ST. LOUIS — You can count the number of top 10 St. Louis Blues draft picks over the past 14 years on two fingers. Alex Pietrangelo … and Dalibor Dvorsky.
The former was a Stanley Cup-winning captain. The latter has his sights set on starting his NHL career as soon as possible, although he has a few things to learn about St. Louis first.
“I don’t know how you call it. The bowl? Or the Arch? That’s pretty cool," Dvorsky laughed when asked what he's learned about St. Louis so far.
It’s been a whirlwind of a first year in the Blues system for the teenage forward from Slovakia.
Dvorsky started off in one of the top leagues in Sweden, before moving over to the OHL’s Sudbury Wolves. And once he got to North America, the 10th overall pick began to click.
“Probably that I got used to the small ice and got used to the lifestyle in North America because it’s different than Europe obviously. … I got used to everything really quickly," Dvorsky said when asked about the best thing about the move to the OHL.
Dvorsky scored 45 goals in just 52 games for the Wolves. He had 88 points. But it wasn’t just his rocket shot and insanely fast hands that stood out.
Dvorsky won the team’s leadership award at just 18 years old. He turned 19 in June.
“I try to be a leader all the time. I don’t really think it’s like an age thing, right? I try to be a leader all the time in the room and on the ice as well to lead by example," Dvorsky said.
He would also frequently come in on scheduled days off to get shots in. That was until the coaches had to step in and shut that down for the playoffs.
“Maybe sometimes during playoffs they said, ‘You can’t go on.’ … Closer to the playoffs they were like, ‘Yeah you’ve got to calm down now. You’ve got games to play,'" Dvorsky said.
Now, Dvorsky’s NHL path is becoming clearer He’s bigger. He’s stronger. And he’s showing the Blues' brass exactly what he can do.
“I feel like my hockey IQ and my shot are the best. Also my puck protection. I feel like that’s my best attributes in the offense. But I’m also a two-way centerman, so I’m responsible in the D-zone as well," Dvorsky said. “I love being creative. That’s what hockey’s about, right? We all want to be creative and make plays and do those creative things in the offense. That’s what’s so fun about this sport."
And Doug Armstrong, the Blues president and general manager, has said multiple times that Dvorsky is going to have every chance to make the big club when training camp rolls around.
“He looks good. He’s added some muscle. He’s another guy that’s really gonna push for training camp," Armstrong said. "I love reading what he said the other day. ‘This is on me.’ That’s what you want. He’s looking in the mirror now and saying, ‘OK, we’ll see. The AHL? We’ll see.’ I love that. And he’s not cocky about it. He’s not demanding about it. He’s just saying, ‘We’ll see,'"
We will see soon enough.
And in the meantime, Dvorsky is visualizing what it means to be in the NHL, and, what it would mean to someday lift a Stanley Cup with a Blue note across his chest.
“That’s what I always wanted, to be in the NHL. And I’m going to take advantage of every opportunity I get on the ice to try and do that. I’ll do my best every single time I’m on the ice, because It’s my dream to play in the NHL and I’ll do everything possible to achieve it as soon as possible," Dvorsky said about aiming to make the team this year.
“I dream of (lifting the Stanley Cup) a lot. Ever since I was a little kid. And I think it’s going to happen with the Blues."