The St. Louis Blues have three picks within the first spherical of the 2023 NHL Draft, possessing the tenth, twenty fifth, and twenty ninth total picks; each of the later first-round picks have been acquired earlier than the commerce deadline within the Vladimir Tarasenko and Ryan O’Reilly offers. St. Louis Blues common supervisor Doug Armstrong.
The Blues may gain advantage vastly from including a top-tier defenseman within the 2023 Draft. Nevertheless, they’ve a serious choice to make with the tenth choose, and the depth of this draft class makes it a good tougher alternative. Let’s discover the thought of the Blues taking a defenseman with the tenth choose.
The High Defensemen within the 2023 Class
Within the 2022 Draft, there have been 4 defensemen taken within the prime 10, however I consider there’s a lower than zero p.c probability that may occur once more this 12 months. There are a number of defensemen which have made their manner up from the second spherical to the primary spherical in latest mock drafts, because the evolution of rankings for blueliners has been loopy over the previous few months.
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The defenseman that has lengthy been regarded as the primary one off the board is David Reinbacher. One of the vital in style picks in mock drafts is Reinbacher going sixth to the Arizona Coyotes, and he’s greater than probably probably the most NHL-ready defenseman on this class. It wouldn’t stun me to see him accessible for the Blues with the tenth choose, and they need to think about him if that’s the case.
Reinbacher can be an thrilling match for the Blues, as the way in which that he performs might mesh rather well on their blue line. With that mentioned, there’s little doubt that Blues common supervisor Doug Armstrong ought to think about him if he’s accessible:
“Reinbacher is a power in transition, energetic in all three zones, and proficient at producing defensive stops. He’s a robust, agile skater, however the place he stands out for me is his dedication and talent to learn the play after which react as a high quality defensive defenseman.He’s enjoying large minutes as a first-time draft-eligible skater in Switzerland’s prime males’s league.”
Marek Novotny, EP Rinkside
As for different defensemen on this class, there’s quite a lot of intrigue for them, with gamers like Axel Sandin Pellikka, Tom Wallinder, Dmitri Simashev, Oliver Bonk, and Tanner Molendyk. However whereas I like these prospects, none of them appear to make sense as top-10 choices for the Blues. I anticipate Sandin Pellikka, Wallinder, and Simashev to be taken throughout the prime 20 picks, whereas Bonk and Molendyk could possibly be accessible when the Blues come again as much as the stage at 25 or 29; certainly one of my favourite gamers on this class is Bonk. For my part, there are a number of situations the place he finally ends up with the Blues.
Bonk is among the finest two-way defenders on this class, and he’s been rising up draft boards for fairly a while now. He joins Reinbacher as of the very best transition defensemen within the class. If developed correctly, he could possibly be a top-four staple for years to come back within the NHL. It could not shock me to see the Blues take Bonk within the later phases of the primary spherical, however they need to not even think about taking him with the tenth choose.
Blues Ought to Be Cautious With This Choose
The 2023 draft class has far too many high quality ahead prospects for the Blues to take a defenseman within the prime 10. Out of all of the defensemen that would go within the first spherical, I like each single one, and that’s why I feel the Blues will take one late within the first spherical. Their focus with the tenth choose ought to be on no matter ahead is the very best participant accessible based on their board.
It’s clear that the Blues will probably be making a range with the tenth choice, as there aren’t any trades on the market that might make them transfer the choose. They must be cautious with this alternative, and drafting a prospect like Oliver Moore, if he’s accessible, can be sensible. The route of this franchise will depend on all the pieces they do that summer time, and over-drafting a defenseman with the tenth choose, until it’s Reinbacher, can be a foul transfer.