The St. Louis Blues were vocal coming into this season and going into the trade deadline that they were not willing to mortgage the future in an attempt to make the playoffs. With 13 games left in the season, the Blues sit in a tie for the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference. While fans were always hopeful this team would make the playoffs, it looked like the Blues were maybe a couple of pieces away from being legitimate Stanley Cup contenders.
Barring any offseason trades, only Radek Faksa and Ryan Suter will become unrestricted free agents at the end of the season. Faksa likely will not be back next season as the team will likely want to use his three-million-dollar cap hit to sign pending restricted free agent Joel Hofer. Suter, meanwhile, could return, as he remains a reliable veteran on the blue line, playing 20 minutes per game at the young age of 40. With the potential of Torey Krug returning next season, the Blues will likely not have much cap space to make any big signings in the offseason. With that being said, given the Blues' strong drafting in recent years, their most impactful addition might come from within the organization. Let us see which Blues prospects are the closest to playing in the NHL next season.
1. Dalibor Dvorský
Dalibor Dvorský is probably the Blues's most talked-about prospect since Robert Thomas and Jordan Kyrou. Dvorský has had himself a heck of a season. In his first season playing pro hockey in North America for the Springfield Thunderbirds in the AHL, Dvorský has amassed 19 goals and 41 points in 55 games. Those numbers slot him in third on the team in points, behind long-time AHLers Matthew Peca and Matt Luff. Dvorský was the sole Springfield Thunderbirds selected to play in the AHL all-star game, in which he led the Atlantic Division team in scoring en route to losing in the championship game. Dvorský continued to shine at this year's World Junior Championship, recording 9 points in 5 games, good for third in tournament scoring, despite playing two fewer games than most top scorers due to Slovakia's Quarterfinal exit. With an entire season of AHL hockey under his belt, Dvorský seems like a sure bet to start with the Blues next season.
2. Jimmy Snuggerud
Over the past three seasons, Jimmy Snuggerud has been among the top collegiate players in the NCAA while playing for the University of Minnesota. The 2022 23rd overall pick by the St. Louis Blues has been outstanding this season, putting up 22 goals and 49 points in 39 games, which leads the team in scoring by a large margin. Snuggerud sits second in the Big 10 conference in scoring and earned a spot on the ALL-B1G First Team. With his 49 points, Snuggerud is tied for fourth in NCAA scoring, earning him a place on the ten-man shortlist for the 2025 Hobey Baker Memorial Award. The award honours the top collegiate player in the United States. Snuggerud could still add to his University of Minnesota legacy with the 2025 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Regionals set to start at the end of March. The Blues still need to sign Snuggerud after the NCAA season, but once they do, he could likely play alongside Dvorský with the team next season. The prospect of having a third line featuring Snuggerud, Dvorský, and Zach Bolduc is something Blues fans should be excited about.
3. Theo Lindstein
The St. Louis Blues have a couple of blueline prospects in their pipeline, but the most pro-ready defenceman might be Theo Lindstein. Lindstein, a 2023 first-round pick, has been playing in the SHL for the first-place Brynäs IF. Lindstein is a regular in their lineup, playing 44 out of 52 games. Lindstein production was not out of this world this season, posting 9 points while playing 13 minutes a night, mainly on their bottom defensive pairing. However, playing in a men's league during your 19/20-year-old season is still impressive. Lindstein represented Team Sweden at this year's Lindstein and helped the team go undefeated in group play before being upset by Finland in the semi-final and Czechia in the bronze medal game. Lindstein finished the tournament with 4 points in 7 games while ranking third on his team in average ice time, logging 22 minutes per game. Depending on Krug's health and if the Blues resign Suter, Lindstein will likely start next season in the AHL but do not be surprised if he gets a call-up at some point in the season.