The St. Louis Blues did not have to wait long to see two of their top forward prospects added to the roster. This past weekend, the team recalled both Aleksanteri Kaskimaki and Otto Stenberg from the Springfield Thunderbirds with plans to have both play alongside Pius Suter on the fourth line.
Neither player will be arriving as a stranger to the locker room or to the fanbase with each player suiting up in the NHL during the 2025-26 season. However, with both appearing in six games in the AHL this season, they have quickly started to answer questions about their 2025-26 play that fans may have left fans skeptical.
Kaskimaki flying under the radar
Kaskimäki’s five games in St. Louis last season ended without him noting a point on the scoreboard and a minus-6 rating. He went 0 for 6 on shots on goal. However, those six shots came in just 52 minutes. The Blues scored once and allowed seven goals with him on the ice with the goaltenders stopping only 69.6 percent of the shots he was on the ice for. And yet, nearly two-thirds of his shifts began in the offensive zone. The coaching staff has shown signs of trust to the young winger, despite finding success. Unfortunately, Kaskimaki was unable to provide any return from the offensive zone time he was given.
This season, Kaskimaki is averaging 20 minutes per game, has scored twice, and added five assists, while putting 13 of his 20 shot attempts on goal. Not only has he played well offensively, but he is also performed well on the penalty-kill with 8:15 TOI logged over those six games.
Stenberg’s bigger resume with a few red flags
Stenberg brings a much larger sample to the table this season with 32 NHL games under his belt, three goals and seven assists, which would project to around 25-27 points over an 84-game schedule. His 9.7 percent shooting rate looked, and he did it against some tough assignments, with 56.7 percent of his shifts starting in the defensive zone. The Swede wasn’t shy about playing the body either as he added 49 hits and 15 blocked shots as well.
As good as that sounds, there were a couple of warning signs. The Blues controlled just 44.8 percent of the shot attempts with him on the ice, 2.6 points worse than when he was on the bench. The Blues goaltenders stopped 93.7 percent of the shots he faced, and that was maybe a little lucky, pushing his PDO to 102.9.
In his season opener with Springfield, the Thunderbirds controlled just 23 percent of the shot attempts while Stenberg was on the ice. However, by games five and six of the season that number climbed to 64 percent. He is finding ways to control the game and using his vision and two-way style to help put his team in positions to win the game.
What to expect
Both players have averaged over 18 minutes a game in the AHL this season, but fourth-line minutes in St. Louis could have them hovering somewhere between 10 and 12. They won’t have much time to make an impression. However, should the Blues falter agains the Jets (4-2-2), either player has the capability to sneak up to the third line without missing a beat.
The Blues should find themselves not only with responsible two-way players on their fourth-line, but players who can continue to control the pace of the game and help to roll four very dangerous lines capable of changing the narrative of the game with a single shift. The injuries to the Blues depth has provided them with an opportunity, they just need to seize it.
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