The Shocking Number 33
Corey Pronman from The Athletic just dropped a new list that shifts the whole conversation. Jimmy Snuggerud sits at number 33, which puts him two spots ahead of Philadelphia’s Matvei Michkov. That ranking lands the Blues forward in elite company, trailing only Will Smith and Ryan Leonard. The 2023 draft class usually owns these top spots, yet Snuggerud holds his ground without blinking. It’s a massive win for St. Louis after a promising rookie season.
Seven Blues players made the cut in this comprehensive 156-player ranking.
Most fans expect the top two to be Snuggerud and Adam Jiricek, but the rest of the list offers real surprises. The Blues under-23 pool already ranked seventh in the league, but this specific player list shows the depth is real. A few of these young players sit higher than names you wouldn’t expect to beat. You have to look at the numbers, not just the hype. Some of these kids are outperforming expectations that seemed locked in stone a year ago. The gap between “good” and “great” is narrowing fast for this group.
Trading a Top Prospect
The real question now is if you’d trade Snuggerud for Smith or Michkov. The answer is a pretty easy yes for those two because they bring a different look to the lineup. Smith and Michkov offer skills that the Blues don’t currently have in their top lines. Swapping for Leonard merely changes the scenery because, unlike Snuggerud, he offers more physicality despite their comparable skill sets. It wouldn’t make a ton of sense to trade for a player who does the same thing.
Adam Jiricek sits at number 46 on the list. Daxon Rudolph, selected fourth overall recently, ranks one spot ahead, while Ethan Belchetz falls two spots behind him. The Blues now possess valuable assets for building a contender: a top-six forward paired with a top-four defenseman. These are the building blocks needed to win again in St. Louis. You can’t win a championship with just one star; you need this kind of balance.
Depth in the Middle
The other five prospects all land under the “middle of the lineup” banner. Dalibor Dvorsky and Tynan Lawrence show up back-to-back at numbers 61 and 62. Although Pronman sees both as third-line centers, some supporters still believe Lawrence could develop into a 2C. Acquired when Jordan Kyrou was traded to the Washington Capitals, Milton Gastrin appears next at 102.
While Gastrin’s ceiling is slightly lower than Lawrence’s and Dvorsky’s, he might still serve as a dependable third-line center. With nearly identical projections, Cole Beaudoin, Marco Kasper, and he occupy a comparable range. At 123, the list includes a player one spot ahead of Zach Benson, which still seems unbelievable to many observers. That’s a specific stat that makes you do a double-take.
Justin Carbonneau is the only Blues prospect on the list ranked below Benson. The rest of the group stands above the Buffalo Sabres’ top pick. This spread shows the organization has built a deep pool of talent that can help the team soon. The Blues aren’t just waiting on one star; they’ve got a group ready to play.
What the List Says
The ranking suggests either Pronman is extremely high on Snuggerud or other top picks have fallen out of favor. It’s a fun question to debate with friends at the bar. The data shows the Blues have a strong foundation for the future. Seven players in the top 156 is a sign of a healthy system.
Time and temperature matter in hockey, but so does having the right young talent. These seven names prove the Blues are on the right track. The list from The Athletic confirms what many fans already suspect. The future looks bright for the St. Louis Blues.
