Robert Thomas
The consensus seems to be that if the Blues are going to name a captain, and his name is not Brayden Schenn, then it will be Robert Thomas. Thomas has been considered the future of the Blues since he entered the league at age 19 and hoisted the Stanley Cup at the end of his rookie season.
He first donned an “A” at age 22 when Vladi Tarasenko and the aforementioned Schenn were out with injuries, leaving only Colton Parayko as a designated “Alternate” Captain. This sent a rather clear message of how the Blues felt about the young center’s leadership abilities and left many fans wondering if he was the Captain of the future.
Like Schenn, Thomas clearly hasn’t ripped the Captain’s “C” out of Army’s clinched fingers, but that’s not necessarily a reflection on his leadership potential. After all, Robert Thomas was living in Brayden Schenn’s basement less than two year’s ago.
Brayden took “Tommer” under his wing and provided a lot of guidance on and off the ice early in his career. Now, the mentee is being looked at as the possible leader for the entire team, including his own mentor.
Robert had a slight regression last season after a breakout ’21-’22 season, but so did everyone else on the team. It’s entirely possible that Robert Thomas will be the future captain of the St. Louis Blues, but it may not be this season. He is going to need to kick it into the next gear both in terms of his on-ice production as well as the example he sets for his teammates.