If there was one thing about the 2026 NHL Draft, it was that it was front-loaded with high-end defensemen. Those D-men went early, as expected.
That situation left St. Louis Blues GM Doug Armstrong with few options to draw from. And while bolstering the defense was a clear need, Armstrong stuck with forwards at 11th and 16th.
Picks four through nine saw the best defensemen go off the board, with the exception of Winnipeg at No. 8, which took a center.
One defensive option that the Blues could have had at No. 11 was Daxon Rudolph. However, Rudolph was the biggest leaper in the first round, taken by the Buffalo Sabres at No. 4.
That situation pretty much left the Blues with various solid options up front. Instead of reaching for other blueliners like Ryan Lin at No.11, Tynan Lawrence made sense.
Interestingly, however, the Blues could have taken Lin at No. 16. The issue is that the top defenseman in the first round all showed significant size and bulk. The remaining blueliners were all considered undersized. Lin, for example, is slightly undersized at 5’11”. The same goes for Xavier Villeneuve.
Such blueliners make sense for teams looking to add skill and speed, especially if they already have bigger blueliners on their squads. That situation means that the Blues made better use of their two first-rounders, bolstering forward depth.
It’s worth pointing out that Armstrong’s philosophy here was to take the best player available. Whether they actually play for the Blues is another story. These prospects could end up becoming trade chips for the organization as they look to upgrade in other areas.
Who knows, but a guy like Maddox Dagenais could end up becoming the main piece in trade that lands a defenseman at some point down the line.
But to borrow a term from baseball, “You can never have enough pitching.” In this case, you can never have enough centers.
The Blues came out of the first round of the 2026 NHL Draft, loaded with depth down the middle.
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