The Blues made their first round of cuts on Tuesday afternoon, trimming 10 players from their training camp roster.
The group consisted of eight draft picks returned to junior hockey and two tryouts released:
- Forward Adam Jecho to Edmonton (WHL).
- Forward Tomas Mrsic to Prince Albert (WHL).
- Forward Juraj Pekarcik to Moncton (QMJHL).
- Forward Jakub Stancl to Kelowna (WHL).
- Defenseman Quinton Burns to Kingston (OHL).
- Defenseman Lukas Fischer to Sarnia (OHL).
- Defenseman Will McIsaac to Spokane (WHL).
- Defenseman Matthew Mayich to Ottawa (OHL).
- Goaltender David Tendeck released from professional tryout (under contract with ECHL Florida).
- Forward Jake Gudelj released from amateur tryout.
The cuts leave the Blues with 54 players remaining in camp, and that total includes injured players like Torey Krug (ankle surgery, out for the season), Oskar Sundqvist (knee surgery, will not play in preseason), Adam Jiricek (knee surgery, will not play in preseason) and Antoine Dorion (upper body).
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The Blues have until Oct. 7 to trim the roster to 23 players.
“A few of the kids surprised me a little bit,” Blues coach Drew Bannister said. “I was really happy with Mrsic’s game. I thought he played (well), really smart, made some great plays. Pekarcik, these guys are big bodies, but they’re going to take time. ... The D in Dallas, that’s a tough task for any D to go in there, but the young D came in and I thought they played outstanding.”
Only three teenagers remain in Blues camp now, as Jiricek and Dorion recover from injuries and Dalibor Dvorsky tries to push for a spot on the NHL roster.
In sending Stancl to Kelowna, the Blues confirmed his playing destination. While both general manager Doug Armstrong and assistant general manager Tim Taylor both said Stancl would play in junior hockey in Canada this season, Kelowna wasn’t announced until Tuesday.
Kelowna owned Stancl’s rights by virtue of selecting him 12th in the CHL import draft in 2022. Stancl, a Czech drafted in the fourth round by St. Louis in 2023, played the past three seasons with Vaxjo in Sweden.
Like Stancl, Pekarcik will also play his first season in the CHL this year as he joins Moncton in the QMJHL. Pekarcik spent last season with Dubuque in the USHL and was second in the league with 50 assists.
Burns and Mayich will be in their final seasons of junior hockey. While Burns is already signed by the Blues, Mayich has to be signed by June 1, or the Blues will lose his rights and he will become eligible to reenter the draft.
Back at the rink
Former Blues forward Paul Stastny was at Centene Community Ice Center in Maryland Heights on Tuesday morning to watch training camp practice. Stastny, who played parts of four seasons with the Blues, stood next to future general manager Alexander Steen during one of the practice sessions.
Stastny was teammates with Steen across his time in St. Louis and retired last year after playing 1,145 NHL games across 17 seasons.
Steen, currently a special assistant to the general manager, will become the Blues’ GM in 2026, with Armstrong transitioning to become the president of hockey operations.
- Forward Pavel Buchnevich was back on the ice Tuesday morning after he missed Sunday’s practice. Buchnevich blocked a shot with his left foot during Saturday night’s preseason opener in Dallas.
Buchnevich centered a line with Jake Neighbours and Brayden Schenn on his wings.
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