ST. LOUIS — The 2025 World Juniors are underway in Ottawa, and several of the St. Louis Blues prospects are already on the scoreboard.
The Blues have a record nine players from four countries participating in the tournament: Dalibor Dvorsky (Slovakia), Juraj Pekarcik (Slovakia), Jakub Stancl (Czechia), Adam Jiricek (Czechia), Adam Jecho (Czechia), Ondrej Kos (Czechia), Otto Stenberg (Sweden), Theo Lindstein (Sweden) and Colin Ralph (U.S.).
“Nine is a big number for an NHL team,” Blues assistant general manager Tim Taylor said recently. “You’ve seen the amount of draft picks we’ve had over the past couple years and the high-end type of players that we’ve drafted. I’m looking forward to seeing how they infuse themselves with their teams and how they react in this situation. I’m really excited for every single one of them.”
Through the early part of the preliminary round, the Blues’ prospects have infused themselves well.
Dvorsky, the No. 10 pick in 2023, has two goals and one assist in three games. The 6-foot-2, 205-pound center is hoping to continue what’s been a productive season for him, including 11 goals and 21 points in 27 games with AHL Springfield.
“I think confidence-wise, he’s going to go back in this tournament to see how much he’s grown as a player being in the AHL,” Taylor said. “Players have come back from these tournaments and they develop so much more growth within their game — being the person that’s counted on — and then they have a real good second half (in the AHL). That’s what we’re hoping happens with ‘Devo.’
“He’s shown huge steps in his growth, maturity at both ends of the ice and understanding that details are what’s important in pro hockey. He’s gathered that information and applied that to his game. Now we want him to have a real constructive tournament and lead his team. We’d like to see him dominate there to be quite honest.”
🚨There it is! Dalibor Dvorsky gets the first #WorldJuniors goal!!! #SVKSWE #IIHF @HockeySlovakia pic.twitter.com/5glF4kAHVb
— IIHF (@IIHFHockey) December 26, 2024
Pekarcik, the Blues’ third-round pick in 2023 (No. 76), is Dvorsky’s teammate with Slovakia and has one assist through three games. He’s been playing this season with the Moncton Wildcats of the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League and has 12 goals and 35 points in 29 games.
“His points are coming from his details and his work ethic and playing the right way,” Taylor said. “He’s a player that drives through another player. He doesn’t go around, he drives through them. That’s one thing when you talk about a St. Louis Blue, he’s kind of indicative of the history of what the Blues are all about. I’m really happy with his season so far.”
Stancl, the club’s fourth-round pick in 2023 (No. 106) is having another great tournament thus far for Czechia. Through three games, he has four goals and seven points, including a hat trick and five points in a 14-2 win over Kazakhstan.
The 6-3, 198-pound center is playing his first season in North America with the Kelowna Rockets of the Western Hockey League, where he’s put up 11 goals and 32 points in 26 games.
“I thought it was going to be a harder adjustment for him,” Taylor said. “That team in Kelowna was really excited to get him and now they’re more excited that he’s on their team. All the accolades go to ‘Stanc’ because he’s come in and worked his tail off and really he’s been a great kid for that organization. He scores goals for them, but his details are even better. They’re really happy with him.”
Jakub Stancl with a filthy hands.🇨🇿🚨 @czehockey#WorldJuniors #KAZCZE pic.twitter.com/9MWdtViZJ3
— IIHF (@IIHFHockey) December 28, 2024
Jiricek, the Blues’ first-round pick last summer (No. 16), was added to Czechia’s team after returning from another setback. Now playing with the Brantford Bulldogs of the Ontario Hockey League, the 6-foot-1, 170-pound defenseman suffered a lower-body injury this season and missed a month before returning to his junior team recently.
In last year’s World Juniors, Jiricek played just one game before suffering a knee injury that kept him out through the start of the year with Brantford.
“It’s been a long haul for him putting in the work with nine months of rehab for the first injury and another five weeks for the second one,” Taylor said. “It gave him some motivation from his last injury to get back to try and be ready for this tournament. He’s excited to play and I’m excited to watch him.”
Stenberg and Lindstein are both producing for Sweden in the tournament.
Stenberg, a 5-11, 187-pound center and one of the team’s three first-round picks in 2023, has one goal on 12 shots and three assists in three games. Lindstein, a 6-foot, 192-pound defenseman and another of those first-rounders, has two assists. They combined on a goal by Stenberg in a 7-5 win over Switzerland on Sunday.
Both Stenberg and Lindstein are playing in the Swedish Hockey League (SHL) this season, and while their ice time and personal statistics have been limited, Taylor still likes the lessons they’re learning.
“If there are people that don’t watch the league, it’s a really tough league, and it’s a hard league to get points in,” he said. “It’s well-coached, well-structured and there’s a lot of good players, a lot of older players, that have played in the league. It’s tough for 19-, 20-year-olds to play in this league. Sometimes players get lost over there because of that.
“But we feel very comfortable that Theo and Otto have had very productive first halves in Sweden. Points are not everything for development within players. They’ve got to learn to play the game the right way and then when they do come over, they’re more prepared for North American hockey and development towards making the Blues as a full-time player.”
Future is bright 😎 #WorldJuniors pic.twitter.com/rmcqE81VaV
— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) December 29, 2024
The Blues have no players on Team Canada and just one on the U.S. roster: Ralph, a 6-3, 209-pound defenseman who was a second-round pick last summer (No. 48). He’s playing at St. Cloud State, where he’s got one goal and four points in 17 games.
“He might be a left-shot version of (Colton) Parayko,” Taylor said. “Those are big shoes to fill, and I don’t want to think that I’m saying he’s Parayko right now, but that’s the type of player that he is, a shutdown guy. He’s a little more physical than Colton was at that age and he’s strong.
“He’s come a long way. When we picked him, our amateur staff was really high on him. (But) from where he came from last year to where he is now, he’s taken huge steps and huge strides. He seems to get accustomed to the level he’s playing at very quickly.”
The remaining two Blues players at the tournament play for Czechia: Kos, a 6-0, 154-pound left winger who was a third-round pick last summer (No. 81) and Jecho, a 6-4, 198-pound center who was also a third-round pick last summer (No. 95).
How many of these nine prospects will put on the Blue Note remains to be seen, but given the quantity of the talent, the chances may be better.
“They’re real good players and, at the end of the day, you hope all nine make it,” Taylor said. “Odds say that you will get three to four, I guess, but at the end of the day, we feel that all nine have a chance to make the NHL. There are stepping stones in all of their careers, and this is a step in the right direction for them to play in a big tournament like this. We hope it’s all nine guys that play with the Blues and one day hold up the Stanley Cup for us.”
The quarterfinals for the tournament are Thursday followed by the semifinals on Saturday and the gold medal game on Sunday.
(Photo of Dalibor Dvorsky with Team Slovakia: Minas Panagiotakis / Getty Images)
