The Blues’ goaltending picture has changed at the top, and that shift is opening the door to a couple of sixth-round picks who are starting to look like real pieces of the future.
Joel Hofer has emerged as St. Louis’ clear No. 1 in net, with Jordan Binnington settling into the backup role. That means the next layer of the depth chart matters more than ever, and two names are making the organization’s pipeline look healthier than it might have seemed a year ago: Love Harenstam and Will Cranley.
Harenstam, taken 179th overall in the 2025 NHL Entry Draft, has already made a strong impression in Sweden. The 19-year-old arrived in HockeyAllsvenskan last season and immediately handled the level with ease, posting a 1.81 Goals Against Average and a .920 Save Percentage in 32 games for Södertälje SK. That performance earned him plenty of hardware: Goaltender of the Year, Rookie of the Year, Best Junior, and an MVP Finalist nod.
The record behind those numbers was not flattering. Södertälje had trouble scoring and closing out games, and Harenstam still finished 14-18. On top of that, he also stood out on the international stage, where he was named the tournament’s best goaltender and a tournament All-Star as Sweden won gold at the World Juniors.
He has kept rolling this season. Through 12 games, Harenstam owns a 2.18 GAA and a .917 SV% with two shutouts, and Södertälje sits fifth in the league.
At 6-foot-2, Harenstam is not a huge goaltender by modern standards, but his game plays bigger because of how he attacks it. He relies on quickness, uses a butterfly style, and competes hard on every shot.
That approach has helped him make difficult saves that can slip past other goalies. Staying in Sweden for another season gives him more time to stack up consistency against grown men, with a move to North America hopefully coming before the 2026-27 season.
For a sixth-round pick, his trajectory remains among the best in the system.
Cranley’s path has been different, but the results are starting to turn heads too. The Springfield Thunderbirds backup spent much of the last two seasons in the ECHL with the Florida Everblades after being picked 163rd overall in 2020. Injury opened the door for a longer look in the AHL, where he logged 10 games and put together a 6-4 record with a 3.03 GAA and .892 SV%.
This season, he is with Springfield full time, and the numbers have jumped. Through four games, Cranley has a 2-0-3 record, a 1.22 GAA and a .957 SV%, including his first shutout in the AHL. That kind of start can move a player from organizational depth to someone worth watching more closely.
Together, Harenstam and Cranley give the Blues a pair of young goalies at different stages of development. Harenstam has the higher ceiling, but still has more refining to do.
Cranley is further along and already pushing for meaningful AHL minutes. Neither is ready to force the NHL conversation yet, but both are moving in the right direction.
For St. Louis, that’s the encouraging part.
The club is not just looking at what the next goalie pairing could be in 2026-27, but what the position might look like over the next decade. Right now, the Blues have two sixth-round picks giving that pipeline real shape.
In Other News...
Joel Hofer Is Giving The Blues A Goalie Question They Wanted
Joel Hofer has turned a familiar Blues concern into something closer to a luxury problem. In nine games, he has handled a heavy workload and delivered enough timely stops to keep St. Louis in games against Dallas, Winnipeg and Vegas, giving the club a steadier presence in net than it could reasonably have expected this early in the season.
The bigger question now is how far this run can carry him. Hofer has moved from backup duties into the starting role, and if he keeps stacking up performances like these, he could push himself into the conversation for top goaltender recognition. For a Blues team that has spent plenty of time searching for answers in goal, that is exactly the sort of development worth watching. [Read more 🡒]
Blues Bring Theo Lindstein Back As Blue Line Pressure Builds
The Blues added another layer to their blue-line depth chart by recalling Theo Lindstein from Springfield ahead of a four-game road trip. Lindstein had been sent to the AHL after his initial stint with St. Louis, but hes been productive with the Thunderbirds and now gets another chance to stay in the mix as the schedule tightens up.
The timing of the move suggests the club is preparing for some uncertainty on defense, especially with Colton Parayko dealing with an upper-body injury. Parayko missed practice Friday and is still considered probable for the next game, leaving the Blues to balance caution, depth and travel as they head out on the road. [Read more 🡒]