Blues prospect report, Buchelnikov and Korotky leading early

While the NHL and AHL sides of the St. Louis Blues system are still in camp, the rest of the pipeline is already underway and into their regular season.

This is the first prospect report of the year and a check-in for those who are currently in regular season action overseas and in junior leagues through Sept. 20. Let's check in and see who is already producing early in their respective leagues.

The scoring leaders

Dmitri Buchelnikov, LW - CSKA Moskva (KHL)
Buchelnikov has the best offensive start in the group early in the season. As one of the top right wing prospects in the system, he has three goals, two of them coming on the power play, the 23-year-old is tied for the team lead in goals scored through six KHL games. This is the version of the winger that the Blues traded for at the deadline. The small (5'10", 170 lbs), slippery winger who can create well.

This past week was quieter for him. In two CSKA wins, he had seven shots and a plus-one rating with no points. The shot volume is the encouraging part of his game. The finishing will come, but the KHL is a difficult league to score in. What matters is that CSKA is giving him roughly 13:20 per game to find the back of the net.

Matvei Korotky, C - SKA St. Petersburg (KHL) / SKA-VMF (VHL)
Korotky is tied with Buchelnikov with three points; two of them he earned this week in the second-tier Russian league, the VHL, where he played. While he played exclusively in the KHL last season, he was sent to the VHL strictly as a way to get ice time and keep his skills sharpened.

Korotky needs to continue working on his skating and overall game, and SKA is working to give their center the best development path possible, regardless if that is in the KHL in a bottom-six role or in the VHL in a top-line role.

Players on the board

Lars Steiner, RW - HC Davos (National League)
The 2026 sixth-rounder is back in his hometown league after two QMJHL seasons in Rouyn-Noranda. He is already off and running with a goal in the National League, but has found some inconsistency in his ice time. One game he will be getting over 15 minutes; the next, between one and five minutes of total ice time.

This is not an unusual struggle for young players in the NL with a bit of an undefined role, but still leaves fans wanting more. The plus-two rating and goal are encouraging, at least.

Ondrej Kos, RW - Ilves (Liiga)
After suffering a concussion ahead of the 2025-26 season, Kos is doing what he needs to do by staying in the lineup and getting pucks on net. With 11 shots on net through five games, he's finding time and space on the ice, but not seeing the production just yet. Ilves won both of their games this past week, and Kos still managed 12-13 minutes per game. He has had a fine start to the season, just not one that jumps off the page offensively.

Mikhail Fyodorov, RW/LW - Metallurg Magnitogorsk (KHL)
Seven games played already in the KHL this season; he has the most games played of any player at this point in the young season. He has one assist with 12 shots on goal while managing a bottom-six role, averaging anywhere from 12-16 minutes of time on ice each game.

OHL openers

The Ontario hockey league has barely turned the lights on, let alone give players the chance to put up any real numbers.

Colin Fitzgerald, C - Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds

The Blues' 2026 7th-round pick grabbed an assist on the 4-3 loss to the Sarnia Sting, while managing six shots on goal in two games. The 6-foot-2, 212-pound center already has natural size and should look to build off of his nine goals and 20 points in 39 games with the Greyhounds last season.

Nick Bogas, D - Flint Firebirds
In the lone game of his young season, Bogas grabbed an assist and two penalty minutes in a 5-4 win. The 2026 fifth-round defenseman is playing in his lone OHL season after committing to Michigan State University for the 2027-28 season. Bogas will not be a player who puts up points, but will find himself more on the defensive side of the game throughout his playing career.

Carter Stevens, C - Guelph Storm
St. Louis' second fifth-round pick of the 2026 NHL Entry Draft, Stevens is still searching to find his first point of the season. He took seven penalty minutes, finished with a minus-two rating, and still put six shots on net. He scored 20 goals a season ago and should rebound just fine this season.

In the crease

Marcus Gidlof, G - Leksands IF (HockeyAllsvenskan)
Gidlof's only start of the season was also his first victory of the 2026-27 season. He squared off against Love Harenstam and Sodertalje At 6-foot-8, Gidlof has the frame of a towering goaltending prospect. He will look to help his team work their way back to the SHL after relegation this past season.

Love Harenstam, G Sodertalje SK
After two starts this season, Harenstam has stopped 41 of 45 shots on goal for a .911 save percentage. Last season, he was a workhorse in the second-tier Swedish league and will look once again to prove it was not a fluke. Year two will be the time to see if he can repeat his .920 save percentage.

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