With the No. 25 overall pick, the St. Louis Blues select … Oliver Bonk, London (OHL)
Why pick him? At No. 25, the Blues could be in a position to fill a need, and getting a defenseman in the first round, should they not take one with the No. 10 pick, would add value to a position they could desperately use and adding someone with the size of Bonk (6-foot-2, 180 pounds) that has room to grow as an 18-year-old would prove to be beneficial down the road.
Last season was the first full season for Bonk, the son of former NHL forward Radek Bonk, with the tradition-rich London Knights of the Ontario Hockey League and he broke out with 40 points (10 goals, 30 assists) in 67 regular-season games who has an offensive flare to his game.
By the time Bonk would be ready to play in the NHL, the Blues could have some veterans on expiring contracts and turn to a younger wave of blue liners who is projected to be a top-four defenseman.
Who are the other options? It's tough to say at this point, but if the Blues are in search of a defenseman with this pick, if someone like a Lukas Dragicevic or the Russian-born Mikhail Gulyayev would fall to them, those would certainly be options, and general manager Doug Armstrong has said that he would not be skeptical of drafting Russian players despite the lack of scouting options and political fallouts in that country in recent time. A pair of Russian forwards [Dmitriy Simashev and Danil But] would be intriguing selections here.
What else is on the agenda? The Blues hold three first-round picks in this draft, but unless they can use the 10th pick and package it with Nos. 25 and 29 plus, and move up into the top nine, they will be pickin. Otherwise, all options are on the table, including trading their picks in the 20s for players with term, under team control and in the early-to-mid, mid-to-upper 20s in age range. Armstrong could be a very busy GM fielding calls for their picks, which could see the Blues also acquiring more draft capital and move back to get more picks. They currently do not have any second-round picks.