You are the Blues GM on draft day 2026

[John Cocktoastin]

I like Viggo Björck as well.
Question- Which one would you pick, Viggo Björck or Daxon Rudolph if they are both there?

Rudolph hands down but I have Rudolph as the 4th best player in the draft.

Bjorck

[John Cocktoastin]

I like Viggo Björck as well.
Question- Which one would you pick, Viggo Björck or Daxon Rudolph if they are both there?

Rudolph hands down but I have Rudolph as the 4th best player in the draft.

Bjorck

2 more inches (insert joke here). #2 pick.

[STL fan in MN]

I like Viggo Björck as well.
Question- Which one would you pick, Viggo Björck or Daxon Rudolph if they are both there?

That one’s tougher. I still go with Bjorck but it’s a much closer call. Would depend on just how high the Blues feel Bjorck’s potential is, how confident they think he’ll stay at C and if they feel Rudolph could truly be a #1 RD in this league. As if he does reach that level, he’d be worth his weight in gold.

[BleedingBleu]

All I’ve heard is how weak this Center Class is when it comes to premium talent, how the Cap will be going up, how team friendly Thomas’ deal is, and how loaded the Center class was the year before. This tells me we are ripe for nabbing someone else’s Center that they’ve done all the work and investment in developing later on.

No one questions Bjorks’ skill and IQ, but they do question his size and his ability to stay at Center. Lawrence was highly touted until he wasn’t. Then he had a little late season boost on a college team that went from NCAA runner-ups the prior year to .500 win%. I get he’s young, and I am enticed by him, but I’m ready to see some muscle return to the top ranks.

I really like the idea of Belchetz to be our Top-6 True Power FWD like a Brady Tkachuk or Tom Wilson that we’ve not had since the days of Backes.

This team has been labeled soft for far too long and I love a player who’s going to be a disrupter in the offensive zone. Just stick a big, mean, immovable donkey in front of the goal to pester the goaltender, push around D-Men of all sizes and cleanup the slop in front of the net while collecting 30 G/30 A and +200 hits a year and 18:00 ATOI.

Also, I’m very ok with drafting/developing a Centerman late in this first Round, and/or letting someone else develop them and collecting one of those in their Prime (O’Reilly, Schenn). Lots of intriguing Centers around that Late First Round Pick that gives me pause and willingness to roll w/a Thomas/Dvorsky middle for years to come.

Give Robert and/or Dalibor a brute that will preserve their careers and put up 60 points while wrecking the Divisional foe’s rosters before facing them in the First & Second Rounds

[STL fan in MN]

All I’ve heard is how weak this Center Class is when it comes to premium talent, how the Cap will be going up, how team friendly Thomas’ deal is, and how loaded the Center class was the year before. This tells me we are ripe for nabbing someone else’s Center that they’ve done all the work and investment in developing later on.

No one questions Bjorks’ skill and IQ, but they do question his size and his ability to stay at Center. Lawrence was highly touted until he wasn’t. Then he had a little late season boost on a college team that went from NCAA runner-ups the prior year to .500 win%. I get he’s young, and I am enticed by him, but I’m ready to see some muscle return to the top ranks.

I really like the idea of Belchetz to be our Top-6 True Power FWD like a Brady Tkachuk or Tom Wilson that we’ve not had since the days of Backes.

This team has been labeled soft for far too long and I love a player who’s going to be a disrupter in the offensive zone. Just stick a big, mean, immovable donkey in front of the goal to pester the goaltender, push around D-Men of all sizes and cleanup the slop in front of the net while collecting 30 G/30 A and +200 hits a year and 18:00 ATOI.

Also, I’m very ok with drafting/developing a Centerman late in this first Round, and/or letting someone else develop them and collecting one of those in their Prime (O’Reilly, Schenn). Lots of intriguing Centers around that Late First Round Pick that gives me pause and willingness to roll w/a Thomas/Dvorsky middle for years to come.

Give Robert and/or Dalibor a brute that will preserve their careers and put up 60 points while wrecking the Divisional foe’s rosters before facing them in the First & Second Rounds

I’d absolutely love to have Belchetz if I thought he reasonably compared to B.Tkachuk or Wilson. I see guys like Michael Rasmussen or Anthony Mantha being better comps.

[blues2112]

Consult Blues Talk.

[BleedingBleu]

All I’ve heard is how weak this Center Class is when it comes to premium talent, how the Cap will be going up, how team friendly Thomas’ deal is, and how loaded the Center class was the year before. This tells me we are ripe for nabbing someone else’s Center that they’ve done all the work and investment in developing later on.

No one questions Bjorks’ skill and IQ, but they do question his size and his ability to stay at Center. Lawrence was highly touted until he wasn’t. Then he had a little late season boost on a college team that went from NCAA runner-ups the prior year to .500 win%. I get he’s young, and I am enticed by him, but I’m ready to see some muscle return to the top ranks.

I really like the idea of Belchetz to be our Top-6 True Power FWD like a Brady Tkachuk or Tom Wilson that we’ve not had since the days of Backes.

This team has been labeled soft for far too long and I love a player who’s going to be a disrupter in the offensive zone. Just stick a big, mean, immovable donkey in front of the goal to pester the goaltender, push around D-Men of all sizes and cleanup the slop in front of the net while collecting 30 G/30 A and +200 hits a year and 18:00 ATOI.

Also, I’m very ok with drafting/developing a Centerman late in this first Round, and/or letting someone else develop them and collecting one of those in their Prime (O’Reilly, Schenn). Lots of intriguing Centers around that Late First Round Pick that gives me pause and willingness to roll w/a Thomas/Dvorsky middle for years to come.

Give Robert and/or Dalibor a brute that will preserve their careers and put up 60 points while wrecking the Divisional foe’s rosters before facing them in the First & Second Rounds

I’d absolutely love to have Belchetz if I thought he reasonably compared to B.Tkachuk or Wilson. I see guys like Michael Rasmussen or Anthony Mantha being better comps.

Mantha is in the Buchnevich territory when it comes to hits. The comps I’ve seen had been closer to Tkachuk & Juraj Slafkovský on the high end, but each espouse his defensive game, physical play, and willingness to duke it out in defense of his teammates when the opposition got a little too aggressive… the last two points factoring in his high PIM.

I can see why you applied Rasmussen in there. Former Top 10 with a physical approach to the game and some time on PP2. Maybe the wings can give us him and we’ll draft one of the other guys?

[TBone]

Not to derail the thread, but what are the board opinions on Jack Hextall and his NHL ceiling?

If they went BPA at 11 and 15 would Hextall be a good safe choice at 31 for a pure center?

Also the more I read about the potential prospects available in the 3rd round the more it reads like this is an incredibly deep draft, just without the uber-elite players at the very top. Is this an accurate assessment or are the draft profiles I'm reading too sunny and full of hyperbole?

[moose-and-squirrel]

BELCHETZ I RECKON

this.. absolutely fills a need

[SameOldBlues]

The Blues are on the clock, the high end defenseman have been taken, and Ethan Belchetz, Viggo Bjorck and Tynan Lawrence are available. Who do we choose?

That’s a nuclear war option that I refuse to partake.

My only recourse would be to criticize management nonstop for not sackin up earlier and finding a way to move up to snag Rudolph.

[Cahokanut]

I'd have Binny, Kyrou, Parayko 11oa, 15oa. On the block.

I would for sure find someone for Binny and Kyrou. I'd listen and be inclined to throwing in Jake, Otto and any of the many over seasoned 20something year old prospects in the A

I'd be interested in moving up to get the best center in the draft. I'd also be Looking for under 25yo, skilled future stars.
Any picks coming back would be for next year

[Quas]

I like Bjork and hope he is available at 11. I would even trade up a few spots for Bjork. If VAN picks Ivar I would also see if I could put together a package that includes Otto to try to get Willander. I would include prospects and picks to make up the difference.

I would also try to see if I could trade Kyrou for Nemec. Kyrou might waive to go there since it is close to where his brother is playing and they are probably closer to being a contender than the Blues. The new GM in NJ is an analytics guys so maybe he would value Kyrou. I asked Copilot and they thought it was a good fit, but thought the Blues would need more coming back and may have to take a contract back for Kyrou to fit within NJ’s cap structure. If the Blues could get Nemec they could look at dealing Parayko in a package to try to get the 2nd pick from SJ.

[kimzey59]

All I’ve heard is how weak this Center Class is when it comes to premium talent, how the Cap will be going up, how team friendly Thomas’ deal is, and how loaded the Center class was the year before. This tells me we are ripe for nabbing someone else’s Center that they’ve done all the work and investment in developing later on.

No one questions Bjorks’ skill and IQ, but they do question his size and his ability to stay at Center. Lawrence was highly touted until he wasn’t. Then he had a little late season boost on a college team that went from NCAA runner-ups the prior year to .500 win%. I get he’s young, and I am enticed by him, but I’m ready to see some muscle return to the top ranks.

I really like the idea of Belchetz to be our Top-6 True Power FWD like a Brady Tkachuk or Tom Wilson that we’ve not had since the days of Backes.

This team has been labeled soft for far too long and I love a player who’s going to be a disrupter in the offensive zone. Just stick a big, mean, immovable donkey in front of the goal to pester the goaltender, push around D-Men of all sizes and cleanup the slop in front of the net while collecting 30 G/30 A and +200 hits a year and 18:00 ATOI.

Also, I’m very ok with drafting/developing a Centerman late in this first Round, and/or letting someone else develop them and collecting one of those in their Prime (O’Reilly, Schenn). Lots of intriguing Centers around that Late First Round Pick that gives me pause and willingness to roll w/a Thomas/Dvorsky middle for years to come.

Give Robert and/or Dalibor a brute that will preserve their careers and put up 60 points while wrecking the Divisional foe’s rosters before facing them in the First & Second Rounds

I’d absolutely love to have Belchetz if I thought he reasonably compared to B.Tkachuk or Wilson. I see guys like Michael Rasmussen or Anthony Mantha being better comps.

Mantha is in the Buchnevich territory when it comes to hits. The comps I’ve seen had been closer to Tkachuk & Juraj Slafkovský on the high end, but each espouse his defensive game, physical play, and willingness to duke it out in defense of his teammates when the opposition got a little too aggressive… the last two points factoring in his high PIM.

I can see why you applied Rasmussen in there. Former Top 10 with a physical approach to the game and some time on PP2. Maybe the wings can give us him and we’ll draft one of the other guys?

1- We already have Rasmussen. His name is Jack Finley. We just need to get him away from the offensive blackhole known as Alex Toropchenko.

2- I know it still seems like he's young-ish but Rasmussen is 27 years old already. At this point, he is what he is; a 4th line center that gets net front duty on the PP(AKA Sunny). Not the worst player in the league, but not somebody we should have any interest in.

Changing topic slightly; I'm not particularly wild about the Mantha comparison. It discounts Belchetz's defensive game and undersells his physicality. Mantha is flat out soft. He wants to be a finesse winger(Eric Daze syndrome). He doesn't like to engage physically and actively avoids the defensive game. Blechetz may not have a Tkachuk type psycho streak, but he's got a a physical game in him.

As far as Belchetz comparison's; I can't argue the JVR one that I saw on hfboards(pre-foot injury JVR in any case) outside of the defensive game(Belchetz is already better defensively than JVR ever was). I'd say Timo Meier is more accurate, but I wouldn't argue it too strongly.

[kimzey59]

Not to derail the thread, but what are the board opinions on Jack Hextall and his NHL ceiling?

If they went BPA at 11 and 15 would Hextall be a good safe choice at 31 for a pure center?

Also the more I read about the potential prospects available in the 3rd round the more it reads like this is an incredibly deep draft, just without the uber-elite players at the very top. Is this an accurate assessment or are the draft profiles I'm reading too sunny and full of hyperbole?

I like Hextall. Incredibly feisty player with decent hands and vision. Should end up being a good middle 6 forward.
That said; I do question if he stays at center. Not because he can't handle the position, but because he's so effective as the F1 on the forecheck. I think he could legitimately be a Zach Hyman type if he was truly unleashed on the forecheck(minus the McJesus offensive boost, obviously) and might work himself into a steady 2nd line spot. If he stays at center, I don't think he gets above the 3rd line.

Going back a ways for a comp; think Perry Turnbull. Perfectly acceptable as a 3rd line center; but an absolute menace as a 2nd line winger.

[STL fan in MN]

All I’ve heard is how weak this Center Class is when it comes to premium talent, how the Cap will be going up, how team friendly Thomas’ deal is, and how loaded the Center class was the year before. This tells me we are ripe for nabbing someone else’s Center that they’ve done all the work and investment in developing later on.

No one questions Bjorks’ skill and IQ, but they do question his size and his ability to stay at Center. Lawrence was highly touted until he wasn’t. Then he had a little late season boost on a college team that went from NCAA runner-ups the prior year to .500 win%. I get he’s young, and I am enticed by him, but I’m ready to see some muscle return to the top ranks.

I really like the idea of Belchetz to be our Top-6 True Power FWD like a Brady Tkachuk or Tom Wilson that we’ve not had since the days of Backes.

This team has been labeled soft for far too long and I love a player who’s going to be a disrupter in the offensive zone. Just stick a big, mean, immovable donkey in front of the goal to pester the goaltender, push around D-Men of all sizes and cleanup the slop in front of the net while collecting 30 G/30 A and +200 hits a year and 18:00 ATOI.

Also, I’m very ok with drafting/developing a Centerman late in this first Round, and/or letting someone else develop them and collecting one of those in their Prime (O’Reilly, Schenn). Lots of intriguing Centers around that Late First Round Pick that gives me pause and willingness to roll w/a Thomas/Dvorsky middle for years to come.

Give Robert and/or Dalibor a brute that will preserve their careers and put up 60 points while wrecking the Divisional foe’s rosters before facing them in the First & Second Rounds

I’d absolutely love to have Belchetz if I thought he reasonably compared to B.Tkachuk or Wilson. I see guys like Michael Rasmussen or Anthony Mantha being better comps.

Mantha is in the Buchnevich territory when it comes to hits. The comps I’ve seen had been closer to Tkachuk & Juraj Slafkovský on the high end, but each espouse his defensive game, physical play, and willingness to duke it out in defense of his teammates when the opposition got a little too aggressive… the last two points factoring in his high PIM.

I can see why you applied Rasmussen in there. Former Top 10 with a physical approach to the game and some time on PP2. Maybe the wings can give us him and we’ll draft one of the other guys?

Think about it. If his comps were truly Tkachuk or Slafovsky, he’d be projected to go in the 1-3 range. Instead most place him on the 10-16 range.

He WAS more in the 5-10 range early on in the season but he isn’t anymore.

[BleedingBleu]

All I’ve heard is how weak this Center Class is when it comes to premium talent, how the Cap will be going up, how team friendly Thomas’ deal is, and how loaded the Center class was the year before. This tells me we are ripe for nabbing someone else’s Center that they’ve done all the work and investment in developing later on.

No one questions Bjorks’ skill and IQ, but they do question his size and his ability to stay at Center. Lawrence was highly touted until he wasn’t. Then he had a little late season boost on a college team that went from NCAA runner-ups the prior year to .500 win%. I get he’s young, and I am enticed by him, but I’m ready to see some muscle return to the top ranks.

I really like the idea of Belchetz to be our Top-6 True Power FWD like a Brady Tkachuk or Tom Wilson that we’ve not had since the days of Backes.

This team has been labeled soft for far too long and I love a player who’s going to be a disrupter in the offensive zone. Just stick a big, mean, immovable donkey in front of the goal to pester the goaltender, push around D-Men of all sizes and cleanup the slop in front of the net while collecting 30 G/30 A and +200 hits a year and 18:00 ATOI.

Also, I’m very ok with drafting/developing a Centerman late in this first Round, and/or letting someone else develop them and collecting one of those in their Prime (O’Reilly, Schenn). Lots of intriguing Centers around that Late First Round Pick that gives me pause and willingness to roll w/a Thomas/Dvorsky middle for years to come.

Give Robert and/or Dalibor a brute that will preserve their careers and put up 60 points while wrecking the Divisional foe’s rosters before facing them in the First & Second Rounds

I’d absolutely love to have Belchetz if I thought he reasonably compared to B.Tkachuk or Wilson. I see guys like Michael Rasmussen or Anthony Mantha being better comps.

Mantha is in the Buchnevich territory when it comes to hits. The comps I’ve seen had been closer to Tkachuk & Juraj Slafkovský on the high end, but each espouse his defensive game, physical play, and willingness to duke it out in defense of his teammates when the opposition got a little too aggressive… the last two points factoring in his high PIM.

I can see why you applied Rasmussen in there. Former Top 10 with a physical approach to the game and some time on PP2. Maybe the wings can give us him and we’ll draft one of the other guys?

Think about it. If his comps were truly Tkachuk or Slafovsky, he’d be projected to go in the 1-3 range. Instead most place him on the 10-16 range.

He WAS more in the 5-10 range early on in the season but he isn’t anymore.

I don’t know if I can look at the two drafts (2018/2026) and proclaim that Belchetz should be Top 5 simply because Brady went 4th Overall in 2018. Matthew went 6th Overall in 2016 and it’s not because he wasn’t as highly valued as Brady.

I am unsure what the mindset was at the 2018 Draft, but here’s what it looks like

2018 NHL Draft

• 1.) Dahlin

• 2.) Svechnikov

• 3.) Kotkaniemi

• 4.) Brady Tkachuk

• 5.) Hayton

• 6.) whiff

• 7.) Quinn Hughes

• 8.) whiff

• 9.) whiff

• 10.) Bouchard

• 11.) whiff

• 12.) Dobson

• 13.) whiff

• 14.) Farabee

• 15.) whiff

• 16.) whiff

• 17-21.) whiffs

That’s not a very good draft result. So, the grouping of D-men + Stenberg & McKenna makes Belchetz’s position somewhat respectable by contrasting to Brady’s draft