Many of the Blues are now in town and practicing together at the Ice Zone inside the Mills Mall in Hazelwood.

The on-ice scrimmages are typically pretty informal, but perhaps the players are getting used to what the roster will look like this season. And one notable observation so far is the absence of Keith Tkachuk.

No. 7 announced his retirement at the end of last season, and so far his big toothless grin hasn't been seen around the team's summer workouts.

"It's different," Blues defenseman Jackman said.

Jackman, the Blues assistant captain, said several players will have to step up to compensate for Tkachuk's absence. 

"Walt, he's a character guy," Jackman said. "He's always talking, he's always making everybody feel welcome. That's a big voice that missing. But definitely over the next few weeks and throughout the season, you'll see a lot of guys step up and fill a role. But maybe two or three guys will fill that one role that Walt had. 

"I think a lot of guys will grow and, maybe with another year under their belt, will come out of their shell. Or you'll see the true character of a lot of people."

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Jackman recently played in Albert Pujols' golf tournament, where he met NBA star Shaquille O'Neal.

"I was shaking his hand and I felt like a little kid," Jackman said. "He told me that he doesn't mess with hockey players, which is kind of funny because he's three times the size I am."

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New Blues goaltender Jaroslav Halak hasn't yet arrived in St. Louis. I'm told he won't be skating at the Ice Zone until Sept. 10. But today, I did get a photo of Halak's Blues' T-shirt (which can be seen above).

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David Perron is in town, and so are his whites skates. The Blues forward confirmed that he does plan to wear the white skates - the ones that made so many headlines three years ago - this season.

Perron said that he doesn't want his skate color to become a big story, but with former coach Andy Murray's famous disapproval of Perron's white skates when he broke into the league, it seems like Perron has no choice in this one.

They will catch fans' attention.

"Reebok came to me and they wanted me to try (the white skates)," Perron said. "So far, I've got them. We'll see. I don't think it makes a difference if your skates are white or silver or black or gray. You can look in the room; they're all different callers. Obviously they're a little different, but I think it's fun to be different."

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Many fans ask me during the Blues' season if the team is practicing at the Ice Zone inside the Mills Mall in Hazelwood. Sometimes I do know, but the best way to find out is to follow @STLMillsIceZone on Twitter.

 JR