Proskurin Goes in the First Round of the CHL Import Draft, Three Blues Prospects Get the Team USA Call
Blues goaltending prospect Vladimir Proskurin was a first-round pick in the CHL Import Draft, while Nick Bogas, Landon Nycz, and Luke Schairer earned invites to the 2026 Team USA Summer Showcase.
The offseason news cycle rarely sleeps, and two recent developments in the St. Louis Blues’ pipeline deserve’s a closer look as we head into July.
Vladimir Proskurin’s Jump to the CHL
2026 4th round draft pick, Goaltender Vladimir Proskurin is officially headed to the Western Hockey League. The Victoria Royals selected the Russian netminder with the 27th overall pick in the first round of the 2026 CHL Import Draft.
Looking at this on the surface level, a junior draft pick might seem like minor offseason noise, but the context here tells a much bigger story. For Victoria to burn a premium, first-round import pick on him brings a massive spike in his external valuation. Import slots are highly guarded assets across the Canadian Hockey League. CHL teams rarely waste first-round capital on European goaltenders unless they have a firm commitment that the player is coming over to compete for the starter’s crease immediately.
Proskurin spent this past season carrying the load for MHK Atlant Mytishchi in the MHL, Russia’s premier junior league. Across 41 games played, he maintained a stellar .921 save percentage and a 2.97 goals-against average with a frustrating 14-21-2 record. He finished just outside the top-15 U-21 goaltenders in the MHL in SV%, and the fourth-highest in total saves (1266).
Victoria Royals General Manager Jake Heisinger didn’t hide his excitement about the acquisition: “Vlad is a competitor that does whatever he can to make saves and is extremely athletic. We are very excited to have a goalie of Vlad’s caliber joining our program.”
Beyond Joel Hofer and Love Härenstam, Proskurin just became an interesting netminder to keep an eye on. The transition to North American ice, with its smaller rink dimensions, different puck behavior off the boards, and a relentless, high-pressure pace, is always an interesting test for European netminder’s. Landing a starting role in Victoria gives the Blues a front-row seat to watch him adapt before any tough professional development decisions have to be made.
Windsor Bound: A Trio of Blues Earn Team USA Invites
USA Hockey has released its roster for the 2026 World Junior Summer Showcase, and the Blues’ scouting department has to be smiling. Defensemen Nick Bogas, Landon Nycz, and Luke Schairer have all earned invitations to the event, which runs from July 26 through August 1 in Windsor, Ontario.
This showcase is well worth the attention because it functions as a high-stakes audition rather than a guaranteed roster spot. It serves as USA Hockey’s initial screening process to narrow down the player pool for the official World Junior Championship roster later this winter.
Invitations aren’t roster guarantees, but they are an early signal that USA Hockey is monitoring these players as candidates heading into the fuller evaluation process later this year.
Three Blues-linked prospects on one invite list is a reasonable showing for the organization’s depth. How each performs in Windsor will help shape their longer-term World Junior outlook, and give Blues fans another concrete data point on the pipeline’s trajectory.