During the 2025 NHL draft, St. Louis Blues fans were treated to a pleasant surprise. With the 19th overall pick, the Blues landed Justin Carbonneau, a forward who spent the last few seasons in the QMJHL. There was a lot of hype surrounding Carbonneau during the pre-draft process. He was ranked between the 13th and 16th best prospect in the draft, and it was a big surprise that he had fallen to the Blues.
While the Blues' landing of Carbonneau was already a nice surprise, things get better when you realize Carbonneau chose to forego college, giving him a shot to make the opening night roster for the Blues.