The 2024 IIHF World Junior Championship (WJC) is underway and there are a lot of prospects from every team to look forward to. This year, the St. Louis Blues have seven players in the tournament, a franchise record, and some previous members of the tournament in the past 10 years stole the spotlight as a Blues prospect.
Some of the top three Blues prospects that are highlighted in this year’s tournament are Jimmy Snuggerud (USA), Dalibor Dvorsky (Slovakia), and Otto Stenberg (Sweden). The WJC is also a chance for some upcoming players to showcase themselves before the NHL Draft. This could be a chance for the Blues to consider serious options in the top 10 category. Many of the players listed here were also top 10 or first-round picks in the draft for the Blues or other NHL teams. Let’s take a look at who those players were.
5. Pavel Buchnevich (Russia)
Eligibility Year(s): 2014, 2015
Draft Team: New York Rangers
There were a lot of candidates for this spot on the list, however, Pavel Buchnevich is worth noting here as a top player between 2014 and 2023. Playing two years in a row for Team Russia and earning an “A” in his last year of eligibility in 2015, he played a big role for Team Russia. He did not win gold but came close in the same year he was alternate captain and had to settle for silver as Russia would lose 5-4 in regulation to Canada. In 2014, he had the second most points on Russia behind Mikhail Grigorenko. The Russians suffered defeat after beating Canada for bronze in 2014 in a 2-1 victory.
As of 2022, Russia was banned from the tournament due to the Russia-Ukraine war and has not been able to showcase its talent at the WJC which is why Buchnevich was the best option. Despite that, it does not mean that he wasn’t good enough to make this list. He had a combined 13 points between his two years of eligibility in the WJC and because of that was able to help win two medals. It’s a coincidence that he was traded for Vladimir Tarasenko who also played for the Blues and represented Russia in the WJC. Buchnevich is still receiving top-line minutes to this day and has 28 points in 33 games played with the Blues this season.
4. Scott Perunovich (USA)
Eligibility Year(s): 2018
Draft Team: St. Louis Blues
One of the best defensemen to be drafted in the WJC by the Blues as of 2014 and now has a spot in the Blues lineup including the second power-play unit, Scott Perounovich was a part of the Team USA roster that won bronze in 2018 after a 9-3 victory over Czechia. Little did Team USA know they carried the 2020 Hobey Baker Award winner in their back pocket. He was supposed to be an offensive star in the 2018 WJC but instead only finished the tournament with three points. Instead, his role in 2018 was to be a strategic defenseman who creates chances in front of the net through quick passing and shooting from the blue line.
Related: 2024 World Juniors Rosters by NHL Team
The Blues don’t have a lot of notable defensemen from the 2014 to 2023 WJC who currently play for them, but Perunovich will have to settle in this spot as he’s the best possible option in the defensive category. He’s been amazing in the passing end of his game and will only get better from here if he develops well. He did not stop his international play in an IIHF competition as he represented the USA in the IIHF World Championship (WC) in 2023 where he scored eight points in 10 games played in that tournament.
3. Joel Hofer (Canada)
Eligibility Year(s): 2020
Draft Team: St. Louis Blues
Joel Hofer is one of the greatest goalies to ever play for Canada at the WJC between 2014 and 2023 and was a driving factor in Canada’s gold medal in 2020. The numbers he put up speak for themselves, finishing the tournament with a 5-0-0 record, a .939 save percentage (SV%), a 1.60 goals-against average (GAA), and a shutout. At the end of the tournament, he was awarded Best Goaltender and was listed as a 2020 WJC All-Star. With that being said, you could consider him to be one of the best goaltenders drafted by the Blues in a while if he lives up to his potential.
All of that dominance earned him another spot on Team Canada’s World Championship roster in 2023 where he finished with a record of 1-1-0, a .925 SV%, and a 1.46 GAA in two games played. Hofer may have been the third goalie in the tournament but still contributed to Canada winning a gold medal at the 2023 WC. All of his international success must’ve been watched heavily by the Blues as he’s been picking up more starting opportunities than usual despite backing up Jordan Binnington in his first two seasons in the NHL and receiving an extension in January 2023.
2. Jordan Kyrou (Canada)
Eligibility Year(s): 2018
Draft Team: St. Louis Blues
One of the best Canadian forwards drafted by the Blues is Jordan Kyrou and he had a great WJC performance in 2018 alongside Robert Thomas, another Blues draft pick on Team Canada that year. He led the team in scoring and finished fourth in the tournament in points with 10. His strong performance helped Canada win the gold medal in 2018 and solidify their 17th WJC title. In that game, he recorded only one point but was still a crucial component of their offense. Kyrou as well as Thomas are ineligible to play in any type of international tournament until the investigation of the 2018 Canadian WJC team on alleged sexual assault charges is completed.
Kyrou and Thomas have since denied those allegations in July 2023 and stated they are “willing to cooperate” with the investigation in any way possible. Now still with the Blues, Kyrou has lived up to the potential he had in the 2018 WJC, winning the Stanley Cup a year later and eventually making the NHL All-Star team in the 2021-22 season. He shows excellent ability for playmaking and finding teammates in crucial situations which is why most of his points were assists (seven) in the 2018 WJC. Today we can see how he’s developed into both a goal-scorer and a playmaker scoring 37 goals and 73 points in 2022-23 and 48 assists in 2021-22 while recording a career high of 75 points that season. He is finding himself again as he has 25 points in 35 games played this season and it may be due to the firing of head coach Craig Berube.
1. Jimmy Snuggerud (USA)
Eligibility Year(s): 2023, 2024
Draft Team: St. Louis Blues
If anyone was a steal in the 2022 NHL Draft for the Blues, it would have to be Jimmy Snuggerud, proving why he could’ve been worth a higher pick playing with a first-team mindset. He was great in 2023 for Team USA at the WJC and worked his way back on the roster in 2024. In the 2023 WJC, he scored 13 points in seven games, finished third in the tournament in scoring, and was one point behind teammate Logan Cooley, who finished second. In 2023, his performance was only enough to help the USA win bronze, however, he is on one of the most highly anticipated USA teams in this year’s tournament.
Snuggerud stands at 6-foot-1 and has an exceptional one-timer that he uses very well on crucial scoring chances such as the power play where it’s most useful. This season his shooting has been impeccable while playing at the University of Minnesota and continues to shine at the WJC with five points in three games so far and scoring two goals against Switzerland on Friday (Dec. 28) in an 11-3 victory. He will have a chance to move his way up in the USA’s final game in the preliminary round against group leaders Slovakia on New Year’s Eve and then the knockout rounds if Team USA advances that far.
Final Thoughts/Honorable Mentions
A lot of players could’ve made this list but the ones I think that are worth mentioning are Kasperi Kapanen, Thomas, and Dvorsky. These three have made an impact on their respective teams at the WJC and Kapanen and Thomas have played well in the NHL so far. Kapanen is known for his golden goal over Russia in the 2016 WJC gold medal game. Thomas, as mentioned before, won gold with Kyrou and Team Canada in 2018 where he finished with six points. Finally, Dvorsky, who found his rhythm after a slow start to the 2024 WJC, has been a reliable option for Slovakia since the 2022 WJC when he played in his first year of eligibility and currently has four points in three games.
This year’s prospect pool in the WJC is pretty deep and the Blues should be looking for a solid defenseman in case they have a shot at the top 10 spot in the draft this season. However, the Blues’ current prospects look amazing in this year’s WJC tournament. Other than Snuggerud and Dvorsky, Sweden’s Stenberg has been fantastic scoring a hat trick against Germany on Friday (Dec. 28). This is a sign that the Blues have a bright future with their forward prospects to hopefully replace their older players when they need to.
