The 19-year old from Manitoba continues to flourish, pacing his junior hockey club with 34 points (14-20-34) thus far. In a 5-1 home win over the Moose Jaw Warriors this past weekend, he scored a goal and set up another. It was the play he made on teammate T.J. Taylor’s goal that impressed me. St. Croix outmuscled a Warrior along the side wall and then made a sweet dish for Taylor in front for the putaway.
It’s that kind of play that should excite Blueshirt Nation.

A year ago, St. Croix improved his ’10-11 totals (27-48-75 +28) to 45-60-105 along with a plus-40 rating. He’s an interesting prospect that should be followed closely. Especially in a lockout year. It’s a chance to follow kids in the system and see which ones catch your eye. Some believe he projects to a second line center. It’s always important to have center depth. Even with Brad Richards and Derek Stepan locked into the top two spots down the middle, by no means is Brian Boyle a third line center. On a deep team, he’d be ideal on the fourth line along with newcomers Taylor Pyatt and Arron Asham.

When they pulled the trigger on Rick Nash, the Rangers parted with two versatile forwards who both played center. Brandon Dubinsky and Artem Anisimov gave them an edge as far as depth. John Tortorella plugged both, sometimes to a fault due to the roster. Encouraging is that the organization possesses two prospects who should be part of the future in Miller and St. Croix. The free agent addition of Kyle Jean has solidified them. He’s played well for Connecticut posting five goals and eight assists with his 13 points trailing only veteran leaders Kris Newbury and Chad Kolarik.

There’s still something more exciting about watching a guy like St. Croix who slipped to the fourth round. Maybe like popular captain Ryan Callahan, he too can turn into a steal.