St. Louis Blues: Progress report on top prospects in the 2024-25 Season

The St. Louis Blues are a team that notoriously builds from the draft. Josh Beneteau wrote an article on Sportsnet that provided a list of teams whose drafted players between 2010 and 2019 had played at least 200 NHL games. The Blues rank fourth on that list, having 16 drafted skaters out of 59 play over 200 games, which comes in at just over 27%.

When the team won the Stanley Cup in 2019, the team had 13 homegrown players on the roster, 10 of which played in game seven against the Boston Bruins. Jake Allen, Robert Thomas, and Robby Fabbri, three more homegrown players, were on the roster but did not play in that game. Allen was the backup goalie for game seven, while Thomas and Fabbri were healthy scratches.

Before the 2024-24 NHL season began, Daily Faceoff and Bleacher Report ranked the best prospect pools in the league. The St. Louis Blues ranked 12th and 11th on those lists. Dalibor Dvorský, Jimmy Snuggerud, and Adam Jiříček were the main highlights of those lists. Let us check up on some St. Louis Blues top prospects to see how well they have performed this season.

Jimmy Snuggerud

Probably the Blues' most anticipated prospect, Jimmy Snuggerud, their 2022 first-round pick,went back to university to play his junior season with the University of Minnesota. Snuggerud has been impressive in his first two seasons in university, posting back-to-back 21-goal campaigns.

His production has not dipped this season, with 15 points in 12 games, putting him tied for first on the team and fourth in the NCAA. Coming into the season, some were talking about Snuggerud being able to push for the Hobey Baker Award this season, and if he continues his production, he could put his name into the conversation to win that award.

Dalibor Dvorský

Many were surprised when Dalibor Dvorský fell to the St. Louis Blues at 10th overall in the 2023 NHL draft. Some draft boards had him as high as the third-best forward prospect, but many had him going anywhere from six to 10, and luck enough for the Blues, 10 was the lucky number.

The highly skilled forward spent most of last season with the Sudbury Wolves in the OHL and dominated once he got there. He finished the season with 45 goals and 88 points in 52 games. This season, Dvorský is playing in the AHL for the Blues' affiliate, the Springfield Thunderbirds and has done well.

In 15 games, he has six goals and 11 points, which is highly impressive considering he leads the team in both goals and points. At this pace, it will not be long before we see him in a Blues sweater and potentially be in line for a call-up before the end of the season.

Adam Jiříček

Adam Jiříček was the St. Louis Blues 2024 first-round pick taken at 16th overall. The defenceman spent the last two years playing over in Czechia HC Plzeň, but this year, he will be playing in the OHL for the Brantford Bulldogs.

Scouting reports describe Jiříček as an excellent skater who maneuvers around the blue line at an exceptional level and a great passer. I say that because he started the season injured and has missed a large chunk of the year so far.

He briefly returned to the team and played in four games, but he looks to have gotten hurt again in a game on November 9th. Hopefully, he can get healthy soon, and we can get a peak of the potential the Blues saw in him.

Theo Lindstein

After his eye-popping display at the 2024 IIHF World Juniors Championships, where he picked up eight points in seven games as a defenceman and helped Sweden win a silver medal at the tournament,Theo Lindstein showed Blues the potential he possesses that hopefully can one day be a mainstay on their blue line.

The 2023 first-round pick is playing for Brynäs IF in the Swedish Hockey League (SHL) and has appeared in 16 games this season, contributing four points while playing 12 and half minutes per game. Considering that the SHL is a men's league, Lindstein has played decently well and is contributing to a team which sits third in the SHL standings.