Blues prospect Dalibor Dvorsky will begin an unfamiliar campaign with a familiar partner.
When the Blues open the Tom Kurvers Prospect Showcase on Friday night against the Blackhawks, Dvorsky will be embarking on his quest to earn a spot on the NHL roster for the first time. Since the 2023 No. 10 pick was starting his season in Europe last year, Dvorsky wasn鈥檛 at the Blues鈥 prospect tournament or training camp or exhibition games.
But now that he is in North America, Dvorsky has found a fellow Slovakian on his line: Juraj Pekarcik.
Pekarcik, the Blues鈥 third-round pick in 2023, played with Dvorsky on the Slovakian national team at the Under-18 World Championship and at the World Juniors. Over the summer, the pair skated at the same facility in Slovakia. So, yeah, they鈥檝e gotten familiar with each other, and the pair will have Swedish forward Simon Robertsson on the other wing on their line.
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鈥淚鈥檝e played with him at U-18s, World Juniors last season as well,鈥 Dvorsky said of Pekarcik. 鈥淗e鈥檚 a great player, really good passer. He sees amazing plays. Same thing with Simon Robertsson as well. We鈥檙e playing on a line together and he鈥檚 a great player, won the SHL last year. I鈥檓 happy to have those two guys on my line.鈥
Dvorsky is one of a few Blues prospects hoping to use this weekend鈥檚 event as a springboard into training camp. Zack Bolduc is the most experienced player of any Blues, Blackhawks or Wild prospects with his 25 NHL games. Zach Dean got a taste of the NHL down the stretch last season.
But Dvorsky is maybe the most intriguing prospect of the Blues鈥 transition.
When the Blues selected him at No. 10 last year at the draft in Nashville, Dvorsky became the highest-drafted player by the organization since Alex Pietrangelo 15 years earlier. After arriving in North America and playing for Sudbury in the Ontario Hockey League during the season last fall, Dvorsky lit up the OHL with 45 goals and 43 assists in 52 games.
He is eligible to return to Sudbury for another season of junior hockey, but could gain more by playing with AHL affiliate Springfield 鈥 if he鈥檚 not in St. Louis, that is.
鈥淗ands are real good,鈥 said Springfield coach Steve Konowalchuk, who is coaching the prospects this weekend. 鈥淪mart player, can make plays. It鈥檚 one practice out there and it鈥檚 a lot of bodies, but certainly a really good top prospect.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 what鈥檚 exciting for where I鈥檓 at in my position here. Coming into an organization where there鈥檚 a lot of top prospects and a lot of draft picks that are coming through now that I get to work with. So that鈥檚 exciting.鈥
When Dvorsky was in St. Louis for development camp in July, he put the responsibility on himself to earn a spot in the NHL. General manager Doug Armstrong has repeatedly said Dvorsky is in the mix for a spot on the NHL roster, but now is Dvorsky鈥檚 time to prove it.
鈥淚鈥檝e been looking forward to this for a long time,鈥 Dvorsky said. 鈥淚鈥檓 happy that the games start now. 鈥 I just want to show what鈥檚 within me. Obviously, I want to win. I want to help the team win. That is what I do every single game, just try to be as good a player as a I can for the team.鈥
Dvorsky said he focused this summer a lot on strength training.
鈥淚 gained some weight,鈥 Dvorsky said. 鈥淣ot fat, don鈥檛 worry. It鈥檚 been a good summer. I got stronger.鈥
Dvorsky is one of a handful of Blues prospects who have been in St. Louis for about a month. He鈥檚 currently living in a rental property with Dylan Peterson, Michael Buchinger and Robertsson.
鈥淗e鈥檚 a stud,鈥 Peterson said of Dvorsky. 鈥淓ats clean. Sleeps good. He does everything the right way, and obviously it shows on the ice. Such a gifted player. Great guy.鈥
In this weekend鈥檚 games, Dvorsky will be the highest-drafted player on the ice. That honor would have belonged to Blackhawks defenseman Artyom Levshunov, but the No. 2 in this year鈥檚 draft suffered a foot injury and will not play.
鈥淗onestly, I don鈥檛 care who鈥檚 playing against (us),鈥 Dvorsky said. 鈥淚 just focus on my team. He went second overall, so it would be fun to play him, but he doesn鈥檛 play, so not too much to comment.鈥