Earlier this month, we looked at the worst draft pick in Blues franchise history--and to be honest, it's hard not to pick the same thing for this broader exercise.
The good news: the Blues don't make many mistakes at the draft, whether it's the picks themselves, swapping picks in the order, or moving players on and off the roster in larger transactions. The bad news: not everyone gets it right all the time, and this is one instance the Blues sorta whiffed.
Honorable mention goes to the 2009 draft, where the Blues selected David Rundblad 17th overall, and Chris Kreider went two spots later; on the bright side, Ryan O'Reilly (who went 33rd that year) wound up on the Blues at the right time.
That means we're going to look at the 2014 draft as the organization's worst draft mistake--at least in recent memory.
That year, the Blues took Robby Fabbri 21st overall
Fabbri's had an okay NHL career, posting 106 goals and 216 points through 442 games, but he's never been much more than a passable bottom-six player, and injuries have played a significant role in that.
Jared McCann went 24th overall and, while he's built a nice career for himself with the Seattle Kraken and would've been a solid addition to the Blues, it's the player selected after him that is the true whiff: at 25th overall, the Boston Bruins selected none other than David Pastrnak.
In 756 NHL games, Pastrnak has 391 goals and 833 points and is, without a doubt, one of the best wingers in the NHL today. If the Blues had taken a small swing with the 21st pick and drafted Pastrnak, think how their forward group would look today.
A few picks after Pastrnak was Adrian Kempe who, though it took a while, has become a consistent 30-plus goal scorer for the LA Kings, and he too would've been a solid addition to the St. Louis Blues. The consolation prize, then, is that the Blues got Ivan Barbashev 33rd overall, and while he's now with the Vegas Golden Knights, was at least decent value for an early second-round pick.
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