St. Louis Blues head coach Mike Yeo has made the decision to make Jay Bouwmeester a healthy scratch against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Looking to shake things up, Yeo decided to bench Bouwmeester in the hopes of resetting his game.
Bouwmeester believes this is the first time he’s been a healthy scratch in his 16-year career.
Yeo cont’d: “It’s a very, very difficult decision for me as a coach when you’ve got a player you respect like Bouw and what he’s accomplished in his career. Really what it comes down to is we see Bouw at a very high level and we value what he can bring…” (more)
— Jeremy Rutherford (@jprutherford) October 20, 2018
Yeo cont’d: “(But) we don’t feel it’s quite at that level. Maybe it’s the time off from last year, maybe it’s confidence, I’m not sure. But hopefully a game like this gives him a chance to reset and get to that level.” #stlblues
— Jeremy Rutherford (@jprutherford) October 20, 2018
Summarized, Bouwmeester hasn’t looked great this season. His game has been noticeably slowing over the past few seasons, but he’s been mostly been able to cover that up with his hockey IQ. Unfortunately, his play in 2018-19 has been another step down, resulting in the healthy scratch.
Like the respected veteran he is, Bouwmeester is taking the decision in stride.
Bouwmeester on healthy scratch: “First time for me. I’m not going to talk a lot about it because nobody likes to be in that position. It’s the nature of the business. Every game there’s guys that get scratched, so you deal with it, that’s all you can do.” #stlblues
— Jeremy Rutherford (@jprutherford) October 20, 2018
Hopefully Bouwmeester still has some gas left in the tank. The Blues have been dreadful on defense, and that extends well beyond what Bouwmeester has or hasn’t done on the ice. The team is fairly young on defense and needs a player like Bouwmeester to help guide and lead the group with his experience. He doesn’t need to be the best, but he needs to at least be a reliable option.
Consider this a message from Yeo and the coaching staff. Bouwmeester now knows he has to be better and has to find a way to still compete at the level asked of him. Meanwhile, the other Blues skaters now know that everyone is going to be held accountable, regardless of how many years in the league they have.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
