Climbing The Arch: Mason McTavish Is Ready To Bounce Back With The St. Louis Blues

Mason McTavish struggled to improve on a career campaign as the Anaheim Ducks flew upward in the Pacific. Just like the St. Louis Blues, however, he’s not one to sit back.It's late August, and Mason McTavish is skating with some of his new teammates in St. Louis for the first time. Much like a kid at a new school, he’s still sorting out the emotions of no longer being with the Anaheim Ducks, but the powerful center is leading with positivity. “It’s a weird feeling, but at the same time, it’s super exciting,” he said. “I look back on my time in Anaheim, and it was great and I loved every moment of it, but it was a good time to move on. The excitement is the biggest thing. Getting down here and meeting the guys has been awesome. Plus, the overall excitement of going into a new year on a new team, being in a new city and checking all that out.”McTavish is just 23, with an impressive resume to boot. He was drafted third overall by the Ducks in 2021 and made his NHL debut the following season. That same year, he won an OHL championship with Hamilton, played in the pandemic-altered Olympics for Canada and helped the Canadians win World Junior Championship gold in the pandemic-altered summer edition of the typically winterized tournament. That’s where he made one of the most incredible plays in WJC history, batting a puck out of the air on the goal line to deny Finland the game-winning score in overtime. Canada won the gold medal one minute later.In the next four seasons, he became a regular in Anaheim, growing alongside an impressive young core that included Leo Carlsson, Cutter Gauthier and Jackson LaCombe. McTavish’s best campaign to date came in 2024-25, when he posted 22 goals and 52 points in 76 games.The summer of 2025 was disruptive, however. Negotiations on a new contract with GM Pat Verbeek dragged on with the RFA (a harbinger in Anaheim with the Carlsson offer sheet this July), and McTavish missed part of training camp. While the Ducks began to soar under new coach Joel Quenneville, McTavish struggled to find his footing, and as the year went on, he was even a healthy scratch a few times.Something we really like about him is his mindset and his approach to the game: he embraces and enjoys challenges– Alexander SteenAnaheim was a playoff team for the first time in his young career, but McTavish’s numbers and contributions took a hit. “Obviously, it wasn’t a great year for me at all for my standards,” he said. “To go through that, it sucks, and it wasn’t fun, but you learn so much. If you have one bad game, don’t let it trickle into the next game. Leave it and play the next game and be confident in yourself. I was proud of how I ended the season, and I thought I played pretty well in the playoffs. It was a good way to go into the summer, getting some confidence back.”McTavish did indeed have six points in 10 playoff games for the Ducks, who knocked off the two-time defending Western Conference champs from Edmonton in the first round before falling to the eventual West champs from Vegas in the second.Despite finishing strong, McTavish was traded to St. Louis at the draft, netting Anaheim two first-rounders – one used on Nikita Klepov at No. 15 and the other, 29th overall, that was later flipped to Vegas so the Ducks could pick Marcus Nordmark at No. 28. For the Blues, it was a chance to acquire a player who has performed his best in big situations and isn’t afraid to push through adversity. “He’s a skilled player, but he also brings a certain weight to his game,” said new Blues GM Alexander Steen. “Something we really like about him is his mindset and his approach to the game: he embraces and enjoys challenges. He wants to grow. He’s resilient and relentless in his approach. And moments like this is where that comes out. He’s a very committed and dedicated player and person, and we’re excited to have him on board.”Getting out of his comfort zone has never been a problem for McTavish. When the pandemic cancelled the 2020-21 OHL season, the teenager went to Switzerland and played against men with EHC Olten. In 13 games, he posted nine goals and 11 points while hitting everyone in sight. “I’m definitely very lucky and grateful to have played there during that time,” he said. “A lot of guys were just sitting at home, which obviously sucked. To go over there, it was awesome. The guys over there were tremendous to me, and honestly, I loved every second of it. It’s one of the most fun teams I’ve been on, maybe because I was so young and naive and would just go to the rink and play hockey.”McTavish was actually born in Zurich and lived in Switzerland until he was eight, while his father, Dale, played in the Swiss National League as part of a pro career that also saw him get into nine games with the Calgary Flames back in 1996-97. So the Alpine nation wasn’t exactly foreign territory for the youngster. “I loved it,” McTavish said. “It’s unreal. I’ve been back there twice since, and it’s one of my favorite countries in the world. It’s pretty expensive, but the people are awesome, and there are so many sites to see: there are mountains, there are lakes, there are palm trees down south in Lugano – it kind of has it all in such a small country.”Now, he trades the Alps for the Arch in St. Louis. The Blues are a curious team because they’ve never really rebuilt and have never been really bad since winning the Stanley Cup in 2019. Despite trading veterans and missing the playoffs in three of the past four seasons, St. Louis hasn’t even finished last in its own division during that span.The evolution of the roster continued this summer with Jordan Kyrou traded to Washington for a package that included 25-year-old Connor McMichael. Those moves mean McTavish will have a lot of peers at the same point in their careers as he is. “He’s joining a group with a lot of guys of a similar age,” Steen said. “Same with Connor. They have a lot in common, and hopefully, the group finds a lot of bonds and relationships quickly and grows together. We’ve got a few new faces and a group down in (AHL) Springfield that pushed really hard in the second half last season that let us know they want to be in the equation, too. We believe a lot in creating competition within, and we had opportunities this summer to do that.”I look back on my time in Anaheim, and it was great, and I loved every moment of it, but it was a good time to move on– Mason McTavishOn top of adding McTavish and McMichael, the Blues also brought in left winger Ross Johnston, 32, and defenseman Brandon Carlo, 29, for toughness and depth.In a voracious Central Division that has been ruled by Colorado, Dallas and Minnesota in recent years, the Blues will have an uphill battle to get back to the post-season, but St. Louis has been the franchise of surprises before. Let’s not forget, the Blues were famously last overall at one point in the season that ended with a championship parade. “When we’re at our best, we are the sum of our parts,” Steen said. “Everybody pulls on the rope, and we have a team-first mindset. That identity is growing, and the more these players come together, the more we’ll see that.”For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free.Our annual XXL-sized Meet The New Guys 2026 edition has everything you need to know about the upcoming NHL season in one book. Inside, you'll find stories on plenty of new players in new environments, like Gavin McKenna, Bowen Byram, Alex Tuch, Brady Tkachuk, and more.