One day after ending the 2025-26 preseason slate, the St. Louis Blues are wasting no time in getting their opening night roster in shape. Today, they sent down five members of the overall roster.
Who got sent down and how does it shape things for the regular season?
Springfield five
Dalibor Dvorsky, Otto Stenberg, Aleksanteri Kaskimaki, Theo Lindstein, and Leo Loof will begin the regular season in Springfield. That leaves only goaltender Colten Ellis and defensemen Logan Mailloux, Hunter Skinner, and Matthew Kessel as part of the "prospect group".
Let us also not forget about Milan Lucic, who is still on his PTO with the Blues.
Surprises?
Stenberg and Dvorsky jump off the page as the big surprises. There was enough time to see what they could do against NHL talent, and for the most part, they had an impact.
Despite netting a goal in the last game of the preseason, Kaskimaki wasn’t able to make more of a lasting effect than that. The same goes for Loof, who did not catch the eye of the Blues front office.
In Lindstein’s case, he did have a solid camp, but with Mailloux and Skinner both playing exceptionally well, he will now excel at the AHL level. Watch for him to possibly make a mid- or end-of-season debut.
It will be interesting to see if the Blues decide to pay up for Lucic. He did show shades of old, but also signs of getting old.
The opening night roster just got a lot clearer, but there are still many more decisions to be made. It is going to be a big week for this team, and what the future holds for them.