The St. Louis Blues prospect report is back in full swing after the holiday and 2024 World Junior Championship (WJC) break. With these now in the rearview, let’s take a look at the Blues’ current prospects playing in North America.
Noah Beck
A bit of a lesser-known prospect, Noah Beck was drafted by the Blues in the seventh round (194th overall) in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft. The 6-foot-4, 183-pound left-shot defenseman is appearing in his fourth year with Clarkson University in the NCAA. After producing back-to-back seasons scoring over 20 points, he is seeing an unfamiliar year recording only three assists through 15 games this season. Clarkson is 11-8-1 heading into their Friday night matchup against Yale and he is among those currently struggling the most with a team-low minus-10 rating. After registering his last assist on Nov. 10 against the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Engineers, he has his work cut out for him to rectify his season.
Juraj Pekarcik
One of seven Blues prospects to participate in the 2024 WJC, Juraj Pekarcik has become perhaps one of the biggest breakout performers in the prospect pool. Alongside fellow Blues prospect Dalibor Dvorsky, he recorded three points (one goal, two assists) through five games with Team Slovakia while averaging 16:06 time on ice in the tournament. Upon his return to the United States Hockey League (USHL), he recorded one goal, and two assists with eight shots on goal in two games.
Despite having played only 20 games with the Dubuque Fighting Saints this season due to injury and international play, Pekarcik currently ranks fifth on his team with six goals and 30 points through 20 games. He will kick off the weekend against the Cedar Rapids Roughriders looking to continue his point streak.
Paul Fischer
One-half of the top-pairing defenders for the University of Notre Dame, Paul Fischer has been a surprising prospect shouldering the heavy responsibilities on the blue line as an 18-year-old. Dating back to the beginning of December, he has recorded seven points (one goal, six assists) through 10 games. He is doing a lot of the little things well while not showing one exceptional talent above another. This season, he has 12 points through 22 games and has recorded 26 blocked shots.
Dylan Peterson
Thought to be an under-the-radar or diamond in the rough prospect for the Blues, forward Dylan Peterson (Boston University) has not broken out offensively in the way that some would have hoped. The towering 6-foot-4 left winger has been a mainstay on the third line this season producing only five goals and 10 points through 17 games. As of this writing, he has four points in his last four games, two goals on Dec. 29 against Yale, and two assists on Jan. 13 against the University of New Hampshire.
It is unclear what the future holds for Peterson at this point in his career playing in his fourth season with Boston University as he is currently un-signed by the Blues at this time. Drafted 86th overall in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft, he will need to work on a few of the fundamentals like skating and his willingness to compete throughout the game if he intends to break into the pros one day. The potential is there if the Blues and Peterson are willing to put in the work as he could develop into a good middle-six power-forward one day.
Jimmy Snuggerud
It took a little while to get going this season, but Jimmy Snuggerud has found his game offensively with the University of Minnesota. One of the Blues’ top prospects, he appeared with Team USA at the WJC producing five goals and eight points through six games. He was limited in the tournament after missing one game due to the flu and was put on the fourth line to start the latter portion of the tournament. However, upon his return to the NCAA, he scored six points (five goals, one assist) with a whopping 14 shots on goal and a plus-3 rating.
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Heading into the weekend’s games, he has produced six goals and eight points through four games in January while recording 34 shots on goal. If he wasn’t considered it before, he has become ‘must-watch TV’ in the NCAA. At the end of the tournament, Blues general manager Doug Armstrong said of Snuggerud’s potential jump to the NHL: “He’s going to get every opportunity to make the jump right now,” upon the conclusion of the 2023-24 NCAA season.
The Blues prospects in the United States currently offer a wide range of players and skill sets ranging from potential elite snipers to talented penalty-killers. The club’s prospect pool is beginning to truly take shape outlining the individuals that could one day become everyday players in the NHL.
