With the No. 29 overall pick, the St. Louis Blues select … Samuel Honzek, Vancouver (WHL)
Why pick him? This could be a really terrific value pick for the St. Louis Blues should the 19-year-old from Trencin, Slovakia fall to St. Louis here. The 6-foot-3, 186-pound left wing is the kind of player the Blues could really use, someone who plays with skill but isn't afraid to muck and grind the walls to hold possession of the puck in the offensive zone.
Honzek had a slow start to the season with the Vancouver Giants of the Western Hockey League, his first full season there last season, but he finished strong with 56 points (23 goals, 33 assists) in 43 regular-season games and is the kind of player that could do the dirty work for the more offensively skilled guys on a line.
Who are the other options? If the Blues opt for more defensive depth here, perhaps Russian Dmitriy Simashev is available, or perhaps they look to Swedish-born Tom Willander, but if they opt for more skill, Russian's Danil But or Jayden Perron could be nice options if available.
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 pick at No. 10. 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.