The St. Louis Blues head into the NHL draft with six picks this year including the 17th overall pick on Friday.  It’s likely the Blues will stay away from goaltending this year.

After Chris Mason, who the Blues picked up in a trade from Nashville, took over the starting roll from Manny Legace, the Blues need to turn their focus to other needs.  Depth at goaltending is always a key for teams, but the Blues have some young netminders in the system including St. Louis native and former Maine Black Bear, Ben Bishop.

The Blues have had some success with their first round picks.  Patrik Berglund, a first round pick of the Blues in 2006 ranked fourth on the Blues with 21 goals, becoming the 10th rookie in franchise history to reach the 20-goal milestone. He was fourth among NHL rookies in scoring with 47 points (21 goals, 26 assists) and second in power-play scoring (7-15–22). He led the Blues and ranked second among NHL rookies in plus-minus (+19), posting an even-or-plus rating in 66 of 76 games.

David Perron was the Blues’ first round pick in 2007 and scored 15 goals and had 50 points in 81 games last season.  The left winger also had a goal and an assist in the four playoff games this past season.

TJ Oshie was a plus-minus (+16) this past season.  The former first rounder of 2005 scored 14 goals and had 25 assists in just 57 games and started playing better during the stretch when he was named player of the month in March after scoring four goals and nine assists. 

Defensively, the Blues are stacked with former first round picks.  Jeff Woywitka was a first round pick in 2001 by Philadelphia.  He came over to the Blues in a trade with Edmonton along with team captain Eric Brewer, a first round pick in 1997 by the Islanders.  Barret Jackman, Jay McKee, Eric Johnson, Roman Polak, and Carlo Colaicovo are all first round picks with Johnson and Jackman coming up through the Blues’ system.

The first round of the draft will take place on Friday starting at 6pm.  The Blues
pick 17th and rounds 2-7 continue on Saturday at 9am.