We continue our exercise of looking at players picked where the St. Louis Blues are slated to select in the first round of the NHL draft at the end of the month. The 11th-overall pick has, historically, been a strong selection--at least since the start of the cap era. We'll be operating under the same parameters as we break down the 15th-overall pick, starting with the 2005 draft. Let's get right into it.
2005: Ryan O'Marra (C), New York Islanders
We start with a bit of a dud: O'Marra only played 33 games in the NHL, most of them with the Edmonton Oilers, where he managed only one goal and seven points. This is going to be a common trend these first few years; the pre-analytics era is chock full of poor draft decisions.
2006: Riku Helenius (G), Tampa Bay Lightning
Helenius only played one game in the NHL, and it wasn't even a start: he played seven minutes in relief and made two saves. This one must sting for the Lightning because, two picks later, the Los Angeles Kings selected Trevor Lewis, who had a long and productive NHL career.
2007: Alex Plante (D), Edmonton Oilers
Another whiff, Plante played only two NHL games and registered only two points--both assists. This is the last major miss, though, because or next one is likely headed to the Hall of Fame.
2008: Erik Karlsson (D), Ottawa Senators
Yep, the three-time Norris winner and five-time All Star was the 15th-overall pick of the 2008 draft. That's dynamite value for the Senators and, even when it came time to trade him, they came out ahead: the 1st-round pick they received became Jake Sanderson, the current anchor of their blue line.
2009: Peter Holland (C), Anaheim Ducks
He may not be the most memorable player, but Holland played a respectable 266 NHL games and registered 85 points across four different teams. Not a homerun but, unless you're a big Nick Leddy fan (who went 16), not much of a miss, either.
2010: Derek Forbort (D), LA Kings
The Blues are more important than this pick because, in 2010, they selected Jaden Schwartz 14th-overall and Vladimir Tarasenko 16th-overall. Both have played over 850 games to Forbort's 552, and are still going strong in their roles with the Seattle Kraken and Minnesota Wild, respectively.
2011: JT Miller (C), New York Rangers
Miller started his career with the Rangers, and then returned and was named captain. While New York's going through it at the moment, he's had a generally successful career with 762 points in 939 NHL games split between three teams.
2012: Cody Ceci (D), Ottawa Senators
The Sens are back with another defenseman, though Ceci isn't even close to the caliber of Karlsson. Known for his defensive work, Ceci's in the twilight of his career and has been included in some lopsided trades--why does every Stanley Cup contender (the Dallas Stars, the Edmonton Oilers, the LA Kings) think they need Cody Ceci in their lineup?
2013: Ryan Pulock (D), New York Islanders
Not a flashy player, Pulock has been a rock on the Islanders' blue line for years. Getting a top-four defenseman in the middle of the first round is solid work.
2014: Dylan Larkin (C), Detroit Red Wings
The hometown boy may want out of Detroit now, but Larkin is an outstanding player for being picked 15th-overall. Not quite a Karlsson level steal, but still the kind of homerun you hope the Blues can hit.
2015: Zachary Senyshyn (RW), Boston Bruins
Yikes. Boston had picks 13, 14 and 15 in the loaded 2015 draft, and whiffed on all of them (though Jake DeBrusk is a fine player). Senyshyn was the worst of their three picks, only playing 16 NHL games. Who did they pass on? Mathew Barzal, Kyle Connor, and Thomas Chabot went immediately after Senyshyn. The Bruins would still be running the league.
2016: Luke Kunin (C), Minnesota Wild
Kunin's become a journeyman NHLer, amassing 152 points in 496 games, most recently with the Flordia Panthers. The downside is that Jakob Chychrun, who went 16, has turned into one of the better offensive defensemen in the league.
2017: Erik Brannstrom (D), Vegas Golden Knights
Brannstrom hasn't really panned out as a prospect, but Vegas likely could not care less: they traded him to the Senators as part of the package for Mark Stone two years later. That's worked out pretty well for them, and not so well for the Senators.
2018: Grigori Denisenko (LW), Florida Panthers
The Panters will still sort of in their Dark Times, and Denisenko is a prospect that never panned out--he's only played 33 NHL games.
2019: Cole Caufield (RW), Montreal Canadiens
What a steal for the Habs: Caufield's become one of the best goal scorers in the league, and the main reason he fell so far was size. Somehow, front offices are still making this mistake, passing on smaller players with incredible talent.
2020: Rodion Amirov (LW), Toronto Maple Leafs
Tragically, Amirov died at the age of 21 due to complications from a brain tumor, never playing an NHL game.
2021: Sebastian Cossa (G), Detroit Red Wings
We're not into "jury's out" territory, in terms of prospects, as a few have yet to debut in the NHL. Cossa, for example, only has one NHL game under his belt, but remains one of the best goalie prospects in the sport.
2022: Jonathan Lekkerimaki (RW), Vancouver Canucks
Lekkerimaki has yet to establish himself as an everyday NHLer, having played only 37 games in two seasons. He still has a shot at becoming a middle-six winger.
2023: Matthew Wood (RW), Nashville Predators
Wood had a respectable rookie season with the Preds last year, scoring 17 goals and 30 points in 71 games. He's a big winger and still has some untapped potential.
2024: Michael Brandsegg-Nygard (RW), Detroit Red Wings
MBN, as he's been nicknamed, only played 14 games with the Wings last season, scoring one point (an assist). He's looked good in the AHL though, with 44 points in 60 games last year.
2025: Braeden Cootes (C), Vancouver Canucks
Cootes only got a taste of the NHL last year with three games, but he's a promising young center that a talent-deprived Canucks team will need in the future.
As expected, the 15th-overall pick is far more hit-and-miss than the 11th--but there are still plenty of reliable, solid players to be had in this range. The Blues just need to pick the right one.
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