2023 first-round pick by Blues, No. 10 pick overall, didn't want to pass up chance to try to medal for Slovakia

Things are going rather well for St. Louis Blues prospect Dalibor Dvorsky.

The No. 10 pick in the 2023 NHL Draft's first taste of life in the American Hockey League has gone according to plan for Blues management, which is monitoring closely the progress of the center's progress.

He's played 27 games and has 21 points (11 goals, 10 assists) and getting top minutes playing in the top six for the Springfield Thunderbirds, projected to finish the season with 29 goals and 27 assists in 72 games. He was named T-Birds player of the month for November.

So it would be in his best interests to keep him cooking there, right? Let him continue to gain confidence and climb that ladder towards a career path to the NHL.

Nope, the 19-year-old is putting his season in Massachusetts on hold for what he hopes is a couple weeks.

Dvorsky can't pass up the chance to represent his country one more time at the 2025 World Junior Championships in Ottawa.

And it couldn't have worked out perfectly for Dvorsky, who played two games in Canada on Saturday and Sunday, and the Thunderbirds left him there.

Are the Blues OK with his decision? Why not continue to gaining experience?

It's simple: Dvorsky, who had six points (three goals, three assists) last year in Sweden representing Slovakia, wants one final crack.

"This is something that we feel very adamant about is letting our prospects decide if they'd like to play in this tournament," Blues assistant general manager Tim Taylor said. "We encourage it because this is something that's center stage for the hockey world and especially kids their own age to see where they're at. He's going to get a lot of confidence coming from this tournament. He's had a great first half in the AHL, really finding his feet as a top player in the AHL. He's scoring some big-time goals for our team in Springfield and he's a big player. We put a lot of responsibility on him. Looking forward to seeing what he has in the second half. We want to see what he can do at the center stage of a big tournament and see him come back with lots of confidence. We'd like to see him dominate there to be quite honest."

Dvorsky will be one of a franchise record nine Blues to represent the organization at the tournament, which gets underway Thursday and concludes with the medal games on Jan. 5; he will team up with Juraj Pekarcik, a third-round pick in 2023 who is having himself a solid season in Moncton of the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League.

But this is about Dvorsky's chance to be on a grand stage and be a headliner.

"I think for his confidence-wise, I think he's going to go back in this tournament and see how much he's grown as a player being in the AHL," Taylor said. "I think players have come back from these tournaments that have played pro. I wouldn't say struggling but they see that it's not an easy league in the AHL. And then they come back and play in this tournament and they develop so much more growth within their game, being the leader, being the person that's counted on, and then they have a real good second half. That's what we're hoping happens with 'Devo.' He's a great first half with us. He's shown huge steps in his growth, maturity at both ends of the ice, understanding that details are what's important in pro hockey and he's gathered that information and applied that to his game. We're very happy with his first half and where he's come as a player. Now we just want to see him go there and have a real constructive tournament and lead his team."

Dvorsky already has had a four-game goal streak and most recently, an eight-game point streak with Springfield and doing things in different ways, which is what's impressed the Blues.

"Quite honestly, face-offs have been important for all these young players and we see it throughout their careers," Taylor said. "From when I played, the (Sidney) Crosbys that first came into the league didn't understand what face-offs were all about and how much they meant to a hockey team and getting puck control. These young players come in, it's not that they're not good at it, they just don't understand how important it is. Now he's understanding. He's been put in big situations. Shorthanded, we put him out there in key situations, face-offs, up a goal, down a goal, he's a guy that's on the ice. He's really excelled at it and we want him to get better. It's something we've strived at and he now understands. Really, we're looking forward to him taking another step in the second half and becoming a dominant player."

Slovakia will open pool play Thursday when it faces last year's silver medalists, Sweden, and fellow Blues prospects in Otto Stenberg and Theo Lindstein at 11 a.m. (CT) on NHL Network in the US and TSN in Canada.