As the anticipation for the 2026-27 NHL season grows, TheHockeyNews.com will be taking a look at the top 10 prospects in the St. Louis Blues’ system, with skilled power forward Justin Carbonneau coming in at the second spot.
The players in this ranking do not have extensive NHL experience and are all 23 and under. Therefore, players like Jimmy Snuggerud, Dalibor Dvorsky, and Logan Mailloux, among others, won’t feature in this ranking for those reasons.
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The order of these rankings reflects a mix of their ceilings and potential, as well as how they’ve performed over the past year with their respective clubs.
Deciding between Carobonneau and Adam Jiricek was difficult, but it feels like Carobonneau has a more attainable floor than Jiricek, while having similar ceilings.
When at his best, Carbonneau plays physically, engages himself in the forecheck, and finds plenty of lanes to fire shots on goal. Listed at 6-foot-1, 203 pounds, Carbonneau isn’t necessarily a true power forward like Tom Wilson, Brady Tkachuk or Matthew Knies, but he has shown a willingness to play that brand of hockey throughout his junior career.
The 19-year-old completed his final year of junior hockey with the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada in the QMJHL last year, scoring 51 goals and 80 points in 60 games. His 51 goals were tied for the league lead, although he did play three fewer games than Maxim Masse, the Anaheim Ducks prospect he was tied with.
St. Louis Blues 2025 First-Round Pick Justin Carbonneau Wants To Crash The NHL Party; Can He?
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Carbonneau was a surprise omission from Team Canada’s world junior team, but it wasn’t the first time Carbonneau was snubbed. Carbonneau’s only international appearance for Team Canada was at the U-17s in 2022. He was left off the world junior Team, U-18s, and the Hlinka Gretzky Cup roster in each year of eligibility.
Nonetheless, Carbonneau is set to begin his professional career. He played in three playoff games for the Springfield Thunderbirds in the AHL to end last season, but failed to record any points. Carbonneau will have the opportunity to compete for a roster spot out of training camp, as he did last year, but with the sheer number of NHL-caliber wingers on the roster, it’s more likely than not that Carbonneau will begin the season in the AHL.
In the AHL, Carbonneau should immediately find a role within the top six, alongside other prospects like Aleksanteri Kaskimaki, Otto Stenberg, Juraj Pekarcik, and Zach Dean. There is a chance Carbonneau excels and, due to injuries, earns a call-up and stays in the NHL, but the more probable case is that Carbonneau spends the 2026-27 season in the AHL before becoming a full-time NHLer in the 2027-28 season.
The former 19th overall pick of the 2025 NHL draft has all the tools of a top-six player and could become a complementary top-line winger as his game continues to round out.
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St. Louis Blues Prospect Rankings:
3. Adam Jiricek
4. Otto Stenberg
5. Maddox Dagenais
6. Theo Lindstein
7. Milton Gastrin
8. Dmitri Buchelnikov
9. Colin Ralph
10. Aleksanteri Kaskimaki
Honorable Mentions: Love Harenstam, Marcus Gidlof, Juraj Pekarcik, Zach Dean, and Lukas Fischer
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