The 2025-26 NHL Preseason will open near the end of September. While there is no confirmation yet on who will be invited to the St. Louis Blues‘ training camp, some prospects are guaranteed a spot based on last year’s camp. Here’s a look at which players have the best chance to impress when the Blues return to the ice.
Colten Ellis Is Close to an NHL Appearance
The Blues are set with their goaltending, but Colten Ellis is a third-string option if either of their goalies, Jordan Binnington or Joel Hofer, gets hurt. Ellis is an underrated netminder on the Blues’ American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, Springfield Thunderbirds.
With three seasons of AHL hockey under his belt, Ellis has experienced the pressure of playing at the professional level. Last season, he had a 22-24-5 record, a .922 save percentage (SV%), a 2.63 goals-against average (GAA), and three shutouts. He will turn 25 in October, which means he is still young enough to earn a taste of NHL hockey and still has room to develop.
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However, Ellis struggled a lot in his first two pro seasons and bounced between the AHL and ECHL. It was all worth it, though, because after the 2024-25 season, he was given the green light to be the Thunderbirds’ starting goaltender in the AHL playoffs and finished with a 1-2-0 record, a .933 SV%, and a 2.32 GAA, which ranked 11th among goaltenders in the 2025 Calder Cup Playoffs.
This isn’t Ellis’ first training camp. He received an invitation in 2023 and 2024, although he had more starts last preseason, finishing with a 1-1-0 record, a .949 SV%, and a 1.52 GAA. After signing a two-year extension, worth an average annual salary (AAV) of $775,000, he’ll have a short window to show the Blues that he is worth investing in.
Adam Jiricek Is Close to an NHL Appearance
The Blues’ 16th overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft, Adam Jiricek, played his first season in the Ontario Hockey League with the Brantford Bulldogs in 2024-25 and finished with 12 points in 27 games. However, he battled a knee injury that kept him out for a month in November, four games after his return from another major knee injury suffered at the 2024 World Junior Championship.
With a history of injuries, Jiricek will find it challenging to thrive in the Blues’ training camp. He was sidelined for most of last season, but returned to the Bulldogs in December 2024, after the second knee injury, and finished the campaign without issue, showing he was able to train and strengthen his knee to play out the season.
Jiricek was invited to training camp last season but did not play any games during the 2024 Preseason. He will be invited again, but the Blues will have to be very cautious about how they play him. He has enough positives to make a great impression during the preseason, if he can stay healthy.
Jiricek is a right-handed shot, but among the four right-handed defensemen on the Blues’ roster, Colton Parayko is the only one who can make plays and shut down offensive threats in his zone, which Jiricek can do. If he has a good training camp, he should expect to be a call-up for injury situations.
Ellis and Jiricek on a Good Path
Ellis and Jiricek are both in a good position to get more eyes on them. Ellis already has enough experience to impress Blues head coach Jim Montgomery and the front office. To make the roster, though, he must play to his level consistently, and he will most likely impress enough to be considered an injury call-up.
For Jiricek, things may take longer because he is 19 years old and still too inexperienced to make the NHL roster. However, defenseman Nick Leddy was waived by the Blues in July and claimed by the San Jose Sharks as the team slowly starts getting rid of their older defensemen to make room for young players, meaning the Blues are at least preparing for Jiricek to be called up in the near future. While he needs more time to develop, a few good preseason games could see him promoted to the Thunderbirds.
