Blues Trim Roster At Preseason’s End

The St. Louis Blues are nearly done putting together their opening-night roster after several rounds of preseason cuts. The Blues recently sent Aleksanteri Kaskimäki, Dylan Peterson, Otto Stenberg and Adam Jiricek to Springfield, bringing the roster down to 28 players.

That came after another group of young players, including Justin Carbonneau, Nikita Susuev and Quinton Burns, were also sent to the AHL. The cuts aren’t necessarily a reflection of poor performances. For several of these prospects, getting NHL preseason experience was part of their development, and now they’ll have a chance to continue that progress in Springfield.

One of the more interesting names is Jiricek, who showed flashes during camp but ultimately wasn’t able to crack the NHL roster. With the Blues’ defensive group already crowded, he’ll have to continue developing and wait for another opportunity.

The biggest takeaway from this preseason is that the Blues have legitimate competition throughout the organization. Several young players pushed for NHL jobs, while the veterans established themselves as important pieces heading into the season.

Now the preseason is over, and the evaluation period is coming to an end.

The Blues have to turn what they learned over the past few weeks into an opening-night lineup and then prove it can translate once the games actually count.