St. Louis Blues: Robert Thomas and Vince Dunn Providing Solid Backbone
By Jason Martin
The St. Louis Blues are not the youngest team in the league, but with Vince Dunn and Robert Thomas, St. Louis has a solid young core that can compete with anyone.
Both Vince Dunn and Robert Thomas had similar rookie seasons with the St. Louis Blues, and they both found tremendous levels of success in their initial season in the NHL.
Dunn was not a highly touted prospect when you compare his prospect status to Thomas, but that did not deter him from making an impact with the team in his rookie season.
It is not often that teams can immediately insert young talent and rely on them to play the entire season, but it is a quality of a championship-caliber team, and it was a defining quality of the Blues winning season.
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Dunn made his NHL debut on October 10, 2017, a game in Pittsburgh against the defending champion Penguins.
The 21-year-old second-round pick played 15:28 and recorded a hit. The young defenseman was a +1 on the ice as well and contributed to the Blues eventual overtime winner.
Dunn would go on to play 75 of the team’s 82 games in 2017-18 and netted five goals and 19 assists during his rookie year.
The Mississauga native would continue his success with a great season in 2018-19, a year I am sure he will never forget. Even though he only had a year under his belt prior to this season, Dunn smashed his numbers from his rookie campaign.
Dunn played in 78 regular-season games for St. Louis last season, registering 12 goals and 23 assists en route to a 35 point effort. Not only does Dunn continue to produce offensively, but he is also the Blues top puck-moving defensemen.
He will likely get the nod on the Blues’ top pairing alongside Alex Pietrangelo when the season starts, but he has shown the capability to play in any situation the Blues want.
Thomas, meanwhile, was one of the most anticipated prospects the Blues had come to the NHL in a long time. The former first-round pick was every bit as advertised for St. Louis last season.
The 19-year-old rookie played in 70 games for St. Louis in his rookie season and his numbers compared similarly to those of Dunn’s rookie campaign two years ago.
In those 70 games, Thomas netted just nine goals and 24 assists for St. Louis and was a force on the third line with Tyler Bozak and Pat Maroon.
Thomas missed most of the Stanley Cup Final against the Bruins after reinjuring an injury he sustained early in the playoffs when Torey Krug traveled 200 feet to target Thomas, knocking him out of the series.
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The future is bright for both Thomas and Dunn, and although there are some great young players in the league that may be better than these young players, both these players will create an excellent foundation for the Blues to have sustained success for a long time.