3 first-round talents who could fall to the St. Louis Blues on Day 2 of the NHL Draft
The St. Louis Blues have a pair of second-round picks in the NHL Draft, meaning multiple first-round talents could end up in their system come Saturday.
With the first round of the NHL Draft taking place on Friday, the St. Louis Blues are bound to land a future star at No. 16 overall, but they also have the 48th and 56th picks, respectively. And since every NHL Draft has multiple first-round talents falling out of the Top 32 picks, there is an outstanding chance that not one but two more players who could easily go in the top 32 end up in the system.
Snagging such picks would make for an ideal situation for general manager Doug Armstrong, as one draft could parlay the Blues prospect pool from ranking somewhere in the middle of the league and into the top 10, if not higher.
So, which players could go in the first round this Friday but may also fall well into Round 2 this Saturday? Who would be in Armstrong’s best interest to target? There is one defenseman he shouldn’t hesitate to take, plus a pair of intriguing forwards.
Lucas Pettersson, C/MoDo Hockey
Signed through 2026-27, Lucas Pettersson wouldn’t be eligible to come over to North America until 2027-28 if he’s drafted in the second round, and that would be a dealbreaker for some. But Pettersson also won’t be NHL-ready for a while, and there’s also a chance he doesn’t start playing in the SHL full-time until 2025-26, so there should be no rush.
That would give Pettersson another year predominantly in J20 Nationell, where he was an alternate captain who finished the season with 27 goals and 57 points in 47 games. He was also one of Sweden’s most dominant players internationally, playing in 27 contests while scoring 12 goals and adding another 24 assists.
Someone like Pettersson can easily go toward the back half of the first round, which would allow him an earlier pathway to North America if he was drafted in the top 32 and chose that route, given the rules outlined in the current NHL-SHL Agreement. But even as a second-round pick, one more year in J20, two years in the SHL, and a season or two in the AHL before making his NHL debut would also work well for the 18-year-old, allowing him to hit the ground running with the big club toward the end of the decade.
EJ Emery, D/USNTDP
We know defense is the most dire need for the Blues, and someone like EJ Emery would alleviate the pain of dealing with a lack of adequate blueliners in the system. So adding a defenseman who stands at 6’3, 185 pounds is an outstanding place to begin.
Emery is an awesome skater whose ability to disrupt plays in the defensive zone brings value not only at even-strength, but also on the penalty kill. You likely won’t like his offensive productivity, thanks to zero goals and 22 points in 88 games this year, but serving as a catalyst for a big play and moving the puck is what sets Emery apart.
That said, scoring or even getting credit for helpers isn’t how Emery makes an impact on the ice. Instead, it’s crushing plays, retrieving the puck, and finding open teammates to get a sequence going. It’s something we saw a lot of this past season, and you can expect to see more of that play when he heads to the University of North Dakota.
Best yet, drafting someone like Emery, and preferably also a blueliner in the first round, would make perfect timing for the Blues. Players like Colton Parayko will only have a couple of seasons left at best when Emery is ready to roll in the NHL, while Justin Faulk and Torey Krug will be long gone, or if they re-signed in St. Louis, on their way out as they would agree to substantially shorter contracts.
Overall, Emery would add a layer of pure defense to the Blues prospect pool should he fall to them in the middle of the second round. While he may not be the most well-versed player offensively, it shouldn’t matter, thanks to his ability to end opposing sequences and give his team puck possession.
Tanner Howe, LW/Regina
Tanner Howe is an older prospect who will be eligible to play for the Springfield Thunderbirds next season should Doug Armstrong take him in the second round. At 5’10, 183 pounds, he’s on the smaller side, but his size isn’t too detrimental, especially when you consider traits like “power forward” and “heavy hitter” are listed on his profile at Elite Prospects.
This shows us that Howe plays much bigger than his size, so imagine what kind of game he will bring when he adds another inch or two to his frame, and a good 15-20 pounds to his physique. Howe’s ability to find open teammates and score are other traits that jump out, and he’s been a point-per-game player since arriving with Regina in the WHL.
Throughout his first full season in 2021-22, Howe put up 69 points and 27 goals in 64 games, and last season, that number hit 85 points and 36 goals in 67 regular season contests. Fast-forward to 2023-24, and Howe’s production dropped, but he was still well over a point per game with 77 points and 28 goals in 68 contests.
Looking at his traits and overall numbers, you may ask why Howe could fall so far into the second round. To a degree, we can thank Connor Bedard for that, as Howe’s production didn’t rise following the generational talent’s departure. But on a more serious note, Howe can be one-dimensional offensively, and it’s something he must fix over the next few seasons before he’s ready to roll.
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(Statistics powered by Elite Prospects)