The St. Louis Blues didn’t need a polished preseason opener.
In a 2-1 loss to the Dallas Stars, they needed something closer to a fingerprint - a hint of who they want to be. Dylan Peterson gave them that, and then some.
The 6-foot-4 forward prospect spent the night doing the kind of work that gets noticed fast in September. He finished with 12:21 of ice time over six shifts, three hits, three shots on goal, a takeaway and a minus-one rating.
The numbers fit a bottom-six profile. The way he played in the third period made it feel bigger than that.
Peterson had been throwing his weight around all game, but things turned up when he dropped the gloves with Kyle Burroughs 1:47 into the third period. That was the moment that lit up the crowd and pushed his night into memorable territory. Afterward, Blues head coach Jim Montgomery singled him out for the kind of edge and pace he brought.
Montgomery praised Peterson’s competitiveness and his high-energy forechecking, and said he was the kind of player the crowd naturally gravitates toward because he carries "that kind of Blues spirit."
Even with that kind of first impression, Peterson still looks like a long shot to break camp with the club. St.
Louis already has a crowded group of veteran forwards occupying the bottom-six spots, and the NHL is a hard place to learn on the fly. Peterson still has work to do on the finer points - defensive positioning, puck management under pressure and penalty killing among them.
That’s why Springfield still makes the most sense as his likely starting point. With the Thunderbirds, he’d have a chance to play top-six minutes, keep developing under head coach Steve Ott and build confidence instead of sitting as an extra forward in St. Louis.
Still, nights like this are how prospects force their way into the conversation. Montgomery wants his team to play fast, direct and heavy, and Peterson offered a pretty clean preview of what that fourth-line identity could look like. He wasn’t just hunting hits or looking for a fight; he tied for the team’s second-highest shot total and showed how a hard forecheck can turn into real offensive pressure.
If he keeps bringing that physical edge while rounding out the rest of his game, he’s going to make the coaching staff think hard. Veterans may offer the safer path, but Peterson brings the kind of identity this team and its fans can get behind. Springfield still looks like the likely destination to open the year, but he’s not making that call easy.
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Lindstein in particular has drawn attention because of the way he can move the puck, a skill that has stood out to head coach Jim Montgomery. A strong showing from the young defenseman could make the Blues blue-line picture even more interesting, especially with opening-night decisions still to be made and some established players trying to hold their spots. [Read more 🡒]