3 St. Louis Blues players who surprised fans this season
The St. Louis Blues spent most of 2023-24 as a bubble team mired in inconsistencies, but they also had quite a few players more than exceeded expectations.
Inconsistencies have kept the St. Louis Blues from contending for anything other than a wild card spot in 2023-24, but it’s not all doom and gloom in Gateway City. No, the lineup isn’t what it was even two seasons ago, but this new influx of players has put the beginnings of new life into what should be a better team in 2024-25, or at the latest, 2025-26.
You can even say many cornerstones on this team were disappointing, having put up fewer points than they had in the past, and it reflected in the team’s scoring prowess. Despite the likes of Robert Thomas, Pavel Buchnevich, and Jordan Kyrou all hitting the 60-plus-point mark - and in Thomas’ case, the 85-point mark - either inconsistencies or a small step back helped contribute to another year that the playoffs seemed unlikely.
By no means am I saying that Thomas, Buchnevich, and Kyrou struggled, as they are all also reasons the Blues managed to at least stick around the postseason race for so long. But if they - especially Thomas and Buchnevich - continued scoring consistently, the Vegas Golden Knights may have been the team playing catch up.
Despite no playoffs, the St. Louis Blues gave us some awesome surprises
Thomas, Buchnevich, and Kyrou may finish in the top three in points scored when the regular season ends within the week, but they also had help keeping this team afloat. One of the most surprising players on this team became a goal-scoring machine, and while they aren’t leading the team in goals scored, their performance could foreshadow an incredible breakout year in 2024-25…if you aren’t counting 2023-24 as such.
Another is an older player who also enjoyed a resurgent campaign in the goal-scoring realm, and he doesn’t look to be slowing down any time soon. The third player is not a forward, and they could also figure to be a future franchise cornerstone if they keep playing a sound game.