ST. PAUL, Minn. — In a 6-4 win over the Wild prospects on Friday night, one of the most impactful players for the Blues didn’t crack the scoresheet.
Dylan Peterson, the 23-year-old forward and alternate captain for the weekend, made his presence known all around the ice with a physical brand of hockey that has become his identity in pro hockey. Peterson was heavy on the forecheck, a pest finishing checks and overall nuisance to Minnesota.
Springfield coach Steve Konowalchuk, who was coaching the Blues prospects at the Tom Kurvers Prospect Showcase, said Peterson was “a big reason we won the game” vs. Minnesota.
“He played to his identity,” Konowalchuk said. “It’s not about always getting a goal. He’s a guy that can create momentum with hits and forechecking and getting on pucks. He did exactly that. Penalty killer for us. He played his role to a T, and it takes different kinds of roles.”
Peterson was the oldest NHL-signed prospect on the Blues roster after spending four years at Boston University and playing as a rookie last year in Springfield. He was originally a third-round pick of the Blues in 2020.
“I called him crazy in the head,” Blues forward prospect Justin Carbonneau said. “He’s going through guys. He’s not scared of anyone, protects teammates, he’s hard, forecheck is great. He’s a big guy and he plays for the team first. Happy to have him on my team for sure.”
Told about Carbonneau’s comment, Peterson said “I might be. Felt like it out there. I might have been a little crazy in the head. It was fun.”
Peterson’s biggest hit of the night came on Wild defenseman Kyle Masters in the corner, and had plenty of skirmishes with other Minnesota combatants, including Stevie Leskovar.
Peterson figures to go back to Springfield to start the season, but could be a recall option if the Blues want a big (6-4), speedy, penalty-killing forward on the fourth line. Konowalchuk said Peterson understands his identity more after playing in the AHL a season ago.
“Early on, everybody at whatever levels, were usually the top skill guy or the top point guy, but when you get to the pro level and want to make it to the NHL, it becomes about your role and how you can help a role and help an NHL team,” Konowalchuk said. “Like he played (Friday), getting pucks out, getting pucks in on the forecheck, and being hard to play against. He did a good job of that.”
Peterson: “If I can have an impact on the game positively as much as I can, that’ll help me sleep at night.”
Here are other odds and ends from the Blues’ two games in St. Paul.
Patience with Lindstein
Defenseman Theo Lindstein previously played on the smaller North American ice at the World Juniors, but the two-game showcase was his first NHL event as he makes the jump over from Sweden this fall.
“Way other hockey than in Sweden for sure,” Lindstein said. “Goes faster, it’s more up and down. It was hard, but it was fun. Fun to be here, and to play with all the guys and see the hockey over here. But it’s going to take a couple games to come into it more and more and get used to it.”
Lindstein, a first-round pick in 2023, centers his game around making poised and smart decisions with the puck, particularly on breakouts and in transition in the neutral zone. The wider ice in Sweden allowed him more time for that. But it’s less so in North America.
“Overall, it’s mostly everything,” Lindstein said. “It’s quicker without the puck, you need to know where you’re going to pass the puck before you get the puck and those small things. It’s smaller out there, so you have to be quicker in everything in your mind, in your skates and your feet, everything.”
Lindstein, 20, was paired with Adam Jiricek for the two games, and Konowalchuk praised his two-way hockey.
“As he gets more and more comfortable in the North American game, he’s going to be a good solid player,” Konowalchuk said.
Dvorsky drives offense
Former No. 10 pick Dalibor Dvorsky helped produce offense over the weekend, picking up a goal and an assist on Friday night vs. Minnesota and providing the Blues with many chances during the third period against Chicago.
In the third vs. the Blackhawks, Dvorsky and linemates Aleksanteri Kaskimaki and Carbonneau continuously found each other in dangerous areas as the Blues searched for a game-winning goal. Chicago wound up winning 3-2 in overtime.
“We think back to last year’s rookie camp to where he was, still a young kid trying to figure it out a little bit,” Konowalchuk said. “Now, you’re leaning on him out here. As a coach, you’re leaning on him. That line could have had a goal or two in the third there to win the game for us. They played well in the third. He’s definitely grown as a player. He’s still a very young kid. He certainly was a go-to guy for us in these couple games.”
Konowalchuk said during the season last year that Dvorsky’s pace had improved since he arrived in the AHL, and that will be a key factor as he tries to make the jump into the NHL now. Dvorsky is a candidate to fill a hole in the bottom-six, though he’ll have to beat out veterans in order to do it.
Pekarcik picks ‘em out
Forward Juraj Pekarcik was one of just two Blues players with points in both games, as he picked up a primary assist on Kaskimaki’s power-play goal vs. the Wild, and then another primary helper on Otto Stenberg’s early goal Saturday vs. the Blackhawks.
On Stenberg’s goal, Pekarcik actually picked out two passes, even if one didn’t get through. He initially tried reaching to slide a lateral pass to Jakub Stancl, but when it was blocked by a sliding Blackhawks defender, Pekarcik kicked the puck to himself and found Stenberg at the net-front without looking up to find him.
“His strength is that he’s strong on pucks,” Konowalchuk said. “He’s strong on pucks, puck possession type player, good skill. I thought he had a good, solid two games with speed, managing the puck properly, not too many turnovers. For a young kid, that’s what you like to see.”
Pekarcik will turn pro this season after playing 2023-24 in the USHL and 2024-25 in the QMJHL. Over the weekend, he did find himself on the ice a lot, whether the product of hits or simply falling down.
Fischer fights
There’s one thing you can count on every time the Blues and Wild prospects play each other: there will be at least one fight.
For the third straight year (the only three years the Blues have participated in the Tom Kurvers Prospect Showcase), St. Louis and Minnesota prospects dropped the gloves. This year, it was Lukas Fischer taking on Brayden Holberton.
Fischer and Holberton threw down in the final minute of a 6-4 Blues win on Friday, and the Blues’ 2024 second-rounder appeared to get the better of the exchange, including a tight right uppercut that knocked the helmet off Holberton.
“Great fight, stood up for himself,” Konowalchuk said. “It was still a two-goal game, I was a little surprised. We’re putting out guys that are trying to defend a lead, and he went out and stood up for himself. It was awesome, and showed he has that ability, too. For an 18-year-old, played really well for us (in Springfield) when he came in (at the end of) last year.”
Fischer’s father, Jiri, was in attendance for the weekend as part of his management job with the Red Wings.
Carbonneau finished a quick, slick feed from Otto Stenberg with 1:22 left in the third, breaking a 4-4 tie and capping an impressive first game with St. Louis for the 2025 first-round pick.
Unofficially, Stenberg’s three points led all Blues for the prospect tournament.
Adam Jiricek scored a goal during Friday’s 6-4 win over the Wild and displayed many of the attributes that convinced the Blues to draft him despite a serious knee injury.
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Matthew DeFranks | Post-Dispatch
Hockey reporter
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