If Zach Dean was a musician, Friday night would have served as his audition to be a percussionist.
During the Blues’ 4-3 overtime win over the Blackhawks in the first game of the Tom Kurvers Prospect Showcase, Dean had two assists and hit three posts in a strong initial showing less than a week before şüŔęĘÓƵ training camp opens.
Dean, the 21-year-old forward originally acquired in the Ivan Barbashev trade in 2023, was inches away from having a prolific night.
“It’s just one of those games, but you know that when the chances are there, they’ll end up going in,” said Springfield coach Steve Konowalchuk, who is coaching the prospects this weekend. “He played good. They were generating chances.”
In the first period, he hit the nearside post on a shot in tight. In the second period, he assisted on goals by Lukas Fischer and Matthew Mayich, both by digging out pucks on the forecheck. In the third period, Dean hit the post again during a power play and had a rebound go off his skate just wide of the net.
Dean’s best chance? Well, that came in overtime, when Zack Bolduc found Dean all alone at the net-front for a possible game-winning goal. Instead, Dean once again made the iron sing.
“I think the worst one was the last one,” Dean said. “It was a wide open net.”
While Michael Buchinger, Fischer, Mayich and Simon Robertsson (overtime winner 2:19 into overtime) scored goals for the Blues on Friday night, Dean was the only player on the ice with multiple points.
“When you get out there for the first game after the offseason, you’re just trying to keep it simple,” Dean said. “It was just fun to just get back out there and play some hockey. Just feeling the puck, making play and competing, it was fun.”
Dean centered the top line between Bolduc and Aleksanteri Kaskimaki, and the trio consistently created chances. In addition to Dean’s multitude of opportunities, Kaskimaki and Bolduc nearly teamed up on Grade-A looks.
Bolduc fed Kaskimaki in the middle of the ice for a potential one-timer, but Kaskimaki whiffed. Later in the first period, Kaskimaki passed up a shooting opportunity by shuffling a pass behind Bolduc on a 2 on 1.
“You can see they’re talented players,” Konowalchuk said. “The speed, they certainly could have had some more goals. There was quite a bit of 4 on 4, specialty teams where they were able to generate some chances. That line, there’s some good skill and speed.”
Dean is in the mix of nearly 20 forwards that could be on the Blues roster at the start of the season, and he’ll be trying to make the first Opening Night roster of his career after playing nine NHL games in the spring. He profiles long-term as a depth forward with an edge to his game and the ability to chip in offensively, but in the meantime, he can make an impression on Blues brass with details in his game.
Like winning a puck behind the net and finding Fischer for a one-timer in the left circle.
“It was a little bit scrambly there behind the net and I was able to fish it out there,” Dean said. “I saw him, he was about top of the circle so I just threw it out to him and he got the shot off.”
Like scooping a puck from a board battle, flipping it to Kaskimaki and then driving to the net-front to provide a screen on Mayich’s goal.
“That’s the difference for guys like Dean that want to establish a solid NHL career,” Konowalchuk said. “It’s the details. The skill’s there. It’s finishing a check or stopping on a puck or going to the net like that goal.”
Dean: “You just try and play your game. Being up here last year, getting some tips from the coaches and stuff like that, the little details like that are really important at the next level. Obviously, this summer and coming into camp, that was something I was thinking about coming into the games.”
Dean said he worked on his skating over the summer in an effort to keep up with an ever-accelerating game. But he also saw plenty of another one of his almost-goals from his time with şüŔęĘÓƵ.
In the third-to-last game of the regular season, Dean had a golden opportunity for his first NHL goal vs. Carolina, but Frederik Andersen lunged to his left and robbed Dean with a glove save. Dean’s friends weren’t going to let him forget about it over the summer in Newfoundland.
“When I got home, they were just talking about it and then it got brought up on their phones and then it was a whole thing,” Dean said. “It’s always good, it’s funny.”
Dean is one of the Blues’ 10 players taken in the first round since the 2019 draft, and could become more of a fixture this season in şüŔęĘÓƵ.
“I just have to control what I can control,” Dean said. “I know that I’m a good player and everyone here’s a good player, so just got to do my thing."