After a successful postseason in 2024-25, the St. Louis Blues should have been in a good spot to make the playoffs again in 2025-26. But that’s not the case right now, as the Blues are among the league’s worst teams. However, it has put them in a position to win the draft lottery and a chance to select top prospect, forward Gavin McKenna.
It’s a matter of whether general manager Doug Armstrong is willing to start a rebuild. As of now, the Blues rank 30th in the league with a minus-22 goal differential, giving them a strong case to finish last.
McKenna Would Add Talent to Blues’ Pipeline
The Blues have a great pipeline of talented young players, either already playing in the NHL or waiting to make their debut. Players like Otto Stenberg, Adam Jecho, Juraj Pekarcik, and Justin Carbonneau rank among the organization’s top prospects.
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McKenna, however, would give the Blues a player who is guaranteed to start at the NHL level. With many veteran forwards, like Pavel Buchnevich and Brayden Schenn, who are in the later stages of their careers, he would be an immediate boost to the forward group. McKenna is also a left-winger and has enough talent to easily slot into the top two lines, especially playing alongside great playmakers like Robert Thomas and Dylan Holloway.
After all, we’ve seen good things from the Blues prospects like Dalibor Dvorsky and Jimmy Snuggerud when they were at the point of NHL-ready status. The only difference between McKenna and those two in terms of readiness is that he is already a level ahead in how he plays the game. He would make an impact offensively the minute he steps onto the NHL ice.
McKenna would only be the Blues’ second first-overall since 2006, when they drafted defenseman Erik Johnson.
2026 NHL Entry Draft Will Be Crucial Even Without McKenna
Even if the Blues fail to secure the first-overall pick, should they tank the season, there is still a good chance of drafting second or third-overall, which includes the current projected second-overall pick (and brother of Blues prospect Otto Stenberg), Ivar Stenberg, and projected third-overall pick, defenseman Keaton Verhoeff, both top-end prospects.
In this scenario, the Blues would either get a chemistry lock with the Stenberg brothers, which might suit soon-to-be Blues general manager Alexander Steen, given his interest in Swedish prospects, or a top-ranked defenseman who could solidify the team’s blue line for years. Right now, the Blues have the second-highest goals against (76), rank 27th in the league in penalty kill percentage (72.6 percent), and 19th in blocks (293).
All Roads Lead to McKenna and Are Entertaining
Assuming the Blues don’t turn things around, their odds of drafting McKenna look pretty good right now, and it will be easy to move out veterans to fit him into the roster immediately. That said, they should embrace the idea that they are the bottom-feeding team right now. It’s not a bad place for them to be in when they have one of the best draft classes awaiting them if the Blues continue down the losing path.
It would bring a very entertaining element to the Blues’ rivalry with the Chicago Blackhawks, as the Blues would gain the cousin of Blackhawks superstar Connor Bedard. It’s already been written in the Blues-Blackhawks rivalry script, and it would make the Central Division in general one of the most superstar-packed divisions.
