Three years after the 2023 NHL draft, the St. Louis Blues are not exactly getting a flattering review in the hindsight department.
That draft was loaded at the top. Connor Bedard went first overall, then Leo Carlsson, Adam Fantilli and Will Smith.
Matvei Michkov, pushed down to seventh because of concerns about Russian players getting to the United States after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, rounded out a first round that already felt loaded at the time. Now, with The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler doing a redraft of the class, the picture has shifted again.
For the Blues, the result is rough. They had three first-round picks and came away with Dalibor Dvorsky at 10th overall, Otto Stenberg at 25 and Theo Lindstein at 29.
Dvorsky has played 73 NHL games and produced 21 points. Stenberg and Lindstein have combined for 49 NHL games and 14 points, with most of that production coming from Stenberg.
Lindstein, though, is viewed as having a possible path to becoming a second-pair defenseman.
In Wheeler’s redraft, only Dvorsky makes the first round, and he lands at 12th overall. That is a slight drop from Wheeler’s original prospect ranking of eighth, and it also puts him two spots behind where St.
Louis actually took him. Stenberg and Lindstein do not crack the first round at all, though Wheeler does note they could have been in the mix at 32nd overall with a few other players - an honorable mention, if not much more.
The Blues’ hypothetical haul in that redraft would have looked different: goaltender Jacob Fowler, forward Easton Cowan and defenseman Hunter Brzustewicz. A goalie at 10th overall would have been an eyebrow-raiser, but Fowler’s stock is real after he backstopped the Montreal Canadiens to the Eastern Conference Final and looked like a legitimate starter.
Cowan, despite his size, brings plenty of compete and would have fit nicely in St. Louis.
Whether that alternate draft would have changed much right away is another question. Probably not.
Even over the long haul, Lindstein and Stenberg could still develop into useful middle-of-the-lineup players, the kind of pieces Cowan and Brzustewicz project as. The biggest call in the redraft is Dvorsky versus Fowler, because middle-six playdrivers are easier to find than a true starting goalie - and as the saying goes, goalies are weird.
Still, the timeline matters. It has only been three years, and most of these players are barely old enough to legally drink in America. There is plenty of time for the rankings to keep changing as the prospects keep developing.
In Other News...
Blues May Have Landed Their Biggest Draft Steal In Plain Sight
The Blues added a name late in the draft that has already started to draw a second look from evaluators, the kind of pick that can look ordinary on the surface and a whole lot more interesting once the post-draft lists start circulating. For St. Louis, the appeal is obvious enough: a forward with skill, drive and the sort of tenacity that can make a small frame matter if the rest of the game keeps coming along.
There is still the usual hurdle for players built this way, because undersized wingers have to do more than simply survive the climb to the NHL. The path for this one is narrow but clear, and if he is going to turn heads in St. Louis, it will likely come by forcing his way into a top-nine role and proving he can bring enough pace and bite to make the size question fade. [Read more 🡒]