St. Louis Blues prospect Tomas Mrsic, a 2024 fourth-round pick, skates during development camp earlier this month. The forward will play at Colorado College this upcoming season. (St. Louis Blues photo)
MARYLAND HEIGHTS, Mo. — Tomas Mrsic has heard the detractors enough times.
A fourth-round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft by the St. Louis Blues, the 6-foot-0, 170-pound forward is too small for the NHL. His body won’t fill into the type he needs to be in order to give himself a chance.
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The 19-year-old just embraces the fuel that stokes his fire.
“There’s bigger guys in the game, there’s smaller guys (too),” Mrsic said recently at Blues development camp. “For myself being kind of a smaller guy, I think I’m pretty quick, so that helps me. But I’m going to college next year so I can get bigger and stronger in that aspect and hopefully come into pro after that being a bigger guy, more filled out and ready to go.”
A benefit for young players that developed last November — November 7 to be exact — when the NCAA Division-I Council voted that players who skated in one of the Canadian Hockey League’s three leagues (the Ontario Hockey League, Western Hockey League, and the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League) would make them eligible to play in the NCAA this upcoming season. The only stipulation being such players were not compensated beyond necessary expenses prior to college. CHL players were considered professional and could not play NCAA hockey in the past.
And Mrsic, of Croatian descent, is taking advantage of it and accepting that next challenge; he and his 20-year-old brother, Mateo Mrsic, will be playing at Colorado College starting this upcoming season.
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“I actually had a couple offers, a couple visits,” Tomas Mrsic said. “I went to Colorado, my brother committed there a couple years ago (in 2022) as he went through the BCHL (British Columbia Hockey League); he wanted to go to college. I visited there, their facilities are brand new, a couple years old, loved the coaching staff, so I decided to go that way just for the bigger challenge, I think, older guys, harder to play against and just working out throughout the week, four times a week, not like in the Western League, you’re kind of on the road a lot, especially in my location. But for college, being able to fly, being able to get stronger and bigger is kind of the thing I needed to work on.”
Mrsic’s brother spent the past four years playing for the Chilliwack Chiefs as a forward; Tomas Mrsic spent the past four seasons playing in the WHL, most recently for Prince Albert last season where he had himself a fantastic year (90 points; 33 goals, 57 assists) in 65 regular-season games and a goal and two assists in five playoff games.
It all came together despite Mrsic being traded to the Raiders from Medicine Hat on Aug, 26, 2024.
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“It was a fun year for sure,” Mrsic said. “Getting traded at the start was obviously tough adapting to new teammates and stuff like that, but as we got going, it was a great fit for me and they took me along greatly. It was a great year.
“It’s a smaller town (at Prince Albert, Saskatchewan), there’s not much to do. It’s a great group of guys. We tend to hang out every day just because there’s not really much to do there, so we kind of just hang out, watch hockey games, watch football, is kind of the main thing. I kind of just fit in there nicely, got some good bonds. Actually another guy from where I live (defenseman Linden Burrett) got traded there in the summer as well so I knew him coming in. Yeah, it was a great bond.”
On most nights, Mrsic, who led the Raiders in points and goals, was the key focal point. As he went, the Raiders went.
“Our amateur scouts really liked his hands,” Blues assistant general manager Tim Taylor said. “He was always in on plays. He’s got a good stick, especially in tight. He made quick plays. They knew he had the scoring touch. He had a really good year.
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“It’s going to be a good challenge for him going to play against a little older competition now at Colorado College. Sometimes it curtails to where these players are at in their careers. This is a young player now that can make this jump and play at a little higher competition but allows him for more growth too. He’s a smaller guy. Maybe this extra year or two years allows him to grow with maturity too.”
That’s what Mrsic is banking on, and that’s why he choose college and the Tigers.
“Yeah, obviously I had a pretty good year in the Western League,” Mrsic said. “With this new rule opening up, a lot of guys are heading over. It’s just going to make NCAA more skilled, hustle, with the older guys being bigger, heavier, leaning on you. It’s more of a pro game, so I think it’s going to get me ready and I’m ready for the challenge.
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“It was a huge thing for me also having that degree as a backup plan. Who knows could happen.”
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Mrsic, who was flexible as a center and wing for the Raiders but played mostly left wing, won’t make any promises or has any expectations now making the next step. He has a goal in mind and will work his best to attain it.
“Whether it’s one year, two years, whenever that pro contract comes into play and whenever I’m ready really,” Mrsic said of turning pro. “I’m just going to go there, do my best every year and hopefully be here as soon as possible.”