Blues 2018 Draft Review

For starters, lets address the elephant in the room.   Yes I missed out of Filip Zadina

The real win though was having 6 selections in a 5 round draft with 2 of those being in the top 36.  Anytime you are a sub .500 team and you have any less picks then there are rounds is never a good thing.  So that is a plus.  A big shout out to Thomas G for making this all happen on draft day on my behalf as well!

Now on to the real goodies.

Draft Grade B

Was I happy with the haul, yes I mist certainly was….was I ecstatic about it not overly, New Jersey beat me to the punch both times on Christian Wolanin and Alex Iaflallo.   Once this happened we decided it would be best to focus on the 17 and 18 year olds available for this years draft.  I am sure that once Blues development camp starts up in a few weeks I will be far more excited about the young fella’s we brought in on draft day.

Dominik Bokk

Highlights

Very pleased that Bokk fell to us at the 24 slot..He was my number one target at the top of my list when this pick came around.  He is a tad bit of a project, but his potential is through the roof and the Blues could reap great rewards down the road.  He has solid size and great hands.  Will need to work on his skating to be a goal scorer at the professional level.  Scores in a variety of ways which is very intriguing.  Will crash the net for dirty goals, and then take a quick snapper off the wing Ovechkin style off the next rush.  His only knock has been that he has shown lack of effort in some games, but I am hoping his jump up in competition will fix that issue.  Kind of a shame he will not get to show his talents off on the World Junior Stage at Christmas time though.

Pick Grade A

PICK #36 – Jared McIsaac -Canadian- Halifax Mooseheads – NHL# 36 2018 -

Jared McIsaac

Highlights

I have him as a first round talent, if it was not for the influx of D men in this years draft.  Once again very pleased that McIsaac was around at this point of the draft.  To be fair though I did have K’Andre Miller and Bode Wilde in my sights, at this pick but had a gut feeling they would not fall so it is not like I am upset with McIsaac falling to me.  A decent sized D man that is astute at playing at both ends of the ice. Fluid skater.  Will need to work on his dump in retrieval and his outlet passes to take his game to the next level.   Had a very solid Hlinka tourney and will be showing us his skills next at the World Junior Summer showcase.  Will have to really standout to get a camp invite for Christmas time, but he has the potential.

Pick Grade B+

Pick #76 – Alec Regula –American- London Knights – NHL # 67 2018 –

Alec Regula

Highlights

As a London Knights season ticket holder, I see how much potential Alec Regula oozes.  His poise with the puck for a 17 year old rookie defenceman in the OHL was outstanding.  He played on the top pairing with Bouchard for most of the season which I think may have actually hurt his stock.  He was very rarely allowed to join the rush because Bouchard was already the 4^th forward essentially when he was on the ice.  He had to stay at home and cover for his partner for the most case.  He never saw any PP time either with Bouchard more often then not playing the whole 2 mins.  Tall lanky kid, his skating looks awkward but it could just could be because of his lankiness.  Needs to work on being more physical and using his size, that involves beefing up as well.

Pick Grade B- (could be higher if he realizes his full potential)

Pick #103 – Matej Pekar -Czech- Muskegon Lumberjacks – NHL# 94

Metej Pekar

Highlights

With pick 103 the Blues selected Brad Marcha….errr Matej Pekar.   Obviously has a long way to go to get to Marchand level but the Blues took him knowing it is possible.  This is clearly a sit and wait project with Pekar but his combination of skill and tenacity was just too much to pass up at this point in the draft.  Skating is his weakest asset hands down.  But scouts alike all say he comes out of the corner with the puck more often then not, and he has a soft set of mits down low in the scoring areas.  Headed to Miami U where he will face off against men on a regular basis, here we will truly see how much of a project he actually is.  Hoping he will get some consideration for the Czech World Junior team after his lack luster performance at the Hlinka last year. 

Pick Grade C

Pick #107 – Olof Lindbom – Djurgardens J20 – NHL# 39

Olof Lindbom

Shutouts the US at the 5 Nations tourney

His play at the 5 nations U18 solidifed this pick for me.  Yes he had a very subpar Hlinka and J20 season but he has clearly shown the potential he has.   He is so called “undersized” at 6’1” for the new age goalie but he covers the bottom of the net really well.   Does play a tad bit of an unorthodox style, something a coach at some point will have to work on him with.  He is the definition of a kid that is 2 years away from being 2 years away, but with the likes of Hart and Oettinger in the mix we felt that is something we had time to wait on.   Was hoping he would get a look at the WJC showcase but it appears that Sweden only brought 19 year old tenders to the show.  Should be in the mix for 3^rd goalie duties in 201 as well as starting duties in 2020.

Pick Grade B

Pick #146 – Marcus Westfalt – Brynas – NHL# 205

Marcus Westfalt

Deep analysis of his play as a 17 year in the SHL and J20SElite

I am going to assume their were lots of EHE Blues fans who had the response or “who” or “wtf”.   But please be patient.  Westfalt is not a sexy pick by any means, but where I selected him I think he will be a safe pick if that is possible.  He was a PPG and with a defensive prowess for Brynas in Swedens J20Elite playing on both the PP and heavily on the PK.  He Also got to play in 31 games with the Bryans SHL team where he was used in a 4^th line role playing 7 or so minutes a night but impressed many with his play in the limited role.     

Pick Grade B-