This has not been the sort of season the St. Louis Blues were hoping it would be. They sit last in the Central Division with a 19-24-8 record, and 10 points out of a wildcard spot. With the Olympics and trade deadline approaching, this may be it for the current iteration of the club.
There are bright spots in a lost season, though, and one of them has been 20-year old Dalibor Dvorsky. Dvorsky didn't make the Blues out of camp but, due to injury and poor play elsewhere on the roster, he was called up and hasn't looked back. The scoring, on its surface, doesn't stand out: 8 goals, four assists, and 12 points in 41 games. Dig a little deeper, however, and one thing becomes clear: Dvorsky has become a key cog on the Blues' otherwise lackluster power play.
For the season, seven of Dvorsky's 12 points (five goals, two assists) have come on the man advantage. The Blues' power play is 23rd in the league, operating at a mediocre 16.9 percent, but Dvorsky now has power play points (a goal and an assist) in consecutive games. It's clear that he's becoming one of the primary contributors on the Blues' top unit, and it's a good sign for his development.
Dvorsky may not be getting prime minutes at even strength, averaging 14:14 a night, but that sheltered third-line role allows him to feast on the power play. If he can keep scoring when the Blues are up a man, it should be no time before he's playing up the lineup, too.