The St. Louis Blues have begun the retooling of their organization and the prospect pool is quickly replenishing itself. After selling three veteran forwards at the trade deadline in former team captain, Ryan O’Reilly, along with long-time players Vladimir Tarasenko and Ivan Barbashev, they have amassed a multitude of impactful players that should hopefully help turn the team from outsiders to playoff contenders sooner than later. With that in mind, it’s time to start reviewing some of the club’s top prospects. Rather than attempt a compilation piece looking over 12-15 players in a single article, this review will be split into a miniseries of the top players at each major position. Please note that the ranking of these prospects will be in alphabetical order and not a ranking in terms of overall skill or potential.
With all of that said, let’s dive in. First up, the forwards.
Zachary Bolduc
One of the most offensively dynamic forward prospects in the NHL, Zachary Bolduc lit his junior hockey league on fire this past season, scoring 55 goals and 110 points in 65 regular-season games for the Québec Remparts of the Québec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). However, he did not stop there as he became one of the key components to their championship season by scoring 11 goals and 19 points over 18 games on his way to winning the Memorial Cup.
The coming season will see Bolduc among a small group of other prospects make their way beyond the junior leagues and into the professional level. While not impossible, it is unlikely that he will make the Blues’ 2023-24 starting roster and start the season instead with the club’s American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Springfield Thunderbirds. There is still plenty for him to focus on outside of his offensive abilities as the competition level around him this coming season will greatly increase.
Zach Dean
Acquired from the Vegas Golden Knights in a trade for Barbashev, the 30th-overall draft choice of the 2021 NHL Entry Draft, Zach Dean, like Bolduc, has completed his junior career and is ready to take on the next stage of his professional hockey career. After losing to Bolduc and the Remparts in the QMJHL semifinals this past season, Dean has made a name for himself and gained attention for his all-around play. Through 50 regular season games with the Gatineau Olympiques, he and teammate Cole Cormier tied for first on their team with 33 goals. However, Dean did so while playing in 16 fewer games, ultimately finishing the season by scoring 70 points. He continued his offensive tear into the postseason scoring 10 goals and 26 points through only 13 playoff games, finishing with the fifth-highest point total among any skater in the 2023 Playoffs.
During the Blues’ development camp at the beginning of July, director of player personnel Tim Taylor said of Dean and Bolduc’s postseason series against one another:
“He’s just a good, solid two-way forward. I went and watched that series, Gatineau and Quebec with Bolduc. It was a heck of a series. It was four games, every game could have went either way. The bounces went in Quebec’s way all four games, but Zach Dean was a very prominent player.
He was on the ice every different situation for Gatineau. He was a leader on that team. He won the scoring championship in the Quebec League after only playing three rounds. He was just a dominant player. Every time he was on the ice, something happened. Whether he scored a goal or not, he made plays.”
(From ‘Fitting in: Following equipment snafu, Blues prospect Zach Dean turns attention to pro career’, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, July 5, 2023).
Though it is an outside chance, Dean is a player that could use his two-way abilities to force general manager Doug Armstrong to make a tough decision and keep him on the roster for the start of the season. Dean intends to arrive in St. Louis around the middle of August to prepare for training camp and give himself the best opportunity at a spot on the NHL roster.
Dalibor Dvorský
Drafted 10th overall by the Blues in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft, Dalibor Dvorský has instantly become one of the club’s top prospects. The 6-foot-1, 200-pound center played for AIK of HockeyAllsvenkan, the second-highest hockey club in Sweden during the 2022-23 season. Splitting time with the J20 Nationell club, he scored a total of 16 goals and 35 points over 48 games during the regular season. Internationally with Team Slovakia, he appeared in both the U18 and U20 tournaments scoring eight goals and 13 points in seven games at the U18s, and one goal and three points through five games at the U20s.
On June 22, 2023, Dvorský signed a two-year contract with IK Oskarshamn of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL). The signing, however, did not prevent him from signing his entry-level contract with the Blues roughly three weeks later. The 18-year-old will play the 2023-24 season in the SHL with Oskarshamn, but could make his way to North America before the 2024-25 season. Many fans already have their eyes on the young forward as he could become the next franchise center they have been clamoring for.
Otto Stenberg
Among the trio of first-round draft choices by the Blues in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft, Otto Stenberg is possibly one of the best value picks of the first round. A prospect who could have been justifiably taken in the top 10-15, he has a wicked shot and plays a strong all-around game. The 18-year-old stands at only 5-foot-11 and weighs 185 pounds, but uses every bit of muscle he has to knock players off of the puck or to help him maintain possession in the offensive zone. This past season with Frölunda HC, he split time with the J20 Nationell team and in the SHL, spending just over half his time in the SHL.
While Stenberg may still be a few seasons away from pushing for a spot on the NHL roster, fans will want to keep an eye on the Swede as he could quickly become a fan favorite. It is still uncertain what his ceiling will be at this point in his career, but he could easily become an all-situations player that fits in well in a middle-six role in the NHL one day while spending the majority of the time on the second line.
Jimmy Snuggerud
The 19-year-old, standout, offensive forward, Jimmy Snuggerud, lit the college hockey world on fire this past season with the University of Minnesota, nearly taking home the championship title in his first season. Drafted 23rd overall by the Blues in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft, the right winger appeared in 40 regular-season games during the 2022-23 season scoring 21 goals and 50 points with a plus-35 rating. His remarkable freshman NCAA season earned him a look and eventually a spot on the Team USA roster for the U20 World Junior Championship tournament as well where he scored five goals and 13 points through seven games. With an eye-popping offensive season in the books, fans were elated to see him in St. Louis with a Blue Note sweater on during development camp.
With his sophomore season on the horizon, Snuggerud will need to keep his foot on the gas peddle and continue training and working hard before setting his sights on taking the next step in his hockey career. However, should he repeat his performance and continue to dominate at the collegiate level, it would not come as a surprise if fans saw him make the jump to the AHL at the end of the season.
Honorable Mentions
Honorable mentions for this ranking go to both Jake Neighbours and Simon Robertsson. Many Blues fans are already familiar with the current NHLer Neighbours who spent the 2022-23 season splitting time in St. Louis and in Springfield with the Thunderbirds in the AHL. Between the two leagues, he scored a combined 15 goals and 26 points over 66 games. After the season was through, he played for Team Canada in the IIHF World Championship, scoring one goal and five points. It’s uncertain what the future holds for Neighbours and where his ceiling is at exactly. He has shown promise in the middle six and will likely continue to play there for most of his career hovering around 40-50 points each season with the ability to play all positions. There’s no discounting the value he will bring to the franchise as time progresses.
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Currently playing overseas, Robertsson has yet to fully find the offensive stride that made him so dangerous in the Swedish junior leagues. During the 2022-23 season, he played for four different teams combining for 10 goals and 18 points. Spending most of his time as an extra or 13th forward on the squad, he has become a reliable, defensively sound forward in the SHL for Skellefteå AIK. While his offensive play could come alive once he makes his way to North America on a full-time basis, the jury is still out on the Blues’ 2021 third-round pick turning into anything more than a bottom-six, penalty-killing forward.
For the first time in what feels like decades, the Blues have amassed an impressive pool of prospects that can all become impactful NHLer’s. The club has recognized and drafted accordingly, specifically targeting players with unique talents that should hopefully one day pay dividends to various areas of the game. The future is looking bright for the club in their retool efforts moving forward.
