Son of late-Blues Hall of Famer Pavol Demitra joins St. Louis City SC reserve team

ST. LOUIS (KMOX) - St. Louis City SC announced Wednesday they have signed two players to their reserve team on MLS NEXT Pro contracts, with one of the players having significant ties to the St. Louis sports scene.

Lucas Demitra, the son of late-St. Louis Blues Hall of Famer Pavol Demitra and Matteo Kidd officially signed contracts with the club Wednesday to join the CITY2 squad, with Kidd is signed a deal through the end of this season while Demitra is signed through the end of the 2025 season.

Kidd joins from the Chicago Fire II team, while Demitra joins from Slovakian club AS Trencin. Both players are from St. Louis, with Demitra being born in St. Louis and Kidd growing up in the area and attended Saint Louis University from 2017 to 2020

"We are adding two exciting players for the second half of the season," said CITY2 Head Coach Bobby Murphy. "We expect them to contribute right away and can’t wait to get them in the building. Lucas and Matteo are both local products that are from the St. Louis area and we are always proud to give hometown kids an opportunity."

Demitra began his career in the youth system at AS Trencin in 2010 and progressed to their first team in 2020. This past season, Demitra made eight appearance while was on loan at FC ViOn.

Demitra does have international experience in the youth level, receiving caps with Slovakia's under-15 and under-21 squads.

The return to St. Louis caps off a full circle moment for Demitra, who father Pavol, was a legendary player with the Blues.

Pavol Demitra played eight of his 16 years in the NHL with the Blues, amassing nearly a point-per-game pace with the Blues after being acquired in trade with the Ottawa Senators. Demitra scored 203 goals and posted 493 points in 494 games. Demitra's 203 goals is eighth on the Blues All-Time scoring list.

During his time with the Blues, Demitra won the Lady Byng Trophy in 1999-2000 season, with Demitra only amassing eight penalty minutes that season.

Demitra died in September 2011 in a plane crash in Russia that was carrying him and his Lokomotiv Yaroslavl teammates while they were on their way to Minsk, Belarus. Demitra was among the 45 passengers on board had been killed.

Demitra was posthumously inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 2024, alongside Keith Tkachuk and Mike Luit.