St. Louis Blues Draft Prospects: Clayton Keller
By Todd Panula
With the draft approaching in the next few weeks, we continue to look at some of the possibilities for the St. Louis Blues. Up next is another local guy, Clayton Keller
St. Louis loves it’s local players. It doesn’t matter the sport, if you can have a local player on the team, the fans are going to eat it up.
The St. Louis Blues haven’t had a true local guy on the team since Ben Bishop. Paul Stastny sort of counts, since he lived a good deal of his young life here, but he was born in Quebec.
That’s what makes this draft so interesting. There are as many as four players that could go in the first round of the NHL draft from the St. Louis area.
We’ve already discussed the multiple interesting aspects of bringing in Matthew Tkachuk. However, trading up to a top five spot when you’re currently drafting 28th would be difficult and most likely very costly.
Clayton Keller would also likely require the Blues to trade up in the draft, something there has been word they are willing to do, but would not cost as much in theory.
Keller is currently ranked as high as ninth in several scouting reports. He’s also ranging around the 10-15 pick in most mock drafts.
Clearly, that would require the Blues to trade up the draft order to acquire the ability to pick him. However, the kid from Swansea, IL. might be worth it. He’s put up some pretty gaudy numbers no matter where he has played.
His 107 points with the National Team Development Program came up only 11 points short of setting a new record. Interestingly enough, that record was just set by Auston Matthews, the likely number-one pick overall.
“Does he have franchise potential? We’ll let you judge for yourself,” said Steve Kournianos of thedraftanalyst.com. “But keep in mind he’s nearly produced as much as Jack Eichel and Auston Matthews did with the NTDP.”
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The kid knows how to win too. He’s been a key member of gold-medal winning team in 2015 with the U-18 US team at the World Championships, silver medal winning team in 2015 with the U-17 team at the World Hockey Challenge and helped the 2016 U-18 team take the bronze medal. Perhaps even more impressive was when Keller named the tournament MVP in the bronze performance even though a different player was the tournament’s leading scorer.
On the size spectrum, Keller is a bit small. He’s listed at 5’10 and around 170lbs, give or take a pound here or there.
The Blues, perhaps more so than other teams, have figured out that size isn’t everything. Neither Jaden Schwartz or Robby Fabbri had prototypical size, but both have quickly become cornerstones of the current roster. Fabbri especially shocked the world a bit by continuing to perform in the playoffs despite being undersized.
Like Fabbri, Keller’s speed matches his skill level. Many of the reports on him list his positive attributes as having a quick first step and also the ability to change speeds during the rush, which causes defensemen fits.
Outlook for the Blues
Keller would definitely fill a need as the Blues are likely to need help at center very soon. However, it is unlikely he will be NHL ready immediately.
Currently, he is likely to spend at least a year in college or in junior hockey. That decision will be made by Keller as he has already committed to the Boston University and the Windsor Spitfires still hold his rights if he decides to give major-junior hockey a run. It seems unlikely he will go to Windsor since they have held his rights for two seasons and he has not played there.
Regardless of the player though, it will be up to the Blues to decide he is worth trading up in the draft for. If Keller goes in the 10-15 range, then their trade partners would be Colorado, New Jersey, Ottawa, Carolina, Boston and Minnesota.
History is littered with trades being made from unlikely bedfellows, so trading within the division isn’t unheard of. At this stage do the Blues really want to give prospects or NHL ready players to the Avalanche or the Wild?
Several draft sites have the Devils interested in taking a defenseman, so a trade involving Kevin Shattenkirk might be available. The Devils are also in the bottom three of the salary cap spending, so fitting his contract in wouldn’t be a problem. The Avs are also in need of defenders, but that would be a bit foolish to hand Shattenkirk right back to them in the prime of his career.
…keep in mind he’s nearly produced as much as Jack Eichel and Auston Matthews did with the NTDP. – Steve Kournianos, thedraftanalyst.com
In the end, Keller is a fascinating prospect. He’s a local kid, has speed and tons of talent and is in the draft range where it’s not impossible to envision the Blues moving up to take him. That said, unless there’s a larger package included for the Blues, it may not make sense.
Trading Shattenkirk would give the Blues more financial freedom and perhaps that’s all they are looking for. However, just in the optics of a potential deal, trading a top-four defenseman for a mid-range draft pick straight up might not make sense. The Blues are looking for NHL ready talent to help them now after they came so close to the Stanley Cup Finals.
The flip side of that argument is that you always have to plan for the future. If a potential trade gives you the financial freedom to sign a roster upgrade for the short term, while adding a piece like Keller in the long term, then it makes a lot of sense.
These are all part of the issues that face NHL general managers. Trying to balance out winning now with winning in the future. It’s no easy task. Sadly, I don’t see Keller making it to the Blues. It is seeming more and more likely that Kevin Shattenkirk could be dealt at the draft, but it might not even include picks for this year.
Next: Latest Kevin Shattenkirk Rumors
While local soccer fans go a little bit overboard wanting local guys on their teams, it would be a little cherry on top to add Keller to the roster. It won’t cost nearly as much as a potential trade up for Tkachuk would be, but it might still be more than the Blues are willing to provide right now.
Whether he ends up on the Blues or not, Keller will be one to keep an eye on. It might take a year or two, but Keller has the skills to be an eye popper like Fabbri was this year.