With the 16th overall pick, the St. Louis Blues selected 6-foot-4 power forward Maddox Dagenais, adding a play style the Blues need in the NHL and in their prospect pool.
Although the St. Louis Blues entered the 2026 NHL draft with four first-round picks, they left making just two of those picks but added three left-handed centers.
With the 11th overall pick, the Blues selected two-way, smooth-skating center Tynan Lawrence. Then, they flipped the 15th and 29th overall picks to land 23-year-old Mason McTavish. With their final piece of business in the first round, the Blues selected 6-foot-4 Quebec native Maddox Dagenais.
The Blues entered the draft with a bit of a shortage of centers. In the NHL, they had Robert Thomas and Dalibor Dvorsky, both of whom stand at six feet and 6-foot-1. While they are not small by any margin, size and physicality aren’t strengths of their game. McTavish is listed at 6-foot-1, but he can play with a physical edge.
Lawrence is listed at 6-foot-1 as well, but his play style doesn’t scream bruiser. Dagenais, on the other hand, is a physical beast, bringing an element that the Blues need at the center ice position.
The 18-year-old was a former first overall pick in the QMJHL, but he hasn’t necessarily lit it up offensively just yet. In 2025-26, Dagenais notched 30 goals and 62 points in 62 games, taking a large step forward in his development from his rookie season in 2024-25.
Dagenais has some international experience as well, representing Canada at the U-17 and U-18 Levels, but hasn’t broken out offensively there either.
Despite that, Dagenais brings several intriguing elements. We’ve touched on his power forward traits, but he is also a strong skater who excels in transition. His shot is strong, and he became more comfortable utilizing it as the season went on.
His playmaking needs some development, but if that develops, Dagenais has all the traits of a top-six NHL center.
Eliteprospects.com compared Dagenais’ game to Toronto Maple Leafs winger Matthew Knies and former Blues first-round pick Zachary Bolduc.
The Blues have plenty of highly skilled prospects, and although Dagenais is very skilled, he brings a different element that the Blues may have been putting off recently. Diversifying the prospect pool was a must, and there is an avenue for Dagenais to be successful with the Blues in the NHL.
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