theScore is previewing each team leading up to the 2016-17 season.

In seemingly true St. Louis Blues fashion, the team enjoyed a successful regular season, but was once again unable to capture hockey's ultimate prize.

The Blues continue to be one of the most productive clubs in the league, but fail to hit the mark when it counts most.

They took a step forward last season by reaching the conference final for the first time since 2001 before ultimately bowing out to the San Jose Sharks.

Here are three things to consider as once again the Blues look to finally take the next step:

Is Jake Allen ready to take on No. 1 job?

The Blues made a bold decision this offseason.

The club elected to trade arguably their top performer of the playoffs, Brian Elliott, to the Calgary Flames, handing over the reins to Jake Allen in the process.

Allen is certainly no stranger to the net, having actually played in more regular-season contests last year than Elliott. However, over the last two seasons, Elliott posted better numbers during regular-season play.

In the playoffs, Allen's been questionable, posting a decent 2.29 goals-against average but a subpar .902 save percentage in 12 games.

The Blues' continued success in the regular season and ability to get over the postseason hurdle hinge largely on Allen taking his play to the next level.

How will last year's rookies fare in sophomore season?

Two young stars have quickly become important contributors to the Blues.

Forward Robby Fabbri and defenseman Colton Parayko each jumped into the lineup full time last season, and held their own.

Fabbri put up 18 goals and 37 points in 72 games, further proving his worth by finishing tied for the team lead with 15 points in 20 playoff contests. Parayko, meanwhile, came second among all rookie defensemen with 33 points in 79 games.

Both are primed to be important parts of the Blues' future - in fact, Fabbri's poised to slot into their top six next season.

St. Louis could improve on last season through the continued development of these young studs - as long as they don't fall victim to the sophomore slump.

Can Hitchcock go out with a bang?

Ken Hitchcock signed another one-year contract this May, asserting that the 2016-17 season will conclude his Hall of Fame career.

The fourth-winningest coach in NHL history captured the Stanley Cup in his fourth year in the league as the Dallas Stars' bench boss, and made it back to the final the following season, but has not reached that same level since.

Hitchcock can be credited with helping turn around the franchise and make it what it is today. The Blues finished fourth in the division two years in a row before capturing the division title in Hitchcock's debut during the 2011-12 campaign.

The team has never finished worse than second in the division under Hitchcock's direction and came within two wins of punching a ticket to the Cup final last season.

Mike Yeo is expected to slide into Hitchcock's role when he leaves. The ultimate parting gift for Hitchcock, who's led the team to three of its four best regular-season finishes, would be one last drink from Lord Stanley's mug.

Copyright © 2016 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Make USA Hockey great again.

The 1996 World Cup of Hockey was meant to be a coming-out party for the American men's hockey program, and while the three-game series win over Canada was followed up in later years by Olympic silver medals (2002, 2010), a fourth-place finish in 2014 and a complete flameout at the 2016 World Cup exacerbated the need to rethink the shaping of the roster in future tournaments.

Here, then, is a projected roster for the 2018 Olympics in South Korea - should NHL players indeed be made available for the tournament - with a distinct focus on skill over grit.

Forwards

• Out with the old, in with the youth. If the World Cup taught us anything, it's that speed and skill should win out over heart and grit, giving this forward corps a distinctly different look.
• Phil Kessel's infamous tweet should not be held against him, especially after a terrific performance in Sochi.
• A line of two Montreal Canadiens and Kessel is too good to pass up.

Defense

• American defensemen are on the rise, led by the likes of Shayne Gostisbehere, Seth Jones, Jacob Trouba, and Justin Faulk.
• Ryan Suter, Dustin Byfuglien, and John Carlson are carryovers from the World Cup team, while Kevin Shattenkirk gets a much-deserved call to represent his country.

• Cory Schneider is arguably the best American-born goalie in the NHL, and should be rated as one of the best in the game. Giving him the starting nod in 2018 should be an easy call.
• Ben Bishop may have a Stanley Cup or two by then, while John Gibson is still considered to be USA's goalie of the future.

The question is, will USA Hockey take this route and load the roster with the best available talent? We concede that's unlikely, resulting in the addition of veteran leaders like Suter, Joe Pavelski, and Zach Parise, if not more.

The roster above, however, would give America a good shot at winning a medal, and that should trump any previously held philosophies, loyalties, or grudges.

Copyright © 2016 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

It's coming on nine years since Brad Marchand tried to climb the glass in Pardubice.

His excitement hijacking his ability to reason, Marchand hurled himself toward the fans after putting Canada up 4-0 on the United States late in the semifinal of the 2008 World Junior Championship. He lost his stick in the crowd during the minor melee, being forced to wait to join the conveyor belt of hand slaps as security retrieved and then dumped his weapon back over the glass.

This was an enduring moment for Marchand in a Canadian uniform, and very much a common trait for his career. There was good, a beautiful backhand deke to fool the American goaltender, and also a little bit of the unnecessary that has stayed with him throughout his career.

Tonight, he provided something else to remember.

In a best-on-best elimination game for the first time as a member of Canada's senior team, the pest who was never predicted to be in the position may have saved his country from an early exit at the World Cup of Hockey in Saturday's semifinal versus Russia.

After the Russians took the lead late in the second period in a game in which they were being severely outplayed, Marchand was responsible for ensuring the Canadians wouldn't enter the locker room at a deficit, sliding in a cross-slot pass from Sidney Crosby just a little over a minute after falling behind.

Then, 76 seconds after emerging from the tunnel for the third, Marchand collected a drop pass from Crosby, held the puck on his stick long enough to find an advantageous shooting lane, and beat Sergei Bobrovsky clean with a precise low wrist shot under the glove.

His goals in back-to-back shifts propelled Canada, which scored twice more and eventually won 5-3. The Boston Bruins' agitator, who had long justified his selection as part of the most dominant line at this event, had a national performance to savor for the rest of his life.

But just not right now.

"It's been a whirlwind here," Marchand told theScore. "Playing with a group like this and at this level has been special, but any time you play in a game of that magnitude, and you're able to win, it's an incredible feeling.

"I'm still trying to take in everything, and it's been a blast so far."

Understandably, Marchand hasn't fully unpacked the moment. He hadn't even had a chance to hit the showers yet. But coach Mike Babcock, he of immense international success, has had time to reflect on what the teams he's coached have done at this level.

So coach, when Marchand looks back on his performance, how much will this mean?

"Well, he's going to wonder why he didn’t shoot the third one into the empty net and get the trick for crying out loud."

Alright, coach, jokes aside.

"If you look back at when he enters the NHL, and he thinks (about playing) for Canada at the World Cup, he probably doesn't see it like that," he explained. "That's a lot of us. You know growing up in Saskatoon, and coaching at Red Deer College, you probably don't think you're going to coach Canada's Olympic team.

"It was a good night for him, but he's an important player on our team. That's been a real good line in the tournament to say the least."

Remaining nothing but true to form, Canada continues on with its blind focus, and will now take that mentality into a best-of-three final versus either Sweden or the European conglomerate.

Then, at some point after that, Marchand will uncover perspective from that night he helped rescue Canada.

Copyright © 2016 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

It's hard to ignore how good Brad Marchand looks on a line with Boston Bruins teammate Patrice Bergeron and Pittsburgh Penguins star center Sidney Crosby at the World Cup of Hockey.

Marchand is entering the final year of his contract with the Bruins, and can become an unrestricted free agent next summer. As such, the 27-year-old - fresh off a two-goal performance in Canada's semifinal win over Russia - was asked whether a small part of him is willing to wait and see if the Penguins will offer him a contract on the open market.

His response was diplomatic.

"That's a long ways away, but there's championship games here, we got to think about that first," Marchand answered. "But we'll deal with whatever needs to be dealt with down the road. But it's a lot of fun playing with Sid, there's no question about that. But for now, we'll keep that to here."

Crosby (three goals, four assists) and Marchand (three goals, two assists) rank first and second in total points at the World Cup. There's been much talk over the years about a lack of star wingers to fully complement the best player in hockey's game.

Marchand has excelled alongside Bergeron in Boston for years, and the Bruins have said they hope to reach an extension with Marchand before the start of the regular season.

If that doesn't happen and Marchand goes through 2016-17 without a new deal, talk of a move to Pittsburgh may only grow louder, especially if the connection strengthens in the World Cup final.

That's where Marchand's focus remains for now, and surely Bergeron won't let his longtime winger out of his sight that easily.

Copyright © 2016 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Canada advanced to the World Cup of Hockey final with a 5-3 win over Russia at Air Canada Centre in Toronto on Saturday.

And, save for a somewhat tense second intermission, the result was never really in doubt.

The Russians looked good out of the gate and were awarded a power-play opportunity early in the opening frame, but after failing to score on a fairly disorganized man advantage - a trend that's continued through the entire tournament - Sidney Crosby scored on a tremendous individual effort, stealing the puck from the Russian defense and beating Sergei Bobrovsky with a backhand.

Russia floundered through another first-period power play and then killed three penalties of its own, but Canada's 1-0 lead after 20 minutes wasn’t all that unexpected. Heading into the semifinals, the host nation had outscored the opposition 8-1 in first periods at the World Cup, while Russia had failed to hit the back of the net in the opening frame.

Held without a shot on goal for almost 11 minutes of play, Russia tied the game midway through the second period as Nikita Kucherov wired a wrist shot past Carey Price after deciding to keep it on an odd-man rush. The pace picked up from that point, and Russia - despite being outshot by a wide margin - took a 2-1 lead at the 16:24 mark of the second period, thanks to Evgeny Kuznetsov.

Less than a minute later, Crosby set up a Brad Marchand goal to ensure the game sat level heading into the second intermission.

Canada kicked off the third period with a quick strike, with Marchand sniping the puck past Bobrovsky off another feed from Crosby. Under five minutes later, Corey Perry wrangled a loose puck out from between his skates and lifted a rebound up and over Bobrovsky to give Canada a two-goal lead. The relentless attack continued, capped by a John Tavares goal scored off a nifty toe drag and fatal wrist shot.

Artemi Panarin scored late in the game off an apparent hand pass, but Canada's three-goal outburst in just over eight minutes earlier in the third period was more than enough to fully separate the two sides.

Overall, Canada dominated the contest from start to finish.

Crosby led all players with three points, while Marchand - who scored a pair - and Shea Weber fired six shots apiece on Bobrovsky to pace all Canadians. Nikita Kucherov fired eight of Russia's 34 shots on Price, the most recorded by a single player in the game.

Canada will not play until Game 1 of the final Tuesday, while Sweden and Europe will face off in the other semifinal at 1 p.m. ET on Sunday.

Copyright © 2016 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Following the news of defenseman Jacob Trouba missing training camp and requesting a trade, Winnipeg Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff released the following statement Saturday:

"We are aware of the statement issued by Kurt Overhardt regarding Jacob Trouba.

"Over the last three seasons, Jacob Trouba has played a key role for the Winnipeg Jets and in our view still represents an important part of the long-term future of our club. As such, any decisions made regarding Jacob Trouba will be made in the best interest of the Winnipeg Jets hockey club.

"As an unsigned player, we cannot compel Jacob to report to training camp at this time. However, we will continue to work diligently to resolve this matter. We will have no further comment on this matter until such time as it is resolved."

Cheveldayoff's phone is sure to be lighting up with the season approaching, as several teams are sure to show interest in a player of Trouba's caliber if he is indeed on the market.

Copyright © 2016 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Winnipeg Jets defenseman Jacob Trouba has requested a trade and will not attend training camp, his agent Kurt Overhardt announced Saturday.

Trouba, 22, is a restricted free agent, and Overhardt states both he and the Jets have been working on a trade for months.

“Our client, Jacob Trouba, will not be attending the Winnipeg Jets NHL training camp. Since May, we have been working with the Jets management in an effort to facilitate a trade of Jacob’s rights. Both parties continue to work on this matter," Overhardt said in a statement.

"There has been no negotiation regarding the terms of a contract between our client and the Jets over the course of the last several months. The situation is not about money; it is solely about our client having the opportunity to realize his potential as a right-shot NHL defenseman."

Trouba, who represented Team North America at the World Cup of Hockey, said he never desired his situation to come to to this.

The Jets drafted Trouba ninth overall in the 2012 draft. He has 72 points in 211 career games, averaging over 22 minutes per game over three seasons.

Copyright © 2016 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Florida Panthers appear to have dodged a major injury scare.

Defenseman Aaron Ekblad is at training camp and back on skates after having to leave the World Cup as a result of an upper-body injury. Originally feared to be a concussion, it was later described as a stiff neck, and head coach Gerard Gallant now seems rather hopeful about a quick recovery.

"(Ekblad) is going to be fine," Gallant told reporters Saturday. "You see him out there skating already. I think it was a little scare but he feels good. ... Everything looks good."

The 20-year-old signed an eight-year contract extension worth $60 million on July 1, and will serve as Florida's top defenseman once healthy.

Copyright © 2016 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The World Cup of Hockey took its toll on the Dallas Stars.

Most notably, Tyler Seguin suffered a hairline fracture in his heel, while forwards Ales Hemsky and Radek Faksa suffered a groin injury and a concussion, respectively.

However, general manager Jim Nill shed positive light on the situation Saturday, saying all three should be ready to go for opening night Oct. 13.

Nill said the team will keep Seguin off the ice until Wednesday, to ensure a full recovery. Faksa will return either Monday or Tuesday, per Nill, while Hemsky will be evaluated after returning from Toronto.

Copyright © 2016 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.