Nearing the midway mark of the season, the St. Louis Blues find themselves fighting for a playoff spot in the West. A few years removed from contender status, the Blues are more or less now just another team in the mix. The team isn't as deep as it once was, with some of the bigger names on the roster moving on over recent years.

However, especially up front, the Blues have some dynamic forwards capable of producing at high rates. So looking ahead to the All-Star Game in February, the Blues have some names worth considering.

Below, we take a look at the most likely possible representatives for the Blues.

Robert Thomas is the likely choice

 

Robert Thomas has been far and away the Blues' most valuable player this season. Thomas is in just the first year of his current eight-year contract and is set to be one of the team's core pieces for the foreseeable future.

To this point, he leads all forwards on the team in goals, points, ice time and plus-minus. The discrepancy in production is pretty drastic as well. With Thomas at 39 points, no other player on the team is even within single-digit points of catching him.

Thomas has also registered 15 goals this season, marking one of the biggest differences in his game. The center hasn't necessarily been known for scoring a ton, being more of a playmaker who generates most of his points through assists. For comparison, his 15 goals this year are already just five away from matching his career high, not even halfway through the season.

Thomas has always held a high shooting percentage and this year, he's simply been getting the puck on the net more. Through the previous five seasons of his career, Thomas averaged just 1.3 shots per game. Last season, he registered only 106 shots in 73 games. This year, however, Thomas has already managed 78 shots in 36 games, averaging out to 2.2 shots per game, getting close to doubling his career pace.

Even comparing his plus-12 rating, he's drastically ahead of anyone else in that regard as well, with the next highest rating of anyone on the team at just plus-five. His ice time has also seen a notable increase, averaging close to 21 minutes per game this season. He had previously set a career-high in ice time last season, at not even 19:30 per game. To compare, no other forward on the team is averaging even 20 minutes per game.

Thomas has yet to represent the Blues in an All-Star game to this point. Despite being one of the team's most productive players over the last two years, he was passed over for Jordan Kyrou when the event returned last year. This time, however, Thomas has emerged as the clear frontrunner.

Other legitimate options are scarce

Jordan Binnington may have been one of the team's biggest surprise stories early in the year. After a couple of disappointing seasons, Binnington caught fire to start the season, posting a .914 save percentage through the first 18 games of the year. At that point, there was probably an argument for Binnington being the team's most valuable player. He previously attended the event as the Blues' representative in 2020 as well.

However, a tough December for the netminder followed. Binnington managed just a .867 save percentage and a 3-5-0 record over his last eight games. He continues to take on a big workload for the team but it's unlikely that he'll be in serious consideration.

Other options up front could be Pavel Buchnevich 0r Jordan Kyrou. Buchnevich ranks second on the team in goals, points and plus-minus, while Kyrou attended last year. However, there's not really any argument as to why either would be more deserving than Thomas.

On the blue line, Colton Parayko and Justin Faulk would be names that stand out. Parayko is averaging the most ice time of any player on the team and providing some stability within the defense group. Meanwhile, Faulk is tied for the team lead in points amongst defensemen. Faulk also attended the All-Star Game three straight years between 2015 and 2017. The event has a trend of including significantly more forwards than defensemen already though – apart from true Norris-caliber blue liners – so either player is still a really unlikely bet. Plus, Faulk's recent injury is now another hurdle.

Realistically, it's tough to see anyone other than Thomas as the Blues' representative at the game. He's been the team's most impactful player and leads the team in nearly every stat. Binnington may have had a case earlier in the year but it's unlikely he edges out Thomas at this point.

Now, the fan vote could still possibly bring a second player to the event. Each team gets one representative at the All-Star Game but 12 more players will be selected by the fans. However, with other teams holding multiple legitimate top stars on their roster, it's not necessarily overly likely that another player from the Blues' roster makes the cut.

While it's still far from a certainty, we should expect Thomas as the one representative from the Blues.