It's officially June, which means the NHL draft is at the end of the month. We're mere weeks away from seeing what the St. Louis Blues will do with their three 1st-round picks. We've seen a ton of mock drafts over the last few weeks, and today's no different: over at The Athletic, Corey Pronman's back with his second mock of the first round.
One thing to note in this mock: Pronman doesn't follow his prospect rankings to the letter, nor does he follow consensus--these selections are educated guesses based on team needs and preferences, and the expected range of a given prospect.
For the Blues, with their first pick, Pronman gives them defenseman Malte Gustafsson, a left-shot defenseman from Sweden. That's the first time that name has appeared next to the Blues in one of these mocks, though Pronman is a little higher on him than consensus; in this particular mock, the Blues pass on center Tynan Lawrence and winger Ethan Belchetz. The 6-foot-4 Gustafsson has been a late riser, but he's not a flashy pick: gets play going the right way, strong defensively, and capable of playing a lot of minutes. It might not be the sort of high-end swing the Blues should be taking this high in the draft.
WIth their next pick, at 15, Pronman gives the Blues center Oliver Suvanto, whose name has popped up in previous mock drafts. He's not the best skater, but Suvanto brings some gritty, net-front play to a pipeline that could use it; he projects as a middle-six center and would be a great pick here.
Pronman gives the Blues defenseman Tommy Bleyl, who's also been mocked to the Blues before. The Blues could use an offensive defenseman like Bleyl in their system, though Bleyl's a curious choice when Xavier Villeneuve is still on the board in Pronman's mock. Villeneuve is arguably far more skilled than Bleyl, but it seems scouts are now more wary about his toolset translating than they were earlier in the season.
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