He was 12-13-25 & +9 in 38 games for Slavia Prague this season, the second worst team in the League. Jakin is on the same team and was 1-1-2 & -7 in 30 games. As I said earlier in the thread, Hertl is the player I really want but don't expect him to be available beyond the 20th pick.
Maybe the fact that players out of the Czech League haven't been drafted in the first round since 2006 might mean he drops a little further, but I'd be surprised.
He's been projected to go between 25 and 30, so we could realistically land him. From all the reports, he seems like the type of player that would fit perfectly with us. If he can project to play center in the NHL, I think he would be a must if he is available.
With a young team you could use a talented and experienced player in Jerome Iginla but do you guys have the cap room to take on his salary this offseason ? I thought he would be a perfect fit for St. Louis. You could offer Calgary various picks that likely won't get you much in the coming years as you will be in the top 6 teams every single year. Is it not time for the Blues to make that move to ensure they continue to be a winner and have a legit shot at the Stanley Cup ? I was trying to think of a better place for Iginla to go and there are some other possibilities out there but Iginla wants to play for a winner. He wants a Stanley Cup ring.
With a young team you could use a talented and experienced player in Jerome Iginla but do you guys have the cap room to take on his salary this offseason ? I thought he would be a perfect fit for St. Louis. You could offer Calgary various picks that likely won't get you much in the coming years as you will be in the top 6 teams every single year. Is it not time for the Blues to make that move to ensure they continue to be a winner and have a legit shot at the Stanley Cup ? I was trying to think of a better place for Iginla to go and there are some other possibilities out there but Iginla wants to play for a winner. He wants a Stanley Cup ring.
No thanks. Blues have lots of young talent coming at the forward position. They need defensemen.
I had a Calgary poster (Medium Rare) have a rage fest on me. insisting that the Blues should pay Cole, Rattie and two firsts for Iginla because the Blues realize they needed a "legitimate superstar" after their inevitable first-round collpase and then the Blues just go figure out other trades to make it work. So what about how many wingers are already under contract, hadn't I ever heard of making a trade all about Calgary getting maximum value, screwing up the Blues' team and salary structure and figuring out how to get out of that our own damn selves? (I hadn't.)
I read that thread the other day and all I could do was laugh. He went to the point of cursing at you because he knows what the Blues need. I'll pass on taking advise from a Calgary fan...Especially one that thinks Iginla is worth his weight in gold.
Edit: Here's my hopeful picks for the first round in order.
Guys, discussion of board discipline in a public forum is not an OK topic. This is a thread about the coming draft.
If you have a beef with how a moderator has handled something, please send me (or other Blues mods) a PM. Don't try to have a public dialog here about it, because that will likely end up in a "mod abuse" infraction.
Guys, discussion of board discipline in a public forum is not an OK topic. This is a thread about the coming draft.
If you have a beef with how a moderator has handled something, please send me (or other Blues mods) a PM. Don't try to have a public dialog here about it, because that will likely end up in a "mod abuse" infraction.
That's just it, though. CANNOT PM. Not don't want to CANNOT reply or initiate PMs.
That's just it, though. CANNOT PM. Not don't want to CANNOT reply or initiate PMs.
At your current level PM's should still be active, but I believe you have a quota of 10. It isn't completely disabled until you hit 15 points. Try cleaning out your Inbox/Sent PM sections and let me know if you can send a PM then.
At your current level PM's should still be active, but I believe you have a quota of 10. It isn't completely disabled until you hit 15 points. Try cleaning out your Inbox/Sent PM sections and let me know if you can send a PM then.
Ok, I understand that. Well I'm not sure I want to spend the time deleting 74 messages just to get to that possibility even though I'm sure some are not so valuable. Thanks for letting me know about that option though.
Ok, I understand that. Well I'm not sure I want to spend the time deleting 74 messages just to get to that possibility even though I'm sure some are not so valuable. Thanks for letting me know about that option though.
Interesting read on the draft. In the past it seems like Woodlief has touted guys higher than their consensus spots that the Blues have also targeted.
Quote:
But even among the acknowledged strength of this draft, while there is very good depth, there is very little marquee, star quality to the top guys. In fact, we don't see a true No. 1 blue-liner emerging out of this year's crop. While a kid like Ryan Murray might have great value as a smooth-skating, savvy shutdown defender who can move the puck and will be a captain in the league for 10 years, his style of play is more along the lines of a Kevin Lowe or a Glen Wesley rather than a Paul Coffey.
...
In general, for teams looking to bolster their blue line brigade, they might be able to find the same caliber of player down around picks No. 16 or 17 that they could find picking up at No. 5.
...
If defense is the draft's strength, the forward group is the obvious weakness. The paucity of skilled forwards is so desperate that relatively unknown quantities like Mark Jankowski and Mack MacEachern from small-time programs that scouts rarely ever venture to see could be pushed well up the draft boards, possibly as high as the first round.
And again, once you get past top prospect Yakupov the one true marquee talent in the whole dance the eighth forward picked might turn out as well as the second. One player with potential star power Alex Galchenyuk has suited up for a total of eight contests all year.
...
So all in all, at Red Line, we'd say if you're picking in the top 10, it's a pretty good year to trade down for more assets and try a roll of the dice later on.
I've never understood the notion of being "disappointed" by having the option to draft a better player. Draft Yakupov if you think he's the best player, then you can shop him (or Eberle, or RNH, or Hall, etc.) around the league for the defenseman that the team needs. Surely a team like Phoenix would consider parting with a Yandle/OEL/Gormley if forwards of that nature were being shopped. If they won't, someone else surely would.
I've never understood the notion of being "disappointed" by having the option to draft a better player. Draft Yakupov if you think he's the best player, then you can shop him (or Eberle, or RNH, or Hall, etc.) around the league for the defenseman that the team needs. Surely a team like Phoenix would consider parting with a Yandle/OEL/Gormley if forwards of that nature were being shopped. If they won't, someone else surely would.
It doesn't make any sense at all.
Yeah I doubt the Oilers draft Murray with #1. They should trade that pick for Gormley and Phoenix' first rounder.
Not trying to be geographically insensitive or anything. But I believe the Blues with Army, and no more Jarmo, in this year's draft is going to have more North American players than we have become accustomed to.
Not trying to be geographically insensitive or anything. But I believe the Blues with Army, and no more Jarmo, in this year's draft is going to have more North American players than we have become accustomed to.
Just a thought.
It ain't necessarily so...
The Blues have had two drafts in the post-Kekalainen era, and selected 15 players total in those drafts (2010 and 2011). Of the players selected with Armstrong at the helm, six of 15 (40%) have been Europeans.
In seven drafts under Kekalainen (2003-2009), the Blues selected a total of 62 players, 24 of whom were Europeans (38.7%).
In 2004, the Blues selected eight players, seven of whom were Europeans... and the following year, the Blues selected seven players, and only one was a European (Nikolai Lemtyugov).
Jarmo still led the 2010 draft. He left immediately after. We've only had one year without him.
Kekalainen's involvement with the 2010 draft was likely minimal; he was still Director of Amateur Scouting in name, but the selections and trades were as much Doug Armstrong's doing as Kekalainen's.
And the point stands that, with or without Kekalainen, the Blues only draft about 40% European over the last decade or so. The comment to which I was originally replying made it seem as though the Blues were drafting majority Europeans, which is not the case and never has been except for the single example of the 2004 Draft.
Jarmo still led the 2010 draft. He left immediately after. We've only had one year without him.
Correct. If you recall, the front office spoke publicly about the 2010 draft being Jarmo's parting gift to the Blues, they were that high on their picks.
