The 14^th installment of the 32 thots blockbuster series includes Eric Dolegowki’s St. Louis Blues. They had a rough season in the BRHL. With a 29-34-8 record, they sit 7th in the Central Division and out of playoff contention.

Offensively, the team is struggling, averaging just 2.87 goals for per game (21st) and owning one of the league’s worst power plays at 15.32% (27th). Defensively, they’ve also had issues, allowing 3.32 goals against per game (25th) — bottom-tier production.

One of the few bright spots has been the penalty kill, ranked 10th in the league at 83.14%, showing some defensive discipline.

Forwards: B+ You have a very well-rounded forward group, mixing skill and depth:

• Top-tier contributors: Filip Forsberg, Jake Guentzel, Brandon Hagel, and Jack Quinn offer firepower.
• Solid depth & versatility: Ryan Strome, Anders Lee, Jaret Anderson-Dolan, and Luostarinen are flexible and experienced.
• Grit & defensive forwards: Teddy Blueger, Nic Dowd, and Cole Guttman bring good balance to your bottom-six.

Only knock is that there’s no superstar elite center to anchor the group (i.e., no McDavid/MacKinnon tier), but your depth is playoff-caliber.

Defense: B This is a solid, not flashy D-core:

• Top-end talent: Noah Dobson is your clear #1, with great offensive upside.
• Supporting cast: Gustav Forsling, Mario Ferraro, and Parker Wotherspoon are all capable, though not elite.
• Veterans like Forbort and Ristolainen bring NHL experience but are more stay-at-home types than playmakers.

Your defense lacks a true two-way game-changer but should hold up in most matchups.

Goalies: B+

• Tristan Jarry & Darcy Kuemper make for a very respectable tandem, assuming health and stable performance. Jarry has shown he can steal games, and Kuemper is serviceable.
• Depth is a little thin outside your top two, but still better than many teams.

Prospects: B You’ve assembled an impressive prospect pool:

• Blue-chip guys: Oliver Moore, Denton Mateychuk, Danny Nelson, and Luke Tuch are legit NHL prospects with top-6 or top-4 potential.
• Strong depth: Ethan Edwards, Ty Mueller, Gavin Hayes, and Brody Lamb round out a solid mix of forwards and D.
• Goaltending prospect Emmett Croteau is intriguing but not top-tier at this point.

This pool isn’t full of household names yet, but it’s deep, diverse, and has multiple NHLers in the making. Very solid future outlook.

Draft Picks: B+ You hold a healthy stash of picks, especially in 2025 and 2026:

• Multiple mid-round selections give you ammunition for either trade leverage or adding more depth to your prospect pool.
• No 1st rounder shown for 2025 might hurt slightly, but your 2026 1st and a few extras help balance it.
• The key pick is the SJ 1 2026 which, if you take a look at that awful Sharks roster, is a surefire lock for top 5.

Final Grade: B+

You’ve built a balanced, consistent contender with a foundation to win now and a prospect core that keeps you competitive long-term. The lack of true elite franchise pieces (e.g., top 10 fantasy assets) slightly lowers your ceiling, but the depth across the board makes you tough to beat. This is a classic case where my thots led me to further thots and really this thot should have been between 32-20.

The catman is having a bit of a down year and made some interesting moves in free agency. He made a big splash at the deadline, trading his lottery first for a likely top 5 goalie (ratings) in Darcy Kuemper for next season. This shows that the catman is not going into a rebuild and will likely give it one more final kick at the can. If he has learned anything about watching the Pittsburgh Penguins in real life, it should have been to know when to fold em’ and start over.