The St. Louis Blues will be one of the most interesting teams to watch throughout the 2023 NHL Entry Draft. They have a plethora of picks, and they need to reshape and retool their roster for the 2023-24 season.
Related: 2023 NHL Draft Guide
Blues general manager (GM) Doug Armstrong has been on record as saying he may not make all three of their picks in the first round. I suspect he’ll be working the phones a lot before and during the draft. The Blues have options if they want to move up into the top five of the 2023 Draft.
Blues Have Five Picks in First Three Rounds
The Blues have five picks in the first three rounds of the 2023 Draft after receiving the 10th pick in the draft lottery, and they acquired two first-round picks before the trade deadline. Although they don’t possess a second-round pick, they have two picks inside the top 80 in the third round. On top of these selections, they have their own first-round choices in 2024 and 2025, as well as two picks in both the second and third rounds next year. They have the ammunition when it comes to draft capital. The other part of this comes down to GM Armstrong’s willingness to trade prospects or young NHL talent.
The Blues have the 10th, 25th, and 29th picks in the first round of the 2023 Draft, but it would surprise me if the Blues made all three picks in these spots. While this class is loaded, I think it would be smart for them to leverage these picks to get one of the elite prospects at the top or make a win-now trade if possible. However, if the Blues keep all three of these selections, it would bolster their weak prospect pool; it’s in desperate need of depth. Outside of Zachary Bolduc and Jimmy Snuggerud, there are a lot of question marks surrounding their other prospects.
Blues’ Potential Trade Partner
The prime trade partner for the Blues here is the San Jose Sharks, who have the fourth overall pick. The Sharks have drafted in the top 10 only twice since the 2015 Draft, selecting William Eklund in 2021 and Timo Meier in 2015 with top 10 picks. The Sharks are still in a phase of rebuilding, so making this pick would be beneficial.
However, the Blues could try and blow them away with a trade offer that starts with the 10th overall pick. After that, they could give them the 29th pick, one of their third-round picks, and a prospect. It’s a hefty price, but the Blues would have a couple of elite choices with the fourth overall pick. In the 2022 Draft, the Sharks traded back from the 11th pick to the 27th pick with the Arizona Coyotes. So, there is precedent for the Sharks to trade back. It’s going to come down to how each GM values their picks. I think the Blues will be open to it regardless.
A Prospect Worth Trading Up For
There are a few realistic options for the Blues if they trade up. The name that sticks out the most is Matvei Michkov. They have a history of taking Russians in the first couple of rounds under GM Armstrong. They selected Vladimir Tarasenko in the 2010 Draft, Ivan Barbashev in the 2014 Draft, and Klim Kostin in the 2017 Draft. In a lot of previous drafts, Michkov would be a lock in the top three. That’s not the case this year with Connor Bedard, Adam Fantilli, and Leo Carlsson in this class.
Michkov could easily go in the top five. The Blues would need to trade up to have a chance to take him. His offensive skillset is elite. I understand that Bolduc and Snuggerud are great prospects, but Michkov is on a different level. He would instantly become the top prospect in the Blues’ system.
“All things considered, Michkov is still a top-five talent in this draft. His offensive ability is very advanced and he’ll be quick to make an impact on the scoresheet and the power play. But the holes in his defensive game and passing are what’s keeping him back from being a no-brainer in the top-three.”
Jake Janso, FC Hockey
As the quote above states, Michkov has holes in the defensive game. However, that shouldn’t affect his draft stock. He has an elite offensive skillset that the Blues could really use in their system. Outside of Bolduc and Snuggerud, their prospect pool lacks offensive firepower.
The Blues will be active over the next two months. They have plenty of organizational decisions to make. If Blues GM Armstrong handles this correctly, they could be back into playoff contention as early as 2023-24.
