Training camp brings plenty of excitement for Blues

The skates are sharpened, the whistles are blowing, and the 2025-26 St. Louis Blues are officially back on the ice.

Day 1 of training camp on Thursday brought a mix of fresh faces, old friends, and plenty of reminders that while last season ended with a playoff appearance, this group knows nothing will come easy.

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Blues General Manager Doug Armstrong and Head Coach Jim Montgomery made that point clear: the Blues have work to do, competition is fierce, and expectations are high. Last year’s late surge was encouraging, but Armstrong isn’t about to let the team ride that into October. “Doesn’t matter we ended strong – we can’t replicate that by just showing up,” Armstrong said.

That means camp isn’t just about shaking off summer rust – it’s about setting the tone. Montgomery liked the effort on day one but made it clear that details will matter every single day. “Intensity was good. The pace was slowing in a couple of drills, but really good in other drills where we had to battle each other,” Montgomery said. “I liked the way our second and third effort was naturally there on the first day. Today was a good day one. I expect us to be better [Friday].”

Good isn’t good enough. The Blues want to be great out of the gate.

Few things excite hockey people more than depth, and Armstrong thinks the Blues have it. But depth also means battles for roster spots. “We want competition and I think we have that right now,” Armstrong said. “I do like our depth – we have the big dogs, but they need to be the big dogs.”

The competition won’t just be at the bottom of the lineup. It’s top-to-bottom, veterans versus prospects, established players versus hungry challengers. Montgomery summed it up simply: “You’ve got to get off to a great start. If you don’t have a good camp, you don’t get off to a good start.”

One of the more encouraging sights on day one was watching veterans pair with younger players in drills – like Justin Carbonneau skating with Brayden Schenn and Dylan Holloway, or Dalibor Dvorsky with Pius Suter and Jordan Kyrou. The veterans set the tone -their pace, consistency, and competition level gave younger players a clear example of the standard expected in camp. Montgomery explained this philosophy: “We want to give everybody the opportunity to play with NHL players, but we also want to give our NHL players and some of the younger ones, especially, the opportunity to make people better. You know, it’s part of what we want to do as an organization – anytime someone comes into the fold and comes into the family, we’re going to try and make them better.”

Veterans don’t just lead – they raise the bar.

Every training camp has a few players who make you look twice. On the first day, two stood out: Holloway and Milan Lucic.

“(Holloway) looked like he didn’t even miss anything,” Montgomery said. “His second and third effort, I think, is contagious. It was a pleasant, pleasant day to see him back out there.”

“(And Lucic) has got to win a job. There was one rush today where he took it wide and that was NHL speed. He took it hard to the net. Those are things we think as a team, we need to be better at than last year.”

Yes, last year’s heartbreaking Game 7 loss still lingers. But both Armstrong and Montgomery agree it’s fuel, not baggage.

“We don’t like the way we finished that game. We should have advanced,” Montgomery said. “But we’re going to learn from it and we’re gonna get better. We’re not thinking about Game 7. We’re thinking about getting off to a great start this year.”

If Thursday’s practices are any indication, the Blues are about competition, leadership, and a relentless team-first mindset. Armstrong put it best: “Collectively we are better together than we are as individuals.”

It’s only the first skate, but the identity is already clear. This group doesn’t want to sneak up on anyone – they want to announce themselves from the start.

It’s only Day 1. But if you’re a Blues fan, you can feel it already: this team is standing taller.