The Blues signed forwards Nikita Alexandrov, Sam Bitten, Matthew Peca, defenseman Scott Harrington, and goaltender David Tendeck to professional tryouts, general manager Doug Armstrong announced Wednesday. Undrafted forward Jake Gudelj will also be in Blues camp on an amateur tryout.
Extending a PTO to Alexandrov allows him to participate in training camp despite still being a restricted free agent. The 24-year-old remains unsigned after appearing in 23 games for St. Louis last season, recording two assists and a -4 rating while averaging 8:32 per game.
A second-round pick of the Blues back in 2019, Alexandrov completed his entry-level contract in 2023-24. He’s grown into an elite offensive presence in the minors, recording 45 points in 48 games with the AHL’s Springfield Thunderbirds over the past two seasons, but hasn’t climbed past a fourth-line role at the NHL level.
Bitten, Harrington, and Peca already have contracts in hand with the Thunderbirds for this season, so their PTOs simply allow the Blues to give them a look in an NHL environment and further posit whether to extend two-way offers to them as the season progresses. Bitten has no NHL experience, but the latter two vets have combined for 338 appearances at the game’s highest level.
Meanwhile, the 24-year-old Tendeck will look to land likely an AHL contract with Springfield or an ECHL contract with the Blues’ second-tier affiliate, the Florida Everblades. The former Coyotes draft pick ended a tumultuous 2023-24 campaign with the Everblades, logging a .972 SV% and 0.99 GAA in three appearances after being a sub-.900 netminder in the ECHL since the beginning of 2022-23.
Gudelj, 18, was draft-eligible for the first time last summer but already has three seasons of junior hockey under his belt. Injuries limited the forward to 16 games last season with the WHL’s Tri-City Americans, posting three goals and four assists. He’ll look to capture an entry-level contract with the Blues to turn pro within their system in 2025.