Oshie Injures Wrist, Sterling Called Up

Brett Sterling could be on his way to making his first appearance with the St. Louis Blues after news broke today that T.J. Oshie has an injured wrist and is day-to-day, as reported by Jeremy Rutherford.

This is exactly the reason why the Blues went out and added some offensive depth over the summer. Oshie’s injury isn’t believed to be serious, but Sterling will be called upon should Oshie be forced to miss any action in the coming days. You could consider this move more precautionary than necessary as Oshie himself stated that the injury is “nothing serious”.

Oshie has been outstanding in 2011-12, scoring six goals and seven assists for a total of 13 points through his first 19 games.

If Oshie is forced to miss time, his replacement has been riding a wave of success down in Peoria. Sterling has 12 goals and 10 assists through 18 games with Peoria. Brought in over the summer, Sterling previously spent time in Pittsburgh’s organization, spending the bulk of time with Pittsburgh’s AHL affiliate during the 2010-11 season. He found plenty of success here as well, scoring 53 points in 65 games.

While the nature of Sterling’s arrival is a negative as it means a regular fixture in the St. Louis lineup is injured, I’m curious to see how Sterling responds to NHL action – if he sees any. He’s a guy I was extremely excited to see the Blues add over the summer and is one I feel could be quite valuable moving forward. He has demonstrated immense talent at the AHL level but has never found an opportunity to spend any considerable time in the NHL.

While Oshie’s injury is minor and shouldn’t require Sterling to be up long, I’m hoping eventually we may get an extended dose of Sterling with the Blues because he has earned the call up and not because the Blues have an injury to deal with.