After losing in game seven of the QMJHL Playoffs, it looks like the St. Louis Blues top prospect is cleared for his NHL-debut in 2026-27. Justin Carbonneau's Junior Hockey team, Blainville-Boisbriand Armada, was knocked out in the second-round in an emotionally charged series.
Carbonneau forced that game seven with a last-second face-off snipe that has gone viral on social media. But, it was all for naught as his team was knocked out.
Now, the time for Carbonneau-mania has arrived, and according to The Athletic, it seems like the fans are ready for it. It is also worth noting that Carbonneau, and fellow top prospect Adam Jiricek will be joining Springfield in the second-round of their playoff series on Wednesday.
Fan survey speaks volumes
Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic reported on the Blues fan survey that came back with thousands of responces. When asked if fans were ready for Carbonneau to make the leap to the 2026-27 Blues roster, instead of taking more time, the answer was definitive.
74% of fans believe that the 2025 first-round pick is ready to make the jump, and they are 100% right.
This kid had one of the best training camps of all who attended before the 2025-26 season. He was one of the last cuts, and it worked out beautifully as he put up another stellar season in the QMJHL. In 60 games, he had 51 goals and 80 points.
For next season, the Blues are going to need some scoring help, and Carbonneau is a quick and easy solution to that problem. No, he is not going to immediately score 51 goals at the NHL-level, but if he is any bit of the same caliber player as Jimmy Snuggerud is, Carbonneau can be a 20+ goal scorer in his rookie season. Easy.
The Blues also have two draft selections in the top-15 of this upcoming draft, and can help supplement their prospect pipeline even further. It would not be the worst thing to accelerate Carbonneau's NHL emergence a little bit.
This upcoming training camp prior to the 2026-27 season is going to really paint the whole picture. If he can repeat what he did a season ago, listening to the veteran group and head coach Jim Montgomery, there should be no reason to not have him out there on opening night.
The only question should be, does he bring over his No. 8 from Blainville-Boisbriand?
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