In the OHL, teams are mandated to take four days off per month. They are scheduled on the calendar and everyone knows they’re coming. The players look forward to them.
Except Dalibor Dvorsky.
First thing in the morning on these days off, the St. Louis Blues’ 2023 first-round pick would have a bucket of pucks, firing them one after another on an otherwise empty sheet of ice at the Sudbury Community Arena.
“Even after a long road trip, I’d get a call in the morning, ‘Hey coach, can I go on the ice?’” says Ken MacKenzie, who was Dvorsky’s head coach with the Sudbury Wolves this season before stepping down recently. “I can’t tell him to go on the ice, but I can’t tell him that he can’t. He’d always be the one guy. He’d always find a way to get out there.
“I’m not saying he didn’t take one day off, but I can’t remember when he did. Even in the playoffs. ‘Dalibor, you can’t come on the ice today.’”
Unfortunately for Dvorsky, he’s getting some unwanted time off with Sudbury’s season over after a second-round loss in the playoffs. But it’s a well-deserved and perhaps much-needed break after a whirlwind season for the 18-year-old, starting in Sweden’s top men’s league and ending in the Canadian junior hockey ranks.
It was a massively successful move for Dvorsky, who finished with 45 goals and 88 points in 52 regular-season games for the Wolves, along with three goals and 10 points in nine playoff games.
Dalibor Dvorsky was picked at No. 10 by the Blues in 2023. (Jason Kempin / Getty Images)
In the annual OHL Coaches poll, the 6-foot-1, 203-pound forward was voted to have the best shot and be the best stickhandler, and he finished second in the smartest-player tally. When the Wolves announced their own awards, he won the leadership trophy.
“It was a great step for me,” Dvorsky says. “I really like it here. Obviously it’s different in Europe — different culture and everything. I have great people around me here: my teammates, the coaching staff, my billets, and they really helped me, especially when I got here. So the transition was pretty easy.”
When Dvorsky arrived in Sudbury last October, it was a mental reset after seeing his ice time with Sweden’s IK Oskarshamn dwindle to just a shift or two per game before his departure.
“It was really important,” he says. “Every hockey player wants to play, you know? It’s important for the confidence as well.”
Right away, MacKenzie could sense that relief.
“One hundred percent,” he says. “I said, ‘Let’s put some fun back in the game for you.’ He was real good right from the start. He was putting the puck in the net, making plays. His play indicated that he was an elite player, who could play with anybody and play any position. It took him no time at all to adjust to our game.”
Dvorsky scored in his Wolves’ debut, and over the next six months, he had one seven-game scoring streak and two five-game streaks. His longest stretch without a goal was three games and he also went two games once.
“In this league, the hockey is much more offensive than the league I was in before,” he says. “I feel like in the offensive zone, I can kind of shoot from everywhere because it’s a scoring chance. I really like the style here.”
And those extra shooting reps on Sudbury’s off days? They paid off, as Dvorsky led the OHL with a 26.8 shooting percentage.
His 45 goals ranked fourth in the OHL despite his missing eight games while playing in Sweden and eight more for the World Junior Championships. Projecting to a full 68-game schedule, he was on pace for 58 goals, which would have tied him for first in the league.
“I had high goals, and I just wanted to be as good as possible every game,” Dvorsky says. “But I would not score over 40 goals on my own. My teammates helped me and I got a lot of good passes.”
“It would be scary to see the numbers that kid would’ve put up if he played a full year,” MacKenzie says. “If he would’ve played the full schedule, he would’ve easily had his 50. Big, big numbers.”
But while Dvorsky will tell you that his shot is his biggest asset, his passing was impressive too. He had 43 assists with the Wolves. And his 88 points ranked 15th in the league. Again projecting out to 68 games, he was on pace for 115, which would have been second.
“You know Dalibor said the same thing to me — ‘my shot’ — but I’ve had guys score 50 goals in our league, and these guys were strictly goal scorers,” MacKenzie says. “They shot the puck every opportunity they got. Dalibor, he has a great mixture. He’s just as good of a playmaker as he is a goal scorer. Can he shoot a puck? One hundred percent. He’s got a pro shot.
“But I wouldn’t say he was a shot-first mentality. He’s the kind of player that you’d love to play with because you’re going to get passes from him that you don’t expect, and he’s going to put the puck in the net when you give him the puck. Both ways, he’s very good.”
So is Dvorsky, with just one year of experience on the small ice in North America, ready for the NHL?
The Blues are in need of a second-line center to play behind Robert Thomas, and with the organization currently in a draft-and-develop mode during its retool, he could be one of the options in 2024-25.
“Well, I’ll go to the camp next September, and I’ll do my best to make the team from there, you know?” Dvorsky says. “So that’s my answer. I’ll go to the camp, and I will do my best to make the team.”
At the very least, Blues general manager Doug Armstrong wasn’t ruling out Dvorsky playing in St. Louis soon during his season-ending press conference. Armstrong noted that the team drafted Dvorsky with the No. 10 overall pick, and if there were a redraft now, he might go in the single digits.
“The one player that looks like he’s going to push for a really good look in training camp is Dvorsky,” Armstrong said. “What I saw what he did at the world juniors, what we see him doing against his peer group in the Ontario Hockey League, and how we’ve seen players that do what he did in the Ontario League progress in the NHL, there’s a path there. But that path won’t be rushed.
“He thinks he’s going to be here in St. Louis, and I’m not going to dash that dream. But if it’s not, we’ll find a nice home for him.”
Doug Armstrong discusses the #stlblues‘ next wave of prospects: “The one player that looks like he’s going to push for a really good look in training camp is (Dalibor) Dvorsky. … There’s a path there.” pic.twitter.com/8L7EQeQE5J
— Bally Sports Midwest (@BallySportsMW) April 18, 2024
Dvorsky has one more year of junior eligibility and could play another season beyond that as an overage. But MacKenzie, whose son Derek played parts of 16 seasons in the NHL from 2002 to 2019, understands that it’s just a matter of time before Dvorsky is in the NHL.
“I’m telling you know, he will be playing before long,” MacKenzie says. “I know what (it) takes to get there and I know how big of a jump it is. So for me to say he’s going to play there next year, I’m not going to rule him out for anything because of his drive and determination. I’ve coached a lot of kids and there’s not many like that guy.
“But it’s a big jump. You’ve got to get stronger to play at the next level, and he knows it. The one thing, when you’re talking about Dalibor Dvorsky, you’re not going to come out and say, ‘He’s the fastest guy I’ve ever coached.’ So I’m sure speed is going to be the one thing that he’ll continue to work at.
“But they’re going to give him a look, and it wouldn’t surprise me to see him there, depending on what St. Louis wants. If they want that development part, even if he was in the American League for a bit, you may see a little bit of that. But yeah, he’s got the full package. He can play there, for sure.”
One thing Dvorsky is looking forward to when he does get to town is playing with 2022 first-round pick Jimmy Snuggerud (No. 23). The two texted each other when they were at the world juniors in Sweden, and Dvorsky was watching closely when Snuggerud announced that he was staying at the University of Minnesota for his junior season in 2024-25.
“If he feels that’s the best for him, he should definitely do it,” Dvorsky says. “I’m sure he discussed it with St. Louis and his family, as well. I’m sure we’ll see each other a lot in the future.
“I’m super excited about what the future holds — all the fans and everything. I’m just trying to improve every day, and I’ll do my best to be as good for the Blues as I can.”
(Photo: Bjorn Larsson Rosvall / Getty Images)
