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In Tuesday's 3-2 victory over the Detroit Red Wings, St. Louis Blues forward Dalibor Dvorsky found himself on the bench for the majority of the game. The 2023 first-round pick logged a mere 6:36 of ice time and took only nine shifts, with his last appearance coming at the 13:48 mark of the second period.
Dvorsky, who has recorded five points (four goals, one assist) in 18 games this season, has seen his average ice time drop to 11:48, down from 14:20 last year. He started the campaign as the team's third-line center but has recently been deployed on the wing alongside center Connor McMichael and right winger Pavel Buchnevich. Despite scoring in two of his past five games, the 20-year-old's inconsistent play prompted coach Jim Montgomery to make a statement.
Montgomery was direct about what he wants to see from Dvorsky. "Just to play faster, play with more conviction," the coach said. "He's not played to the standard that we want our players to play with and when that happens, you risk the chance of being sat, and that's what happened. It's part of everyone's career. It happens to everybody."
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While the benching serves as a wake-up call, the Blues remain high on Dvorsky's potential. Montgomery praised the young forward's character and work ethic. "He's a good hockey player. We all know that. We've all seen it," Montgomery said. "There's a big reason why we believe he's a huge part of our future here is because he's an outstanding young man, he's great to coach with. He's really good to deal with and he wants to be a hockey player. It's going to come. Sometimes it just doesn't happen as quickly as we all want it to."
Dvorsky, selected 10th overall in the 2023 NHL Draft, will look to respond to the challenge and earn back his ice time as the season progresses.
Originally reported by yahoo.