St. Louis Blues Top 30 Draft Picks Of All Time (Part 3)

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Continuing the look at the best of the best that have come up from the ground up with the St. Louis Blues. Now it’s time for the cream of the crop.

They’ve been jockeying for position. They’ve been calling me up, begging to get on the top of this list. Ok, maybe not, but being at the top of this list is still an honor.

The St. Louis Blues have been hit or miss throughout their history in terms of drafting players. However, they’ve had some great ones come through that door (no pun intended since Gretzky did briefly don the note).

So now, it’s time to reveal our top ten list of the top 30 draft picks of all time. Here is the cream of the crop, because it always rises to the top.

10. Nelson Emerson

Nelson Emerson was never the biggest or the strongest, but he was a heck of a competitor. Drafted in the third round of the 1985 NHL Draft, taken with the 44th overall pick, Emerson came out of the old school.

He spent an entire four years with Bowling Green University, almost unheard of these days. After being drafted, he spent a season with the Peoria Rivermen before joining the Blues for a full season in 1991-92. He never really looked back from there.

He scored 59 points in his true rookie season with 23 goals to go along with it. He then had 22 goals to follow up the next year, but started setting up teammates more with 73 points.

Then, in typical Ron Caron fashion, Emerson was dealt away. While the Blues did get Phil Housley, one of the best offensive defensemen in history, in return, it still feels like another good offensive piece taken away before they really got to bloom.

Emerson scored 74 points the next season with the Winnipeg Jets before going on a bit of a tail spin. So, in the end, considering the Blues got Housley and then traded him for Al MacInnis, perhaps the Blues made the right decision.

Even so, Emerson was a heck of a pick. In only two seasons (technically three since he played four games in his first season) Emerson had 135 points with the Blues.

While he fell off the map later in his career as he got traded around, he still managed to be a decent scorer. 488 career points in 771 games isn’t too shabby at all.

9. Perry Turnbull

The Blues haven’t had many first round picks that came in the top five, but Perry Turnbull was one of those. He was taken with the second overall pick of the 1979 NHL Draft.

Turnbull wouldn’t have a very long career. He only played in nine seasons. Though that seems to be a bit more standard for the time period when he played, it was still a brief but brilliant flash and then it was gone.

Turnbull came into the NHL the very same season as he was drafted and scored 13 goals and 35 points. He scored 34 goals the next season to go along with his 56 points. Turnbull would average 33 goals a season over the next three years.

He had a poor season in 1983-84 and got dealt to Montreal for Doug Wickenheiser, Gilbert Delorme and Greg Paslawski. He signed with the Jets after continuing that poor year and rebounded with seasons of 43 and 51 points.

Then an injury plagued season ended his time with the Jets and perhaps his career. He returned to the Blues for one final season in 1987-88 and had 19 points in 51 games.

While it wasn’t how he wanted to end his career, he wasn’t done in St. Louis. He became a player and also general manager of the St. Louis Vipers of the Roller Hockey International League.

Turnbull’s time in the league was not very long, but he was a great offensive threat while he was there. He scored 351 points in 608 career games and 238 of those points came with the Blues, averaging 40 points a year with the Blues.

8. Paul MacLean

Paul MacLean didn’t come with a lot of fanfare. Like our last two picks, he didn’t have an incredibly long career either. However, what a mark he made during the time he was there.

The St. Louis Blues took MacLean in the seventh round of the 1978 NHL Draft with the 109th pick overall. Unfortunately, he never got to shine for the Blues. After one career game in his rookie year, he got sent to Winnipeg with Bryan Maxwell and Ed Staniowski for Scott Campbell and John Markell.

He made sure Winnipeg got the better of the deal. Immediately after the deal, MacLean went off for 61 points. For the rest of his career, he only had one season where he did not score 50 or more points and only two seasons where he did not have 60 or more points.

He got traded back to the Blues in 1989-90, along with Adam Oates, and scored 67 points and 34 goals. Unfortunately, just when it seemed the Blues would benefit from the player they drafted a decade earlier, a broken rib force MacLean to retire.

MacLean played in only 719 games but scored a whopping 673 points. With .936 points per game, it’s about as close to a point per game as you can get.

MacLean stuck with the Blues for a little bit after, becoming the Rivermen coach from 1993-96. He’s also got one of the best mustaches in the league.

The Blues only benefited from 84 games in his brilliant, yet short career. However, the fact they were smart enough to draft him, if not smart enough to keep him, shows they saw something in him.

7. Wayne Merrick

Wayne Merrick was selected by the Blues with the ninth overall pick in the 1972 draft. While he also had a very productive career, the reason he gets a higher selection than MacLean is the fact he played more games with the Blues.

Merrick played immediately after being drafted and had an ok rookie season. 21 points, 10 goals and 50 games played isn’t too bad. His next season was bigger proof of what kind of player he was going to be.

His point and goal totals went up each year the next three seasons.

Merrick would go on to a decent career with the New York Islanders after being traded to the California Golden Seals for Larry Patey. The Blues actually got a good return for one of the players they traded away on this list.

Even though Merrick tailed off a little after his Blues career, he was still a pretty good player and thus a good pick spent.

He had 144 points in 209 games in St. Louis. He also ended with 456 points in 774 career games.

Playing for the Blues during that time period and scoring was no easy task. The Blues had high picks because they were in a dry period in terms of winning, but Merrick did his best to help the team win while he was here.

6. Cliff Ronning

869 points. Need I say more?

Cliff Ronning was selected by the Blues in the 1984 draft, but not until the seventh round. He was taken with the 134th overall pick, likely due to his size. Though the NHL has had periods of size and others of speed, Ronning was small in almost any era at 5’8.

He used that as a chip on his shoulder and used it well. He came in and scored 25 points in 42 games in his rookie season after spending two years in the Canadian junior league, WHL.

In typical fashion, he was sent away from the Blues before we got to see his full potential. Even though he scored 55 points the season prior to being dealt away, the Blues had gotten tired of his injury woes since he could not seem to last a full season.

Of course, he played a full year the next season and had 71 points with the Canucks. He went on to score 85 the season after. He was a good playoff performer for the Canucks as well. He had 15 points in their Stanley Cup Final run in 1994, where they lost to the New York Rangers.

Ronning kind of jumped around over the course of his career for unknown reasons. He was always productive, so it was either always due to his size or simply due to the fact that other teams had interest in him and he got dealt.

Regardless, even in his mid 30’s he was scoring over 60 points. In his final full season, at 37, he scored 48 points. Even only playing 40 games in his final season, he still had slightly more than a point every other game with a total of 24.

For someone who wasn’t given a great shot from the get-go, he made the most of it. He scored 125 points in 180 games with the Blues. He played in 1137 career games and had 869 points. Pretty good for a small guy.

Next: Top 5 Picks

Apr 7, 2016; Chicago, IL, USA; St. Louis Blues right wing Vladimir Tarasenko (91) shoots the puck as Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk (57) defends during the second period at the United Center. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports /

5. Vladimir Tarasenko

While it seems too early to put Vladimir Tarasenko this high, it’s hard not to. There’s a certain combination of talent and the feeling that the Blues got a bit of a steal that just warrants him getting a lot of attention.

He’s had over 70 points in his last two seasons. He’s got 209 points with the Blues (as of writing this) in 259 games. He could have more as well.

Coming from Russia and not speaking English, it took him awhile to acclimatize to new surroundings and a new league with a new style. He warmed up quickly though.

He scored 21 goals in his first true season in America. He joined the 40 goal club in 2016-17 and could have had more if he was not looking to set up teammates just as much as he looks to score.

Tarasenko has been recognized nationally now as well. He has been named the coverboy of NHL 17 by EA Sports. He’s a two-time All-Star.

He’s also young. At 24 years old, he’s just hitting his stride. The Blues scored him by a bit of luck as well.

Taken with the 16th overall pick of the 2010 NHL Draft, the Blues hadn’t really planned on drafting him. They had selected Jaden Schwartz with the 14th overall pick.

While Schwartz has proven to be a good player, who knew that the guy they got two picks later would become the face of the franchise? Considering the Blues got the pick from Ottawa for David Runblad, I’d say this may end up being the Blues’ version of the Lou Brock trade.

Fans expect even more from Tarasenko now that he’s cost the 40 goal threshold in a season and it looks like they’ll get it. However, even if he stays as a 40 goal/70 point guy, he’ll belong at this spot or maybe even higher as his career progresses.

4. Brian Sutter

Who knew that a simple farming family from Viking, Alberta would become one of the best hockey families in the NHL. One of the best of the bunch was Brian Sutter and the Blues got his best.

Sutter was drafted by St. Louis in the second round of the 1976 draft and taken with the 20th selection overall. He played immediately, but it seemed like it was going to be a bit of a wasted pick.

Sutter only had 14 points in 38 games his first year. He faltered even more with only 22 points in 78 games the next. Sensing things were slipping away, he exploded in year three.

80 points and 41 goals in 77 games to solidify his spot with the team. He never looked back.

He never materialized into a consistent 80 point scorer, but he became even more. Beyond just the points, he became a leader.

He became one of the best captains of all time in Blues’ history. He led the Blues to a Western Conference Final, which hadn’t happened since the early days of the franchise.

He also played every game of his career with the Blues. He scored 636 points in 779 games. He was a three-time All-Star. If not for a bad back, he likely would have crossed the 1000 game marker.

He went on to become a popular coach in the league as well. As the man in charge for the Blues and three other teams, he had a record of 451‑417‑160 for 1062 points.

He was one of the best captains the team had, but only the fourth best pick the team ever made.

3. Rod Brind’Amour

Rod Brind’Amour had a very brief career with the Blues, but he was quite involved. After being drafted ninth overall in the 1988 draft, he made an impact almost immediately.

After one season with Michigan State, Brind’Amour came in and scored 61 points in his rookie season. After having a sophomore slump at 49 points, the team seemed to sour on him.

He then became embroiled in some politics behind the scenes. He was offered up to the New Jersey Devils as part of a compensation package for the signing of Brendan Shanahan. After that didn’t work and the team lost Scott Stevens, the Blues traded him anyway to Philadelphia for Ron Sutter and Murray Baron.

His career went a bit up and down from there on out. However, his best was among the best in the league at the time and his worst was still way above average.

In the end, although his time was very brief in St. Louis (seems to be a theme here), he proved his worth over the course of his career. He ended his career with 1184 points in 1484 games. He also had 110 points in 157 games with St. Louis alone.

He scored double digits in the playoffs five times, including 18 points during Carolina’s championship season. He was an All-Star and won the Selke Trophy twice.

The Blues could have used a player like Brind’Amour. Still, he was a wise choice in the draft.

2. Doug Gilmour

Doug Gilmour was taken by the Blues in the seventh round of the 1982 draft. He was taken 134 overall, so not a whole lot was expected of him if people are honest.

After scoring 177 points in the OHL though, the Blues didn’t have much choice but to bring him in. He didn’t light the world on fire, but he made sure they didn’t see it as a mistake either.

He averaged 54 points over his first three seasons in St. Louis. He went off in the playoffs as well, scoring 21 points in the Blues run to the conference finals in 1985-86.

The following season, he exploded for 106 points in the regular season. It was the only time he would have that many with the Blues and one of only three 100+ point seasons.

The Blues were forced to trade Gilmour after he became involved in a legal issue, but he didn’t let that derail his career. He averaged 87 points in three full seasons with Calgary and also won a Stanley Cup where he scored 22 points in the effort.

Gilmour would go on to have some fantastic years with the Toronto Maple Leafs before bouncing around the league later in his career. Like the others on this list, he still managed to score quite a bit even though the teams he played for seemed to not appreciate it in the end.

He only had the one Stanley Cup, but that’s more than most. He was a two-time All-Star as well. He would end his career with almost a point per game. He had 354 points in 384 games with the Blues. He had 1414 points in 1474 career games.

While the legal situation he became involved in was messy, he was never indicted. If he was innocent, it’s sad that he could not spend more time in St. Louis. However, he proved them right in drafting him while he was here and also over the course of his career.

1. Bernie Federko

Could it be anyone else at the top spot? The Blues took a kid from Foam Lake, Saskatchewan with the seventh overall pick in the 1976 NHL Draft and he turned out to be one of the best the franchise ever saw, drafted or not.

The man almost known more as just Bernie as he is Federko is at or near the top of almost every category for the Blues. He’s number one in points, assists and games played. He’s second in goals and hat tricks, third in game-tying goals, fourth in game-winning goals and second in powerplay goals.

Like his fellow farmboy, Brian Sutter, Federko got off to a slow start. He scored 14 goals and 23 points in 31 games in year one and followed it up with 17 goals and 41 points in 72 games in year two.

He only scored fewer than 90 points in one season out of the next eight though. He blew up for 95 points in year three. He had 34 goals and 102 points in helping the Blues to the Western Conference Finals in 1985-86.

He had 100 or more points four times. He had 90 or more points seven times and had 80 or more points nine times.

If not for some guy named Adam Oates being put on the block, Federko would likely have finished his career in St. Louis. Instead, he scored 57 points in his final year with the Detroit Red Wings at the all too early age of 33.

Sensing his production would not rebound, he decided to retire and return to St. Louis. He’s become a bit of an icon in the area and joined the team’s broadcast crew, first as a color commentator and now as a studio analyst.

If not for someone named Brett Hull, Federko would likely be considered the best to wear the Note in history. However, there is no doubt that he’s the best the team ever drafted.

He averaged more than a point per game over his season. 1000 games played, on the dot, and 1130 points overall and 1073 points in 924 games with the Blues.

Next: Blues Top 30 Draft Picks 30: 19-11

It takes a special player to score more than a point per game. When you’re in the conversation with names like Hull or Gretzky in that regard, you know you have a special player. The Blues were smart enough to realize it when he was still just a kid.

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