The St. Louis Blues hold five picks in the first three rounds of the 2024 NHL Entry Draft. They made three selections in the first round last year, going all European prospects with the picks.
Related: 2024 NHL Draft Guide
It wouldn’t be a surprise at all if they went back to the European well with their picks in the first three rounds this year. They have a large base of scouts in Europe, so that will certainly be a factor as I mock the first three rounds of the 2024 Draft for the club. Let’s get into what they might do.
Round 1, Pick 16 – Adam Jiříček, RD, HC Plzen (Czechia)
I think the Blues go with a blueliner in the first round. Defenseman Adam Jiříček is the younger brother of the sixth overall pick in the 2022 Draft, David Jiříček (Columbus Blue Jackets).
Jiříček will turn 18 years old later this month and played 31 games in the Czech league for Plzen HC over the past two seasons. Standing 6-foot-3, he’s got terrific size on the blue line and the Blues could use a player like this. He’s not a great offensive player, but he competes hard and is a strong defender. He projects as a likely top-four defenseman with strong defensive skills.
Round 2, Pick 48 – Linus Eriksson, C, Djurgardens IF (Sweden)
With their first second-round selection, I have the Blues taking Swedish center Linus Eriksson. There’s a lot to like about this player. He scored four playoff goals in 12 games at the professional level for Djurgardens IF this season. He’d be an exciting prospect to get in the top 50.
“Eriksson is a smart forward who has the speed and motor to make an impact in all three zones. He’s comfortable, albeit not dynamic, with the puck on his stick. His compete level, though, ensures that he’s tough to separate from the puck. His puck-protection skills and general strength when navigating through the neutral zone as he’s good at shielding off defenders”
Aaron Vickers – FC Hockey
It wouldn’t hurt the Blues to grab more centers in the first few rounds of the 2024 Draft to deepen their pipeline at that position. I’d be thrilled with this pick if general manager Doug Armstrong pulls it off. Eriksson is a safe pick in the second round, which isn’t something that can always be said in this spot. He’d bring a lot to the Blues’ prospect pool.
Round 2, Pick 56 (via Toronto) – Veeti Väisänen, LD, KooKoo Kouvola (Finland)
In the Blues’ second pick of the second round, I have them taking defenseman Veeti Väisänen of KooKoo Kouvola in Liiga. Again, the club would be wise to ensure the depth of their prospect pipeline on the blue line is there. They need as many blueliners as they can get, especially those worthy of grades in the first or second rounds of the draft.
Väisänen would be viewed as another safe pick, but there’s nothing wrong with racking those types of prospects up outside of the first round. As a skater, he’s good and makes a lot of smart plays in the defensive zone. A lot of his traits are exactly what the Blues must look for in a blueliner.
Round 3, Pick 81 – Arvid Westlin, LW/RW, Linköping HC J20 (Nationell) (Sweden)
With their first pick in the third round, I have the Blues going back to the Swedish well with winger Arvid Westlin. He ranked 89th overall in our own Andrew Forbes’ top 100 rankings for May. This is an interesting prospect and the Blues would be wise to have him on their board somewhere in the top 100. He’s a hard worker with lots of speed and quality offensive skills. He produced well in 2023-24 in the Swedish junior league with Linköping HC J20, scoring 16 goals and 32 points in 38 games.
It will be interesting to see how he develops and grows as he works his way up the chain as a prospect. He didn’t score a point for Linköpings HC in the Swedish pro league through 17 games. There’s zero doubt to me that Westlin is an interesting prospect in the third round.
Round 3, Pick 95 (via NY Rangers) – Max Plante, RW, USA U18 (NTDP)
In the club’s final pick in the top 100, I’m taking Max Plante from the United States National Development Program (USNTDP). According to my mock, this would be the first North American player taken with these five selections. It wouldn’t surprise me if the Blues went a similar route to this given their recent history.
As for Plante, he’s got a good pace to his game and isn’t afraid to play fast. With the USNTDP in 2023-24, he put up 29 points in 25 games. He also has a high hockey IQ in the eyes of many scouts. It would actually surprise me a bit if he falls to this spot, but crazier things have happened.
The Blues are set up well to strengthen their prospect pool in the 2024 Draft and climb into the top 10 of NHL farm system rankings across the board.
