Dalibor Dvorský, the 10th overall draft selection by the St. Louis Blues in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft, is officially headed to North America. Announced in the early hours of Wednesday, Oct. 18, one of the club’s top prospects left the IK Oskarshamn in the Swedish Hockey League (SHL) and joined the Sudbury Wolves of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL).
Dvorsky Received Limited Opportunity in SHL
Looking back on the 2022-23 season, Dvorský dressed in 38 regular season games for AIK of HockeyAllsvenskan in Sweden, where he registered 14 points (six goals, eight assists). The Zvolen, Slovakia native also represented Slovakia at the U-18 and U-20 World Junior Championships, recording 13 points in seven tournament games overall.
Ahead of the 2023 NHL Entry Draft, Dvorský signed a two-year contract with AIK in the SHL. While this did not stop the Blues from drafting their first of three first-round prospects, the club officially signed the 18-year-old to a three-year entry-level contract and officially loaned him back to Sweden on Aug. 31.
Director of European Scouting for EP Rinkside, Lassi Alanen, had this to say regarding the struggles the young forward experienced during his 10-game stint:
“He had trouble at generating chances off the cycle or linking up with his teammates off the rush. While he set up a few partial breakaways with breakout passes through the middle, he barely got into any scoring positions himself throughout those 10 games.
Dvorský never fully clicked with his linemates, instead finding himself out of sync quite often. He’d look for a give-and-go but never get the puck back. He’d beat a forechecker, gain the middle and look for a potential counterattack, but his linemates would already be looking for change.”
(from ‘The OHL’s Sudbury Wolves are the right destination for Dalibor Dvorský after failed SHL stint,’ EP Rinkside, Oct 18, 2023)
As time passed, he began to see fewer opportunities each game, with his time on ice dropping from 13:42 on his seventh game of the season to 1:35 on his ninth and only 0:44 on his 10th. His team consistently played the centerman on the third-line left wing, where he found little success. The writing was on the wall, as he and the last place IK Oskarshamn were at an impasse after being used as the team’s 13th forward, seeing only three shifts in two games.
CHL Offers Best Path to Success
As he heads to North America, the prospect will head to Canada and join his new team. When asked about their newest player, Wolves general manager Rob Papineau said:
“Dalibor is a world-class player whom we are very excited to add to our hockey club. He is a first-class young man, and we look forward to helping him further develop as the star player that went 10th overall in the NHL Draft in June. He is very excited to get to Sudbury and join the team. Our fans will be very fortunate and excited to watch Dalibor this season.”
As of this writing, Sudbury sits in third place in the Central Division and fifth in the Eastern Conference with a 4-3 record. Dvorský joins the club alongside Seattle Kraken prospect David Goyette and San Jose Sharks forward prospect Quentin Musty in hopes of bringing their team to the postseason.
Ahead of joining his new team, Dvorský said: “I am very excited to be joining Sudbury. I can’t wait to meet all of my new teammates and coaches and Wolves fans, and to start my new hockey chapter in North America,”
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Though the youngster is eligible to play in the AHL, the decision to assign the highly-skilled forward to the OHL should offer him the best opportunity for his long-term growth and success. Despite his two-way abilities, the 6-foot-1, 201-pound forward will skate and compete against his peers with the chance to become acclimated to the smaller North American ice and style of play. Dvorský impressed the masses at prospect camp just after the NHL Entry Draft and should find a good deal of opportunity to play in all situations for Sudbury.
The future is bright for both he and the Blues, who are rebuilding their prospect pool with an impressive number of players. Alongside Dvorský, the club should also see players from around the globe, like Otto Stenberg, Juraj Pekarcik, Jimmy Snuggerud, and Aleksanteri Kaskimäki join either the Blues or their AHL affiliate, the Springfield Thunderbirds.
Dvorský is currently offered the opportunity to grow at his pace and should not be rushed to join the AHL, let alone the NHL, at this current time. With zero points and a minus-six rating through 10 games with his SHL team, he will need to take this transition from the SHL to the OHL to reset mentally and prepare for what is to come. This is a great opportunity for him to show the Blues organization now that his time with Oskarshamn this season was merely a fluke and their selection of him with the 10th overall draft choice was wisely made.
