The Best St. Louis Blues Picks in Each Round of the NHL Draft: Sixth Round

St. Louis has not had as much success with drafting in the sixth round compared to the seventh over the years. But they did find a future GM of the Year

Yesterday, we went into the St. Louis Blues vault to find the best seventh round draft picks they’ve had in their history. We found three players who went on to play over 1,000 NHL games in their career, one of which turned out to be a future Hall of Famer, Doug Gilmour.

Today, we’re moving up a round and looking at the best sixth round picks in Blues history.

Ironically, St. Louis didn’t have as much success as they did in the seventh round. None of their sixth-rounders have gone on to elapse the 1,000 games, but they did draft a future General Manager of the Year.

Without further ado, here are the best sixth round selections by the St. Louis Blues in franchise history.

Defenseman: Roman Polak
180th overall, 2004

We start with the 180th overall pick in the 2004 NHL Draft, Roman Polak.

Polak spent eight seasons with the Blues organization, first cracking the team in 2006-07. The big, physically abrasive right-shot defenseman was known for his toughness, gritty defensive play, and effectiveness on the penalty kill. The Czech defender played for St. Louis from 2006-2014. During that time he recorded the second-most hits (838) and blocks (681) on the team.

He was never an offensive weapon during his time. His career-best in points came in 2009-10 (21 points) with the Blues, but his impact on the penalty kill and his ability to limit his opponents’ time and space made him a valuable NHL defender for 14 seasons.

Polak played 877 games in his career (449 games in a Blues jersey) with stints in Toronto, San Jose, and Dallas to end his NHL playing days before heading overseas to finish his playing career as captain for HC Vitkovice in the top Czech league. He’s spent the last two seasons in the Columbus Blue Jackets organization as an amateur scout.

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Right Wing: Jim Nill
89th overall, 1978

Did you know that the 2023-24 General Manager of the Year was a sixth round pick by the St. Louis Blues? That’s right, Jim Nill was drafted 89th overall in 1978 out of the WCHL’s (now WHL) Medicine Hat Tigers. He also played for Team Canada at the 1980 Winter Olympics.

Now, Jim only played one season for the Blues in 1981-82 (21 points, 127 penalty minutes in 61 games) before he was traded to the Vancouver Canucks in a package deal that brought back goaltender, Glen Hanlon. After spending two seasons out west in Canada, he finished his NHL tenure with three other teams — Boston, Winnipeg, and Detroit.

Nill retired in 1991 after suiting up in 583 games, totaling 160 points, and 1,057 penalty minutes. He immediately jumped into a front-office role as a pro scout with the Ottawa Senators. In the summer of 1994, he returned to Detroit where he spent 19 years with the organization, his first four years as director of player development, and the next 15 as assistant general manager.

In April 2013, he was hired as general manager of the Dallas Stars. Nill has won the Jim Gregory GM of the Year Trophy in back-to-back seasons, building up a Stars team that has gone to consecutive Western Conference Finals. Also, a fun fact, the Blues drafted Jim’s son Trevor Nill in the seventh round, 190th overall in 2007.

Defenseman: Jack Brownschidle
99th overall, 1975

University of Notre Dame alumni, defenseman Jack Brownschidle is next on our list. Drafted in 1975, 99th overall, the Buffalo native spent seven years in Missouri with the Blues (from 1977 to 1984), with his best season coming in 1979-80 where he led all Blues defensemen in scoring with 12 goals and 44 points. He was the go-to defenseman on the powerplay during his tenure with the team (before Rob Ramage showed up), racking up 197 points (82 on the powerplay) in 481 games.

Brownschidle was claimed off waivers in 1984 by the Hartford Whalers, then was put back on waivers in 1986 when his hometown Buffalo Sabres swooped in and grabbed him. Although he never played an NHL game with the Sabres, he won the AHL Calder Cup in 1987 with the Rochester Americans.

Left Wing: Perry Anderson
117th overall, 1980

Perry “Wheels” Anderson was drafted 117th overall in 1980 and was known as a fighter and spent a lot of time in the penalty box. He played 10 years in the NHL with 436 games (166 with the Blues) and 1,212 penalty minutes. The Blues traded Anderson to the New Jersey Devils in 1985 in exchange for Rick Meagher and a 12th round draft pick in the 1986 NHL Draft, which turned out to be a great trade for St. Louis.

Anderson signed as a free agent in 1991 with the San Jose Sharks. It would be his only season in the California city.

Right Wing/Left Wing: Sammy Blais
176th overall, 2014

As an honorable mention, we have power forward winger, Sammy Blais. Drafted 176th overall in 2014, he made a name for himself in St. Louis’ Stanley Cup run in 2019. It wasn’t his production that stood out (one goal, three points in 15 games), instead, it was his bulldozer mentality to run over any player in his way of getting the puck. Blaise had 70 hits in those playoffs, averaging 4-5 hits per game. Blais is a pending UFA and coming off a tough season. He is expected to hit the open market.

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The quality of sixth round draft picks wasn’t great to choose from and maybe tomorrow’s surveying of the best Blues fifth-rounders will be better.