With the doom and gloom of the St. Louis Blues [http://thn.com/stlouis] of late, the light at the end of the tunnel continues to shine with their prospects. And defenseman Adam Jiricek [https://chl.ca/ohl-bulldogs/players/9268/], a first-round pick (No. 16) in the 2024 NHL Draft, continues to scorch the ice with Brantford of the Ontario Hockey League. The 19-year-old had two goals and two assists this past week to extend his point streak to nine games (four goals, 10 assists) to give him 21 points (seven goals, 14 assists) in 18 games for the Bulldogs, who are 16-0-4-1 and lead the Eastern Conference by 12 points. Jiricek had an assist in a 3-2 overtime loss to Flint on Friday, then came back with two goals and an assist in a 5-4 win against Brampton. He can score in a variety of ways, including this one-timer at 10:32 of the second period for a 4-2 lead: And then there's one of the prettier goals you'll see with the toe-drag and backhand top shelf finish that proved to be the winner at 7:20 of the third period: Jiricek, who also has a nine-game assist streak, has a point in 13 of the past 14 games (six goals, 13 assists) and a point in 15 of 18 games this season; he is a plus-13 on the season and is averaging just under 2.5 shots per game. Jiricek is averaging 1.17 points per game after 0.44 in an abbreviated season last year in what has been an incredible start to the season for the 6-foot-3, 185-pound right-handed shot. Brantford appears to be the real deal and is on track to not only compete for an OHL title but a Memorial Cup as well, and Jiricek will be a big part of that. He is on pace for 76 points (25 goals, 51 assists) with a plus-minus of plus-47 in 65 games. Brantford currently holds the No. 1` spot in the Canadian Hockey League rankings, which are released every Tuesday. * Logan Mailloux -- In his second game since the Blues sent the 22-year-old down to Springfield of the American Hockey League, the defenseman put himself on the scoresheet for the Thunderbirds. He this one-timer off a very accurate cross-ice feed from Matt Luff roughly six minutes into the second period of a 7-3 loss to Lehigh Valley, a goal that cut Springfield's deficit to 3-2: * Justin Carbonneau -- The first-round pick in 2025 (No. 19) [https://chl.ca/lhjmq-armada/players/19534/] had a quiet week with a goal and an assist in two games for Blainville-Boisbriand and has just three goals and an assist in six games in November, but he did pick up this beauty, his 18th of the season in 18 games at 5:55 of the first period of a 6-1 win against Rouyn-Noranda on Thursday: The Armada went 2-0-0-0 this week, including a 5-2 win against Val-d'Or on Friday, and improved to 14-5-3-0 on the season, good for 31 points and currently in first place in the Western Conference of the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League. Carbonneau has 23 points (18 goals, five assists) in 18 games and is averaging 1.28 points per game; he is on pace for 60 goals and 77 points in 60 games. The Armada, which was the preseason No. 1 team in the CHL rankings, are currently No. 8. * Lukas Fischer -- The 2024 second-round pick [https://chl.ca/ohl-sting/players/8881/] didn't score in three games for Sarnia of the OHL, but the defenseman had four assists to currently give him a six-game point streak (one goal, six assists). Fischer had an assist in a 5-3 loss to Peterborough on Wednesday, two more helpers in a 9-3 loss to Ottawa on Thursday and another assist in a 5-2 loss to Kingston on Sunday; he has 16 points (two goals, 14 assists) in 19 games so far this season. The Sting are currently 6-11-3-1 and sit in ninth place in the Western Conference in the OHL standings; they fired coach Alan Letang on Saturday. * Antoine Dorion -- The 2024 seventh-round pick [https://chl.ca/lhjmq-remparts/en/players/20548/] scored this beauty for Quebec of the QMJHL on Sunday in a 4-1 win against Moncton, his third of the season, to give him nine points (six assists) in 15 games this season: * Love Harenstam -- If you want to monitor the progress of the 2025 six-round pick, follow his bio here: Spelarprofil - , | Södertälje SK [https://sportality.cdn.s8y.se/team-logos/ssk1_ssk.svg] Spelarprofil - , | Södertälje SK [https://www.sodertaljesk.se/athlete-profile/qd3-4rbicJDng?active-tab=gamelog] But the goalie currently holds a 2.14 goals-against average and .914 save percentage in 12 games for Sodertalje in Sweden. * Injuries hitting prospects -- The injury bug is hitting a number of Blues prospects, including Aleksanteri Kaskimaki, Otto Stenberg, Jakub Stancl and Dylan Peterson. Of course, Zach Dean continues to be out indefinitely while in the player's assistance program. And in Russia's KHL, forward Matvei Korotky remains out with a lower-body injury since Oct. 31; forward Mikhail Fyodorov is out as is forward Ivan Vorobyov. And Ondrej Kos hasn't played yet in Finland due to injury. Observations From Blues' 4-1 Loss Vs. Golden Knights [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/f8fbdf60-02bd-434c-ab0a-ac515a677fa9.jpeg] Observations From Blues' 4-1 Loss Vs. Golden Knights Confidence is shot for St. Louis right now; team played in "auto pilot for good swath of game; went 18:36 without a shot on goal, while Vegas had next 15, scored three times; disjointed, disconnected team in all phases [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/st-louis-blues/latest-news/observations-from-blues-4-1-loss-vs-golden-knights]
