The Players Fighting for a Spot on Next Year’s Blues
A look to the Springfield Thunderbirds forwards who could push their way to the 2026-27 St. Louis Blues roster.
The St. Louis Blues head into the offseason with a roster that is simultaneously clearer and more competitive than it has been in recent years. Several young players have already earned their places with Dalibor Dvorsky, Otto Stenberg, and Theo Lindstein are locks for the 2026-27 NHL roster, each having done enough at both levels to remove any real debate. The interesting question isn’t whether those three make the team. It’s who joins them.
In Springfield, the Thunderbirds continued to serve as both a proving ground and a pressure cooker. A handful of players made their cases in meaningful ways, and at least two did so loudly enough that the Blues’ front office will have genuine decisions to make when training camp opens in the fall.
Stats are provided by InStat Hockey ahead of May 12 playoff game
Aleksanteri Kaskimäki
Aleksanteri Kaskimäki has been one of the most compelling prospect stories in the organization this season. The 22-year-old Finnish winger has averaged nearly 19 minutes of ice time each game, put up 20 goals and 47 points in 70 AHL games this season, shooting 135 times on goal and generating 42 scoring chances across all situations. He moved the puck efficiently through the neutral zone, and while he is no longer deployed primarily at center, he remains capable at the faceoff dot when called upon, winning 67 percent of his draws in limited opportunities. Kaskimäki was one of the top contributors on Springfield’s top and most impactful forward line. His speed, positioning, and a willingness to use his shot all point toward a player who is putting his game together and ready to compete for NHL minutes.
Kaskimäki was tied for second in goals and solely in second place in points among active Thunderbirds players during the regular season. He earned a five-game NHL call-up in December , giving the Blues an early look at what he might offer at the next level. The question heading into camp will not be whether Kaskimäki can contribute — it will be where he fits and how quickly. A middle-six role on the right wing is realistic for a player developing at this pace.
Dillon Dubé
Dubé is a harder conversation, but it is one worth having. The elephant in the room is that the former Calgary Flames second-round pick was acquitted of a sexual assault charge in July 2025 following a judge’s ruling that the evidence was not credible or reliable, then signed with the Blues’ AHL affiliate in Dec. 2025. The legal cloud has not fully dissipated while some in hockey circles remain reluctant to engage on his behalf. However, the on-ice reality is difficult to ignore.
Dubé scored 22 goals and posted 42 points in 53 games, generated 35 scoring chances, and drew 25 penalties. He recorded 105 shots on goal, was trusted on the power play with 58 power play shot attempts, consistently created and demonstrated as one of the most impactful players on the ice, all while averaging 16:46 of time on ice each game. He reached 20 goals in just 46 games, joining Kaskimäki and Chris Wagner as one of the only three 20-goal scorers on the Springfield roster this season.
The Blues will have to decide whether the organizational comfort level is there. If it is, Dubé is the type of player who brings experience, is offensively dangerous, and should be motivated enough to compete with someone like Jonatan Berggren for a bottom-six or middle-six spot outright. His goal production this season would have led most NHL teams’ fourth lines. He is not a reclamation project. He is a player who needs an opportunity and, by every measure available, earned one this year.
Dylan Peterson
‘Petey’ is not going to dazzle anyone with his point total. After scoring 13 goals and 25 points in 63 games, it is a modest number, though it came with 71 hits, while drawing 29 penalties. The 6-foot-4, 192-pound winger plays a north-south game that makes life difficult along the boards, wins board battles consistently, and does his job without requiring the puck to be on his stick to be effective.
That type of player has value in the NHL, particularly for a fourth-line role that asks players to be hard on pucks, protect the defensive zone, and occasionally cash in on second opportunities in front of the net. Peterson averaged 14:22 TOI, generated 82 shots on goal and maintained 30 blocked shots. As a winger who brings size and physicality, he is a reasonable fit for the kind of fourth-line role the Blues will need to fill. Whether or not he starts the season in St. Louis, he is the type of player the organization should want close to the big club.
Zach Dean
Dean’s path to this point has been anything but straightforward. The former first-round pick has battled injuries and a stint in the NHL/NHLPA Players Assistance Program, and the honest truth is that for a time it was unclear whether a professional hockey career remained in his future. This season, it was. Dean has put up 17 points in 43 games, while averaging 14:34 TOI and it is the detail that stands out more than anything else. Dean handled 381 faceoffs, winning 45 percent of them, 56 percent coming from the defensive-zone draws and 50 percent of his neutral-zone draws.
He is not a top-six forward as maybe once projected. As a 13th forward who can center a line in a pinch, take key draws, and bring a legitimate compete level to the bottom of a lineup, Dean has made a real case.
Marc-André Gaudet
Despite not being a future top-four defenseman, his five goals, 21 points, 65 blocked shots, and 96 shots on goal in 62 games demonstrate his understanding and consistent commitment to his game. He skated 19:39 each night, excelling on the power play where he generated 57 of his 96 shots on goal. He also contributed in the defensive zone and delivered reliable, yet unspectacular, performances each night. Gaudet is not a player who is going to ‘wow’ anyone, but provide reliable depth defense each game.
Hunter Skinner
The more aggressive case for the blue line. The 25-year-old right-handed defenseman put up 20 points in 61 games, landed 86 hits, blocked 60 shots, and averaged over 20 minutes of ice time. He made his NHL debut with the Blues in November before being returned to Springfield. While it was a brief look, his training camp and preseason continued to show the organization sees something worth developing. Skinner has accumulated 75 points, 310 penalty minutes, and consistent playing time across 263 career AHL games, and has established himself as a credible professional rather than a project. His physicality and positioning as a right-shot defenseman give him a legitimate shot at competing for the seventh defensive spot in training camp, particularly with Justin Holl (UFA) and Matthew Kessel (RFA) both carrying expiring contracts.
What happens this summer will determine how crowded the competition becomes. The Blues have cap space to address the roster internally given this summer has a weaker free agency class, and incoming GM Alexander Steen will want to put his own mark on the team’s direction. T players in Springfield made the conversation interesting on their own terms. When camp opens, these players will all have a legitimate argument to make. The Blues’ job will be to listen to the ones that make the most sense.