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.
Related: St. Louis Blues’ 2023 Top 5 Forward Prospects
Now, it’s time to look at the final installment of this series with the organization’s goaltending prospects. Goaltending prospects are a bit finicky and as it can take several years to fully develop a player into an NHL-ready netminder, we will only be looking at the top three players at this position.
Colten Ellis
The Blues drafted Colten Ellis 93rd overall in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft and have watched the prospect slowly climb the ranks through the organization. During the 2022-23 season, he appeared in 27 games with the Tulsa Oilers of the ECHL sporting a 3.46 goals-against average (GAA) and .888 save percentage (SV%). Through two seasons of professional hockey, he has appeared in 61 games while sporting a 27-22-10 record with a 3.32 GAA and .898 SV%.
Related: St. Louis Blues’ Top 5 Defense Prospects
Ellis ended his junior career in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) with the Charlottetown Islanders during the 2020-21 season with a 23-1-0 record which included seven shutouts, 1.78 GAA, and .926 SV% through 24 regular season games. With two seasons in the ECHL under his belt, the Canadian could be in line for a backup role in the American Hockey League (AHL) for the upcoming 2023-24 season. His path to the NHL in the Blues organization could be difficult to navigate with Vadim Zherenko and Joel Hofer ahead of him on the depth chart.
Joel Hofer
23-year-old Joel Hofer is slated to join the Blues on a full-time basis for the 2023-24 season as a backup to veteran netminder Jordan Binnington after signing a two-year, one-way contract extension worth $775,000 average annual value (AAV) on Jan. 2, 2023. After being drafted 107th overall in 2018, he has provided consistent and rock-solid play at every level along the way. This past season, he appeared in 47 regular season games with the Springfield Thunderbirds sporting a 27-15-5 record, along with an eye-popping 2.50 GAA and a .921 SV%. The Blues provided him with a handful of games during the 2022-23 season, suiting up for six games. Though he only played in a small number of games, he did provide his club with a 3-1-1 record.
The 2023-24 season could provide Binnington a bit of additional competition if Hofer is able to show he can take on a tandem goaltending role. The Blues starting goaltender has not been as consistent as many would have hoped after his historic Stanely Cup run in 2019. Should he begin to falter this year, head coach Craig Berube could turn to the youngster in hopes of returning his club to the postseason.
Vadim Zherenko
The 22-year-old Russian goaltender made his way to North America for the 2022-23 campaign, earning a role with the Thunderbirds as Hofer’s backup. Appearing in 25 games, Vadim Zherenko finished the season with a 10-9-3 record, 3.14 GAA and a .913 SV% regular season stat line. Drafted in the seventh round with the 208th overall selection in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft, he has seemingly come out of nowhere for most fans. However, he did manage to capture a few eyes during the club’s 2023 prospect camp.
With Hofer ascending the ranks to the NHL, Zherenko has an opportunity to take over as the Thunderbirds’ number-one goaltender for the 2023-24 season. After a few stellar performances last season, including a 57-save night against the Providence Bruins, the Russian could have the inside track if he shows he is capable of taking on the workload.
The Blues currently boast multiple goaltending prospects in their pipeline capable of playing in the NHL one day, a luxury that not all NHL franchises can say they have. Though these prospects could still be a few years away from earning a backup role, there is a sense of comfort in knowing that the club can recall a player should someone experience a long-term injury or a trade occur. For now, the Blues have the ability to let their prospects grow and mature at their own rate and not feel a sense of urgency and elevate them beyond their current abilities.
