Blues Prospect Dmitry Buchelnikov Wants To Make NHL Childhood Dream A Reality

MARYLAND HEIGHTS, Mo. — For those that are familiar with the sports scene in St. Louis and the landscape of baseball, the Cardinals and Busch Stadium are pillars of the sports landscape.

For one St. Louis Blues prospect who got to witness the scene for the first time, it was an eventful experience, and one he won’t soon forget.

Dmitry Buchelnikov, acquired from the Detroit Red Wings in the Match 6 trade as part of the Justin Faulk deal, and fellow prospects — as part of their experience of being in St. Louis — took in the experience of baseball for the first time and was amazed.

“It was a great experience for being in baseball stadium,” the 22-year-old said. “I’ve never been before. We were catching; never did that before. And what is that, like swinging (a bat)? This is an amazing time spending here. Then a little soccer. We were doing penalties with MLS goalies. I scored, yeah, 100 percent! I really liked this.”

Yes, there was a visit to the facilities of St. Louis City SC and Energizer Park. Soccer is more familiar in Russia than baseball, if at all, but it was an opportunity for the second-round pick in the 2022 NHL Draft to soak in the experience of even a glimmer of life in the NHL.

It was Buchelnikov’s first in-person experience with the organization that took a liking to him after being traded, a trade that didn’t surprise him, and a trade he welcomed.

“No, not really,” Buchelnikov said. “They just call me that I got traded. I told them, ‘Thank you for everything.’ But this is a new (chapter) for me.

“It was like a good feeling, the same when you were drafted. You just have an opportunity to be here. This is amazing. This is for what you want to be. This is why the people here believe in you.”

It was a key reason why the Nizhny Tagil, Russia native felt it was important to come to North America and spend a few days with his new NHL organization, to get to know the city and a new fan base that will be pulling for him.

“No, I just know about this team before. It’s kind of a cool moment for me,” Buchelnikov said. “I’m just switching (teams) and I’m here and at development camp. It’s been amazing, my first time here. I like the city, I like what we (did) here for this week. Fun time.”

The 5-foot-10, 173-pound left wing, who has played the three seasons in the KHL after a 10-game stint there as a 19-year-old in 2022-23 with SKA St. Petersburg. Last year was a bit tumultuous after spending three months from Nov-Feb. rehabbing a surgically-repaired shoulder that limited him to 44 games with CSKA Moskva (25 points; 14 goals, 11 assists) plus another 10 games competing for the Gagarin Cup.

“It was a really good year. Yeah, I had the injury in the mid-season,” Buchelnikov said. “I spend like three months for doing my rehab. I played 10 games before playoffs started and it’s good having that new experience for me. I just played first time in playoffs in my adult career. Before I just played in juniors league or minor league. It was a really good experience for me and for what I need to work (on) and what I need to do.”

And make no mistake, Buchelnikov said his aspiration is to play in the NHL, and he fully understands there are areas of his game that need to meet the standards before subjecting himself to what he terms “the best league in the world.”

“Be more physical,” he said. “That’s probably first because this is a tough league. You need to be ready every time. Also thinking more quick. This is why they call (the NHL) the best league in the world. I just need to be ready for that.”

And playing in another season in the KHL best suits him for this, he feels, because the KHL competition is top notch.

“Probably yes. This is the kind of league where you have guys that can give you that kind of experience and opportunity for being better,” Buchelnikov said. “I like this league. My team was believing in me, giving me ice time, so yeah. I like it.”

Buchelnikov, who has 108 points (42 goals, 66 assists) the past three seasons, signed on for one more year with CSKA; he didn’t want to say without having those discussions with the Blues what his future beyond the upcoming season would be, but he sure sounded like someone committed to coming to North America, a kid that had a dream of playing in the NHL that now wants to make that a reality.