The first round of the 2023 NHL Entry Draft has officially come to a close. The St. Louis Blues held on to all three draft picks, selecting two forwards at 10th and 25th, and a defenseman with the 29th overall pick. While there was speculation whether they would be selecting with all three picks or utilizing one of them to package a player in a trade to create additional cap flexibility, Blues general manager Doug Armstrong seems happy with his draft choices.
Related: 2023 NHL Draft Guide
Let’s take a look at the three newest members of the Blues organization.
Dalibor Dvorsky
Commonly projected to be selected between the fifth and eighth pick, the Blues were elated to have the Slovak centerman Dalibor Dvorsky fall into their lap at 10th overall. Heading into the draft, the team had two primary concerns and areas they needed to bolster, the center and defensive positions. With their highest draft selection since 2008 when they selected defenseman Alex Pietrangelo fourth overall, there was uncertainty about who the Blues would target with their draft choice. However, when one of the top two-way centers in the draft class became available, they jumped at the opportunity to select their guy.
Dvorksý spent the majority of this season with AIK in the HockeyAllsvenskan. At 17 years old, he finished third among U19 players in points with 14 and second in games played with 38. He has already shown the capability to play well against older and tougher competition, looking close to NHL-ready despite being one of the youngest prospects in the draft. He will join players like Zach Dean and Nikita Alexandrov as centermen in the Blues organization that could push for a spot in the NHL over the coming seasons.
Otto Stenberg
With two selections only four picks apart, the Blues used their second first-round pick to draft forward Otto Stenberg from Frölunda HC J20 of the J20 Nationell. The Swede has marked himself as a dangerous offensive threat recording 16 points in seven games at the U18 tournament this past season. He has above-average hockey IQ and awareness to read the defense and know where his teammates are, creating high-danger scoring chances for his teammates in the blink of an eye.
Stenberg has a strong all-around game at this point in his career and should only get better moving forward. He reads the game well, has the ability to win puck battles and often finds himself ahead of defenders. The true test will be his ability to move from European ice size to the smaller North American. At 5-foot-11, 181 pounds, he will need to add on size and muscle, but projects to be a very good top-six forward for the Blues moving forward, regardless if that is at either the center or wing.
Theo Lindstein
With their final selection of the first round, the Blues selected another Swede, Theo Lindstein with the 29th overall pick. While they needed to ideally find a right-shot defenseman to add to their prospect pool, the 6-foot, 181-pound left-shot defenseman should provide a strong two-way game in the future. While his point totals did not jump off the page this season, he played a defensive-minded game first for Brynas IF in the Swedish Hockey League (SHL). In 2022-23, he scored only one goal and two points in 32 games but scored four goals and 15 points in 15 games across all international tournaments, including one goal and five points in seven games at the 2023 U18s.
The Blues can use all of the two-way defensive help they can get at this point. While he likely won’t compete for an NHL spot for the next several seasons, he is a player that projects to contend for a top-four position in the future.
The Blues have already found ways to put their newest European development coach, Alexander Steen, to work after drafting three players that all play in Sweden. They still have plenty of work to do before the draft is over and the start of preseason. Time will tell where these first-round draft picks will play moving forward and how they will impact the franchise for years to come.
