Blues Sign Justin Carbonneau, Nikita Susuev
The St. Louis Blues have signed 2025 first-round pick Justin Carbonneau to his entry-level contract. The team also announced they’ve signed 2023 seventh-round pick Nikita Susuev to his entry-level deal. Carbonneau was one of 33 forwards named to the Blues’ 2025 training camp roster on Wednesday. Reports suggest that he could even have a chance at making the NHL roster straight out of camp, per Marco D’Amico of RG Media.
PuckPedia reports that Carbonneau will have a cap hit of $975K before performance bonuses and an AAV of $1.392MM with those bonuses factored in. They add that Susuev, who doesn’t have any performance bonuses in his deal, will have a cap charge of $855.
Word that Carbonneau could be headed for pro games sooner rather than later comes as no surprise. He was the main standout at the team’s 2025 rookie camp, held immediately following the NHL Draft. Fans were quickly tuned into the high-energy, hefty, and aggressively-physical style that Carbonneau brings to the ice. He was perhaps the best play-driver in the QMJHL last season, and finished the year with 46 goals – tied for the league-lead – and 89 points – second in the league – in 62 games played. Carbonneau was also the only player in the league to record more than 60 points and penalty minutes (61).
Draft pundits praised Carbonneau’s heft and strength throughout the season. He already stands at 6-foot-2, 205-pounds – plenty of size to cushion an early move to the NHL. If he doesn’t make the Blues, or if the team opts to return him after nine games, he will return to the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada for a fourth season. He has already amassed 168 points in 162 games with the team.
On the other side, Susuev – often spelled Susuyev – could finally make a push away from Russian hockey. He has bounced around the country’s major, minor, and junior leagues over the last three seasons. He’s also bounced around organizations, and ended up suiting up for five different clubs – helped along by three different loan-outs – last season alone. His stat line became a slog as a result – officially sat at 12 points in 21 MHL (junior) games, five points in 14 VHL (minor-pro) games, and one point in seven KHL (major-pro) games.
Susuev did spend the majority of the 2023-24 campaign, his age-19 season, on the KHL’s Spartak Moskva. He only racked up six points in 40 games from a depth forward role, but nonetheless gained invaluable experience on a team that finished fourth in their conference. He’s a high-skill winger, with the flash to beat defenders and the instinct to crash the net. His hockey IQ was praised by Russian scouts ahead of the draft, and he could quickly become an interesting player to follow if and when he joins the AHL ranks. For now, Susuev has officially missed the start of Spartak’s season due to injury, and it is unclear what his next step will be.
Blues’ First-Rounder Justin Carbonneau Will Return To QMJHL
St. Louis Blues first-round pick Justin Carbonneau has announced he will return to the QMJHL’s Blainville-Boisbriand Armada next season, after rumors that he was considering a move to the NCAA’s Boston College. The Armada announced the news through a post to their social media.
St. Louis recently drafted Carbonneau with the 19th overall pick in the 2025 NHL Draft.
This news will send shockwaves around Quebec’s junior league. Carbonneau was among the league’s best last season, tying for second in the league in goals (46) and outright ranking second in points (89) through 62 games. He rounded out his statline with 61 penalty minutes and just a plus-three, speaking to the incredibly high-event minutes Carbonneau earned while leading the Armada offense.
Carbonneau earned his offense with a powerful, heavy drive on the puck. He was among the QMJHL’s most explosive wingers moving down the ice, and used a strong frame and hard shot to generate dangerous chances in the offensive end. Carbonneau was also often the Armada’s pest, and routinely found himself in the middle of net-front shoving matches after the whistle. News of his return will land like a big acquisition in Blainsville-Boisbrand, as they lock up a player capable of rivaling the century mark in points or penalty minutes next season.
Carbonneau was thee standout of St. Louis’ recent development camp. He showed off all of the nasty grit, hard shooting, and determined drive that led him to the heights of the QMJHL this year. Those talents mix well with other emerging Blues, including Dylan Holloway, Jimmy Snuggerud, Dalibor Dvorsky. That match – and a right-wing role vacated by the trade of Zachary Bolduc – could ramp Carbonneau into an NHL role as soon as next year, assuming he stays hot through the 2025-26 campaign.