So....at #19 in the NHL draft who do you like

[Blue Sabbath]

I’ll just post my list as of today. I’m sure it’ll change between now and late June but this is how it see it after watching the U18 tourney and a good chunk of the CHL playoffs.

1​ Matthew Schaefer
2​ Michael Misa
3​ Caleb Desnoyers
4​ James Hagens
5​ Anton Frondell
6​ Porter Martone
7​ Jake O'Brien
8​ Victor Eklund
9​ Brady Martin
10​ Roger McQueen
11​ Cole Reschny
12​ Braeden Cootes
13​ Sascha Boumedienne
14​ Kashawn Aitcheson
15​ Jackson Smith
16​ Logan Hensler
17​ Ben Kindel
18​ Lynden Lakovic
19​ Justin Caronneau
20​ Carter Bear
21​ Henry Brzustewicz
22​ Cameron Reid
23​ Bill Zonnon
24​ Radim Mrtka
25​ Malcolm Spence
26​ Jakob Ihs-Wozniak
27​ Blake Fiddler
28​ Cullen Potter

Late 1st/early 2nd guys:
Ivan Ryabkin
Milton Gastrin
Eric Nilson
Jack Nesbitt
Filip Ekberg
Cole McKinney
William Moore
Jack Murtagh
Jack Ivankovic

Mid to late 2nd guys:
Ben Kevan
Joshua Ravensbergen
Alexander Zharovsky
Ethan Czata
Mason West
Luka Radivojevic
Haoxi (Simon) Wang

3rd round:
Dakoda Rheaume-Mullen

Mid to later rounds:
Philippe Veilleux
​Linus Funck
Julius Sumpf
​Tomas Galvas

I'd like to know if the emergence of so many players lately has changed your tier structure.

Earlier in the year it was considered a weak draft past the top five or ten with that consisting of a top three. After that most analysts said it was roughly 4 - 7, 8 - 12 .13 - 20. 21 - 50. Has anything changed?

[STL fan in MN]

I’ll just post my list as of today. I’m sure it’ll change between now and late June but this is how it see it after watching the U18 tourney and a good chunk of the CHL playoffs.

1​ Matthew Schaefer
2​ Michael Misa
3​ Caleb Desnoyers
4​ James Hagens
5​ Anton Frondell
6​ Porter Martone
7​ Jake O'Brien
8​ Victor Eklund
9​ Brady Martin
10​ Roger McQueen
11​ Cole Reschny
12​ Braeden Cootes
13​ Sascha Boumedienne
14​ Kashawn Aitcheson
15​ Jackson Smith
16​ Logan Hensler
17​ Ben Kindel
18​ Lynden Lakovic
19​ Justin Caronneau
20​ Carter Bear
21​ Henry Brzustewicz
22​ Cameron Reid
23​ Bill Zonnon
24​ Radim Mrtka
25​ Malcolm Spence
26​ Jakob Ihs-Wozniak
27​ Blake Fiddler
28​ Cullen Potter

Late 1st/early 2nd guys:
Ivan Ryabkin
Milton Gastrin
Eric Nilson
Jack Nesbitt
Filip Ekberg
Cole McKinney
William Moore
Jack Murtagh
Jack Ivankovic

Mid to late 2nd guys:
Ben Kevan
Joshua Ravensbergen
Alexander Zharovsky
Ethan Czata
Mason West
Luka Radivojevic
Haoxi (Simon) Wang

3rd round:
Dakoda Rheaume-Mullen

Mid to later rounds:
Philippe Veilleux
​Linus Funck
Julius Sumpf
​Tomas Galvas

I'd like to know if the emergence of so many players lately has changed your tier structure.

Earlier in the year it was considered a weak draft past the top five or ten with that consisting of a top three. After that most analysts said it was roughly 4 - 7, 8 - 12 .13 - 20. 21 - 50. Has anything changed?

I’ve warmed up to this draft a bit. I think it’s still a bit weaker than most but there’s some quality players available. It’s one of those drafts where who the best player will be in the end is pretty cloudy and there’s bound to be players taken in the 10-20 range that with 10 years of hindsight, people will say should’ve gone top-5. The tiers are just a lot murkier this year IMO. My hope is the Blues are able to identify a good one.

For me, I see a very clear top 2. Schaefer and Misa are a class above. I have a hard time deciding who #3 is. I could put 5ish guys there and it’d look right to me.

I see a drop off around 9-10. Then not much separation from 10-20. I see this being a pretty wide open draft so it’ll be hard to predict where kids will go. A lot will come down to organizational philosophy. As of now, I think the Blues will be able to get a quality player at 19. At 25? I’d feel a good amount less confident of that.

[Blue Sabbath]

I’ll just post my list as of today. I’m sure it’ll change between now and late June but this is how it see it after watching the U18 tourney and a good chunk of the CHL playoffs.

1​ Matthew Schaefer
2​ Michael Misa
3​ Caleb Desnoyers
4​ James Hagens
5​ Anton Frondell
6​ Porter Martone
7​ Jake O'Brien
8​ Victor Eklund
9​ Brady Martin
10​ Roger McQueen
11​ Cole Reschny
12​ Braeden Cootes
13​ Sascha Boumedienne
14​ Kashawn Aitcheson
15​ Jackson Smith
16​ Logan Hensler
17​ Ben Kindel
18​ Lynden Lakovic
19​ Justin Caronneau
20​ Carter Bear
21​ Henry Brzustewicz
22​ Cameron Reid
23​ Bill Zonnon
24​ Radim Mrtka
25​ Malcolm Spence
26​ Jakob Ihs-Wozniak
27​ Blake Fiddler
28​ Cullen Potter

Late 1st/early 2nd guys:
Ivan Ryabkin
Milton Gastrin
Eric Nilson
Jack Nesbitt
Filip Ekberg
Cole McKinney
William Moore
Jack Murtagh
Jack Ivankovic

Mid to late 2nd guys:
Ben Kevan
Joshua Ravensbergen
Alexander Zharovsky
Ethan Czata
Mason West
Luka Radivojevic
Haoxi (Simon) Wang

3rd round:
Dakoda Rheaume-Mullen

Mid to later rounds:
Philippe Veilleux
​Linus Funck
Julius Sumpf
​Tomas Galvas

I'd like to know if the emergence of so many players lately has changed your tier structure.

Earlier in the year it was considered a weak draft past the top five or ten with that consisting of a top three. After that most analysts said it was roughly 4 - 7, 8 - 12 .13 - 20. 21 - 50. Has anything changed?

I’ve warmed up to this draft a bit. I think it’s still a bit weaker than most but there’s some quality players available. It’s one of those drafts where who the best player will be in the end is pretty cloudy and there’s bound to be players taken in the 10-20 range that with 10 years of hindsight, people will say should’ve gone top-5. The tiers are just a lot murkier this year IMO. My hope is the Blues are able to identify a good one.

For me, I see a very clear top 2. Schaefer and Misa are a class above. I have a hard time deciding who #3 is. I could put 5ish guys there and it’d look right to me.

I see a drop off around 9-10. Then not much separation from 10-20. I see this being a pretty wide open draft so it’ll be hard to predict where kids will go. A lot will come down to organizational philosophy. As of now, I think the Blues will be able to get a quality player at 19. At 25? I’d feel a good amount less confident of that.

Thanks for your reply.
That makes me feel a little better about drafting at #19 as the caliber of player at #19 is close to #14 or #15.

[Stlcardsblues]

https://www.tankathon.com/nhl/mock_draft

I think it might be time to consider packaging the number one for help at second C.

This team is at the point of the rebuild where this kind of trade makes sense. Last year no, but the young core is here and strong. Now it’s time to fill in holes with the correct pieces, but it needs to be a player who fits in the age window of our core.

[Hockey Pete]

Reschny, Cootes and Boumedienne are the 3 I’d say I like more than the consensus rankings that I think have at least a reasonable chance of still being available at pick #19.

Reschny is only 5’10” but he oozes skill and hockey sense. He reminds me of Jaden Schwartz a lot. I prefer size but at a certain point in the draft, a player that skilled and smart becomes the BPA. I bet he has a very solid NHL career. Ben Kindel fits a similar profile but I like Reschny more.

Cootes looked just ok for Seattle in the Dub but he really impressed me at the U18s. I see a good middle-6 C in him.

Boumedienne played for top college program BU as a 17 year old this season. Was mostly paired with Willander (Vancouver prospect, taken one spot behind Dvorsky a couple years ago). He really came on in the 2nd half and then was very good at the U18s. Broke the record for points for a d-man at this tourney. Canada and Martin in particular bullied him in the gold medal game though so that gives me some pause. Canada won 7-0. Sweden simply had no answer for Canada’s physicality. So not a great end to the tourney for Boumedienne but his team as a whole was just overwhelmed on Saturday. He’s also a LD, which we have a ton of already in the pipeline, so while I have him ranked high, he doesn’t exactly fit an organizational need.

Reschny may be 5'10", but he's 187lbs and is bolling ball out there. I'm not sure he makes it to us after his international play, but I'd pick him in a heartbeat and be happy as heck...

[STL fan in MN]

Reschny, Cootes and Boumedienne are the 3 I’d say I like more than the consensus rankings that I think have at least a reasonable chance of still being available at pick #19.

Reschny is only 5’10” but he oozes skill and hockey sense. He reminds me of Jaden Schwartz a lot. I prefer size but at a certain point in the draft, a player that skilled and smart becomes the BPA. I bet he has a very solid NHL career. Ben Kindel fits a similar profile but I like Reschny more.

Cootes looked just ok for Seattle in the Dub but he really impressed me at the U18s. I see a good middle-6 C in him.

Boumedienne played for top college program BU as a 17 year old this season. Was mostly paired with Willander (Vancouver prospect, taken one spot behind Dvorsky a couple years ago). He really came on in the 2nd half and then was very good at the U18s. Broke the record for points for a d-man at this tourney. Canada and Martin in particular bullied him in the gold medal game though so that gives me some pause. Canada won 7-0. Sweden simply had no answer for Canada’s physicality. So not a great end to the tourney for Boumedienne but his team as a whole was just overwhelmed on Saturday. He’s also a LD, which we have a ton of already in the pipeline, so while I have him ranked high, he doesn’t exactly fit an organizational need.

Reschny may be 5'10", but he's 187lbs and is bolling ball out there. I'm not sure he makes it to us after his international play, but I'd pick him in a heartbeat and be happy as heck...

Totally agree. He’s perhaps my favorite player from this draft that we may actually have a chance to select. He’s not as highly touted at Zach Benson or Berkly Catton from the last 2 drafts but he’s right on par with those 2 IMO.

[Harry S Deals]

So had the Blues not got hot and picked 10th......?

[smilinjoefission]

Reschny, Cootes and Boumedienne are the 3 I’d say I like more than the consensus rankings that I think have at least a reasonable chance of still being available at pick #19.

Reschny is only 5’10” but he oozes skill and hockey sense. He reminds me of Jaden Schwartz a lot. I prefer size but at a certain point in the draft, a player that skilled and smart becomes the BPA. I bet he has a very solid NHL career. Ben Kindel fits a similar profile but I like Reschny more.

Cootes looked just ok for Seattle in the Dub but he really impressed me at the U18s. I see a good middle-6 C in him.

Boumedienne played for top college program BU as a 17 year old this season. Was mostly paired with Willander (Vancouver prospect, taken one spot behind Dvorsky a couple years ago). He really came on in the 2nd half and then was very good at the U18s. Broke the record for points for a d-man at this tourney. Canada and Martin in particular bullied him in the gold medal game though so that gives me some pause. Canada won 7-0. Sweden simply had no answer for Canada’s physicality. So not a great end to the tourney for Boumedienne but his team as a whole was just overwhelmed on Saturday. He’s also a LD, which we have a ton of already in the pipeline, so while I have him ranked high, he doesn’t exactly fit an organizational need.

Reschny may be 5'10", but he's 187lbs and is bolling ball out there. I'm not sure he makes it to us after his international play, but I'd pick him in a heartbeat and be happy as heck...

A few mock drafts have him and Cootes and Kindel at our spot so one of those three should be available and either is good. Given the Blues Swede connection you know they are also getting Filip Ekberg somewhere in the 2nd/3rd round and will make trades to get a pick in those rounds for him.

[Bubble4427]

I will throw one more in there....not first round but maybe we can get him in the 2nd
Matthew Gard 6"4 center Red Deer. Gard was really good in the U18's for Canada....i like him a lot.

Need to make a deal then....I don't believe we have a 2nd rounder for 3 years.
(not saying I regret what we got for them)

[Pierre McGuire]

I will throw one more in there....not first round but maybe we can get him in the 2nd
Matthew Gard 6"4 center Red Deer. Gard was really good in the U18's for Canada....i like him a lot.

Need to make a deal then....I don't believe we have a 2nd rounder for 3 years.
(not saying I regret what we got for them)

Yes..we would need a trade for sure. Blues only have 3 picks this year I believe. Wouldn’t be shocked if they trade down and acquire more picks

[STL fan in MN]

Reschny, Cootes and Boumedienne are the 3 I’d say I like more than the consensus rankings that I think have at least a reasonable chance of still being available at pick #19.

Reschny is only 5’10” but he oozes skill and hockey sense. He reminds me of Jaden Schwartz a lot. I prefer size but at a certain point in the draft, a player that skilled and smart becomes the BPA. I bet he has a very solid NHL career. Ben Kindel fits a similar profile but I like Reschny more.

Cootes looked just ok for Seattle in the Dub but he really impressed me at the U18s. I see a good middle-6 C in him.

Boumedienne played for top college program BU as a 17 year old this season. Was mostly paired with Willander (Vancouver prospect, taken one spot behind Dvorsky a couple years ago). He really came on in the 2nd half and then was very good at the U18s. Broke the record for points for a d-man at this tourney. Canada and Martin in particular bullied him in the gold medal game though so that gives me some pause. Canada won 7-0. Sweden simply had no answer for Canada’s physicality. So not a great end to the tourney for Boumedienne but his team as a whole was just overwhelmed on Saturday. He’s also a LD, which we have a ton of already in the pipeline, so while I have him ranked high, he doesn’t exactly fit an organizational need.

Reschny may be 5'10", but he's 187lbs and is bolling ball out there. I'm not sure he makes it to us after his international play, but I'd pick him in a heartbeat and be happy as heck...

A few mock drafts have him and Cootes and Kindel at our spot so one of those three should be available and either is good. Given the Blues Swede connection you know they are also getting Filip Ekberg somewhere in the 2nd/3rd round and will make trades to get a pick in those rounds for him.

Mocks in general aren’t very useful IMO. Mocks this far out are near useless as there’s always movement after the U18s, CHL playoffs etc. Reschny and Cootes were both fantastic at the U18s. I expect both to rise, especially Cootes. Kindel didn’t shine quite as much but he still put up 7 pts in his 5 games after he and Reachny joined the team late. But Reachny was popped into the lineup as the 1C and Kindel as the 3RW so Kindel didn’t get the same level of opportunity. Kindel is underrated IMO. Also has the size knock against him but he’s a high level playmaker IMO. Probably wouldn’t be my ideal pick at 19 but of those 3, he’s by far the most likely to still be available.

I’m not sure what to make of Ekberg. He’s 5’10” and put up 45 pts in 53 games. Typically, that’s the sort of player that would get picked in the 3rd to 4th round. But then he goes and torches the U18s with 10 goals and 18 pts in 7 games (and Sweden got shutout in the Final too). Is he a diamond in the rough? Just have a really good 2 weeks? Right place, right time? Rack up pts on the bad teams? Here’s a breakdown of how he scored his 18 pts across the 7 games:

Switzerland: 4G, 1A
Germany: 0G, 3A
USA: 1G, 0A
Czechia: 2G, 2A
Finland: 2G, 1A
USA: 1G, 1A
Canada: 0G, 0A

So yeah, he beat up on the weaker teams (Switzerland was so bad in this tourney they lost to Norway in the Relegation game and will get sent down to Division 1A next year) but he also put up 3 pts in 2 games against the Americans. Canada dominated everyone. I didn’t watch much of the ‘67s this year. I find them to be boring. I watched a couple of their games just to see the opposing team and to catch a glimpse of Mayich but tbh, I never really noticed Ekberg. He wasn’t who I was looking for. But he was always in the right place at the right time at the U18s. The Swedes would have the puck, some guy would be open and the puck would be passed to him and he’d go and score. Ekberg was that “some guy” every time. So yeah, not sure what to make of him. I’ll note his coach in Ottawa is Dave Cameron and I think he’s a pretty horrible coach. Hopefully he never coaches the Canadians at the WJC again. So maybe Ekberg was just held back or not properly utilized? Idk. Like I said, not sure what to make of him or his breakout performance at the U18s.

[TheJackBurton]

https://www.tankathon.com/nhl/mock_draft

I think it might be time to consider packaging the number one for help at second C.

This team is at the point of the rebuild where this kind of trade makes sense. Last year no, but the young core is here and strong. Now it’s time to fill in holes with the correct pieces, but it needs to be a player who fits in the age window of our core.

I agree and that should be one of Armys main targets. If not, then I'm with Pierre, trade down and get either a late 1st and a 2nd, or 2 2nds if at all possible.

[STL fan in MN]

I will throw one more in there....not first round but maybe we can get him in the 2nd
Matthew Gard 6"4 center Red Deer. Gard was really good in the U18's for Canada....i like him a lot.

Need to make a deal then....I don't believe we have a 2nd rounder for 3 years.
(not saying I regret what we got for them)

You are correct - no 2nd rounders for the next 3 years.

2025: originally traded to the Pens for them to take Kevin Hayes. Then we got it back from the Pens and it went to EDM as compensation for Broberg. The Oil then traded it to Boston for Trent Frederic.

2026: sent to the Pens to get our 2025 2nd back (we also sent a 2025 3rd to get the Pens to do that)

2027: sent to Anaheim for Fowler.

And Pierre’s also right in that, as of today, we only have 3 picks this summer - 1st, 5th and 6th.

Our 2nd is detailed above.

Our 3rd went to EDM for Holloway (steal of a lifetime)

We got a 3rd from Ottawa to take Joseph and his contract but then we sent it to the Pens as a part of that pick swap with them.

Our 4th went to CBJ for Texier. They then sent it to SJ for Luke Kunin.

Our 7th went to the Red Wings as a part of the Vrana trade from a couple years ago.

[STL fan in MN]

https://www.tankathon.com/nhl/mock_draft

I think it might be time to consider packaging the number one for help at second C.

This team is at the point of the rebuild where this kind of trade makes sense. Last year no, but the young core is here and strong. Now it’s time to fill in holes with the correct pieces, but it needs to be a player who fits in the age window of our core.

I agree and that should be one of Armys main targets. If not, then I'm with Pierre, trade down and get either a late 1st and a 2nd, or 2 2nds if at all possible.

I could get behind the idea of trading our 1st for immediate help if the right deal comes along but don’t think I’d be in favor of trading down, even though we don’t have many picks this summer.

The Blues already have a number of quality prospects. We need to be focusing on quality more than quantity IMO. It all depends on who all is actually still available at 19 of course but given that’s about where I see a peer to big drop off in tiers, I think I’d rather select at 19 than say 26 and 58. I’d really only want to consider moving back if everyone we’d want at 19 are all gone and it’s a near guarantee one of the players we like in the next tier would still be available at the later pick. But given how this draft is shaping up, I see that as unlikely.

[Bluesfan1978]

I think there’s much more of a chance the next couple drafts of the Blues looking to move up 3-4 places to get the player they want vs moving back. I wouldn’t be surprised if they deal a left D or winger prospect to move up. I also won’t be surprised if they use the 1st in a package to acquire a 22-25 year old Right D or Center.

[TheJackBurton]

https://www.tankathon.com/nhl/mock_draft

I think it might be time to consider packaging the number one for help at second C.

This team is at the point of the rebuild where this kind of trade makes sense. Last year no, but the young core is here and strong. Now it’s time to fill in holes with the correct pieces, but it needs to be a player who fits in the age window of our core.

I agree and that should be one of Armys main targets. If not, then I'm with Pierre, trade down and get either a late 1st and a 2nd, or 2 2nds if at all possible.

I could get behind the idea of trading our 1st for immediate help if the right deal comes along but don’t think I’d be in favor of trading down, even though we don’t have many picks this summer.

The Blues already have a number of quality prospects. We need to be focusing on quality more than quantity IMO. It all depends on who all is actually still available at 19 of course but given that’s about where I see a peer to big drop off in tiers, I think I’d rather select at 19 than say 26 and 58. I’d really only want to consider moving back if everyone we’d want at 19 are all gone and it’s a near guarantee one of the players we like in the next tier would still be available at the later pick. But given how this draft is shaping up, I see that as unlikely.

I don't necessarily disagree with that argument either as yes we do more high skill in the pipeline.