Blues' Zach Dean Handed Big Opportunity In Pre-Season Encounter Against Blackhawks

It hasn’t been smooth sailing for Zach Dean since he arrived in St. Louis.

Originally a first-round pick of the Vegas Golden Knights in 2021, Dean came over to the St. Louis Blues in a trade that sent Ivan Barbashev the other way.

Since joining the Blues, he’s played just nine NHL games and spent three seasons in the AHL. His first season showed a bit of promise, but his second was ravaged by injuries, forcing him to play just 11 games.

Last season, he missed the start of the campaign while in the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program.

Now he’s healthy, on a new one-year, two-way contract, and is trying to make his mark on coach Jim Montgomery and the rest of the Blues staff in pre-season and training camp. It appears he has, as he’ll be given the opportunity to center the top line with Connor McMichael and Pavel Buchnevich tonight against the Chicago Blackhawks.

“Center with speed just to see what that looks like with McMichael and Buchnevich,” said Montgomery. “It’s an opportunity for the kid to hit a home run.”

“There hasn’t been a lot of opportunity to see him, but he’s shown really well this year. I love his attitude, I love the way he’s playing.”

The 23-year-old has played in both pre-season games so far and has made an impact. In the first contest, he had a nifty assist to Aleksanteri Kaskimaki, setting up one of the two goals the Blues have scored during the pre-season.

He entered the zone with blistering speed, creating a 2-on-1 opportunity. His speed forced the defenseman to pivot late, opening a passing lane. He feathered a saucer pass on the blade of Kaskimaki, who rifled it past the Dallas Stars’ netminder.

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Dean finished the game with two shots on goal and three hits in 16:18 of ice time. In the second game, he was a bit quieter, failing to record a shot and throwing just two hits in 11:53 of ice time, but his impact stems further.

In the first pre-season game at 5-on-5, the Blues held a Corsi For percentage of 63.64 percent and an expected goals for percentage of 78.72 percent with Dean on the ice. In game two, those numbers were 55 percent and 50.2 percent, according to NaturalStatTrick.com.

There is lots of competition to earn a spot in the Blues’ bottom six. So much so that GM Alexander Steen has reportedly said he is willing to listen to offers for NHL-caliber forwards.

Dean has done everything he can to make an impact so far, but tonight presents a massive opportunity. Playing with skilled players, Dean needs to show he can make plays offensively while being potent in his own end.

Another strong performance will show his versatility and force Montgomery to have difficult conversations about where he starts the 2026-27 season. Either way, Dean is showing he is, at the very least, on the verge of becoming an NHL player.

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