After months of waiting, the NHL draft is done. The St. Louis Blues went in with 13 selections--four of them in the first round alone--and ended up making nine of them. The big story is the trade for Mason McTavish using picks 15 and 29, though adding Brandon Carlo for two third-round picks to shore up the defense is a debatable use of assets, despite St. Louis' copious draft capital.
We cleaned up! #NHLDraft pic.twitter.com/YvUbu8ACjb
— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) June 27, 2026
The 2026 draft also served as Doug Armstrong's last one at the helm of the organization, as Alex Steen prepares to take over in the coming days. No doubt Steen had a lot of say in the draft picks and trades that Armstrong went with, but ultimately, they will be the final chapter of Armstrong's legacy as Blues general manager. How would we grade his swan song?
Draft Grade: B-
We're including the McTavish and Carlo trades in this grade because it would be a bit foolish to look strictly at the draft picks when those two trades added legitimate roster players without moving anyone out. McTavish is a savvy upside bet, but there are continued concerns that his skating will never be good enough to be better than a middle-six forward--and two first-round picks is a lot to pay for that sort of player. When you look at what Tevor Zegras went for last summer (Ryan Poehling, and a 2nd- and 4th-round pick), it looks even more like an overpay. Still, we can get behind the logic behind acquiring McTavish and will have to wait and see how the season plays out.
Carlo, on the other hand, seems almost nonsensical--in fact, we'd go so far as to say the Blues did the Toronto Maple Leafs a massive favor. It's been years since Carlo has been an impactful defenseman, largely due to injuries. The Leafs were bad last season, sure, but hoping for a bounce-back season for a player going on 30 years old is a puzzling risk to take.
As for the picks themselves, they're all solid enough. Tynan Lawrence is a great pick (and I've personally been a fan for a while), and he should turn heads over the next year or two at the collegiate level as he acclimates to the pace. It may've been a little early in the order, but Maddox Dagenais has all the physical tools you'd want in a modern power forward--there are consistency concerns, however, and Ethan Belchetz is a prospect who has similar tools and far higher upside. Dagenais's value could improve if he sticks at center, but that seems unlikely at the pro level.
Judging mid- and late-round picks is much more difficult; prospects taken later in the draft are basically lottery tickets, and playing any NHL games at all is something of a win. That said, Luke Schairer has some intriguing potential as a third-pair defenseman, with room for more if can be more effective in the offensive zone. Landon Nycz has depth potential if he can read the game at a higher pace.
Vladimir Proskurin is one of the more well-regarded goaltending prospects in the class, too, despite being small by goalie standards--that's a good get in the fourth round. Lars Steiner, too, is an outstanding pickup in the sixth round; the diminutive forward makes up for his lack of size with a high motor, physicality, and enough soft skill to picture him cracking a team's third line one day.
The major knock against the Blues' draft, however, is the lack of overall high-skill swings. It's one of the most glaring absences in the organization's pipeline, and they didn't really address it with this draft. There are some likeable prospects with easy NHL projections unless they dramatically exceed expectations, most are middle-of-the-lineup players at best (though Lawrence has legit top-six upside). The Blues will have to hope that McTavish rediscovers his game outside of Anaheim to help the team right now, and that passing on Belchetz doesn't come back to haunt them.
It's a fine draft class, but it does leave you wanting more. In line with many of Armstrong's previous drafts, it felt safe--and safe isn't enough to build a contending team in the modern NHL. Hopefully, the Blues get a couple of quality players from those drafted this weekend, but there's a risk that Armstrong's tenure merely fizzled out, instead of ending with a bang.
Add us as a preferred source on Google