The Blues drafted a future Hall of Famer and an icon in the organization, along with four players who were instrumental to the team's 2019 Stanley Cup win
Saving the best for last. Welcome to our final edition of the best St. Louis Blues draft picks. Below are the best first round selections by the Blues in their 57-year history.
In case you’ve missed it, we have revisited the best second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh round draft picks in the team’s history.
The Blues had three first round picks in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft. The three players they selected still play in the NHL today and have combined for 2,993 NHL games. One of these players was a star in St. Louis for numerous years, while the others went on to win Stanley Cups with other franchises.
St. Louis has only drafted first-overall once, which was used to draft Erik Johnson in the 2006 draft. Last year was the first year since 2008 they selected in the top 10, drafting Dalibor Dvorsky. That 2008 player will appear on our list below.
Their greatest pick in franchise history came in the 1976 draft, the same year they selected future St. Louis Hall of Famer, Brian Sutter. Now that was a draft class for the Blues.
Center: Bernie Federko
7th overall, 1976
St. Louis fans who watched the team during the 1980s had fond memories of watching the talented playmaking center, Bernie Federko.
Federko played for the Blues franchise for 13 years from 1976-1989. During an era dominated by Wayne Gretzky, the Blues centerman’s talents were often overlooked. He recorded four 100+ point seasons and became the first player in NHL history to record at least 50 assists in 10 straight seasons.
Federko is the Blues franchise leader in games played (927), assists (721), and points (1,073). He was traded to Detroit after the 1988-89 season when he was 33. In return for Federko, the team landed future star Adam Oates. The Blues legend retired after one season in Detroit, finishing with a perfect 1,000 regular season games played.
The Blues wasted no time sending Federko’s No. 24 to the rafters, retiring his number on Mar. 16, 1991. He was later inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2002 and has served for many years as a color commentator and studio analyst for St. Louis games on Bally Sports Midwest.
Defenseman: Alex Pietrangelo
4th overall, 2008
That 2008 player I mentioned earlier was none other than fourth-overall Alex Pietrangelo. This may leave a sour taste for Blues fans as I’m sure many wish he was still in a St. Louis uniform.
Pietrangelo suited up for 17 “Try-out” games in 2008 and 2009 before breaking in and earning a full-time spot on the roster in 2010-11. As a 20-year-old, turning 21 in the season, he averaged 22 minutes a night and led the Blues defenseman in scoring that season with 43 points.
Pietrangelo has played the fifth-most games (758) for the organization and finished two points behind the great Al MacInnis for most points by a Blues defenseman before signing with Vegas. However, he does hold the record for most assists for a defenseman (341).
He’ll go down as one of the greatest Blues defensemen alongside Chris Pronger and Al MacInnis as he was the leader and the team’s No. 1 guy back on the blueline during their Stanley Cup win in 2019. Alex averaged over 25 minutes a night and led the playoffs in scoring by a defenseman with 19.
Right Wing: Vladimir Tarasenko
16th overall, 2010
How about showing some love for two-time Stanley Cup Champion Vladimir Tarasenko? Similar to Pietrangelo, the Russian goal-scoring winger was beloved by the fan base, and his moving on was a tough pill to swallow.
Before Tarasenko was traded to the New York Rangers last year, he spent ten-and-a-half seasons with the team, scored at least 30 goals in five consecutive seasons, and has the fifth-most goals (262) and points (553) in franchise history. There were many nights inside the Enterprise Center when Tarasenko had the fans jumping out of their seats during his tenure.
Tarasenko didn’t just make an impact in the 2019 playoffs with his goal-scoring (led the team in shots and second in goals), he started asserting himself physically, running through his opponents with booming hits.
Many would argue he is a top-five goal-scorer in the franchise's history.
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhBI1PzUIZI[/embed]
Left Wing/Right Wing: David Perron
26th overall, 2007
The latter of St. Louis’ three first round picks in the 2007 draft, David Perron spent many seasons in the blue, white, and gold.
Perron jumped right into the NHL after being drafted and spent six years in St. Louis before moving on to play for Edmonton, Pittsburgh, and Anaheim. He returned for one season in 2016-17 but was picked by Vegas in the expansion draft.
However, Perron clearly wanted to play for St. Louis. His contract had expired after one season in Sin City and he signed a four-year contract with the Blues, going on to have his most productive seasons during that $16 million contract. From 2018-2022, David scored the most goals (94) and second-most points (221) on the team.
The former first-rounder ranks in St. Louis’ top 10 for games played (673), goals (196), and points (465). He is a pending UFA and I wonder if there’s any interest in coming back and ending his career in St. Louis.
Left Wing: Jaden Schwartz
14th overall, 2010
Jaden Schwartz was selected two spots before Tarasenko in 2010. The two have combined for over 1,400 NHL games, 489 goals, and 1,107 points. The Blues scouting staff knew what they were doing in 2010.
The best part about Schwartz is that he has always been a playoff performer. That was evident in their 2019 Stanley Cup run when he led the team in goals with 12 and his willingness to battle in the dirty areas all game long. He recorded two hat-tricks in those playoffs, both coming in pressure-cooker games.
The first was in the first round in Game 5 against Winnipeg, scoring all three of St. Louis’s goals in their third period comeback and scoring with 15 seconds left on the clock.
The second was in Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals against San Jose. Schwartz’s hat trick put the Sharks on the brink of elimination and well, we know the rest.
In 88 playoff games as a member of the Blues, Schwartz scored 26 goals and 54 points, ranking him at the top in the team’s history in those categories.
Defenseman: Barrett Jackman
17th overall, 1999
Before we move on to our honorable mentions, let's acknowledge the only Blues player to ever win the Calder Trophy. Barrett Jackman was a mainstay along the blue line and spent all but one season with the organization.
Jackman played for the Blues from 2001-2015 and wore an “A” for nine seasons. He wasn’t the type of defenseman that could drive play offensively. Instead, he was the perfect stay-at-home defense partner whose intelligence on the ice made him extremely reliable in defensive situations.
Barrett won Rookie of the Year for the 2002-03 season, playing all 82 games, averaging 20 minutes a night as a 21-year-old, and led the team in plus/minus (plus-23) and penalty minutes (190).
Jackman ranks behind Bernie Federko for the most games played in a Blues jersey with 803.
Honorable Mention
Center: Rod Brind’Amour
9th overall, 1988
This was a tough one for Blues management. After two strong showings in the NHL as a young player for the Blues, the team traded their ninth-overall selection in the 1988 draft to Philadelphia in exchange for Murray Baron and Ron Sutter.
We’ve seen St. Louis on the other end of these deals throughout our series, but this trade didn’t pan out the way the organization hoped it would. Rod “The Bod” Brind’Amour won the Stanley Cup with Carolina as captain in 2006 and played over 1,400 games.
Honorable Mention
Right Wing: T.J. Oshie
24th overall, 2005
Oshie was a top six player for the Blues from 2008-2015, recording the second-most points (310 in 443 games) during that time. No surprise here, but he holds the record for most shootout goals by a Blues player with 31. T.J. was traded on Jul. 2, 2015, to Washington in exchange for Troy Brouwer, goaltender Phoenix Copley, and a third round pick.
Oshie played a pivotal role in Washington when they won the 2018 Stanley Cup and has eclipsed the 1,000-game mark in his career.
Honorable Mention
Center: Robert Thomas
20th overall, 2017
Just like with Jordan Kyrou, you can say it’s premature to call him and Robert Thomas one of the organization’s best draft picks in their history. However, each are trending in that direction.
Thomas is coming off a career-high season in goals (26) and assists (60) and maybe, just maybe, he will catch the great Bernie Federko in assists and points.
He is 492 assists and 758 points behind him. Yes, he’s miles away. But he’s only 24 (soon to be 25) and if he can continue to rack up 50 assists and 80 points every year, then watch out Bernie.