "no-contact" jersey.

"Once the sweater comes off, there's still time he has to practice as a full-contact person, but he looked very good ... no tentativeness, just compete," Blues coach Ken Hitchcock said recently. "He was stopping on pucks, doing all the things a normal player does."

Forward Alex Steen (concussion) and defensemen Kris Russell (groin) and Kent Huskins (ankle) also practiced with the team. Hitchcock has said that Steen could play next week, Russell is getting "close" and with Huskins "you're talking weeks (away)."

Defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk was glad to see the practice packed with bodies.

"It's good to see everyone kind of coming around," he said. "There's still a little time for some, but at least we got them out there skating. Once we get everyone back, it's going to be a pretty tough blue line to beat. Throw Andy and Steener up there in front, it's endless ... seems like it's going to be a problem for Hitch unfortunately, but it's a good one."

BACKES' BREAK

Despite not being invited to the NHL All-Star Game Jan. 29 in Ottawa, Blues captain David Backes will still be flying high during the break.

"I'm going to take my pilot's license test," Backes said. "I've passed the written test, and now I've got the oral (test) and the actual flying test. ... The oral is a couple of hours and then the flying is a couple of hours, so I finally get a full day off, and I'll hope to sneak that in."

RINK TOURS

Blues players will be participating in their annual "Rink Tours" on Sunday, visiting 11 rinks in Missouri and Illinois, where they'll sign autographs from 7 to 8 p.m.

The rinks and corresponding players are Affton (Patrik Berglund, Cade Fairchild), East Alton (Chris Stewart, Chris Porter), Fenton (Brian Elliott, B.J. Crombeen), FSI Shark Tank (Alex Pietrangelo, Carlo Colaiacovo), Granite City (David Perron, Ryan Reaves), Hardee's Ice Plex (Jamie Langenbrunner, Scott Nichol), Hockey Performance Center (Matt D'Agostini, Vladimir Sobotka), IceZone (Jackman, Jason Arnott), Webster Groves (Backes, Jaroslav Halak), St. Peters Rec-Plex (T.J. Oshie, Roman Polak) and US Ice Sports Complex (Shattenkirk, Ian Cole).