With a week having passed since the NHL draft and the dust of the first day of free agency settling, we can now reflect a bit more on the St. Louis Blues' selections in Doug Armstrong's final draft as general manager. Adding a new goalie to the pipeline is never a bad idea, considering how up and down the position can be, and drafting Tynan Lawrence 11th overall was a sound bet on a player with an easy-to-envision path to becoming a second-line center.
However, after the Blues traded away the 15th-overall pick to the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for Mason McTavish, they may've made a slight misstep with pick 16. Maddox Dagenais is an intriguing prospect who's got a lot of enticing tools and has a chance to stick down the middle, but may ultimately be a winger once he reaches the pros.
Getting a middle-six winger 16th overall in a lackluster draft isn't the end of the world, but it's a risky pick for the Blues because it meant passing on Ethan Belchetz--a far more promising and exciting prospect than Dagenais.
Belchetz has all the tools of a top-six power winger, hampered only really by his skating. Dagenais, too, has skating troubles, but his game is far less projectable due to his hockey sense--it's the main reason he's iffy to stick at center in the NHL.
So, if you know you're getting a winger with the 16th-overall pick, why make the riskier selection (Dagenais) over the high-end projection (Belchetz)? The Blues lack true top-of-the-lineup prospects, and Belchetz is a player who has the makeup to get there; Dagenais does not, barring a massive leap in the next few years.
For better or worse, Blues fans will compare the career trajectories of Dagenais and Belchetz. If Belchetz turns into the top-six, playoff-ready winger he could be, and Dagenais tops out as a third-line winger, we'll be left wondering what could've been.
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