The playoffs may not have gone the way Blues fans hoped, but with exciting young rookies and a new head coach, the Blues are climbing out of the rebuild with the potential to be a dangerous team in the NHL.
After missing out on the playoffs for two years in a row, the Blues managed to sneak their way in this year after a wild regular season. Following an unflattering record of 5-5 through their first ten games, and multiple losing streaks over the months of October and November, the organization knew that a significant change needed to be made. On Nov. 24, the Blues hired Jim Montgomery as their new head coach. Montgomery had a strong resume coming into the organization coaching the Boston Bruins to a historic record of 65-12-5 during the 2022-23 regular season. Though it may have taken longer than fans had expected, Montgomery turned the Blues into a playoff level hockey team, coaching the group through a record of 19-4-2 over their last 25 games.
The playoffs came to a disappointing end the other night, however Blues fans still have a lot to look forward to for the future. As star players like Jordan Kyrou and Robert Thomas are playing some of their best hockey, we are also witnessing the rise of younger players at all positions.
Die-hard Blues fan and Parkway Central student Jack McQueen (10) has been watching the team since he was 12 years old. He spoke about the potential that the new generation of Blues players have.
“I think our young talent is the most promising part right now,” McQueen said. “Even players who aren’t rookies like Jake Neighbors have had really good games recently, and Tyler Tucker, he is a great third pair Defenseman.” 23-year-old forward Jake Neighbors finished the regular season with a career high 46 points.
Neighbors also played a pivotal role during the Blues late season win streak, putting up 15 points over the 12 games.
On the defensive side, Tyler Tucker showed the organization that he is ready to play NHL hockey. Picked in the seventh round of the 2018 draft, Tucker has been shuffled back and forth between the NHL and the minors. This season, Tucker played 38 games with the Blues, where he put up seven points. While his regular season stats are not anything out of the ordinary, the young defenseman put up impressive numbers in the first round of the playoffs before he was injured in game four. If he continues to progress I believe Tucker can secure a full time gig in the NHL within the next couple of seasons.
Though most positions seem to be all set for the future, there are still questions surrounding the most important position: goaltending. Who can forget the historic run Jordan Binnington went on in 2019? The Ontario native kicked off his NHL career with a 3-0 shutout and never looked back, finishing the regular season with a record of 24-5-1, and the rest is history. However, Binnington will be entering next season at 32 years old. Though he is still considered a top 10 goalie in the NHL by most fans, his age raises concern of how much time is left until his game starts to decline. Luckily, the Blues may have the answer. 24-year-old Joel Hofer is currently the backup goalie for the Blues and played in 31 regular season games this year with a save percentage of .904. Following in Binnington’s footsteps will be no easy task, but with a couple more years to develop Hofer could make a name for himself in the NHL.
These three players have already proven their ability to play professional hockey, but there are still plenty of young draft picks working their way up that have the potential to be superstar players. McQueen is excited about some of the up and coming prospects.
“Our young talent like Jimmy Snuggerud has been making good passes, he’s been playing hard, he’s got energy. Dvorsky also shows a lot of promise, he’s a good team leader in the AHL,” McQueen said.
2022 draft pick Jimmy Snuggerud joined the Blues late this season after playing college hockey at the University of Minnesota. Snuggerud ended his college career with 135 points over 119 games. Although he was never able to pick up a championship in college, the young star helped lead team USA to a gold medal at the 2024 IIHF World Juniors Tournament. Recently, Snuggerud performed at a high level in the playoffs and is expected to have a spot on the Blues roster for next season.
Another exciting prospect to look out for is Dalibor Dvorsky. The Slovakian forward was drafted tenth overall in the 2023 draft before being assigned to the OHL to play with the Sudbury Wolves. In Sudbury, Dvorsky dominated, ranking fourth in regular season goals scored (45) and 13th in total points (88). Like Snuggerud, Dvorsky also represented his country at the World Juniors as Captain of team Slovakia. Even though his team only played five games at the tournament, Dvorsky still managed to place first in points per game (1.80). This season, Dvorsky spent most of his time in the minors. However he did make his NHL debut towards the end of the season, where he played in two games for the Blues. Dvorsky is only 19 years old, so it is unlikely that he will be a full time NHL player next year, but give him a couple years to develop as a player and I believe he will earn a spot on the Blues roster in the near future.
Even though the playoffs came to a disappointing end, fans should still be excited and look forward to what the next few years will bring. Who knows? Maybe the Stanley Cup will come home to St. Louis.
