St. Louis Blues 2017 Draft Picks: David Noel

The St. Louis Blues went for balance in the 2017 NHL Draft. Thus, after going for offense to open the draft, they looked toward the blue line.

The St. Louis Blues had a definitive plan going into the 2017 NHL Draft. They wanted to improve their team immediately and for the future as well. They did both quite well in the end.

The Blues looked to the forward lines early in the draft. They made a big deal, acquiring Brayden Schenn.

Before that, they brought in a two-way playmaker in Robert Thomas. Then, after the duo of trades, the Blues picked up another forward.

This time they looked east and selected Russian Klim Kostin. Kostin is so highly rated that fans are hoping it can be a repeat of 2010 when the Blues got Jaden Schwartz and then lucked into Vladimir Tarasenko.

There is plenty of time before that can be decided. After that, the Blues looked to add to a position of depth already. They went after the blueliners.

David Noel was the Blues’ selection with the 130th overall pick, coming in the fifth round. Noel is a defender out of Quebec.

Noel split time in his last junior season between Chicoutimi and Val-d’Or of the QMJHL. The interesting thing about Noel is the contrast between his game and his stats.

This past season, he put up 32 points and 11 goals. The points are fine, but for a defender that likes to shoot, 11 seems a little low in junior hockey.

Still, the ceiling is expected to be high for Noel. According to Ben Gallant of ISS Scout, Noel is “active in the offensive end — at times too active. Good hands and shot. Shot from point is good and gets on net. Transition game is good with nice outlets”

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Hockeyprospect.com continued the good vibes saying “His shot is his No. 1 weapon offensively. … He’s an OK puck-mover on the power play, but he really excels at firing pucks on net, because his one-timer is so excellent. He keeps his game simple and makes simple outlet passes to his forwards.”

As with any prospect, the news is not all good. Gallant said Noel “Struggles against players with size down low.”

Hockeyprospects.com played off those sentiments. “He can get in trouble when pressured to make a play by the forecheck.”

Noel will definitely need to put on a little more size, or at least get stronger, if he intends to play at the highest level. He is currently listed at 6’1 and 172 lbs.

That’s not small if you have good core strength. You definitely don’t want to bulk up to the point where footwork becomes an issue, but for his height, it would be nice to see him come in around 190 if he suited up for the Blues. That is not necessary, but it would help him in those net-front battles.

Noel’s biggest thing he has going for him right now is he has a ton of players in front of him. That sounds like a hindrance, but it gives him so much time to really grow into his game.

The Blues are already around seven deep in terms of NHL players on the blue line. They have at least three to four guys waiting to make their move to the NHL roster too.

So, Noel can bide his time in juniors and the minors to hone his skills. The Blues need more shooters from the blue line.

Next: Blues 2017 Picks: Alexei Toropchenko

If Noel really does have a good shot and is not afraid to unleash it, he can fill a void on the Blues down the road. It’s not as though they will have a ton of shooters in front of him since they have not had a good point shot until Colton Parayko since Al MacInnis.

Nobody is expecting him to become a MacInnis and he does not need to try. If the scouting report on a good one-timer is correct, that’s enough. A quick shot can be just as good or better than a powerful one sometimes.

Again, it is unlikely we’ll see Noel for at least a couple years, if not more. However, he could be a good second or third pairing guy with use on the powerplay down the road.

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