51����

While the Vegas Golden Knights were busy Monday acquiring superstar winger Mitch Marner, the Blues stayed focused on their development camp at Centene Community Ice Center in Maryland Heights.

Nevada has no state income tax, so the Golden Knights have a leg up on rivals when bidding for top talent. The same goes for the Dallas Stars, who secured Mikko Rantanen with a similar move in-season, and the Florida Panthers, who signed Sam Bannett, Aaron Ekblad and Brad Marchand to new deals after winning the Stanley Cup.

Meanwhile, the Blues keep looking to improve through internal development and opportunistic additions.

Fortunately, they have done an excellent job on both fronts during general manager Doug Armstrong’s tenure.

“We believe that for us to be competitive year in and year out and have a chance to win a championship, it has to come with draft, development and then input a difference maker at the end, (rather) than to go out and try to find a difference maker every year to push you over,” Armstrong noted.

In order words, they can’t operate like the Vegas Golden Knights.

“The draft is less important to those non-state tax teams that are in win-now mode because there is not one player on any one of those teams cares what their management does at the draft or who they draft,” Armstrong said. “They would love to see that pick get traded for a player who can help them tomorrow.”

And as for the elite free agents, they aren’t drawn to the STL by the Arch and toasted ravioli.

“There’s a hierarchy of where players want to play in the league,” Armstrong said. “This is me, if I’m a player, Original Six means something to me. Then no state tax is a financial incentive to go there.”

If the Blues can operate with peak efficiency and build another Stanley Cup contender, then perhaps they can move atop the third tier of NHL franchises in the eyes of star players.

To get there the Blues will need Dalibor Dvorsky to blossom into a top-six forward after arriving as the 10th��overall pick in the 2023 NHL draft. They will need rangy Adam Jiricek to grow into a top-four defensive role after coming aboard as the 16th��overall pick last year.

They will need this year’s top pick, Justin Carbonneau, to realize his potential as a scoring line power forward after arriving as the 19th��overall pick. That process started with his orientation at this week's development camp.

On Armstrong’s GM watch, the Blues secured the following players in the back half of the first round: Robert Thomas, Tage Thompson, Jake Neighbours, Robby Fabbri, Zack Bolduc and Jimmy Snuggerud.

Bolduc’s breakout this past season allowed the Blues to deal him to the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday for promising defenseman Logan Mailloux, the 31st overall pick in 2021, to add much-needed youth to their blue line.

The team hopes that forward Otto Stenberg, defenseman Theo Lindstein and Carbonneau will follow the example of Thomas, Thompson, et al.

In the second round, the Blues have found success with selections like Jordan Kyrou, Vince Dunn, Ivan Barbashev and Joel Edmundson. They hope defensemen Colin Ralph and Lukas Fischer, two 2024 draft picks, can pan out as well.

In the third round or later, the Blues landed Jordan Binnington, Colton Parayko, Niko Mikkola, Jake Walman, Alexey Toropchenko, Joel Hofer, Tyler Tucker, Ville Husso, Sammy Blais and Matt Kessel.

Heady Aleksanteri Kaskimaki, a third-round pick in 2022, could fill in as a bottom-six winger this season. At this development camp, defenseman Quinton Burns and forwards Jakub Stancl and Juraj Pekarcik are middle-round 2023 picks looking to make an impression while forwards Ondrej Kos, Adam Jecho and Tomas Mrsic are on hand from the middle of the 2024 class.

The Blues have also made good use of their draft capital to gain help from the outside. The low net cost for acquiring defenseman Philip Broberg and Dylan Holloway from the Edmonton Oilers via free-agent offer sheets was a second-round pick, two third-round picks and defensive prospect Paul Fischer, a fifth-round pick in 2023.

We’re not sure the Blues could ever top that heist via the offer-sheet route. Going forward, NHL GMs will do a better job of protecting themselves from such raids

But the Blues must continue using their precious draft capital wisely, as they did to acquire current players like Brayden Schenn, Cam Fowler and Pavel Buchnevich and former standouts like Ryan O’Reilly and Jay Bouwmeester.

Nothing materialized ahead of this summer’s draft, when several teams offered a first-round pick while shopping for depth at center. The Blues had plenty of company in their quest.

Armstrong remained on the prowl for value additions, which is why he signed sturdy veteran center Nick Bjugstad on Tuesday to replace free agent Radek Faksa.

“What we’re going to continue to do is grow with the team from last year to next year,” Armstrong said. “We’re not looking to bring in core pieces to take over our team.”

They’ll leave that sort of shopping to the Golden Knights.

Jeff Gordon

Tipsheet: Aggressive Golden Knights strike again, win Marner sweepstakes

• Jeff Gordon | Post-Dispatch

Jeff Gordon

Tipsheet: Blues earn analysts' praise for landing Carbonneau in NHL Draft

• Jeff Gordon | Post-Dispatch

Jeff Gordon

Tipsheet: While Armstrong waits for his opportunity, other NHL GMs deal

• Jeff Gordon | Post-Dispatch

The Blues will have a slightly different look on their third and fourth lines after some shuffling on the first day of NHL free agency.

51���� signed veteran center Nick Bjugstad to a two-year contract with a $1.75 million cap hit but also lost Radek Faksa in free agency (he signed a three-year contract worth $2 million annually back in Dallas) and Zack Bolduc in a trade with the Canadiens. It left the Blues without the No. 2 center they would have coveted this summer to deepen the lineup and questioned whether 51���� could ice three scoring lines as currently constructed.

“We still have the ability to stay in the market,” Blues general manager Doug Armstrong said. “As I said, there’s a number of teams looking for certain players. Players dictate where they want to play also. We haven’t been involved in some of the things that we want to be involved, but we’re OK with that. We’re still in the growing process. I’m not sure our time was right to go put all the chips in the middle right now. I think we’re still growing. I’m excited about that under-25 group, and we’ll continue to push and see if we can get better.”

The Blues were rumored to be interested in Mikael Granlund before free agency, but he signed a three-year contract with the Ducks carrying a $7 million cap hit. Christian Dvorak signed a one-year deal in Philadelphia worth $5.4 million. Pius Suter and Jack Roslovic had not signed by Tuesday evening.

As it stands now, the Blues will have Robert Thomas, Brayden Schenn, Oskar Sundqvist and Bjugstad available to play center. Pavel Buchnevich, Jordan Kyrou, Jimmy Snuggerud and Dylan Holloway are penciled in as top-six forwards. That leaves Jake Neighbours, Alexey Toropchenko, Nathan Walker, Mathieu Joseph and Alexandre Texier to fill out the bottom two lines. Dalibor Dvorsky is also expected to challenge for a roster spot.

But when Armstrong and the Blues assessed their strengths and weaknesses, they found a lot of NHL-caliber wingers. They used Bolduc to land a 22-year-old, right-handed defenseman in Logan Mailloux.

“We went back and forth,” Armstrong said. “The question was: Where’s our surplus? Where are we the deepest? It was on the wing. If we don’t get involved in something like this, when’s the next player like this going to be available?”

Bolduc was picked by the Blues in the first round of the 2021 draft and played 97 NHL games for 51����. Last season, he scored all 19 of his goals after Jim Montgomery took over behind the bench. His six power-play goals after the 4 Nations Face-Off break were tied for the fourth-most in the league.

In trading a homegrown talent to fill a need, Armstrong made sure to point out that the Blues “can’t do this trade” unless the amateur scouting staff does its job of finding good players.

“If we didn’t have Snuggerud, if we didn’t have Bolduc, if we didn’t have Neighbours, if you’re not hitting on those picks, you’re not involved in trades like this,” Armstrong said. “It’s a bittersweet day because of having to trade Zack, how he’s grown with us, how we drafted him, he’s been at these camps that we’re at right now. We’ve watched him grow. He went to the American League, he came up here and then he’s played really good hockey. I think he’s going to do great in Montreal. I don’t want to speak for him, (but) I hope that going home lessens the blow a little bit.”

The Blues were engaged in talks with Faksa, but he ultimately chose to return to Dallas on a longer and more expensive deal than the one Bjugstad signed with the Blues. The Stars traded Faksa to 51���� last summer for future considerations.

“We talked to Faksa’s agent,” Armstrong said. “After a number of years, you get a feeling when something is going to work or not going to work. We talked last night, and I got a sense that we should start looking other places.”

Bjugstad, who turns 33 on July 17, comes to the Blues after posting eight goals and 11 assists with Utah last season. He is one season removed from putting up 45 points with Arizona in 2023-24. Bjugstad is listed at 6-foot-6 and was originally a first-round pick by the Panthers in 2010.

“I talked to him about coming to 51����. I said, ‘We have a good veteran core, and young players pushing,’” Armstrong said. “It’s probably a little bit like the situation he was in. I said, ‘We’re going to need you to come in and be a good leader, but more importantly, you have to lead by your good play.’ We think he still has good hockey left in him.”

Bjugstad and Sundqvist figure to be the third- and fourth-line centers in some order, though both players can also play right wing.

51���� Blues

Might the Blues wait for the free agency frenzy to pass when the market opens Tuesday morning?

• Matthew DeFranks | Post-Dispatch

51���� Blues

Blues prospect Adam Jiricek eyes healthy season after injury-marred campaign in 2024-25

• Matthew DeFranks | Post-Dispatch

51���� Blues

Development camp is first chance to see Blues first-rounder Justin Carbonneau on the ice

• Matthew DeFranks | Post-Dispatch

In trading for defenseman Logan Mailloux, Blues general manager Doug Armstrong believes the organization has filled a void “in our group today and tomorrow.”

The Blues traded forward Zack Bolduc to Montreal in exchange for Mailloux, a 22-year-old right-hander who 51���� has pegged as a top-four defenseman in the future, on Tuesday morning before free agency opened around the NHL. Like Bolduc, Mailloux was a first-round pick in 2021. Unlike Bolduc (97 NHL games), Mailloux (eight NHL games) has limited experience at the highest level.

“When you make a trade like this, it’s an old-fashioned hockey trade,” Armstrong said. “It was very difficult to include Bolduc in any deal, including this one. But when I look at our depth on the wing right now, if you go with (Jimmy) Snuggerud and (Jordan) Kyrou and then you go on the other side with (Pavel) Buchnevich and (Dylan) Holloway, it seemed like an area of strength of ours.”

The Canadiens, meanwhile, just acquired the right-handed Noah Dobson from the Islanders and have prospect David Reinbacher (No. 5 pick in 2023) in the pipeline on the right side, making Mailloux expendable.

Mailloux, listed at 6-foot-3 and 213 pounds, spent most of the past two years with AHL affiliate Laval, piling up 80 points in 135 games. He was named an AHL All-Star twice and was on the AHL All-Prospect team this season. The All-Prospects team is voted on by AHL GMs and includes the players projected to be the best NHLers. Blues prospect Dalibor Dvorsky was also on the team.

While most of Mailloux’s time in professional hockey has come in the minors, Armstrong said the Blues consider him “NHL-ready now.”

“I talked to him, I told him he’ll have the opportunity to have a job now,” Armstrong said. “It’s his job to come into camp and keep it.”

Mailloux: “It’s pretty nice, to be honest. I think they’re giving me a chance here, trading for me. I think they gave up a good prospect, a good player. I think I’m NHL-ready as well. I think I’m ready to make that jump full time. Hopefully, come in here and be able to contribute to some wins and some success next year.”

Mailloux will be in the NHL next season, it seems, but his acquisition is more about the future of the Blues.

A year ago, the club’s flow of young defensemen was stagnant. But the team used its first three picks in the 2024 draft on defensemen (Adam Jiricek, Colin Ralph and Lukas Fischer), then successfully offer-sheeted Philip Broberg (currently 24 years old) and now has traded for the 22-year-old Mailloux. Add in 2023 first-round pick Theo Lindstein and the Blues have now built the next wave of defensemen to support a blue line that currently features four players in their 30s.

“(We feel) much better than we did a year ago,” Armstrong said. “Getting Broberg last year, 6-3. Getting Mailloux now, 6-3. Adding the three guys we drafted last year, it’s balanced. We have a young centerman, Dvorsky. Now, can we add more young centermen? Sure. Can we add another young goalie? Sure. But that doesn’t happen overnight. I think we’ve been able to revamp the outlook of our D from a year ago to today just with the additions of Broberg and Mailloux.”

Mailloux said his overall game has improved in the two years in the AHL, a big step from being “raw” when he entered the league, he said.

“I think it was my play on both sides of the puck this year,” Mailloux said. “I think that’s one of the areas that I made a step compared to my first year. I think I was playing more of a complete game, being physical and trying to provide some offense when I can. Just being able to be out there and be a reliable player.”

As it stands now, the Blues have a crowded blue line again. Mailloux, Broberg, Cam Fowler, Colton Parayko, Justin Faulk, Nick Leddy, Tyler Tucker and Matthew Kessel are all expected to be on the NHL roster. Only six can be in the lineup, and only two of them can run power-play units (Fowler, Faulk and Mailloux all possess that quality).

Asked how the Blues would look at the logjam on defense, Armstrong replied succinctly: “We’ll look at it.”

Mailloux became a controversial figure at the 2021 draft when he asked teams not to draft him following a pair of charges in Sweden relating to taking and sharing a photo of a woman during sex, for which he paid fines. The incident happened in November 2020, when Mailloux was playing in Sweden as the OHL shuttered due to COVID-19.

Montreal still selected him anyway at No. 31, and Mailloux was suspended for four months when he returned to the OHL with London the following season.

Armstrong was asked whether Mailloux was on the Blues’ radar in 2021, and he replied “there was a request by the player not to be drafted, so we didn’t take him with our pick and then Montreal did.” The Blues ended up taking Bolduc instead.

“He’s a young man, and he made a mistake,” Armstrong said. “Obviously, we’ve done our research on that. We’ve followed his career since then. The league has obviously done their due diligence and allowed him in to the league. We understand what he did. We also understand that everyone makes mistakes, and he’s paid for it. He’ll continue to pay for it, and we’ll continue to work with him.”

Mailloux was asked Tuesday whether he’d put the situation behind him.

“To be honest with you, I think it’s something that it’s not just in the rear view for me,” Mailloux said. “I think it’s something that I’ve carried with me every day. It’s something that I want to be able to make a positive impact.

“I think when I dealt with all of that, in the past few years, I’ve felt I’ve grown a lot, as a person, off the ice. I’ve been around the community in Montreal, and like I said, I look forward to getting to 51���� and being able to make a positive impact around the community there. Just turning my whole situation, which was a negative situation, being able to turn that into a positive is something I’ve really tried to do.”

Jeff Gordon

Tipsheet: Blues earn analysts' praise for landing Carbonneau in NHL Draft

• Jeff Gordon | Post-Dispatch

51���� Blues

Might the Blues wait for the free agency frenzy to pass when the market opens Tuesday morning?

• Matthew DeFranks | Post-Dispatch

51���� Blues

Blues prospect Adam Jiricek eyes healthy season after injury-marred campaign in 2024-25

• Matthew DeFranks | Post-Dispatch

The Blues added size and depth down the middle of their roster by signing veteran Nick Bjugstad to a two-year contract with a $1.75 million cap hit on Tuesday afternoon.

Bjugstad had eight goals and 11 assists in 66 games for Utah last season, but was just one season removed from a 45-point season with Arizona in 2023-24. Bjugstad turns 33 on July 17 and was originally a first-round pick of the Panthers in 2010.

Last season, the right-handed Bjugstad averaged 12:19 of ice time and did not play on the power play or the penalty kill. Bjugstad is listed at 6-5 and 205 pounds.

With Bjugstad signed, the Blues appear to have their four centers aligned for the start of the NHL season: Robert Thomas, Brayden Schenn, Oskar Sundqvist and Bjugstad.

Blues free agent center Radek Faksa hit the open market on Tuesday.

Blues trade forward Zack Bolduc to Montreal for defenseman Logan Mailloux

Mailloux is entering his third season of professional hockey after spending most of the previous two in the AHL with Laval.��

Might the Blues wait for the free agency frenzy to pass when the market opens Tuesday morning?

One thing Armstrong has made clear in conversations with reportersis that the Blues will not sacrifice the long-term plan for a temporary stopgap option.

Blues prospect Adam Jiricek eyes healthy season after injury-marred campaign in 2024-25

Jiricek, the Blues’ first-round pick in 2024, was limited to just 27 games with Brantford in the OHL last season due to injuries.

The Blues found a young, right-handed defenseman, acquiring Logan Mailloux from Montreal in exchange for Zack Bolduc on Tuesday morning.

Mailloux is entering his third season of professional hockey after spending most of the previous two in the AHL with Laval. Mailloux has appeared in eight career NHL games with two goals and three assists. In the AHL, Mailloux has 80 points in 135 games.

Mailloux, 22, was taken with the 31st pick in the 2021 draft. He is listed at 6-3 and 213 pounds.

Bolduc, 22, departs 51���� after appearing in 97 games for the Blues, scoring 24 goals and assisting on another 21. He was the 17th pick in the 2021. Last season, Bolduc took off under new coach Jim Montgomery, scoring all 19 goals after Montgomery went behind the bench.

Mailloux was a controversial draft pick of the Canadiens in 2021 after he was charged in Sweden with two counts related to taking and sharing a photo of a woman during a sexual act. The incident occurred in Nov. 2020 when Mailloux was playing for SK Lejon while the Ontario Hockey League shuttered due to COVID-19.

Before the draft, Mailloux asked teams not to draft him, but Montreal did so with the 31st pick. Mailloux returned to play in the OHL the following season, but was suspended for four months before rejoining the London Knights.

Tipsheet: Aggressive Golden Knights strike again, win Marner sweepstakes

Once again the Vegas Golden Knights outmaneuvered the rest of the NHL, this time to secure playmaking winger Mitch Marner.

Might the Blues wait for the free agency frenzy to pass when the market opens Tuesday morning?

One thing Armstrong has made clear in conversations with reportersis that the Blues will not sacrifice the long-term plan for a temporary stopgap option.

Blues prospect Adam Jiricek eyes healthy season after injury-marred campaign in 2024-25

Jiricek, the Blues’ first-round pick in 2024, was limited to just 27 games with Brantford in the OHL last season due to injuries.

Doug Armstrong expects fireworks around the league on Tuesday when free agency opens at 11 a.m. But will the Blues be involved in the fracas?

Maybe not as the NHL adjusts to the newly liberated salary cap, potentially resulting in inflated deals handed out to the top unrestricted free agents on the market.

“If you want to get a free agent and you go through the analytics and you chart out what the guy’s going to make, probably add 20% and another year, and that gets you in the conversation for him to say no to you,” Armstrong said. “But if you don’t get to that, you have no chance to get in the conversation.

“I do believe that July 1 is going to be a fireworks day. There could potentially be some really good value players (available) July 15. I’m not saying we’re not going to be active on July 1, talking, finding out who’s there, what it is. But I can see the headlines now ‘Wow, they overpaid for him.’ If we’re active July 1, that’s what I think will be written because that’s what gets you in the game.”

The Blues have had a quiet offseason so far. They re-signed backup goaltender Joel Hofer to a two-year contract. They used one of their three draft picks on winger Justin Carbonneau. But that’s been all 51���� has been able to execute so far.

The needs for the Blues are clear. They could use a second-line center to fill a role immediately, lengthening the Blues to a three-line team with Robert Thomas and Brayden Schenn also down the middle while also giving Dalibor Dvorsky more time to develop. They could use a young right-handed top-four defenseman to populate the roster as the rest of the defense ages into their mid-30s.

One thing Armstrong has made clear in conversations with reporters across the last week is that the Blues will not sacrifice the long-term plan — building around players in their early 20s — for a temporary stopgap option.

“We’re going to have growth inside,” Armstrong said. “I did talk about our wings. We’re very strong on the wing right now. I talked about we’re one of 27 teams that would love to find a second-line center. That’s just the reality of it. I don’t know if we can. You’ve seen, since we last talked, these guys are signing with their own teams. Everyone is finding a way. You have to be prepared to react to what’s available on July 1.

“If we make a trade, it will be one (that is) an apple for an apple. Because we’re going to trade someone (in a position) that we may have a surplus for someone in an area that we need in the same age group. I don’t want, like we talked whenever we talked last, is moving a younger player for an older player for a short-term fix. That isn’t where we’re at in our maturation.”

The center options on the open market are limited. Matt Duchene (Dallas), Sam Bennett (Florida), John Tavares (Toronto), Claude Giroux (Ottawa) and Ryan Donato (Chicago) all re-signed with their respective teams before hitting free agency. Mikael Granlund (66 points in 83 games), Pius Suter (46 points in 81 games), Jack Roslovic (39 points in 81 games) and Christian Dvorak (33 points in 82 games) are the only centers on the UFA market with at least 30 points last season.

After signing Hofer to a contract with a $3.4 million cap hit, the Blues have about $2.5 million in cap space. That can widen to about $9 million if the Blues choose to put Torey Krug on long-term injured reserve.

“If we move guys, it’s to open up spots more than it is to open up money, just because of the number of players we have returning,” Armstrong said.

Last season, the Blues were the best team in the league after the 4 Nations Face-Off break with Thomas, Schenn, Oskar Sundqvist and Radek Faksa down the middle. Faksa is a free agent, but Armstrong noted that “we had a great final push there with our center-ice the way it was.”

“Schenner is not getting younger, (but) he can do the job (as a second-line center),” Armstrong said. “If we could support him, that would be great, but he can do the job. It’s just if we could add another layer of people in there.

“I think it’s easier to say than to do when you look at the number of teams trying to accomplish that. You saw the number of teams trying to accomplish that last year, and those centers made a lot of money. You guys can judge how it worked out for everybody. There’s a shortage of players. There’s a shortage of players in certain areas. It’s just reality.”

Last summer, the biggest deals for centers were for Steven Stamkos (four years, $8 million average annual value), Elias Lindholm (seven years, $7.75 million AAV) and Chandler Stephenson (seven years, $6.25 million AAV).

Tuesday will also be a big day for no-trade clauses on the Blues.

It’s when they kick in for both Robert Thomas and Jordan Kyrou, the latter of whom has been mentioned in trade rumors across the past week. But it’s also when protection erodes for Schenn (moving to a 15-team no-trade list), Justin Faulk (15-team no-trade list) and Nick Leddy (16-team no-trade list).

Tuesday is also the first day the Blues can sign Cam Fowler, Philip Broberg and Dylan Holloway to contract extensions. All three players are entering the final year of their contracts, but Armstrong said those would not be a priority this summer.

So all eyes are on what the Blues can do in free agency on Tuesday.

“We’re not bargain shopping,” Armstrong said. “It’s not like we’re afraid to get in to the other market, but it would have to make sense for us to do that.”

Jeff Gordon

Tipsheet: Blues earn analysts' praise for landing Carbonneau in NHL Draft

• Jeff Gordon | Post-Dispatch

51���� Blues

Development camp is first chance to see Blues first-rounder Justin Carbonneau on the ice

• Matthew DeFranks | Post-Dispatch

51���� Blues

From Hofer to Harenstam: Goaltending steals spotlight for Blues on second day of NHL draft

• Matthew DeFranks | Post-Dispatch

As the Blues opened their development camp Monday, any chatter about Adam Jiricek’s improvements centered around his availability.

Jiricek, the Blues’ first-round pick in 2024, was limited to just 27 games with Brantford in the OHL last season due to injuries, first due to his recovery from a knee injury that hurt his draft stock, then by two in-season injuries that forced him to miss time. The right-handed defenseman was on the ice Monday in his first development camp with the Blues after missing last season due to a torn ACL.

“I need to stay healthy, and I enjoy that I can play hockey right now,” Jiricek said. “I can do what I like to do. It’s good right now.”

Jiricek, who turned 19 on Saturday, is one of the top prospects the Blues have on defense, joined by 2023 first-rounder Theo Lindstein and 2024 second-rounders Colin Ralph and Lukas Fischer. When the Blues drafted him at No. 16 last year, he became the highest-drafted defenseman by the team since Alex Pietrangelo at No. 4 in 2008.

Jiricek made the jump to North American hockey last season, as the Czech crossed the Atlantic to play in the OHL. He said he likes “it more, to be honest than Euro rinks and Euro style of hockey. It’s very fun, I think.”

“It’s pretty different from the men’s league in Czech Republic I played before,” Jiricek said. “It’s fine, I enjoy it, but I had a couple injuries so it was up and down. It’s hard to build your game when you have this many up and downs. I need to stay healthy for a full season and just build my game. I hope it’s going to be like that next season, so you’ll see.”

In his 27 games, Jiricek had four goals and eight assists.

In December 2023, Jiricek tore his ACL at the World Junior Championship while playing for Czechia when current Blues prospect Juraj Pekarcik (Slovakia) fell on his leg. That injury knocked him out of the remainder of the season, halted his summer program and kept him out of games until a Nov. 1, 2024, debut with Brantford.

“There’s things you can’t control,” Jiricek said. “My injuries were things you can’t control, so you need to accept it and move on. You can’t control if some player falls on your leg and you tear your ACL. It’s unlucky, and that’s hockey. I hope I already have all these injuries and I’m going to stay healthy for the rest of my hockey career. I think it’s just unlucky.”

In his fourth game with Brantford, Jiricek took a big hit crossing the blue line and missed the next five weeks. He also missed two weeks of action in February.

“You’re going to the middle of the ice 100 times and you got injured one time,” Jiricek said. “It’s just hockey, you know?”

Blues management obviously understands the importance of Jiricek’s health to his success. General manager Doug Armstrong said he “can’t make the club from the tub.” Assistant general manager Tim Taylor pointed out that some of Jiricek’s improvement will come from “getting bigger and stronger.”

“I know it’s a redundant question, and answer is: What do these guys need?” Taylor said. “It’s just time and growth within their bodies, maturity. Every year brings a new outlook for these players. Now, he’s building more strength. I think last year he came in at 170 or 165. He was injured a little bit last year.”

Jiricek was present at training camp last fall but wasn’t cleared to play and did not participate in exhibition games. This fall, he’ll have that chance, and Armstrong left open the door for him to play games in the NHL. It would be a big jump, though, as Armstrong has never had a teenaged defenseman play full-time NHL minutes.

Only Robert Thomas and Robby Fabbri have been lineup fixtures as teenagers under Armstrong in 51����.

“He’s going to come in a push for the team, but at 19, I don’t expect him to do it,” Armstrong said. “He could be the next Robert Thomas or Robby Fabbri, I don’t know. That’s up for him to prove.”

Jiricek: “I will go to the camp with this goal, and we will see what happens. I’m going to prepare in the summer to be 100% ready for this opportunity and show what I can do and show how good I am, and we’ll see what happens from there.”

Stancl scores twice

The Blues will finish each of the four development camp sessions this week with a three-on-three scrimmage lasting about 15 minutes. On Monday afternoon, Team MacInnis beat Team Tkachuk 6-0.

Jakub Stancl scored two goals, as Jiricek, Lindstein, Antoine Dorion and Nikita Susuyev also scored.

Jeff Gordon

Tipsheet: Blues earn analysts' praise for landing Carbonneau in NHL Draft

• Jeff Gordon | Post-Dispatch

51���� Blues

Development camp is first chance to see Blues first-rounder Justin Carbonneau on the ice

• Matthew DeFranks | Post-Dispatch

51���� Blues

From Hofer to Harenstam: Goaltending steals spotlight for Blues on second day of NHL draft

• Matthew DeFranks | Post-Dispatch

Some of the top Blues prospects, including No. 19 pick Justin Carbonneau, will take the ice this week at Centene Community Ice Center in Maryland Heights for the team’s development camp.

The camp will be four days of on-ice work, beginning each day at noon and concluding with a three-on-three scrimmage session. It is free and open to the public.

It will be Carbonneau’s introduction to 51���� after the Blues picked the winger out of the QMJHL in the first round of the NHL draft on Friday night. Carbonneau will be one of two 2025 draft picks in attendance this week, as he’ll be joined by Russian winger Mikhail Fyodorov. Swedish goaltender Love Harenstam will not be at camp.

What can fans expect out of Carbonneau?

“The goal-scoring ability, the passion that he plays with, the will to score,” Blues director of amateur scouring Tony Feltrin said. “He’ll run over top of players to take it to the net. He can score from distance with a tremendous shot. Good hands, strong compete. Lots of things to like.”

Carbonneau was second in the QMJHL in both points and goals last year and checks in at 6-foot-1 and 205 pounds. He will play next year either at Boston College or back in the QMJHL with Blainville-Boisbriand.

There will be two other previous first-round picks among the returnees for 51����.

Defenseman Theo Lindstein was taken in the first round in 2023 with the 29th pick and will make the jump to North America this fall after playing last year in the SHL in Sweden. Playing for Brynas, he had nine points in 44 games.

Defenseman Adam Jiricek (No. 16 pick in 2024) will also be in town. Last year, he was unable to participate in development camp due to a knee injury. He was also limited to just 27 games with Brandford in the OHL due to injuries.

“He is all ready to go,” Blues general manager Doug Armstrong said. “He needs to put a solid, healthy year together. We’ve talked about that in the past. It’s hard to make the club from the tub. He needs to put some health in behind him. Sometimes, you just can’t control it. I’m not saying he can control these injuries that he has, but you have to be able to play. You have to be on the ice. He needs to do that for himself; we need to see it. He needs to see it. It’s reality.”

Armstrong also mentioned that Jiricek, 19, could try and push for an NHL roster spot.

Blues fans will also notice who will not be in town this week: Dalibor Dvorsky and Otto Stenberg.

Dvorsky (No. 10) and Stenberg (No. 25) were both part of the 2023 draft class with five other members coming into town this week, but they will not be after finishing the season with AHL affiliate Springfield (Massachusetts). Dvorsky spent the whole season in Springfield, piling up 21 goals and 24 assists in 61 games.

Stenberg, meanwhile, made the jump to the AHL midseason after opening the year in Sweden. He had 17 points in 38 games with Springfield.

“I think they’ve just graduated past it (with) North American experience,” Armstrong said. “There’s no rhyme or reason to why we do some of these things. I leave it up to the development group. They tell me who they think would benefit from it.”

• There will be three Russian prospects in attendance, as Fyodorov (2025 draft, fifth round) will be joined by Nikita Susuyev (2023, seventh round) and Arseniy Koromyslev (2022, fourth round). The only Russian in the pipeline that won’t be on the ice is Matvei Korotky (2024, seventh round).
• Marcus Broberg, the younger brother of Blues defenseman Philip Broberg, will be on the ice as an invite to camp. Like his brother, Marcus is a defenseman. He just finished his first season at the University of Nebraska-Omaha.
• Three goaltenders — Connor Androlewicz, Owen Bartoszkiewicz and Jacob Steinman — are invitees to camp, though Connor Androlewicz is from 51����. He just finished his college career at Stonehill after four years at Maine.

51���� Blues

From Hofer to Harenstam: Goaltending steals spotlight for Blues on second day of NHL draft

• Matthew DeFranks | Post-Dispatch

51���� Blues

‘I’m not really scared of anyone’: Blues first-rounder Justin Carbonneau brings fearless mindset

• Matthew DeFranks | Post-Dispatch

51���� Blues

DeFranks' chat: What should the Blues do with Jordan Kyrou in trade rumors?

• Matthew DeFranks | Post-Dispatch

Goaltending took center stage for the Blues on the second day of the draft, as the club first extended Joel Hofer with a two-year contract then drafted their first netminder in five years in the sixth round.

Hofer was set to become a restricted free agent on Tuesday, but instead signed a two-year deal Saturday afternoon carrying a $3.4 million cap hit. The pact will allow his contract to expire at the same time as Jordan Binnington’s contract ($6 million cap hit) in the summer of 2027.

In signing Hofer, the Blues removed any possibility of an offer sheet and kept together the tandem they’ve used in each of the last two seasons. During his two full NHL seasons, Hofer played in 61 games, going 31-20-4 with a .909 save percentage and a 2.65 goals against average.

Hofer will turn 25 years old on July 30.

With Hofer signed, the Blues don’t have any remaining NHL-level RFAs. Jake Neighbours would have been a RFA this summer, but chose to sign a two-year extension ($3.75 million cap hit) in October.

Hofer’s $3.4 million cap hit gives the Blues more clarity entering free agency on Tuesday, as they now have about $2.5 million in cap space. That figure is with the roster as currently constructed, including Ryan Suter’s bonus overage of more than $2 million.

The Blues, however, can create $6.5 million more of cap space this summer by placing Torey Krug on long-term injured reserve, giving them purchasing power of about $9 million.

Hofer is the last goalie drafted by the Blues to play in 51����. Sixth-rounder Love Harenstam hopes to be the next one after the Blues took him with the 179th pick on Saturday afternoon.

Harenstam (his first name is pronounced Loo-vay) represented Sweden in the U-18 World Championship and played in the nation’s U-20 league last season.

“Love was the No. 1 goaltender on the Swedish U-18 team,” Blues amateur scouting director Tony Feltrin said. “He’s got a bright future. He’s got athleticism and has produced.”

Harenstam became the first goalie taken by the Blues since the franchise took Will Cranley in the sixth round in 2020. The Blues used their next 29 picks after Cranley on either forwards or defensemen.

In drafting Harenstam, the Blues also made use of Brian Elliott, who just completed his first season as goaltending scout and development coach. Feltrin said the Blues relied on both Elliott and NHL goaltending coach David Alexander in scouting the goalies.

“(That) staff that has greater knowledge on the goaltender front,” Feltrin said. “We consider ourselves somewhat layman in our goaltender evaluations, especially when we hear the terminology that they utilize. … Brian was very diligent and we had constant communication. It’s working well. Now, we’ll reap the rewards, hopefully.”

Harenstam (6-1, 196 pounds) is not expected to be at Blues development camp next week at Centene Community Ice Center. Forward Mikhail Fyodorov, taken at No. 147 in the fifth round, is anticipated to be there, though.

Fyodorov (5-11, 152 pounds) played last season with Stalnye Lisy Magnitogorsk in the Russian MHL. He had 17 goals and 26 assists in 45 games. He is a left-handed shooting winger.

“Skilled player,” Feltrin said. “Very good edges, nifty, quick puck skills. There’s some offensive ability there. He can really snap a puck. Not the biggest body, physical maturity to come. We did lots of video work on him. We have a Russian-based scout that saw him a number of times. We just saw him at a recent agency camp in Florida. Skilled player.”

When Fyodorov and Harenstam are added to first-round Justin Carbonneau, they create a three-man draft class that is the smallest for the franchise since 1968. Back then, there were only three rounds in the draft, and the Blues had just two picks.

Carbonneau, selected at No. 19, figures to be the jewel of the class after he finished second in the QMJHL in both goals and points a season ago.

“The goal-scoring ability, the passion that he plays with, the will to score,” Feltrin said. “He’ll run over top of players to take it to the net. He can score from distance with a tremendous shot. Good hands, strong compete. Lots of things to like.”

The Blues used their three picks on two wingers and a goaltender. It was the sixth time in franchise history they did not select a defenseman in the draft, though they used their first three picks in 2024 on blue liners.

“Players that we’re done the due diligence on, had them placed on our list in an area that we were excited about,” Feltrin said.

51���� Blues

‘I’m not really scared of anyone’: Blues first-rounder Justin Carbonneau brings fearless mindset

• Matthew DeFranks | Post-Dispatch

Lynn Worthy

Worthy: The Blues, Doug Armstrong on solid footing heading into NHL summer frenzy

• Lynn Worthy | Post-Dispatch

51���� Blues

Blues will have different options with the 19th pick in the NHL draft

• Matthew DeFranks | Post-Dispatch

Joel Hofer won't get the chance to sign an offer sheet. The Blues made sure of that by signing the pending restricted free agent on Saturday to a two-year extension worth $3.4 million a season, on average.

Hofer was scheduled to become an RFA on July 1, allowing him to potentially negotiate with other teams and sign an offer sheet. The possibility was not one that worried Blues general manager Doug Armstrong earlier this week, when he warned teams that they could chase Hofer, but they wouldn't get him.

Hofer turns 25 on July 30 and just finished his second full season in the NHL as Jordan Binnington's backup in 51����. Last season, Hofer played in 31 games and had a 16-8-3 record to go with a .904 save percentage and 2.64 goals against average.

Hofer was originally drafted in the fourth round of the 2018 draft.

With Hofer signed, the Blues no longer have any pending RFAs on their NHL roster. Jake Neighbours would have been an RFA, but he signed an extension in October to keep him in 51����.

‘I’m not really scared of anyone’: Blues first-rounder Justin Carbonneau brings fearless mindset

The Blues drafted Justin Carbonneau in the first round on Friday night, picking the right-handed winger with the 19th selection of the evening.

Blues draft Canadian winger Justin Carbonneau in first round

51���� picked Carbonneau with the 19th pick after he had 46 goals and 43 assists in 62 games for Blainville-Boisbriand in the QMJHL.

Worthy: The Blues, Doug Armstrong on solid footing heading into NHL summer frenzy

Doug Armstrong enters his swan song summer as general manager aiming to stay the course but ready to read and react.

Justin Carbonneau knows where goals are scored. And he goes there repeatedly.

The Blues drafted Carbonneau in the first round on Friday night, picking the right-handed winger with the 19th selection of the evening. Carbonneau became the first winger taken by 51���� since Jimmy Snuggerud in 2022, and the first Quebec-born first-rounder for the Blues since Zack Bolduc in 2021.

“I play with a lot of fire,” Carbonneau said on a video call with reporters. “I’m not really scared of anyone. I know that the 6-8 guy is stronger than me and bigger, but I’m going to still try. I think I always had that in me.

“Goals are scored in those areas. Outside the dots, yes you can score but you’re not going to score 50 goals from outside the dots. You’re going to score from inside the dots. So you have to find ways to get there. I use my body and my speed to get there.”

Carbonneau played last season with Blainville-Boisbriand in the QMJHL, posting 46 goals and 43 assists in 62 games. His 89 points were second in the league, and he finished tied for second in goal-scoring.

Blues general manager Doug Armstrong described Carbonneau as “someone that enjoys the fruits of his labor of scoring goals, competitive to score goals.”

“Our scouts had him pegged like that, a guy that will pay the price to score,” Armstrong said. “Now our job is to round out the other half of the ice. That’s the coaches job, but we think he can mature and learn that area of the game. The biggest step for a young player is to understand to get the coach’s trust, you have to play defense. You have to not win Selkes, but you have to be competitive at the blue line getting pucks out, you have to be able to eat pucks on the wall. It’s just not all fun and games.”

It has not been announced where Carbonneau will be playing next season. With Canadian junior players now allowed to play college hockey in the United States, Carbonneau has that option. He can return to Blainville-Boisbriand, or he can attend Boston College.

“Two good options, but there’s some talks I’m going to do with 51���� and decide in the next few days,” Carbonneau said.

Armstrong: “They’re young men. They’re 18, 19 years old. They have to do what they think is right for them. We know that he wants to be an NHL hockey player. There are different avenues to do it. We’re going to support whatever he does.”

Carbonneau said he compares his game to Adrian Kempe (Los Angeles) and Travis Konecny (Philadelphia).

“I’m not scared of anyone,” Carbonneau said. “I score goals in the paint, in the dirty areas. (Konecny is) 5-8 or 5-10 and he shoots the puck and he goes to the net like he doesn’t care about getting hit or slashed. His mentality is something I want to bring, too.”

Carbonneau is regarded as a power forward, listed at 6-1 and 205 pounds by NHL Central Scouting, which ranked him as the 16th-best North American skater in the draft.

Armstrong said Carbonneau was the last player in one of their tiers, and had he not been available, the Blues would have considered trading back. Mock drafts suggested Carbonneau could be taken in the 14-18 range, and “we thought that he would be a little bit of a stretch, but he might get to us,” Armstrong said.

In taking Carbonneau, the Blues passed on defensemen Cameron Reid and Logan Hensler. They just missed out on potential center target Cole Reschny when Calgary took him one pick before the Blues.

Carbonneau has shown a good shot release, and he said, “I think I destroyed my whole house when I was younger shooting pucks. I was walking with some roller blades all day at like 5 years old, so my floors had to change, too.”

Carbonneau also played football growing up, playing running back before stopping a few years ago to focus on hockey.

“I just like the contact, like on the ice a little bit,” Carbonneau said. “I like to get hit. I like to throw some hits. It’s a part of my game. I play inside the dots, I don’t play outside. Yes, I score goals and I make plays offensively, but I do it the right way.”

While Armstrong and the rest of the Blues hockey operations staff was in 51���� for the draft, Carbonneau was in Los Angeles with his family.

“I’m not a big crying guy, but all the emotions go through my head when I heard my name, when I thought about my parents, my brother, everybody that was here with me,” Carbonneau said. “My teammates in Blainville, I’m grateful to have them every single day. They shoot me some texts today about all the draft. …

“Cried a bit thinking about all that, but right now it’s just pure happiness.”

Lynn Worthy

Worthy: The Blues, Doug Armstrong on solid footing heading into NHL summer frenzy

• Lynn Worthy | Post-Dispatch

51���� Blues

Blues will have different options with the 19th pick in the NHL draft

• Matthew DeFranks | Post-Dispatch

Jeff Gordon

Gordo: Blues can expect a tougher Western Conference playoff race next season

• Jeff Gordon | Post-Dispatch