After losing Dmitrij Jaskin to the Capitals on waivers today, the Blues made it very evident that there was going to be space on Thursday night to give some youngsters a look.
That’s exactly what’s happening. Robert Thomas and Jordan Kyrou will be playing on opening night, as will Sammy Blais and Ivan Barbashev, who are both up for another extended audition with the NHL club. So will surprise camp standout Niko Mikkola, the 22 year old Finnish defenseman. He was a sixth round draft pick (127th overall) in the 2015 draft, and he and Jordan Schmaltz are on the opening night roster courtesy of a Robert Bortuzzo suspension and a Carl Gunnarsson injury.