ºüÀêÊÓƵ

The Blues recalled defenseman Leo Loof from AHL affiliate Springfield (Massachusetts) on Wednesday morning, a reinforcement on the back end as ºüÀêÊÓƵ begins a three-game Eastern Conference road trip.

Loof practiced with the Blues on Wednesday morning in Maryland Heights as the seventh defenseman. Loof, 22, missed the first two games of the AHL season due to injury and had one assist in 11 games with the Thunderbirds.

Loof (6-foot-1, 200 pounds) was primarily playing with Hunter Skinner in Springfield, eating up some of the minutes vacated by Tyler Tucker’s injury that forced him to miss the past six games.

“With Leo, that’s kind of his M.O. is that bite to his game,� Blues coach Drew Bannister said. “We’ve seen that in the American League, and we’ve seen that in training camp when he was here this year. Closing quickly on guys and getting under opponents’ skin, he certainly brings that to his game.�

The recall to the NHL was the first of Loof’s career.

“I was really shocked, to be honest,� Loof said. “I couldn’t believe it. I got really excited and happy, and I’m pretty shocked. ... That’s what you dream of as a kid, for my family and everybody around me. Super-happy.�

Loof was originally a third-round pick by the Blues in 2020 out of Farjestad BK in Sweden. After he was drafted, he played one more season in Sweden, followed by two playing for Ilves in Finland’s Liiga. Loof arrived in North America last season and played 58 games with Springfield.

“I’m a hard, physical defenseman, and I think they want me to bring that and play physical, play simple (with a) good first pass,� Loof said. “It’s a different type of game here. It’s more physical, and it goes faster, smaller ice. I think I improved a lot last year and keep building on that this year.�

Loof’s recall to ºüÀêÊÓƵ was necessary because the Blues are without both Nick Leddy and Philip Broberg on the back end. Broberg (lower body) was injured Nov. 2 and is not expected back until December. Leddy (lower body) has not played since Oct. 15 against Minnesota.

Leddy last practiced with the Blues on Oct. 28 in Montreal before he was sent back to ºüÀêÊÓƵ for further treatment. Bannister said Leddy would not travel with the Blues on their current road trip.

“Just continuing to do rehab and get his injury back to where he can play,� Bannister said of Leddy. “I think when we look back at it, we didn’t realize how long it would take. That’s probably why we said he was day-to-day at times. It’s obviously gone a lot longer than that. It’s the nature of the injury that you don’t know where you’re going to be with.

“He’s just continuing to rehab. He’s been on the ice, too, but we’re just trying to build his strength up and he’ll continue to rehab and see the proper doctors to get it fixed and ready to play.�

Searching for Saad

During Tuesday night’s 3-2 loss to Boston, Blues forward Brandon Saad played just 8:57 and did not receive a shift across the last 11:30 of the third period. It was the third time in Saad’s career that he played less than nine minutes, and the other two shortened appearances were injury related: 8:16 on Dec. 19, 2019, and 6:21 on March 16, 2014.

“When I look at Brandon, the three things that stick out to me when he’s really playing well is he’s using his speed, driving D deep into the zone, he’s always strong on pucks,� Bannister said. “A lot of times, it’s where he scores goals are around the net. He’s heavy on his stick, and he’s winning those puck battles. With that speed, being able to get to pucks first.�

Saad entered the road trip with two goals and four assists in 13 games. That would put him on pace for about 13 goals and 25 assists across an entire season. In his first three seasons in ºüÀêÊÓƵ, Saad averaged 24.5 goals and 20.9 assists per 82 games.

“I think Brandon right now, there’s times when he’s played really well and there’s times where I think he’s like a lot of us right now, we’re second-guessing ourselves,� Bannister said. “It’s tough when you’re a player to second-guess yourself. You want to be able to just go out and play with confidence. He’s probably rightfully struggling a little bit with that.

“He’s a veteran guy and he’s had a lot of success in this league, and he’s going to be an important player for us. He’s going to get up and running, and he’s going to be a big impact player for us.�