ST. LOUIS — It’s no secret that Steve Ott wants to be an NHL head coach in the not-too-distant future.

The longtime St. Louis Blues assistant coach said so in January, when he accepted the team’s offer to take over AHL Springfield and help turn around the Thunderbirds’ season.

Well, with the job Ott has done in the past three months, the organization could be searching for a new coach for its minor-league affiliate this offseason.

After Springfield’s abysmal start to the 2025-26 season, the 43-year-old first-time head coach has the Thunderbirds (32-32-6-2) in the Calder Cup playoffs. They will open a best-of-three first-round series against the Charlotte Checkers at 6 p.m. on Wednesday at Bojangles Coliseum in Charlotte, N.C.

It was a bit of a surprise the day after the Blues were blanked 5-0 by the Edmonton Oilers on Jan. 18 when the club announced that Ott, an associate coach on Jim Montgomery’s staff, would be taking over in Springfield. But in pursuit of a head coaching job in the NHL, he knew that he needed experience in that role at another level and looked forward to the opportunity in the AHL.

The Thunderbirds were in the midst of their second season under Steve Konowalchuk and were 14-18-4-2 when the change was made — after going 2-10-4-2 out of the gate.

The club lost one game before Ott arrived from Edmonton, and since then has gone 18-13-2-0.

The regular season wrapped up with a 4-3 win over the Hartford Wolf Pack last Saturday, earning the Thunderbirds the sixth and final playoff spot in the Atlantic Division. They will be one of 23 teams in the postseason.

“Well, things transitioned really quick for this group, and I’m really proud of the group,” Ott said. “They believed from the get-go of the process of how we’re going to play. The practice habits and details continue to get better, and you can see it transition into our game. We picked up a lot of valuable points along the way and grew into a team to get to this situation.”

The importance of Springfield’s playoff appearance is clear. The days of St. Louis supplying its former AHL affiliate in Chicago with a handful of players are long gone. The Blues have full control of the hockey operations in Springfield, including co-general managers Tim Taylor and Ryan Miller, and the roster is littered with top prospects.

There are forwards Aleksanteri Kaskimaki (third round, 2022), Otto Stenberg (first round, 2023), Juraj Pekarcik (third round, 2023), Jakub Stancl (fourth round, 2023) and Hugh McGing (fifth round, 2018); defensemen Michael Buchinger (third round, 2022), Theo Lindstein (first round, 2023), Leo Lööf (third round, 2020) and Colin Ralph (second round, 2024); and goalie Vadim Zherenko (seventh round, 2019).

The Blues have mixed in some veterans, too, including forwards Chris Wagner (401 NHL games) and Dillon Dube (325), as well as defenseman Calle Rosen (93).

“It really has been collectively a team effort,” Ott said. “We’ve got great leadership with Wagner, McGing and Rosen, who we are familiar with the Blues, and Dillon Dube. Then you take on the next wave of our prospects. I can go down the list of all the guys having special moments in different games.”

Wagner leads Springfield with 24 goals and 50 points, and Kaskimaki is tied for second place in goals (20) and is second in points (44). The 22-year-old played five games with the Blues earlier this season and has taken on a “huge role,” Ott said, leading all forwards in minutes. He’s on the top line with Wagner and Dube and has 11 goals and 25 points in the last 29 games.

“They’ve had great chemistry,” Ott said. “All three of them play the game the right way, and they’re getting rewarded offensively — not only being offensive, but from checking. When they’re checking their offense back, Kaski has been able to use his skill level to really take the next step. There’s areas of his game that just continue to develop, and for a young player to be put in those opportunities, he’s been able to really grab it.”

Stenberg, 20, has returned to Springfield after playing 32 games with the Blues this season. He’s on the second line, and in the 36 games he’s been with the Thunderbirds before and after his NHL call-up, he has four goals and 17 points.

“He’s taken a lot of great steps forward,” Ott said. “When I had him in St. Louis, you saw what he can bring, his consistency in his game, he’s on the right side of pucks, he plays on his toes, which you love. When I have him down here, it’s very similar to that, but he’s also getting put into more offensive situations. Kind of similar to Kaski, we want him to excel on the offensive side of things.”

Lindstein, 21, also went back to Springfield for the playoff stretch after suiting up for 17 games in St. Louis. He was minus-24 in 56 games with the Thunderbirds earlier this season, but during his NHL stint, he’s plus-4 in his last three games.

“We talked a lot about details — getting pucks on the first touch, moving it quick,” Ott said. “He has a thing you can’t teach and that is his skating ability. It’s very elite, and he adds to that with great composure to his game. Right now you’re seeing a guy that came back down, and he’s excited to be here, he’s excited to play more meaningful hockey.”

Meanwhile, there’s Pekarcik, 20, who showed off some talent in the Blues’ development camp. He ranks seventh on the Thunderbirds in goals (11) and sixth in points (35).

“If you take his goal last game, it was a one-man show,” Ott said. “He stripped a guy, got knocked off, got back up, stole the puck and ripped it in the net. His strength with the puck is something that helps his possession game. To continue to develop his game, that will be on both sides of the puck.”

PEKARCIK DANGLES pic.twitter.com/K0DDL8sD2k

— Springfield Thunderbirds (@ThunderbirdsAHL) April 18, 2026

Springfield has added a couple of newcomers.

Forward Felix Trudeau, 23, was signed to a two-year, entry-level deal that will start in 2026-27, so he’s with the Thunderbirds on a professional tryout the remainder of the season. He has one goal and one assist in eight games.

“He’s a very competitive kid,” Ott said. “He has good size to him (6-foot-2), skates well and has the ability to be a shot threat with a strong one-timer.”

Ralph, 20, signed a three-year, entry-level deal after his season at Michigan State ended last month. The 6-foot-4, 210-pound defenseman has two assists in six games with the Thunderbirds.

“He’s a prototypical, Blues heart-and-soul defenseman — long stick, gets in the way, plays physical, eats shots and also has the ability to have strong pinches and make some strong puck play,” Ott said.

In net, Zherenko is expected to get the start in Game 1. He’s 17-16-5 with a 3.08 goals-against average and .902 save percentage this season.

“Zherenko has put himself in that position right now to take the lead of the team,” Ott said. “He’s been grinding for a long time down here, and he’s done a heck of a job to give us this opportunity.”

Before Ott took over in January, Springfield was minus-50 at five-on-five through 38 games. In 33 games with him, they have an even plus-minus.

But now it’s playoff time, and the Thunderbirds will be up against the Checkers, who won six of eight head-to-head meetings between the teams this season. In their past two matchups, Ott’s club played them close, falling 3-2 in overtime Feb. 27 and winning 5-1 on Feb. 28.

“Well, we’re up against it, there’s no way to put it in any other terms,” he said. “They have more of a veteran-based team, a lot of high-end players that are in between the NHL and AHL. (But) for us, we’ve been playing playoff-type hockey for weeks on end now. I really like where our game is at. We have a very competitive group, and we want to make some noise.”

Ott didn’t expect to be in this spot, and neither did Springfield, but together they made it.

“I brought experience with me, which is the passion and love of coaching,” he said. “I felt like I was overripe for this situation. It’s truly an honor, and I’ve loved every minute since I’ve gotten here to be in this role.

“To have the experience I’ve gained from (Craig Berube), (Jim Montgomery), (Drew Bannister), Mike Yeo when I started … to have a friend in Ken Hitchcock who I talk to regularly … I’m lucky I learned a lot from those guys.”

And whether that leads to an NHL job in 2026-27 or a return to Springfield, Ott doesn’t know.

“For sure, I want to be a head coach,” he said. “There’s no question in my mind where I am and where I’m going, for sure. Part of the process is being patient with it. I live day to day. Right now, I’m just strictly focused on this playoff series. I absolutely love what I’m doing.”