In collaboration with Upper Deck, The Hockey News will be covering the best active homegrown player for each NHL team. For the St. Louis Blues, it's Robert Thomas.
The St. Louis Blues are used to trying to hit home run picks in the mid-to-late selections in the first round.
It is why their amateur scouting staff should receive a tremendous amount of credit for finding players that could arguably be taken in the top 10, or at worst 10-15, when they're getting them in the late teens, final third of the first round.
Aside from last year when the Blues had three first-round picks, including No. 10, in 2022 they had No. 23, in 2021 they had No. 17, in 2020 it was No. 26, or in some cases like 2019, they didn't have one.
That's why finding somebody like Robert Thomas at No. 20 in 2017 was most certainly a home run selection, making Thomas The Hockey News' pick for the Blues' Best Active Homegrown Player: Brought to You By Upper Deck.
When the Blues took Thomas from the London Knights of the Ontario Hockey League, it didn't take long for the center to ascend the depth chart and reach the NHL.
And who can write a better script for a career than to enter the league as a rookie and win the Stanley Cup, as Thomas did in 2018-19 when the Blues won their first title in franchise history with Thomas putting up 33 points (nine goals, 24 assists) in 70 games playing as a third-line winger.
Having just completed his sixth season, it's clear who the Blues' No. 1 center is and will be for years to come. Thomas is coming off a career year with 86 points (26 goals, 60 assists), becoming the first Blue with 60 assists in a season since Craig Janney (68) in 1993-94 and became a first-time All-Star.
Thomas, 24, is a point-per-game player with 228 points (64 goals, 164 assists) the past 227 regular-season games the past three seasons. And aside from being the team's leading points producer the past three seasons, Thomas also is the team's shutdown center.
"I think I took another step forward throughout my career," Thomas said. "It gets me excited. You don't know kind of what your ceiling is. I think I surprised myself a little bit this year. I'm really excited to kind of find out how it plays out."
Signed through the 2031 season at a $8.125 million cap hit, the Blues will reap the rewards as Thomas will only continue to get better, perhaps one day joining the 100-point club and become the first Blue to do so since Brendan Shanahan (102) in 1993-94.
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