The St. Louis Blues start their coaching camp on Sept. 19 and end on Sept. 22. The camp will embody gamers from their NHL roster, American Hockey League (AHL) roster, and vary of prospects. Gamers can exhibit their talent and worthiness via camp practices and pre-season NHL video games, which is able to decide the ultimate roster for October to play on the Blues for the upcoming 2024-25 common season.
The fellows 👇 #stlblues
— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) September 5, 2024
Even when some gamers don’t make it at first of the season, it will also be a chance to showcase their abilities to make the roster close to the tip of the season, when the Blues normally give some gamers an everyday season trial run. That mentioned, let’s take a look at the highest three gamers who will make the Blues’ important roster sooner or later all through the 2024-25 common season.
3. Leo Loof
Leo Loof has solely performed one season within the AHL, however he’s performed rather a lot on the skilled degree in Europe between 2019 and 2023. Within the 2019-20 season, he performed his first and solely recreation that season with Färjestad BK of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL). In that one recreation, he didn’t get any factors. In 2020-21, Loof performed 9 video games and couldn’t produce any factors. It wasn’t till 2021-22, in his debut season with Ilves within the Finnish league Liiga, that he produced factors, getting 10 in 49 video games. As soon as he reached his final season within the Liiga in 2022-23, he produced 16 factors in 55 video games.
Associated: Blues & Blackhawks Standouts at Prospect Showcase
Primarily based on these stats, Loof was altering his recreation to enhance offensively. Nevertheless, he’s performed extra of a bodily recreation and focuses on that. At 6-foot-1 and 179 kilos, he’s bought an honest body for a defensive defenseman and may have the ability to achieve extra talent at utilizing his measurement to his benefit.
A major concern could also be how the Loof was projected to pan out through the 2020 NHL Draft when the Blues chosen him within the third spherical (88th total). Whereas he can play effectively defensively, he should additionally enhance his puck abilities. Aside from that, he’s on an excellent observe proper now.
In his first season with the Springfield Thunderbirds within the AHL, he scored seven factors in 58 video games, persevering with to indicate his bodily talent on the ice, which the Blues want on their important roster. As a lot as Loof has made nice strides in his recreation, I don’t see him being a right away roster choice at first of the season. Nonetheless, he might get a shot on the Blues lineup close to the tip of the season or as an emergency call-up if there are any damage points inside the lineup.
2. Dalibor Dvorsky
Final season within the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), Dalibor Dvorsky had an excellent begin to his debut season and completed it with 88 factors in 52 video games, which put him inside the prime 20 within the league for factors. Of these 88 factors, 45 had been from objectives, and he completed fourth within the league in objectives. In 2024, Dvorsky additionally had an excellent run within the World Junior Championship (WJC) with Slovakia, finishing the match with six factors in 5 video games.
The Blues must look out for Dvorsky’s potential to deal with the puck and hockey IQ to make nice performs for his group in coaching camp. With Tom Kurver’s Prospect Showcase happening from Sept. 13-15, it will likely be a wonderful alternative to heat him up for the Blues preseason roster. I believe that Dvorsky is one among their finest offensive prospects, so there may be a variety of anticipation that he’ll get a spot on the roster, particularly since he was a top-10 draft decide in 2023.
Contemplating the talent set he supplies, there’s a good likelihood he might get to play top-line minutes if he makes an excellent impression through the first few video games of the NHL preseason. The Blues want a participant value placing on particular groups, primarily the facility play, the place his playmaking abilities could be most helpful.
His maturity degree to play within the NHL could show him not able to some; nevertheless, the way in which he’s rapidly progressed within the OHL after taking part in within the Swedish HockeyAllsvenskan within the prior yr of his hockey profession reveals that he can adapt to any state of affairs.
1. Zachary Bolduc
Final season, Zachary Bolduc made an honest impression on the Blues roster close to the tip of the season when he was referred to as up in February. By way of his 25 NHL video games final season, he put up 9 factors with 5 objectives and 4 assists. It wasn’t till April that he began to go on a extra constant level run and appeared extra snug on the ice. This upcoming season, he might be referred to as up early and has proven he is usually a dependable choice.
Nevertheless, this upcoming preseason can be an opportunity to indicate if he has made an excellent stride in his recreation and show whether or not he’s really prepared for the NHL degree. Bolduc talked about just lately within the media that he’s “able to do no matter it takes to be within the lineup at first of the season.”
Final AHL season, in his debut season within the league, he put up 25 factors in 50 video games earlier than receiving a call-up, bought despatched down once more, and returned to the Blues lineup in April for the rest of the 2023-24 NHL common season.
I believe Bolduc would be the strongest candidate for an NHL roster spot, however it can both be as a depth call-up for damage conditions or a late-season call-up like final season. Then again, ahead prospect Jimmy Snuggerud can be taking part in with the Blues after his last season with the College of Minnesota, and he might be sharing the identical line with Bolduc, which may benefit each of them.
What It Ought to Come Right down to for a Ultimate Roster Resolution
Finally, by how the roster appears, the Blues have crammed in some gaps, particularly defensively, with the addition of Philip Broberg and a number of others over the offseason. Nevertheless, it doesn’t imply the Blues can’t experiment with their youthful gamers, and the season all the time has an unpredictable flip of occasions that happen, so it is not going to limit the group from calling up their most promising prospects.
For now, commencing with the Prospect Showcase and coaching camp, the aim can be to make notes and see which gamers are noting for a possible call-up sooner or later. Up to now, how the Blues have carried out issues with prospects has labored out nice. Their improvement course of isn’t something to fret about, with gamers like Scott Perunovich, Joel Hofer, Tyler Tucker, Matthew Kessel, and Jake Neighbours, to call a number of, making nice strides of their recreation to make a great impression on the roster within the final three seasons. With extra gamers to place to the take a look at of their prospect depth, the Blues can higher put together for his or her group in the long term.
