Blues prospects visit MLS facility to kick off development camp

ST. LOUIS -- Colin Ralph was the first of the St. Louis Blues prospects to step up and try his luck at scoring off an experienced goalkeeper.

Ralph, a second-round pick and defenseman in the 2024 NHL Draft, calmly stepped up to the dot and placed a shot into the upper right-hand corner for a goal.

Fellow Blues prospects celebrated with Ralph. It was that kind of day for the prospects, who kicked off development camp with a visit to St. Louis City SC's facility, including Energizer Park, to learn the life of an MLS player, take part in some drills and even take PK's against the City2 MLS NEXT Pro team's keepers on a hot, steamy day in St. Louis on Monday.

"I played soccer until I was in eighth grade," Ralph said. "I played club soccer. My sister (Lucabella) was a college soccer player (at Kent State University), so it kind of runs in the family a bit. But in eighth grade I gave it up to just focus on hockey."

After converting his PK, Ralph may have to rethink his ambitions of reaching the NHL and take stab at a career in MLS.

"Looks like it, yeah," Ralph joked. "Might be in the cards now. It's good to get in front of some scouts' eyes, get some attention on it."

The Blues invited 19 prospects, including all nine from their 2026 draft class, to town this week, and in a unique situation, will not be doing any on-ice work, instead opting for off-ice conditioning along with participating in more fun activities.

"We've done that before," said Blues general manager Doug Armstrong. "We've gone back and forth. Some guys have skated, some guys haven't skated. It's human nature. It's not competition. Just go out there and work on this. Well, they're competitive athletes. It's competition.

"We could do a lot of stuff off the ice, but more importantly, we want them to get to know us,” he added. “We want to get to know them, but we want them to get to know each other. If you build a brotherhood, a friendship, it's hard to let somebody down you care about. Starting to care about each other starts (this) week with this group."

And it all started on the soccer pitch, which some experienced for the first time.

"My dad played basketball and my mom played tennis," said 2026 third-round pick Luke Schairer. "I'm not very good at soccer, but it's definitely fun. This facility is awesome and it's really nice. It's new and it's awesome."

Added 2025 first-round pick Justin Carbonneau, "Always looking forward to getting back here. Great people, great weather, can't ask for more."