The St. Louis Blues prospect report is back reviewing the European prospects and their progress made through the early portion of the season as they put the finishing touches on the month of October. As a reminder, the Blues 2023-24 European prospect report will be published monthly covering prospects in Russia, Sweden, and Finland.
The European report has received a major update with one of the club’s top prospects, Dalibor Dvorský, moving from the Swedish Hockey League (SHL) to the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) to play with the Sudbury Wolves.
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)
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With a limited opportunity and ice time reduced to a minimum, the Blues opted to move one of their top prospects into a situation that would provide the opportunity to play top minutes and a chance to become acclimated to hockey in North America.
Nikita Susuyev (Left Wing/Right Wing)
Through 23 games, Nikita Susuyev is one of the Blues’ highest-scoring forward prospects this season scoring two goals and nine points. The seventh-round draft choice in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft has split time between the top Russian hockey league, the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) with Spartak Moskva, and the top Russian junior league, the Molodyozhnaya Hokkeinaya Liga (MHL) with MHK Spartak Moskva this season. After producing two goals and seven points through five games in the MHL, he has been a mainstay in his club’s KHL lineup. Though he has only recorded two assists in Russia’s top hockey league, he appears to have done all that he needs to do in the lower levels and could remain a member of Spartak’s top team this year.
Arseni Koromyslov (Defenseman)
The 19-year-old defenseman continues to be shuffled through the SKA St. Petersburg organization this season. He has only seen one game in the KHL and appears to be bouncing between the MHL with SKA-1946 St. Petersburg and the Vysshaya Hokkeinaya Liga (VHL) appearing in seven games and 10 games respectively. After collecting two goals and six points through eight September games in the MHL, he has brought his season total to two goals and nine points through 18 games. He has recorded two assists in the VHL and two goals and five assists through seven games in the MHL.
Otto Stenberg (Center/Left Wing)
The second of three first-round draft choices made by the Blues in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft, Otto Stenberg has picked up his production this month raising his season total to two goals and four points through 11 games in the SHL with Fröunda HC. Stenberg currently ranks 11th on his team in points while shooting with an 11.76 shooting percentage.
The 18-year-old is showing that he is adjusting to the SHL well after scoring one goal and three points through 23 games during the 2022-23 season. He is currently on pace to score nine goals and 18 points through 48 games this season. Given his production and leadership abilities, he should be a lock for Team Sweden in international play as well this season.
Theo Lindstein (Defenseman)
One of the top prospect defensemen for the Blues, Theo Lindstein has been flexing his offensive skills this season for Brynäs IF in the HockeyAllsvenskan, Sweden’s second-highest hockey league. After appearing in 32 SHL games only one year ago, Lindstein has yet to appear in a single game in Sweden’s top league this year. Nevertheless, he has produced at a half-point per game rate scoring one goal and five points through his first 10 games.
The Blues have begun their rebuilding prospect pool from a very top-heavy group of players to a group of individuals that could fill multiple, high-impact roles for their NHL squad in the coming years. The current state of the club’s roster and depth chart will allow these players time to continue to grow and mold their game before turning their eye to North America.
