The St. Louis Blues are no longer the same team that won the Cup in 2019, but with a fresh young core and a strong pool of forward prospects to boot, can they get back to greatness?

The St. Louis Blues are the team of focus in today's edition of the NHL prospect pool overview series.

Tony Ferrari will examine the Blues' strengths and weaknesses, give a quick overview of their latest draft class, where the team's positional depth chart stands, and who could be next in line for an NHL chance.

A player who no longer holds rookie eligibility in the NHL is considered graduated and no longer considered a prospect for these exercises, except in very specific cases.

First Thoughts

The St. Louis Blues are trying to retool on the fly, trading veterans with purpose and drafting players to supplement the core that they are looking to build around for the next era of Blues’ hockey. Jordan Kyrou, Robert Thomas and Jake Neighbours are the next wave of leaders for St. Louis and with a solid group of players coming up through the pipeline, they could regain their status as a truly competitive team.

Leading the way for the players coming up is University of Minnesota winger, Jimmy Snuggerud. Many thought that Snuggerud would be making the jump to pro hockey after last season but he will head back to play for the Golden Gophers for his junior season after a statistical step back last year. His finishing ability has never been a question but he wasn’t quite as dangerous with his former linemates, Logan Cooley (Utah) and Matthew Knies (Toronto), in the NHL last season. 

Snuggerud is an intelligent player who is always looking to pop into the right spot or make the connecting pass. He’s an excellent complementary player who can elevate his game to his linemates but isn’t always going to drive play himself.

After struggling initially last season while playing pro hockey in Sweden, 2023 first-round pick, Dalibor Dvorsky, made the move to play in the OHL with the Sudbury Wolves and dominated the competition. Dvorsky is a strong center who has a wicked shot. He knows how to get into shooting positions and finish all over the offensive zone. The Slovak forward is an asset in transition as well, using his passing ability to tactically move the puck around his opponents. He has excellent hands as well. Dvorsky may not be a true play driver, but he’s an integral part of the engine on his line.

Along with Dvorsky, the Blues had two other first-rounders in 2023. Their second selection in the first round was Otto Stenberg, a flashy skilled winger who plays with pace and brings a bit of feistiness to the game. Stenberg isn’t going to throw massive hits or fight but he gets under his opponent's skin and loves to talk after the whistle. It’s served him well as he’s drawn the attention of opposing players and goated them into penalties in league and international play. His skating is impressive, always wanting to attack and put defenders on their heels while deking and dangling his way into open ice. His passing is slick and he gets into excellent scoring areas. Stenberg could be a sneaky late first-round grab for the Blues.

Defenseman Theo Lindstein was the other first-rounder and his progression since being drafted has been fantastic. His play at the Allsvenskan level was impressive. At the world juniors last winter, Lindstein was consistently providing the Swedes with excellent puck-moving and steady defensive play. Lindstein is developing into a solid do-it-all defender. The biggest question is whether he develops any area of his game to a level where it’s a standout trait. Right now, he is a bit of a jack of all trades which could serve him well, but developing a difference-making factor would be great to see.

After splitting his draft year between pro and junior hockey in Slovakia, Juraj Pekarcik joined the USHL’s Dubuque Fighting Saints last season and found himself in a position to be an offensive leader for the squad. This upcoming season, Pekarcik will be making another move, this time to the Moncton Wildcats in the QMJHL. The intelligent winger has impressed just about everywhere that he has played over the last couple of years because of his methodical approach to the game that blends his skill with his never-ending effort to consistently drive good results. It will be interesting to see what another clean slate will bring for Pekarcik.

In their first pro seasons, both Zachary Bolduc and Zach Dean found their way onto the NHL roster for the Blues and didn’t look out of place despite not really dominating during their time at the AHL level. Bolduc in particular, was a solid contributor. His heavy release allowed him to find the twine a few times with the Blues and he should be the team’s first call-up if they need some help up front. 

As for Dean, his speed and pace were instantly notable at the NHL level but he wasn’t able to chain plays together all that well just yet. He will likely play the entirety of this season at the AHL level, looking to find some consistency and develop an understanding of how to use his speed as a weapon rather than just flying up and down the ice.

Simon Robertsson stagnated a bit in Sweden playing at the SHL and Allsvenskan levels in each of the last couple of years, but he hasn’t quite found his stride in pro hockey. Robertsson has all of the tools to be a very good offensive player but he can’t seem to organize his toolbox. He has a wicked shot and his passing can be as pretty as can be. He moves well and can battle through traffic. He just doesn’t do all of them at once which can be a bit frustrating. A move to the AHL for the upcoming season could help him find some level of consistency.

Another player that will be making the jump to the AHL is defender Michael Buchinger who had a solid OHL career. He is a bit of an inconsistent player – from both a production and style of play standpoint – but he’s an interesting player nonetheless. Buchinger can play a strong support game offensively, joining the rush or making crisp passes in the attacking end. He has the mobility and physical game to be a play killer defensively and shut down the cycle before moving the puck up ice. Whether he is one or the other depends on the game you watch. He needs to find his niche at the AHL level and develop that part of his game or he may end up a tweener throughout his career.

2024 NHL Draft Class

Round 1, 16th overall - Adam Jiricek, RD, Plzen (Czech)

Round 2, 48th overall - Colin Ralph, LD, Shattuck St. Mary's (USHS-Prep)

Round 2, 56th overall - Lukas Fischer, LD, Sarnia (OHL)

Round 3, 81st overall - Ondrej Kos, LW, Ilves (Fin.-Jr)

Round 3, 95th overall - Adam Jecho, C, Edmonton (WHL)

Round 4, 113th overall - Tomas Mrsic, C, Medicine Hat (WHL)

Round 5, 145th overall - William McIsaac, RD, Spokane (WHL)

Round 7, 209th overall - Antoine Dorion, C, Quebec (QMJHL)

Round 7, 211th overall - Matvei Korotky, C, SKA St. Petersburg (Rus.-Jr)

After having three first-round picks last year, the Blues had just one this year and they made one of the most intriguing picks of the first night, taking Czech defender Adam Jiricek who is the younger brother of Columbus Blue Jackets top prospect, David Jiricek. The Blues taking Jiricek was a bit of a risk in the eyes of some as he missed the entire second half of the season because of a leg injury that he sustained at the World Junior Championship.

The original timeline for when he was set to be back on the ice was development camp but all parties involved wanted to be extra cautious so he sat out of the on-ice activities, though he was in attendance. Jiricek is a very good skater with a balanced game, excelling at both ends of the ice. His mobility and playmaking allow him to be a dangerous facilitator from the blueline while his strength and aggressive defensive mindset allow him to defend with his feet or with his body. Jiricek has the potential to be an all situations impact defender but a lost season is never good for development.

In the second round, the Blues chose a pair of big, physical defenders in Colin Ralph and Lukas Fischer. Both have a bit of offensive upside with Ralph having a more refined passing arsenal while Fischer finds success as a skater and puck handler. Neither project to be offensive stalwarts but they both show capable puck moving in one way or the other. 

Defensively, both are hulking defenders as Ralph stands 6-foot-5 and Fischer stands 6-foot-3 and they both know how to use their size. Fischer defends with his reach and skating, leading with his stick and then finishing with the body. Ralph angles his opponents toward the boards and then eliminates them as soon as he can.

In the third round, St. Louis took two Czech forwards. The first of which was Ondrej Kos, a winger playing in Finland. Kos has excellent two-way instincts and uses his strength along the boards at both ends of the ice to win puck battles and maintain or regain possession of the puck. His skating can be explosive at times and his hands show flashes of high-end ability but he doesn’t always mesh them well. Kos has plenty of projectable skills on the forecheck and defensively but his offensive game will need to take a step forward.

A few picks later, they selected Adam Jecho who spent the year playing for the Edmonton Oil Kings in the WHL. At 6-foot-5, Jecho is a very good skater who breaks out some slick hands at times. He uses his size well when carrying the puck, extending the puck out and driving into the defender’s chest to get to the middle of the ice. Offensively, he needs to leverage his shot more often because he has a heavy release.

Getting Tomas Mrsic in the fourth round is a nice value as the Medicine Hat forward has some impressive finishing ability. He can rip a puck on the rush or from a standstill, beating goalies clean. When Mrsic builds up speed, he attacks defenders head-on and uses them as a screen to get his shot off. He needs to develop the rest of his game but there could be a very interesting goal scorer here.

William McIsaac is a big, mobile defender who can play the role of a stopper in his own zone but the issues with his game start when the puck is on his stick. Unless he is making quick, simple passes, he struggles and there are times when he struggles when pressured against the forecheck. He has the skating to escape pressure but he isn’t always able to utilize it.

Picking Antoine Dorion in the seventh round was a bit of a shocker. He is the son of former Ottawa Senators GM Pierre Dorion but he doesn’t have much in the way of NHL-caliber traits. He plays with some jam and can get to the front of the net but his game is fairly limited beyond that. Throwing a seventh-round pick at someone with family ties to the NHL isn’t exactly new but it’s always questionable.

The Blues' final pick of the draft was Russian power forward Matvei Korotky, a player who has some very underrated physicality and shooting abilities. He is a long-term development play but with size and a physical edge, there are worse players that NHL clubs drafted in the final round of the draft. If Korotky can translate to the VHL this season and continue to make strides, developing as a skater and find a bit more puck skill, he could be a fun late-round pick.

Strengths

The strength of the Blues’ prospect pool is the sheer depth of talent up front. With so many players listed as centers that will likely end up on the wing like Stenberg, it’s hard to point to just the center position being an area of strength. Dvorsky, Snuggerud and Stenberg lead the way in terms of high-end offensive talent. Dean and Bolduc are already inching toward NHL roles. Perkacik and Robertsson have the upside and could end up being solid middle-six contributors. Others like Jakub Stancl, Aleksanteri Kaskimaki and Mrsic are all nice swings and possible NHL role players. St. Louis has built up so much talent up front, it’s going to be interesting to see the group sort themselves out.

Weaknesses

St. Louis attempted to address their biggest weakness by adding Jiricek in the first round this year, but even with his addition, the pipeline of right-shot blueliners is thin. McIsaac is their second-best right-handed defender in the pipeline and he was a fifth-rounder in June. Jeremie Biakabutuka is an offensive-leaning defenseman who spent the majority of last season at the ECHL level and didn’t really find his stride at that level and struggled to play offensively. Its a group of question marks with even Jiricek being a bit of a question because of the injury that took away most of his season last year.

Next Man Up: Zachary Bolduc, C/W

Bolduc looking like a capable NHLer in his short stint in the league last year bodes well for his chances this season. While it’s unlikely that he makes the roster out of camp, Bolduc will end up playing meaningful minutes this season if the Blues need a player to give them a jolt. His shooting talent has been evident throughout his development. He can thrive when he’s able to attack downhill and drive the center of the ice. He could be the perfect middle-six piece for this club over the next few years, bringing a physical brand of offensive hockey.

Prospect Depth Chart Notables

LW: Juraj Pekarcik, Ondrej Kos, Jakub Stancl

C: Dalibor Dvorsky, Otto Stenberg, Zach Dean, Zachary Bolduc, Aleksanteri Kaskimaki, Dylan Peterson, Tomas Mrsic, Adam Jecho

RW: Jimmy Snuggerud, Simon Robertsson, Ivan Vorobyov

LD: Theo Lindstein, Michael Buchinger, Lukas Fischer, Paul Fischer, Colin Ralph, Leo Loof, Marc-Andre Gaudet, Quinton Burns

RD: Adam Jiricek, Jeremie Biakabutuka, William McIsaac

G: Will Cranley, Vadim Zherenko

For a deeper dive into the prospect pool with player rankings, check out the Yearbook and Future Watch editions of the Hockey News print edition!