Second-round pick in 2024 at 6-4, 216 part of focal point of getting bigger on blue line, spent 2021-22 playing career in St. Louis, familiar with area

MARYLAND HEIGHTS, Mo. -- Colin Ralph found himself in familiar territory this past week.

No, the St. Louis Blues recent draftee isn't home grown but it sure feels like it.

A Maple Grove, Minn. native, Ralph comes from the self-anointed 'State of Hockey.' But just three years ago, the 2024 second-round pick found himself in the St. Louis area three years ago.

Ralph, a big, strong 18-year-old listed at 6-foot-4, 216 pounds, played midget hockey for the CarShield U16 AAA program and attended Kirkwood High School in 2021-22.

"It's a little non-traditional coming from a Minnesota player," Ralph said this past week at Blues developmental camp. "I went to a school called Gentry Academy in (St. Paul) Minnesota middle school and that's where I kind of started playing Tier-1 versus Minnesota's traditional organizational hockey, and I wanted to continue playing that into high school. I had a few buddies that I played with off and on in spring tournaments and stuff that were down here. I just figured I'd give it a shot and I did. It was a great year, I had a lot of fun and made a lot of good connections down here and it's nice to be back."

Needless to say, it proved to be greatly beneficial.

"For sure. I feel like a part of it was nice because it was a little bit like a fresh start, like a blank canvas," Ralph said. "I was able to come down here, get the work in, continue to get better, grow as a player and as a person too."

It had to feel like a flash in the pan year for Ralph, though. Never in his wildest dreams would the left-handed shooting defenseman think he'd be back here, not with the Blues anyway. If his trajectory one day took him to the NHL, perhaps visiting as an opponent seemed more like a reality.

But on Day 2 of the 2024 draft at the Sphere in Las Vegas, with the 48th overall pick, Ralph was walking up to the podium, after congratulatory hugs from parents Josh and Natalie, and his sister, Luca, he was donning the Blue Note.

"The night before the draft, I was talking to one of my buddies from here just about how cool and crazy that would be if I ended up getting drafted here," Ralph said. "Sure enough, 16th pick (in the second round) rolls around and I hear my name and that was pretty exciting.

"It's a great feeling, just super exciting. Nice to be there with my family. I had a bunch of other buddies that I grew up playing with and against. Super cool.

"I talked to them a few times. I knew they liked me. I feel like in a draft scenario, anything can happen. People going later or whatever, it's crazy and anything can happen."

The Blues selected right-handed defenseman Adam Jiricek with their first-round pick, and Ralph continued the trend of replenishing the defensive corps, a much-needed way for the franchise to go. Defenseman Lukas Fischer, son of former Detroit Red Wings defenseman Jiri Fischer, went to the Blues with the 56th overall pick.

And the theme was tall, big, brawny or lanky, powerful, and speed.

"Colin, for that size kid, he's got very good mobility. We like the path," said Blues director of amateur scouting Tony Feltrin. "He's going to St. Cloud, and he'll get a good opportunity. He's got reasonable skill. We see a big-bodied, responsible defender. Any offense that he adds will be beneficial, but we just feel that the route is going to be good for him to develop over time."

When the Blues won the Stanley Cup in 2019, they did so with big, tall, bulky and rangy defensemen: Alex Pietrangelo, Colton Parayko, Jay Bouwmeester, Joel Edmundson, Carl Gunnarsson, Robert Bortuzzo, with Vince Dunn being the exception, or being the smallest, among this group.

Trying to rebuild with size, Ralph fits the mold.

"The Ralph kid that we took, didn't know a lot about him, don't get to a lot of high school hockey games," Blues general manager Doug Armstrong admitted. "But he's a big horse, he's a man. He can really skate. I found him impressive."

The Blues want physicality to reign as a regular trait again, and Ralph hopes to one day be among the crop.

"I feel like I'm a physical, shutdown defenseman, reliable, can kind of play in any situation," Ralph said. "I think for my size, I'm a really good skater and that's a big asset I have. ... Definitely something I enjoy and it's part of my job to bring.

"I understand it's definitely a process like anything and I'm just focusing on the short term one step at a time getting better and things will happen as they're supposed to happen."

After spending the past two seasons with the esteemed program at Shattuck-St. Mary's in Faribault, Minn., Ralph will attend St. Cloud State University and continue to grow; he had 66 points (eight goals, 58 assists) last season in the USHS-Prep league.

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"I was kind of looking for a place that had good people as well as a good hockey program and I felt that I made a really good connection with all the coaches there, coach [Brett] Larson, coach R.J. [Enga], coach [Dave] Shyiak," Ralph said. "I felt really comfortable with committing there. Helps that it's pretty close to home too."

And Ralph will go there with a good sense of direction after spending three days in St. Louis working with fellow prospects.

"Just get better every day and learn something new and be better when I leave than when I came in here," Ralph said.