The St. Louis Blues just announced their 25th captain in franchise history, and it was the perfect choice. Cornerstone center Robert Thomas has been named, and he now brings this organization into its next era.
Alongside Thomas, there is a nice cabinet of alternates by his side to aid his leadership. There will be a rotation of four players wearing the "A" in 2026-27, and they check all of the boxes.
Here they are:
Introducing the leadership team for your 2026-27 St. Louis Blues.
— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) September 2, 2026
Grit, youth, skill, and wisdom
The four alternate captains are Philip Broberg, Colton Parayko, Jake Neighbours, and Dylan Holloway. This group features grit with Neighbours, high skill with Holloway, youth with Broberg, and wisdom from Parayko.
It is also worth noting that the two offer sheets of Broberg and Holloway are now key components of their franchise. It may go down as the best use of that method in NHL history.
Each brings their own particular voice and mindset as a leader of the Blues, and with an influx of prospects and other younger core players making their way to the lineup sheet, they will be heavily relied on. Not only by Thomas, but by head coach Jim Montgomery and General Manager Alexander Steen.
For the 2026-27 season, each of these four will not all wear the patch at the same time, and it will be interesting to see how that is divvied up. But, in terms of the team as a whole, there weren't really any other choices to make in terms of who else could have been a possible selection.
Jimmy Snuggerud and Pavel Buchnevich are the only other players to make sense, but each has their own reasons as to why not. Snuggerud is not ready to fill that kind of role as he enters his sophomore season in the NHL. Buchnevich has been in a serious downward spiral, and his main focus should be on himself, rather than the team as a whole.
A new identity
Going forward, the Blues have a new regime leading the way, and this squad has a new identity. Not to say that the leadership group before was not great, as Brayden Schenn was a great and respectable captain.
Thomas has a great supporting cast underneath him for the future, and the Blues can now just focus on playing hockey. They are not destined to make serious waves in 2026-27, but this recent news and these changes might create a bit of a spark.
As the youth starts to funnel in, these five players are going to be their main point of inspiration and direction. It will be interesting to see how it all works out.
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