SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — Dalibor Dvorsky does not want to pretend.
The prized Blues pick understands that playing for AHL affiliate Springfield is part of the process. He gets that he will bide his time developing in the minors before making his eventual jump up to St. Louis. But there’s no mistaking Dvorsky’s motivation for making his way to the NHL.
“Anyone who says that they don’t think about it at all, they are lying,” Dvorsky said. “Everyone thinks about it a little bit. But I think I’m pretty good at just being in the moment and playing these games. Obviously, everyone wants to get called up, right? I think I’ve done a pretty good job with that being here and playing.”
Dvorsky, the team’s first-round pick in 2023 with the No. 10 pick, is one of the youngest players in the AHL this season. While teenagers in Canadian junior hockey are restricted from playing in the AHL until they are 20, and most European teenagers remain there until it’s time to leap towards the NHL, Dvorsky is able to play in the AHL because he was drafted out of Europe.
In his first season with Springfield, and entering Friday’s game against Lehigh Valley, Dvorsky is the team’s leading scorer with six goals and 10 points in 13 games played. He is second among AHL rookies in goals, and is tied for seventh in points. Dvorsky is also fifth among rookies with 32 shots on goal.
Springfield coach Steve Konowalchuk said that Dvorsky has adjusted to the pace of the AHL, which is noticeably higher than the Ontario Hockey League, where Dvorsky played for Sudbury last season.
“Now, he has to use his body, plus get a little quicker, and he has been,” Konowalchuk said. “He’s pushing the pace now. He’s skating strong. His stride is getting better. Everything he’s doing is just more assertive, and that’s confidence. He’s really building that confidence to want to carry the puck through the neutral zone and more confidence to engage in the battles. His growth over the last five, six games is really trending in the right direction.”
Dvorsky said: “I have the speed, it’s just a little mindset thing. But the pace of the game pushes me to adjust to it. Lately, I’m not even thinking about it. I know I have to move fast to make plays in this league. If I don’t, then it’s not going to happen. So that pushes me, and I think I’ve done that well lately, so just got to keep building on it.”
From Oct. 27 to Nov. 6, Dvorsky had a four-game goal streak, and when the streak ended on Saturday, his consolation prize was picking up two assists. Dvorsky had four points in his first seven games, and six in his last six before the weekend.
Dvorsky, 19, is the fifth-youngest player in the AHL.
“Young players have a habit of wanting to think about how can I get a goal vs. just playing the game right and you’ll end up getting the goal,” Konowalchuk said. “I think, for him, that’s where he’s really doing a good job of building into a 200-foot hockey player. Now, he has the puck more and he gets more opportunities and he scores, and it keeps building that confidence.”
For the Blues, Dvorsky is a key piece as they transition their core to the next wave of talent on the way. At No. 10, he was the club’s highest pick in 15 years, when the Blues took Alex Pietrangelo at No. 4 in 2008. Dvorsky was the first forward taken with a top-10 pick by the Blues since Rod Brind’Amour went ninth in 1988.
The hope is that Dvorsky can form a one-two punch with Robert Thomas down the middle that the Blues can build a lineup around. And with that much on the line, the Blues are being careful not to rush Dvorsky, and general manager Doug Armstrong acknowledged as much before training camp two months ago.
Konowalchuk echoed a similar message on Friday morning, saying he wants Dvorsky to go to the NHL when he’s ready to leave the AHL behind.
“His play will dictate whether he has to take a longer development path or not,” Konowalchuk said. “I don’t necessarily want to cap that and say ‘You’re 19, it might take you longer.’ If he keeps trending like he’s trending, a month from now, two months from now, I’d like to see him knocking at that door (of the NHL).
“The other thing I’d like to see with all our guys, when they get called up, they’re ready to stay. A lot of guys can go up and play four or five games in certain roles and the coach can fit you in. But it’s important and I’ll feel proud when Dvo goes up, it’s when it’s right and we don’t see him again. That’s what we’re trying to build into his game. I don’t think age necessarily needs to be a factor. Let his play dictate it.”
Dvorsky entered training camp as a possible inclusion on the opening day roster, but was sent down after 10 days of the preseason. The message? To develop.
“This is a developmental league, to do my best, not to think too much forward and just to improve in everything in my game,” Dvorsky said. “Be as good a player as I can be, and that’s what I’m doing.”
Dvorsky, at 6-1 and 206 pounds, has the physical skills to protect pucks from the opposition, the hands in-tight to make plays in all three zones, the vision to find teammates, and a top-notch shot that includes a wicked one-timer on the power play.
But in adjusting to the speed of the AHL, does he have to think the game any differently?
“The game goes quicker, but I play my game and I process it the same way as I do always,” Dvorsky said. “Every player is different and I have my own style of play, so that’s how I think, that’s how I play and that’s how I will keep playing.”
If the Blues are going to successfully thread the needle of a shortened retool, Dvorsky’s development will be paramount, and it’s off to a good start this season.
“He’s driven, which is awesome,” Konowalchuk said. “He wants to be a hockey player in the NHL and I truly believe he will be. There’s just a lot of good qualities there.”
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