The St. Louis Blues hold three first-round picks in the 2026 NHL Draft, with two of them in the top 15. Considering how deep this draft is believed to be, that situation could drop to high-end prospects in the organization’s prospect pool.
The bulk of the attention will focus on the 11th-overall pick. It’s just outside the top 10, but there should be no shortage of high-end talent at that point.
The Athletic’s latest mock draft has the Blues taking Swedish blueliner Malte Gustafsson with that pick. As Corey Pronman noted, his great play at the U18 worlds propelled him into top-10 status.
In fact, Pronman believes that Gustafsson could be partnering with Adam Jiricek for the next decade. That’s not a bad projection. But Blues fans shouldn’t expect to see Gustafsson in the NHL at least next season.
The 18-year-old made Pronman’s prospect list at #9. That situation could mean that another team might jump ahead of the Blues and grab the 6’4”, 201-pound blueliner ahead of them.
For instance, Tankathon projects the Nashville Predators taking Gustafsson at #10. If that were the case, the Blues might push for another defenseman like Daxon Rudolph at #11.
Rudolph is another big blueliner with a much higher offensive upside. The right-shot defenseman notched 28 goals and 78 points in 68 games with Prince Albert of the WHL.
Pronman actually ranked Rudolph #8 in his prospect list. Assuming that Gustafsson is off the board by #11, and the Blues land Rudolph, fans will have to wait even longer to see him in the NHL. Rudolph has committed to the University of Denver next season.
If Rudolph is the pick, Blues fans should be delighted to see him play for the NCAA champions and under coach David Carle. The wait would be worth it as the Blues would have an NHL-ready blueliner when Rudolph is eventually ready to hit the main club.
Blues expected pick at #15 looks like long-term project
The Blues’ other pick in the top 15 is projected to be Finnish center Oliver Suvanto. There seems to be a consensus that this will be the Blues’ pick at #15, with the organization looking to bolster its depth down the middle.
That’s a fine pick. Since it is unlikely that one of Viggo Bjorck or Tynan Lawrence falls this far in the first round, the pick would be Suvanto.
As a side note, if Bjorck or Lawrence somehow slide down, it’s likelier the Blues take one of them at #11, and potentially Gustafsson or Rudolph at #15.
Anyhow, regardless of who the Blues pick at #15, it’s unlikely fans will see this prospect in the NHL next season. Unless Suvanto somehow proves he’s light-years ahead of everyone else at rookie camp, and then really impresses at the club’s main training camp, there’s no real chance he could make the team out of camp.
And even if the Blues wanted Suvanto in the NHL next season, he would likely make the team as a winger. It’s highly unlikely that the club would ask an 18-year-old to take over a spot down the middle. Even if they did, it wouldn’t make sense to have a first-round pick player under 10 minutes a night on the fourth line.
That’s why the best path forward for someone like Suvanto, it would be in the AHL. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Suvanto spend one more season in the Liiga before making it to North America.
Lastly, the Blues hold the 29th overall pick. The projection here is Tommy Bleyl of the QMJHL. As Pronman noted, he’s a bit of a reach considering he is an undersized defenseman. But his offensive upside may be too much to pass up at this point in the draft.
If this were to be the pick, it’s even less likely that fans would see Bleyl in the NHL, considering Bleyl has committed to Michigan State for next season.
So, Blues fans will need to show some patience as this year’s draft crop begins to pay off.
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