The St. Louis Blues are going to have a very interesting training camp in a few weeks. There are position battles everywhere, a ton of different looks in terms of prospects trying to crack the opening-night roster, and a new era of hockey being instituted by the new General Manager, Alexander Steen, and head coach Jim Montgomery.
One of the most anticipated prospects coming up the farm system is forward Justin Carbonneau. The lone first-round selection of the 2025 NHL Draft lit the Junior Hockey League on fire last season, with an impressive 51 goals and 29 assists for 80 points.
There are two ways that he could potentially make the opening-night roster next season, though it seems unlikely. He may need a little more time in the AHL to smooth things out, and that hinders his NHL timeline a bit. Let's talk about it.
Training camp and preseason
One of the more enlightening things about the training camp sessions prior to the 2025-26 season was Carbonneau. He was attentive, given some extra time after practice from ex-captain Brayden Schenn, and was on his way to potentially being a mid-season call-up should he have stayed within the Blues organization.
Instead, he chose to give it one more go-around in the QMJHL, and it likely benefitted.
Going into his second training camp, the training wheels are now off on this one. The path to the NHL is right in front of him, and it is on Carbonneau to either seize the opportunity or let it pass him by. Another solid set of performances within practice, as well as in the four preseason games, might be enough to earn him a spot on his own.
Steen’s willingness and injuries
But what if Carbonneau cannot get it done on his own? Is there another way onto the opening-night roster if he has a mid-level showing leading up to the season?
That is up to the new head man in charge, Alexander Steen. The new General Manager is pushing this team into this new direction via the youth movement, and that includes Carbonneau. It is not too far-fetched to say that the Blues may have both Adam Jiricek, a highly anticipated defensive prospect, and Carbonneau on the roster very early on in the season.
Much like the situation with Dalibor Dvorsky last season, when Robert Thomas went down with an injury and Jake Neighbours was out for a good bit, No. 54 got the call-up and never went back down. This is the same kind of situation that could happen with Carbonneau, as injuries can speed up his timeline.
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