By Andrew Allsman| Posted: July 1, 2013| Contact |
It was a rather quiet Sunday afternoon for the Blues. The
club’s contingent was seated on the draft floor at the Prudential Center for
the league’s 2013 draft, but there wasn’t a whole lot going on that involved
the club, at least early on in the draft.
The Blues were on the board at No. 47. The reason the Blues
were without a round one pick was because they had traded away the pick to the
Calgary Flames earlier in the year as part of the deal that brought defenseman
Jay Bouwmeester to St. Louis. With the draft projected to be a deep one,
Armstrong knew it wasn’t necessary to move up, something that would have been
out of the question just a few short years ago. In fact, the Blues had just
four picks, the fewest number since 1983 when the club did not attend the
draft. However, the club was very happy with their four picks when the draft
concluded.
The two picks that most intrigued Director of Amateur
Scouting Bill Armstrong were the club’s first two.
At No. 47, the Blues selected defenseman Thomas Vannelli,
who split last season between Minnetonka of the Minnesota High School League
and Team USA under-18 team of the United States Hockey League. The 18-year old
defenseman led all Minnetonka defensemen with 31 points (eight goals, 23
assists) in 25 games. He had two points in 14 games with Team USA.
The Blues had their sights set on Vannelli, so it was a bit
of a no-brainer for them when he was still available at No. 47.
“We liked the upside,” said Bill Armstrong. “(He’s a) tall,
skinny kid with lots of room to grow physically. We love his game mentally. He
has the ability to move the puck and he has top-four ability. He has got to
work, he’s raw, but at the same time, we really liked his ability.”
Vannelli said his game is most like that of Chicago’s Nick
Leddy, or Edmonton’s Justin Schultz. Vannelli likes to create offense, but says
he doesn’t sacrifice defense.
“I’m an offensive-defenseman,” said Vannelli. “I like to
move the puck to my forwards and join the rush. I’m responsible in my own zone,
too.”
Vannelli had a feeling the Blues were interested in drafting
him. He said he had several interviews with the team and talked to them at the
combine as well. He said he couldn’t be happier to be a Blue.
“It’s a really great feeling,” he said. “I couldn’t imagine
this day going any better. It’s a great feeling having your name called. You
dream about this day for awhile and once it’s here, it goes by so fast.”
While Vannelli is nowhere near NHL-ready, his preparation
will begin next season at the University of Minnesota. Vannelli, a Minnesota
native, said the decision was easy and commented that the coaching staff will
help him prepare for the NHL. The Blues will obviously keep watch over Vannelli’s
development.
The club had another prospect that they wanted on their team,
and were able to show it in the second round. The team chose to trade away
their 83rd, 94th, and 113th overall picks to
the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for the 57th overall pick, which the
team used to draft William Carrier. Carrier, an 18-year old left-winger, was
happy to see the Blues show that much interest in him.
“It’s always special to see a team that is interested in
you, so, that was great when I saw that trade,” he said. “I didn’t expect it at
all. That was great.”
The Blues like Carrier because he does a bit of everything.
Carrier spent the past three seasons in the Quebec Junior Hockey League with the
Cape Breton Screaming Eagles. He had 42 points (16 goals, 26 assists) in 34
games, but spent much of the season sidelined with a high-ankle sprain. Carrier
was also forced to miss the Top Prospects game, a chance for players to impress
NHL scouts. This is potentially the reason Carrier was still there for the
Blues at No. 57. Carrier has second-line potential in the NHL according to
Armstrong.
“He (also) has some upside. He has the ability to play in
your top six,” said Bill Armstrong. “He has the ability to score, to make
plays. We were really excited about going after a guy like that. Sometimes you
can sit and wait and see what comes to you, but we felt that we could go after
him and Doug was able to do that with some picks.”
“(I’m) a power-forward, so I do everything out there, fight,
score goals, bring some offense, bring some defense,” said Carrier.
The six-foot, 198-pound forward was ranked 18th
among North American Skating by NHL Central Scouting.
To finish up the draft, the Blues sent pick No. 203 and a
2014 fourth-round pick to Nashville in exchange for pick No. 112. They used
that pick to draft St. Louis native Zach Pochiro.
Pochiro, 19, played in the Western Hockey League last
season. He had 15 goals, 39 points in 65 games. The Blues knew of Pochiro, who
told the club he has always been a big Blues fan, but it wasn’t just because of
his ties to St. Louis that the club drafted him.
“He was born here, which is a good thing, said Armstrong. “He
always told us he was a big Blues fan so that certainly helped, but more
importantly, his determination, ruggedness and his grit. We are really interested
in seeing him come to Traverse City.”
The Blues’ final pick of the draft was Santeri Saari, a
native of Helsinki, Finland. Saari was ranked 116th among European
skaters.
The Blues left the draft satisfied, and ready to begin
preparation for next year’s draft. This year may not have been a usual one for
the Blues, but the rebuilding process has ended, and the Blues like their
current team. However, the club still felt they were able to pick some solid
players for the future.
“The area that we were picking in, we were able to acquire
the guys we wanted, which you can’t always do in some drafts,” admitted
Armstrong. “We were patient with Vannelli, but at the same time, Doug was able
to go out and chase some picks for us and put together a chance for us to get
Carrier. It worked out for us.”