Could Jakub Stancl Be Diamond In The Rough Prospect For Blues?

Truth me told, when the St. Louis Blues selected Jakub Stancl in the fourth round of the 2023 NHL Draft, there couldn’t have been lofty expectations for the Czechia-born forward.

And when the 19-year-old put up six points (four goals, two assists) in helping Czechia win bronze at the 2024 IIHF World Junior Championship in Sweden, it was a nice feather in the cap but nothing too crazy to think he could continue to score.

Nobody else thought the production was sustainable except for one person: Stancl.

And when he committed to come to North America and play with Kelowna of the Western Hockey League, Stancl was gaining traction – and attention – from those that took a chance on him: the Blues, who saw the 32 points (11 goals, 21 assists) Stancl had put up through 26 games with the Rockets.

But then he represented Czechia again at the 2025 World Junior in Ottawa, and was a major contributor in helping his country claim bronze again, and leading the tournament with seven goals (10 points) in seven games. He teamed up with fellow Blues prospects Adam Jiricek (2024, first round, No. 16 overall), Adam Jecho (2024, third round) and Ondrej Kos (2024, third round).

Blues general manager Doug Armstrong was on hand to see him in person for a couple games and came away impressed.

“I’d say his release was dynamic at this event,” Armstrong said. “Getting an opportunity to play in the Western Hockey League against this level of competition instead of men was good for him. I think he felt comfortable coming into the event and he looked like a power forward that was relied upon by his team to produce offense and play an important role. It was great to see for him and just sets him up great to go back to the Western League and have a strong finish before turning pro. I would just say his overall game, his size and his power and his release was very evident in this event.

“I think this year getting against his peer group, we saw some of that against his peers, but I think at this event was obviously great for him. Really started last year when he knocked Canada out in the quarterfinals and then added to it this year. Yeah, maybe he’s exceeded expectations, but he’s raised the bar now on what we expect from him moving forward, which is a real positive thing.”

Stancl is on pace for 73 points (25 goals, 48 assists) in 59 games. It’s one thing to produce at the WHL level, but as Armstrong said, “You like to see how guys perform when the lights are the brightest. And for the junior players, this is it. It doesn’t get any bigger than the World Junior Championship, and for our guys to play well and to show well and to be counted on by their countries is very important for us. It’s great to see guys we talk about that it’s showtime and guys rise up to the top of that and we’re very fortunate for a couple years to have a lot of players do that.”

Stancl has been no exception, a potential diamond in the rough prospect.