With the season getting rolling in junior leagues and across Europe, the Blues’ prospect pool already has a few names flashing early. Maddox Dagenais and Carter Stevens powered the offense this past week, while the goaltending side of the pipeline turned in some promising work of its own.
Dagenais, back in the QMJHL, wasted no time picking up where he left off after putting up 62 points in 62 games last season. The winger posted a four-point night on Friday, finishing with two goals, two assists and nine shots in Shawinigan. He was blanked in Sunday’s 5-4 OTW over Rimouski, but the shot volume through his first two games is exactly the kind of start the Blues want to see in his 2026-27 campaign.
Stevens matched that four-point total in the OHL for Guelph. He opened the week with a power-play goal and an assist in a 6-0 shutout over Oshawa, then followed that up with two primary assists in Saturday’s 5-1 win over Owen Sound. Through four games, he has one goal and three assists.
The Soo’s Colin Fitzgerald kept things steady in the same league. The right winger had an assist in Friday’s 6-3 win over Brampton, then added another helper and four shots on goal in Saturday’s 5-4 victory over North Bay. He’s up to three assists in four games while working in a middle-six role.
In the WHL, Vladimir Proskurin made a clean first impression. Making his league debut for the Victoria Royals, he stopped 25 of 26 shots in a 4-1 win over the Vancouver Giants. It was a strong start and his first win in the WHL.
Over in the KHL, Matvei Korotky doubled his season point total in two games for SKA St. Petersburg.
He scored and assisted in Friday’s 4-3 win over Traktor Chelyabinsk, then added another assist in Sunday’s 5-3 win over Barys Astana. He’s now at six points in eight KHL games and is averaging just over 16 minutes per game in a bottom-nine role.
Dmitri Buchelnikov also chipped in for CSKA Moskva, collecting an assist in Friday’s 5-0 win over Lada Togliatti. He was held off the scoresheet in his other two games, but the winger’s speed stood out again as he added six shots on goal. For the season, he has four points and 24 shots.
Mikhail Fyodorov picked up an assist in Wednesday’s 4-3 win over Salavat Yulaev Ufa and then went scoreless in Saturday’s 2-1 win over Ak Bars Kazan. Even without points in that second game, he finished plus-two and has mostly been used in a supporting, defensive role for Metallurg Magnitogorsk.
In Finland’s Liiga, Ondrej Kos logged an assist and four shots in Ilves’ 6-0 shutout of KooKoo on Friday, then added four more shots and a plus-one rating in Sunday’s 3-2 win over TPS. The points haven’t piled up yet, but the 20-year-old is still trending in the right direction.
Lars Steiner added his second point of the season for HC Davos in Switzerland’s National League, setting up a goal in Friday’s 3-2 road loss to Rapperswil-Jona. He also put seven shots on goal across three games, including five against Fribourg-Gotteron on Tuesday.
The best work in net came from Sweden. Marcus Gidlöf earned his first two wins of the season in HockeyAllsvenskan for Leksands IF, stopping all 16 shots he faced against Oskarshamn on Wednesday and turning aside 22 of 24 against Almtuna on Sunday.
Love Härenstam added his first shutout of the season on Wednesday, blanking Vasteras IK with 17 saves in a 4-0 win. He later took the loss against AIK on Friday, but still stopped 46 of 51 shots over the week.
Through five games, he owns a .906 save percentage across 235 minutes of action.
In Other News...
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Blues Blue Line Faces Early Test After Two Unexpected Losses
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For a team that wanted to settle into the season with a steady defensive rotation, the timing is less than ideal. The immediate concern is finding enough reliable minutes in the short term, and the longer view depends on how long St. Louis has to manage without two young defensemen who were supposed to be part of the picture. [Read more 🡒]