The new era of St. Louis Blues hockey is upon us for the 2026-27 season, as the veteran core of Brayden Schenn, Jordan Kyrou, and Justin Faulk has left town, paving the way for rising prospects and a new acquisition in Mason McTavish.
Just because the team is getting younger doesn't mean that they are looking to stop contending. However, it could take a bigger reliance on Joel Hofer to take the reins as the team's goaltender, and some of their younger players to step up in bigger roles.
The 2026-27 season will do plenty to ease fans' fears about the young core they have in place, and the hope will be that at least three of their best young players have breakout seasons.
Dalibor Dvorsky
Dalibor Dvorsky's rookie season could've gone a bit better in the eyes of Blues fans, but that doesn't mean that there isn't any hope for the future. A season after recording 45 points in 61 AHL games as a rookie, the Slovak national player got his first full season in St. Louis and tallied 21 points in 71 games.
Dvorsky's offensive game wasn't completely developed in his first season, but the 21-year-old still has plenty of room to grow. Dvorsky's upside is that he still has some pro qualities beyond his offense that will make him a top-six forward of the future, with the potential to claim that spot at some point this season.
A breakout season for Dvorsky would likely consist of at least doubling his point output from last year. With more opportunities after the loss of some of their veteran players who were taking away some of the Slovak's ice time, he should be able to make the most of those chances.
We have seen him step up before against the world's best, recording six points in six games at the Olympics for Slovakia, looking like he belonged against tough competition.
Jimmy Snuggerud
Every NHL fan in the league, whether its for a rooting interest in the Blues or for your fantasy team, should be buying massive amounts of stock in Jimmy Snuggerud this season. The forward will be the Blue to benefit the most from getting additional opportunity, as we've already seen it post-trade deadline last season where he recorded 11 goals and 15 assists in 21 games.
5⃣1⃣ days until Opening Night
— Gopher Game Notes (@GopherGameNotes) August 12, 2026
Jimmy Snuggerud followed a 51-point junior season with the #Gophers in 2024-25 with a 51-point NHL rookie campaign in 2025-26.
Snuggerud became the sixth Gopher to finish top-five in Calder Trophy voting.pic.twitter.com/7qI5Cpd1aj
Snuggerud's 51-point rookie season could already constitute a breakout, but recording 26 of those points over the final 21 games, with a similar opportunity to what he will have over an 82-game sample size this year, could mean massive things for the sophomore forward.
Beware of the sophomore slump, but if projecting this season purely from his 21-game sample after the deadline, the numbers say he could near the 100-point plateau. That benchmark could be a tall ask in just his second year, but even being anywhere near a point-per-game player will have Blues fans thinking big things.
Logan Mailloux
Logan Mailloux may not have had the impact Blues fans had hoped after they acquired him from the Montreal Canadiens, but like Snuggerud, there is reason to believe he will find his niche with the Blues with more opportunity to succeed. After the Faulk trade, Mailloux averaged well over 20 minutes per game in St. Louis, and you can project him to get something similar over 82 games in 2026-27.
Mailloux's defense will need some serious work if he wants to continue getting those big minutes, but even a slight adjustment to put more emphasis on that side of the game will serve him well. Full-time run on the second powerplay unit and more five-on-five minutes should at least give Mailloux enough of a chance to have a slight breakout season.
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