The St. Louis Blues may have come away from their draft with a pair of names that can shape both now and later, but the one already stirring up the loudest kind of hope is Maddox Dagenais.
Using their first-round picks, the Blues added an NHL-ready player in Mason McTavish and a future 200-foot star in Tynan Lawrence. Even so, Dagenais is the prospect who has some fans looking way down the road and imagining a scorer who can live in the 40-goal neighborhood.
That kind of buzz is easy to understand. Dagenais has drawn attention with his size, and the mix of speed and footwork that makes him look like an elite scorer. At 6-foot-4, he brings the kind of power-forward profile that tends to get people talking fast.
For now, the path is still about development. Dagenais is expected to spend next season and the foreseeable future in the QMJHL, continuing to round out his game. As part of the “next wave”, he should get his chance to push for a Blues roster spot within the next three years.
The timing could work out nicely for both sides. By 2028-29, Dagenais might have a real shot at cracking the opening night roster, and this upcoming training camp will help show where things stand. That is still two years away, with the 2026-27 season getting ready to unfold, and it lines up with the period when the Blues are ideally supposed to be in their championship window.
The idea of a 40-goal scorer in St. Louis carries real weight because the club has not had one in a long time. The last Blue to clear that mark was Vladimir Tarasenko in 2015-16.
There are also players in the NHL right now who could get there first. Jimmy Snuggerud and Dylan Holloway are the leading candidates to become the next Blues skater to reach 40 goals in a season. If he earns a spot on the opening-night roster out of training camp, Justin Carbonneau is another name to keep in mind before Dagenais arrives.
Still, the upside attached to Dagenais is hard to miss. If his development keeps moving in the right direction, the Blues believe he has the tools to become that kind of scorer. In time, he could be one of the players this team is built around.
In Other News...
Blues May Be Sitting On A Skilled Winger Worth Watching
Dmitri Buchelnikov is the kind of winger the Blues can afford to keep an eye on without needing to rush anything. The Russian right wing was originally drafted by Detroit in 2022 before his rights were traded to St. Louis, and since then he has kept building his rsum in the KHL. His production has trended upward, highlighted by a breakout run with Vityaz and then an injury-shortened season with CSKA Moskova, enough to keep his name circulating as a legitimate long-term piece.
What makes Buchelnikov interesting from St. Louis perspective is the blend of skill and uncertainty around his eventual NHL fit. He has the sort of offensive tools that could matter in a top-six role, but there are still questions about how that translates against NHL competition and what the path looks like to get there. For now, the Blues are simply sitting on a player whose development points toward a possible impact window around the 2027-28 season, which makes him a worthwhile name to remember. [Read more 🡒]
Cam Fowler Could Decide How Safe The Blues Blue Line Really Is
The Blues spent the offseason trying to make their blue line sturdier, bringing in Brandon Carlo from the Toronto Maple Leafs and leaning into Philip Broberg as the player expected to anchor the group. Even with that help, the picture still feels like it turns on Cam Fowler, whose presence gives St. Louis a veteran option with the puck but whose recent drop-off has made it harder to know just how reliable this defense can be over a full season.
Fowlers value has always been tied to whether he can drive play and hold up against top competition, and the Blues do not have much margin for error if he does not come close to that level. If he can settle back into the form that made him such an important part of the lineup, St. Louis defense looks a lot safer. If not, the additions around him may end up having to cover for a lot more than the Blues hoped. [Read more 🡒]
Colton Paraykos Quiet Blues Legacy Is Getting Hard To Ignore
Colton Paraykos place in Blues history has been building for years, one steady shift at a time. Since breaking into the NHL in 2015-16, he has become the kind of defenseman every team leans on, reliable in his own end and trusted in big moments, including St. Louis run to the 2019 Stanley Cup championship. Now he is closing in on 800 career games with the Blues, a mark that speaks less to flash than to the kind of durability and consistency that can quietly define a franchise career.
What makes the number even more notable is where it puts him in the record book. Parayko is on the verge of moving past Barrett Jackman for second place on the organizations all-time games-played list, an impressive bit of company for a player who has long been more essential than celebrated. Still under contract and expected to keep logging major minutes, he remains very much part of the present in St. Louis, even as his legacy with the club becomes harder to overlook. [Read more 🡒]