The St. Louis Blues have quite the stable of prospects with potential to have a major impact in the NHL. One of those young players, Dalibor Dvorsky, may not be holding up to his draft class peers, but he should still be an important part of the Blues' depth for years to come, including as a power play weapon.
Entering his age 21 season, expectations for Dvorsky, a top-ten pick in 2023, should be on the rise.
Impact in 2025-26
Dvorsky had a modest Calder-eligible season with the Blues. As a rookie, he played in 71 regular season games and was outstanding for Team Slovakia at the 2026 Winter Olympic games in Milan.
For the Blues, Dvorsky averaged 14:20 per night, tallied 12 goals, nine assists, and a total of 21 points; five of those goals came on the power play, and the man advantage is likely to be Dvorsky's bread and butter as he enters his NHL prime. While those scoring totals and minutes are relatively ho-hum for a rookie, everyone has to start somewhere, and Dvorsky did just fine. Not every player steps into the league and moves the needle out of the gate.
Expectations for 2026-27
As a sophomore in the NHL, Dvorsky's got a lot to prove. First and foremost, he has to show he can stick at center as a pro. Even if that's just as a third-line center, having some clarity about what position Dvorsky's going to play long-term will help the Blues' front office figure out how to solve greater needs elsewhere in the lineup. To show he can stick at center, Dvorsky will need to show he's got the defensive chops to handle the responsibility and bump up his faceoff ability-he's 46 percent in the dot for his career, and a depth center will need to do better than that.
If the Blues have any hope of pushing for the playoffs--and making noise once they get there— and making noise once they get there—they'll need their young players to step up. The Blues have enough veterans on the Blues' roster that Dvorsky doesn't need to pop immediately, but he'll need to show he's more than a 20-point forward to be part of the Blues' long-term plan. That clock starts ticking next season. The expectation for 2026-27, then, is that Dvorsky is a reliable third-line forward whose scoring ability contributes to the power play; that's a respectable sophomore season and a stepping stone to bigger and better opportunities.
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