Top Prospect Dvorsky Shining in Springfield

The 19 year old 2023 draft pick by the Blues has 11 goals and 10 assists for 21 points in 27 games with the Blues' AHL affiliate in Springfield this season

Switzerland v Slovakia: Group B - 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship
Switzerland v Slovakia: Group B - 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship | Minas Panagiotakis/GettyImages

As the St. Louis Blues fight their way to a potential wild card playoff spot, some eyes look elsewhere in Ottawa for this year's IIHF World Juniors, where one Blues prospect is making his mark for team Slovakia.

19-year-old Dalibor Dvorsky, a 2023 1st-round selection by the Blues in last year's Draft, has done well playing his regular season hockey with St. Louis' AHL affiliate in Springfield, totaling 11 goals and 10 assists for 21 points in 27 games. Internationally, Dvorsky competes in his 2nd World Juniors tournament, captaining team Slovakia. He's only played in 3 games, but this year's tournament is still in the very early stages, as the quarterfinals are yet to be determined. So what does this all mean if Dvorsky wants a spot on the Blues' roster next season?

The first key is proper development. The Blues have many talented young players, such as Pavel Buchnevich, Robert Thomas, and Jordan Kyrou, Jake Neighbours and Zach Bolduc are two more youngsters who compete with those other three for their own playing time. It would seem adding Dvorsky to the mix might jam things up a little. Luckily, the Blues have the perfect counter, cutting loose some of their aging players in Brandon Saad, Alex Texier, Radek Faksa, and Oskar Sundqvist. Of those four, Saad is the most likely cutting candidate, seeing as how he's missed time recently being on the injured list. Getting Dvorsky integrated is as of now more of a priority for the Blues than fighting for a postseason spot, which is looking less likely.

Developing the youth is a top priority for the Blues considering how they messed up the development of Bolduc in 2023/24. It's not like he was a bad player when he made his NHL debut last February, albeit with less than 10 minutes of total ice time. It was the fact that bringing Bolduc up from the AHL to the NHL was too swift, leading to his mediocre play for the remainder of last season. Bolduc finished the 25 NHL games he played in with an average of just 12 minutes of ice time per game, and a median of 11 minutes per game. He also registered less than 10 minutes of ice time on eight different occasions, the last on March 23 against the Minnesota Wild with less than 6 total minutes played.

It is worth mentioning the Blues still had former head coach Drew Bannister at the time and not current bench boss David Montgomery, but still- not the best consistent outing even for a young professional. If the Blues decide to promote Dvorsky to the NHL, it must come with the assurance that he receives top-six minutes and power-play time. Additionally, assistance and mentorship from players like Kyrou and Dylan Holloway will help pave out Dvorsky's weaknesses. Holloway could also lend strength to Dvorsky, which would make a rather nice duo. At current estimates, the 19-year-old Slovak could make his NHL debut right around the same time Bolduc did, and hopefully with some better first-game stats.

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