As the summer draws closer and closer to its end, we move the NHL Division's theme week to covering the Draft and Prospects from the St. Louis Blues. In this one, we remember arguably the worst draft class in franchise history, and we will keep it in the 21st century and in recent memory.
There are a couple of drafts that could be mentioned here. Obviously, from 2020 through the most recent draft, there is an argument that they could be the worst, with only a player or two from each draft making it up to the NHL level at this point. But that would not be fair, considering these players still have a chance to move up from the minors and make a splash with the Blues.
Let's think back a little further than that to really analyze a truly terrible draft.
The 2009 NHL Draft
So let's push the calendar back to the 2009 Draft, in which the Blues had the 17th overall pick in the first round. The team itself just lost to the Vancouver Canucks in the conference quarter-finals to end their 2008-09 campaign, which was the first and only playoff appearance between 2005-06 and the 2010-11 seasons.
This draft was crucial to keeping the Blues in the limelight, and it was anything but. Let's label who was picked and if they made any kind of contribution to the Blues. The most important part of this draft was that the only significant selection led to drafting a future superstar just a few years later.
Round, Pick | Name |
|---|---|
1, 17th | David Rundblad |
2, 48th | Brett Ponich |
3, 78th | Sergei Andronov |
4, 108th | Tyler Shattock |
6, 168th | David Shields |
7, 202nd | Maxwell Tardy |
Of this list, the only player to see any NHL action was the first-round selection, David Rundblad. But, he never put on the Blues uniform after walking on that stage in Montreal, as he was traded away to Ottawa for the 16th overall pick in the 2010 NHL Draft. He played 113 total games with Ottawa, Phoenix, and Chicago, as well as a bunch of stints throughout the European Hockey Leagues like the SEL, KHL, Swiss-A, and SM-Liiga.
That 16th overall pick the following season was used on Vladimir Tarasenko, and we all can recall how greatly that went. So, in hindsight, it might look the worst draft of all time on paper, but it was also the most impactful. Tarasenko was a fantastic pick-up for the Blues, helping aid their lone Stanley Cup run. That doesn't happen without selecting Rundblad.
None of those other draft picks from that list of 2009 Draft selections made it to the NHL level for any team.