The
St. Louis Blues are in a good spot to make the playoffs with ten games left in the regular season. After missing the postseason for the last two years, the Blues hold the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference and have been on a
great run with a record of 16-2-2 after the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament in February. In the meantime, the Blues have also taken the remainder of the season to call up prospects and prepare them for the NHL. The new era for the franchise has begun as they look toward a better future.
Top Prospects Dvorsky and Snuggerud Getting NHL Appearances
The Blues recently called up
Dalibor Dvorsky from the American Hockey League affiliate Springfield Thunderbirds, and he debuted on March 23. Following the elimination of the University of Minnesota in the Frozen Four tournament, forward
Jimmy Snuggerud signed his three-year entry-level deal with the team, which had been expected since last season. The team is eager to aim for more playoff appearances in the future and is starting to get their top prospects ready for what is to come. Snuggerud made his debut on March 31 against the Detroit Red Wings, and he’s shown flashes of how great he will be during his time in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). He scored 51 points in 40 games with the University of Minnesota this season, which grants him a nomination for the 2025 Hobey Baker Award, given to the top NCAA player of the season. He must wait until April 11 to find out if he is the winner. Dvorsky hasn’t played more than one game since his call-up and was placed on the third line with
Alexandre Texier and Mathieu Joseph during his debut. I expect the Blues were waiting to sign Snuggerud to play Dvorsky again, and if that is the case, it would be great to see the two together, as they are the most NHL-ready prospects in the organization. But despite signing Snuggerud, they didn’t play Dvorsky at all and have chosen to make him a healthy scratch, which is questionable, considering he’s one of their most talented prospects. While Dvorsky has not performed well, the Blues need to keep him warm and ready if they plan on clinching a playoff berth and bringing him into the playoffs with them.
New Leadership to Enhance the Team
One of the best decisions the Blues made this season was
firing Drew Bannister from the head coach position and hiring
Jim Montgomery to fill in. Montgomery has way more experience to lead a team like the Blues. During his time with the Boston Bruins, he led them to a Presidents’ Trophy win and helped set a franchise record for wins in 2022-23. Montgomery has brought the Blues from near the bottom of the league standings to close to clinching a playoff berth, and that’s a good sign for the future and their young players. He is a great special-teams coach and helped rejuvenate that side of their game, also from near the bottom of the standings, making him a great fit behind St. Louis’ bench. However, the real test will come in the postseason if they make it, as Montgomery has never taken a team past the second round. There’s always the chance they make it to the Stanley Cup Final – they’ve done it before when they won the Stanley Cup in 2019 – so anything is possible.
More Changes for Blues’ New Era
The Blues have made all the necessary decisions to ensure that the team will be in good shape for the future. Aside from a reliable head coach, more changes in the front office will be made in 2025-26 when Alexander Steen
steps in as general manager and leads the way from there. For now, Doug Armstrong must continue to protect the valuable assets in the prospect pool, as they will be a big part of restructuring the team and building them into contenders for years to come.
