A point per game?
The stat comes off almost as cocky — essentially every time I show up at the rink, I’m going to get a goal or an assist.
But Blues right winger Jordan Kyrou currently averages one point per game — actually 1.02, because he has 43 points in 42 games. And two teammates are close behind — Vladimir Tarasenko has 41 points in 42 games, while Pavel Buchnevich has 38 in 40.
The last Blue to average a point per game in a standard 82-game season? The late Pavol Demitra, who had 93 points in 78 games in 2002-03.
So, almost two decades ago.
Now, last season, the National Hockey League played a condensed 56-game schedule … and the Blues’ David Perron tallied 58 points. But this season, it could be done in 82 by the All-Star Kyrou, who is sitting at 1.02.
“The plays that he makes on a consistent basis are, kind of, wow-ing, we’ll say,” Blues teammate Dakota Joshua said Monday, before the club embarked on a four-gam trip, beginning Tuesday in Ottawa. “He’s just a highly skilled player. He’s a fun player to play with and pleasure to watch out there.”
There are plenty of ways to appreciate Kyrou in his breakout campaign. His sick mitts. His contest-winning speed. His coming-out party outdoors at the Winter Classic. But averaging a point per game numerically and neatly captures his impact.
The highlight video of his most-recent point was worth sitting through the online ad. From behind the net, teammate Brayden Schenn passed the puck behind his back. Kyrou received it, all alone. Most players would’ve tried to shoot right then. But Kyrou deked Chicago goalie Marc-Andre Fleury across the crease. Suddenly, the future Hall of Fame goalie flailed onto the ice and failed at knocking away the puck with his stick. Most players would’ve tried to shoot right then. But Kyrou didn’t go to the backhand. Instead, he controlled the puck and spun all the way around to shoot with his forehand. It was quite fancy.
Kyrou leads the Blues with 18 goals. Before this year, he had scored 19 career goals (in 99 career games). Kyrou’s blossoming has been the most-exciting storyline of the Blues’ season — at least I think so, anyway. He’s a showman out there. And he’s improved even within this season.
“I think everyone can see some of the easy stuff (to identify) — the skill, the speed,” teammate Justin Faulk said Monday. “He’s got a great shot. And plays he can make, you know, he’s super-patient with the puck. But I think what you’re starting to see is — his situational play is getting a little bit better. He’s starting to know when to try those things, when the right opportunity is and isn’t — and he’s taken advantage of that.
“If you try and go one-on-one with a guy every night, you get probably stopped enough times that your confidence goes down a little bit. But he’s really figured out when he can make those plays, and he has the high-end skill to really exploit opportunities when they come. So he’s done a really good job, and I think he’s just kind of rounded out his game.”
On Saturday, Kyrou is expected to play his second NHL game in his hometown of Toronto. The first was on October 20, 2018, before the pandemic, before the Stanley Cup, before Kyrou could even drink legally in the United States (or even had scored an NHL goal). Then only 20, the kid played seven minutes that evening against the Leafs. He did not get a point. Here’s thinking he’ll get one Saturday.
And as Kyrou (and Tarasenko and Buchnevich) chase the point-per-game history, it also gives us a chance to recall the history made (and the history-maker). The last Blue to do so — again, in a full season — was the late, great Demitra.
“A very smart player with great abilities with his hands,” current Blues coach Craig Berube recalled of Demitra, whom he played against. “A pretty dynamic player all around.”
In that 2002-03 season, Demitra averaged 1.19 points per game for St. Louis. He led the club in goals (36) and assists (57). Demitra often centered a line with Keith Tkachuk and Scott Mellanby, and sure enough, those fellows finished second and third in goals that season.
Demitra died in a plane crash on Sept. 7, 2011. He was flying with his team in Russia’s Kontinental Hockey League. He was 36.
“He just was very competitive — he loved success,” former Blues teammate Kelly Chase said by phone. “He and (Chris) Pronger were much alike with the same competitive spirit, but opposites in showing their intensity — one outwardly and vicious with his stick, and the other very inwardly. It’s just how he was. And he was such a good man and teammate — everybody loved him.”
Demitra finished his Blues career with 493 points, sixth-most in franchise history. Tarasenko (482) is currently seventh.
On Monday, Chase remembered a young Demitra, who would stick around after practice along with fellow teammates from Slovakia, Lubos Bartecko and Michal Handzus.
“They would stay at the rink all afternoon,” Chase said. “They loved just playing shootouts, showdowns and competitions. They would stay all afternoon, and a few of the trainers would say, ‘Come on you guys, let’s get out of here already!’ They were trying to get home to their families. It was pretty cool the way those players operated.”
