Should The Blues Consider Trading Back at the NHL Draft?

[dhsux]

We should be considering all possibilities. Until you know who you can draft, how can you make a determination?

Agree....everything should be on the table and I bet DA is doing just that.

I agree with a lot of the logic as to how it might go (not likely) but that's different than "should" the Blues consider trading back.

Yes, they should if a good upside deal for this franchise is there for them.

Philadelphia has a ton of picks and is supposed to have their eyes on 6'5" G Joshua Ravensbergen. I've seen him going shortly after the Blues at 19, sometimes to Carolina at 20. If there are two players we love I wonder if DA could get Philly to move up two slots to take him?

Otherwise the Blues haven't played games on draft day if their targets are there.

Your last comment is true but for some reason I think DA will go off course on this draft. Not in a bad way but It would not surprise me to see the Blues make a move off this pick. Up, down or sideways.

[seattleblue]

It's a weird position because there are about 4-5 guys I'd be really interested in the Blues taking where they currently pick who I think will make the Blues better. They're all forwards except Brzustevich and Hensler. Yet if Brzustevich is going to be there in the 25-30 range which is even a little higher than where his average ranking is, I would love to trade back and pick up a 2d rounder or 2d+4th (depending how far we move back) and get him, I think it would be a sneaky good move. The problem is you better know nobody's grabbing him and wrecking your strategy because then I think I'd much rather have had the forward who was on the board at 19.

[STL fan in MN]

It's a weird position because there are about 4-5 guys I'd be really interested in the Blues taking where they currently pick who I think will make the Blues better. They're all forwards except Brzustevich and Hensler. Yet if Brzustevich is going to be there in the 25-30 range which is even a little higher than where his average ranking is, I would love to trade back and pick up a 2d rounder or 2d+4th (depending how far we move back) and get him, I think it would be a sneaky good move. The problem is you better know nobody's grabbing him and wrecking your strategy because then I think I'd much rather have had the forward who was on the board at 19.

Yep. That’d be the risk. I’d only move back if I have a guy I have ranked much higher than consensus and he’s really the only guy left until a tier drop. Brzustewicz could very well fit into that category for me. The risk is if anyone in the handful of picks after 19 feels the same way about the same player. What I don’t want to see is them miss out on their guy like what happened in 2007 when the Blues traded down from 9 to 13 with the aim of getting McDonaugh…and then McDonaugh went 12th so they settled on Eller.

My sense is that teams tend to have a pretty good idea who other teams like but not always. And I wonder if that’ll be less so this year with the draft being decentralized. There’s also teams that throw out deception. Like I read the other day that the Flyers purposely didn’t even interview Luchanko at the Combine a year ago to make others think they weren’t interested in him at all.

That said, if the Blues could come away with Brzustewicz and then another player around pick 40-45? Golden. But I’d need to feel pretty darn comfortable Brzustewicz would be available around pick 25 to be comfortable pulling the trigger.

[seattleblue]

It's a weird position because there are about 4-5 guys I'd be really interested in the Blues taking where they currently pick who I think will make the Blues better. They're all forwards except Brzustevich and Hensler. Yet if Brzustevich is going to be there in the 25-30 range which is even a little higher than where his average ranking is, I would love to trade back and pick up a 2d rounder or 2d+4th (depending how far we move back) and get him, I think it would be a sneaky good move. The problem is you better know nobody's grabbing him and wrecking your strategy because then I think I'd much rather have had the forward who was on the board at 19.

Yep. That’d be the risk. I’d only move back if I have a guy I have ranked much higher than consensus and he’s really the only guy left until a tier drop. Brzustewicz could very well fit into that category for me. The risk is if anyone in the handful of picks after 19 feels the same way about the same player. What I don’t want to see is them miss out on their guy like what happened in 2007 when the Blues traded down from 9 to 13 with the aim of getting McDonaugh…and then McDonaugh went 12th so they settled on Eller.

My sense is that teams tend to have a pretty good idea who other teams like but not always. And I wonder if that’ll be less so this year with the draft being decentralized. There’s also teams that throw out deception. Like I read the other day that the Flyers purposely didn’t even interview Luchanko at the Combine a year ago to make others think they weren’t interested in him at all.

That said, if the Blues could come away with Brzustewicz and then another player around pick 40-45? Golden. But I’d need to feel pretty darn comfortable Brzustewicz would be available around pick 25 to be comfortable pulling the trigger.

One of Bear, Carbonneau, Reschny, Hensler or Spence is going to be there along with Brzustevich and I probably would rather take the pick than take the risk. I wanted Couture at 9 that year with the Blues pick quite a bit. that was a frustrating trade.

[aslord]

Should the Blues consider trading back at the NHL Draft?

By Joe DeMarini
June 14, 2025

Yesterday, we looked at ways the St. Louis Blues could move up in the draft order, if any teams were willing and the Blues could find the right mix of assets to make it happen. We've also talked about which prospects might be available at 19th overall, and that the Blues would likely get a good prospect there, too. Today, we're going to assess whether trading back would make sense for the Blues.

As we all well know, the Blues used their 2025 2nd- and 3rd-round picks last summer to offer sheet Philip Broberg and Dylan Holloway; they also used their 2025 4th-round pick to acquire Alexandre Texier from the Columbus Blue Jackets, and their 7th-round pick was used to acquire Jakub Vrana two years ago. All told, the Blues have picks in the first, fifth, and sixth rounds of the 2025 draft.

Dropping down a few slots in the draft order to get an extra pick in the second or third round could be a way to fortify the pipeline with more prospects and still get a promising young player. So, which teams could the Blues talk to?

https://bleedinblue.com/should-the-blue ... jxn48pcwt8

We don't need more fodder. We need to try and get the best skilled big RHD available at 19th pick.

Why do we need to do that? Unless we're talking about a top 3 pick who is NHL ready, any player we pick at 19 isn't going to be ready for years. By that time the team need will be different. BPA always.

[zamadoo]

It's a weird position because there are about 4-5 guys I'd be really interested in the Blues taking where they currently pick who I think will make the Blues better. They're all forwards except Brzustevich and Hensler. Yet if Brzustevich is going to be there in the 25-30 range which is even a little higher than where his average ranking is, I would love to trade back and pick up a 2d rounder or 2d+4th (depending how far we move back) and get him, I think it would be a sneaky good move. The problem is you better know nobody's grabbing him and wrecking your strategy because then I think I'd much rather have had the forward who was on the board at 19.

Yep. That’d be the risk. I’d only move back if I have a guy I have ranked much higher than consensus and he’s really the only guy left until a tier drop. Brzustewicz could very well fit into that category for me. The risk is if anyone in the handful of picks after 19 feels the same way about the same player. What I don’t want to see is them miss out on their guy like what happened in 2007 when the Blues traded down from 9 to 13 with the aim of getting McDonaugh…and then McDonaugh went 12th so they settled on Eller.

My sense is that teams tend to have a pretty good idea who other teams like but not always. And I wonder if that’ll be less so this year with the draft being decentralized. There’s also teams that throw out deception. Like I read the other day that the Flyers purposely didn’t even interview Luchanko at the Combine a year ago to make others think they weren’t interested in him at all.

That said, if the Blues could come away with Brzustewicz and then another player around pick 40-45? Golden. But I’d need to feel pretty darn comfortable Brzustewicz would be available around pick 25 to be comfortable pulling the trigger.

What I'm wondering is why Brzustewicz seems to be ranked so low. I overlooked him at first because I didn't see him in our range on basically any rankings. Starting to think he's the pick for the Blues. He's certainly the defenseman I would take now that I've had a better look. Maybe Hensler isn't far off, but I wouldn't want to trade back and miss him unless there's another RHD (like a Parayko) that Blues brass sees later on.

[STL fan in MN]

It's a weird position because there are about 4-5 guys I'd be really interested in the Blues taking where they currently pick who I think will make the Blues better. They're all forwards except Brzustevich and Hensler. Yet if Brzustevich is going to be there in the 25-30 range which is even a little higher than where his average ranking is, I would love to trade back and pick up a 2d rounder or 2d+4th (depending how far we move back) and get him, I think it would be a sneaky good move. The problem is you better know nobody's grabbing him and wrecking your strategy because then I think I'd much rather have had the forward who was on the board at 19.

Yep. That’d be the risk. I’d only move back if I have a guy I have ranked much higher than consensus and he’s really the only guy left until a tier drop. Brzustewicz could very well fit into that category for me. The risk is if anyone in the handful of picks after 19 feels the same way about the same player. What I don’t want to see is them miss out on their guy like what happened in 2007 when the Blues traded down from 9 to 13 with the aim of getting McDonaugh…and then McDonaugh went 12th so they settled on Eller.

My sense is that teams tend to have a pretty good idea who other teams like but not always. And I wonder if that’ll be less so this year with the draft being decentralized. There’s also teams that throw out deception. Like I read the other day that the Flyers purposely didn’t even interview Luchanko at the Combine a year ago to make others think they weren’t interested in him at all.

That said, if the Blues could come away with Brzustewicz and then another player around pick 40-45? Golden. But I’d need to feel pretty darn comfortable Brzustewicz would be available around pick 25 to be comfortable pulling the trigger.

One of Bear, Carbonneau, Reschny, Hensler or Spence is going to be there along with Brzustevich and I probably would rather take the pick than take the risk. I wanted Couture at 9 that year with the Blues pick quite a bit. that was a frustrating trade.

Yeah, it’d pretty much have to be the disaster scenario where pretty much all of my top-19 are gone except Brzustewicz for me to want to move back. Otherwise I’d just take the pick. Then again, that’s precisely what happened last year where my top-15 were all gone after pick 15…and then the Blues took the guy I had at 22. C’est la vie.

And I recall wanting Couture too. The main knock on him was he appeared lazy and out of shape. I then read about a week before the draft that Couture played through mono. I then reconsidered Couture with that in mind and came to the conclusion he scored a hell of a lot of pts for a guy with mono and figured the negative talk was cr@p. My HS best friend had mono and went from State cross country star to being out of breath just walking to class so figured if Couture could even play in the OHL playoffs with that, he was a gamer. Probably ended up being the 2nd best player out of that draft.

[Frank Underwood]

We have a lot of prospects in the pipeline these days, so Blues, please don’t get cute and trade down and miss the guy you want. Thankfully, Army is not Jarmo, so I don’t think he takes the chance unless it’s a deal that is too good to pass up.

[seattleblue]

Brock Otten is the longtime close observer of the OHL and always ranks his top prospects.

10. Henry Brzustewicz - Defense - London Knights
I don't agree with the notion that Brzustewicz has middling upside, as I've seen some suggest in the scouting sphere. I would actually argue that Brzustewicz has among the highest upside of any defender available. There's a wide range of outcomes here because I see him as someone still searching for a true identity; he's a bit of a blank canvas currently. He could easily develop into a top three defender, who plays in all situations, under the tutelage of the Hunters in London. He could also lean more towards his defensive ability and become more of a PK type. Or, he could fail to create that true identity and struggle to make the NHL. At the beginning of the season for London, prior to the arrival of the big guns, Brzustewicz looked really comfortable running the powerplay. He was slipping coverage, getting pucks to the middle, using his big strides to get the puck into the offensive zone. He's got the big point shot too. Then once Dickinson and Bonk returned to action, Brzustewicz slipped back into a more defensively oriented role, often pairing with Dickinson. And in that role, he sometimes looked uncomfortable and his puck management suffered. This has led to some questions regarding his IQ. And I do see it. He can chase the play defensively and get taken out of position. He can turn the puck over. However, he's also a good athlete who could be capable of some pretty awesome things when his game becomes more refined. He's a different player than his brother Hunter. He's longer. He's more physical. There really is great upside at both ends of the ice.

I bolded some text. As you can see there is risk involved, but I am in love with the upside I see, and I just feel super confident in the program he's in and the opportunity he's going to emerge into next year. It's the kind of risk I am comfortable with. I just see more offensive potential with Brzustevich than with Hensler or with another RD near this range, and I like his development track the best. He's already been through two OHL championships and two Memorial Cup finals.

[zamadoo]

Brock Otten is the longtime close observer of the OHL and always ranks his top prospects.

10. Henry Brzustewicz - Defense - London Knights
I don't agree with the notion that Brzustewicz has middling upside, as I've seen some suggest in the scouting sphere. I would actually argue that Brzustewicz has among the highest upside of any defender available. There's a wide range of outcomes here because I see him as someone still searching for a true identity; he's a bit of a blank canvas currently. He could easily develop into a top three defender, who plays in all situations, under the tutelage of the Hunters in London. He could also lean more towards his defensive ability and become more of a PK type. Or, he could fail to create that true identity and struggle to make the NHL. At the beginning of the season for London, prior to the arrival of the big guns, Brzustewicz looked really comfortable running the powerplay. He was slipping coverage, getting pucks to the middle, using his big strides to get the puck into the offensive zone. He's got the big point shot too. Then once Dickinson and Bonk returned to action, Brzustewicz slipped back into a more defensively oriented role, often pairing with Dickinson. And in that role, he sometimes looked uncomfortable and his puck management suffered. This has led to some questions regarding his IQ. And I do see it. He can chase the play defensively and get taken out of position. He can turn the puck over. However, he's also a good athlete who could be capable of some pretty awesome things when his game becomes more refined. He's a different player than his brother Hunter. He's longer. He's more physical. There really is great upside at both ends of the ice.

I bolded some text. As you can see there is risk involved, but I am in love with the upside I see, and I just feel super confident in the program he's in and the opportunity he's going to emerge into next year. It's the kind of risk I am comfortable with. I just see more offensive potential with Brzustevich than with Hensler or with another RD near this range, and I like his development track the best. He's already been through two OHL championships and two Memorial Cup finals.

Thanks for sharing. I was actually surprised by his offensive skills after hearing he was more of a play-it-safe defensive type. He seems to jump up in the play and make things happen.

[STL fan in MN]

It's a weird position because there are about 4-5 guys I'd be really interested in the Blues taking where they currently pick who I think will make the Blues better. They're all forwards except Brzustevich and Hensler. Yet if Brzustevich is going to be there in the 25-30 range which is even a little higher than where his average ranking is, I would love to trade back and pick up a 2d rounder or 2d+4th (depending how far we move back) and get him, I think it would be a sneaky good move. The problem is you better know nobody's grabbing him and wrecking your strategy because then I think I'd much rather have had the forward who was on the board at 19.

Yep. That’d be the risk. I’d only move back if I have a guy I have ranked much higher than consensus and he’s really the only guy left until a tier drop. Brzustewicz could very well fit into that category for me. The risk is if anyone in the handful of picks after 19 feels the same way about the same player. What I don’t want to see is them miss out on their guy like what happened in 2007 when the Blues traded down from 9 to 13 with the aim of getting McDonaugh…and then McDonaugh went 12th so they settled on Eller.

My sense is that teams tend to have a pretty good idea who other teams like but not always. And I wonder if that’ll be less so this year with the draft being decentralized. There’s also teams that throw out deception. Like I read the other day that the Flyers purposely didn’t even interview Luchanko at the Combine a year ago to make others think they weren’t interested in him at all.

That said, if the Blues could come away with Brzustewicz and then another player around pick 40-45? Golden. But I’d need to feel pretty darn comfortable Brzustewicz would be available around pick 25 to be comfortable pulling the trigger.

What I'm wondering is why Brzustewicz seems to be ranked so low. I overlooked him at first because I didn't see him in our range on basically any rankings. Starting to think he's the pick for the Blues. He's certainly the defenseman I would take now that I've had a better look. Maybe Hensler isn't far off, but I wouldn't want to trade back and miss him unless there's another RHD (like a Parayko) that Blues brass sees later on.

The main knocks on him I keep seeing is his consistency and some of his defensive decision making. But honestly, I just don’t see the big concerns. He regularly played top pairing with Dickinson as a 17 year old. There were definitely some rough patches the first half of the season but he seemed to really round into form as the season went along IMO. I see a very solid two-way righty that’s 6’2”. There’s also some concerns if his offense will translate to the NHL. I don’t see him being classified as an offensive d-man or someone you’d want to put on PP1 but I see him as a guy that would tend to put up around 30 pts/season. Sort of like a Leddy or Broberg caliber of 2nd pairing d-man. Maybe not the offense Leddy brought in his prime but that caliber of player. He’s right in line with Hensler IMO and I prefer him slightly to Reid even though Reid is ranked higher by most.

Right around where the Blues draft is where I expect the draft to get super unpredictable. A lot of the rankings have similar top 10-15 guys (just different orders) and then opinions seems to vary widely. Should be a fun draft. Hopefully the Blues come away with a good one.

[STL fan in MN]

Brock Otten is the longtime close observer of the OHL and always ranks his top prospects.

10. Henry Brzustewicz - Defense - London Knights
I don't agree with the notion that Brzustewicz has middling upside, as I've seen some suggest in the scouting sphere. I would actually argue that Brzustewicz has among the highest upside of any defender available. There's a wide range of outcomes here because I see him as someone still searching for a true identity; he's a bit of a blank canvas currently. He could easily develop into a top three defender, who plays in all situations, under the tutelage of the Hunters in London. He could also lean more towards his defensive ability and become more of a PK type. Or, he could fail to create that true identity and struggle to make the NHL. At the beginning of the season for London, prior to the arrival of the big guns, Brzustewicz looked really comfortable running the powerplay. He was slipping coverage, getting pucks to the middle, using his big strides to get the puck into the offensive zone. He's got the big point shot too. Then once Dickinson and Bonk returned to action, Brzustewicz slipped back into a more defensively oriented role, often pairing with Dickinson. And in that role, he sometimes looked uncomfortable and his puck management suffered. This has led to some questions regarding his IQ. And I do see it. He can chase the play defensively and get taken out of position. He can turn the puck over. However, he's also a good athlete who could be capable of some pretty awesome things when his game becomes more refined. He's a different player than his brother Hunter. He's longer. He's more physical. There really is great upside at both ends of the ice.

I bolded some text. As you can see there is risk involved, but I am in love with the upside I see, and I just feel super confident in the program he's in and the opportunity he's going to emerge into next year. It's the kind of risk I am comfortable with. I just see more offensive potential with Brzustevich than with Hensler or with another RD near this range, and I like his development track the best. He's already been through two OHL championships and two Memorial Cup finals.

Yep. Brzustewicz really grew as the season went along and with Dickinson and Bonk moving on, he’s due for a big breakout year with huge responsibility. And nobody seems to develop players as well as London so yeah, that’s a development path to trust for sure.

[hockey jedi]

I believe Logan Hensler is the guy we need. He makes the most sense, and we do need to get more top four defenseman in the pipeline. Hopefully, we can speed up his development.