St. Louis Blues goalie Brian Elliott going back to where it all begun -NHL Update
It has definitely been a big year for 26-year-old goalie, Brian Elliott, who was struggling to find a job this past 2011 National Hockey League (NHL) offseason and then all of a sudden, was boosted to be the All-Star goalie during the mid-season break.
Now as Elliott is in the limelight nowadays, his return to the city of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, where it all began, including his professional hockey career, is highly anticipated since this time he is going as a member of the St. Louis Blues squad.
Elliott was picked up by the Ottawa Senators as the 291st overall draft pick during round nine of the 2003 NHL Entry Draft and played nearly four straight seasons with the club.
He moved on to the Colorado Avalanche during the 2010-2011 regular season in a trade after failing to impress the Senators along with the Avalanche, Elliott looked like he would be staying out this season.
Now it is easy to say that Elliott is back in action and is here to stay for many seasons to come with the breakthrough season he is having with St. Louis thus far. The Newmarket, Ontario, Canada, native has played in 23 games this year with the Blues and boasts a 15 win record.
"It's always a little weird going back somewhere where you played before," said Elliott. "You go into the visiting dressing room for the first time. You try not to put any emphasis on it. You try to play the same way that you would any other game."
St. Louis Blues have given Brian Elliott the green signal to start their first and only matchup of the season against Ottawa Senators on Tuesday, February 7, 2012.
Elliott is now sitting comfortably with a two-year, $3.6 million contract extension which has certainly gotten the best out of him for the team.
"He was able to find his game," Blues coach, Ken Hitchcock, said of Elliott. "He looked at things, he came back with a new focus and changed some of the things that needed to get changed, and he's been good since."
With a league leading goals against average at 1.69, second place save percentage with .938 and third in shootouts, seeing how the Senators perform against an energised goalie will definitely be an event not to miss.
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