"I personally believe in building a strong defense because that's where you also start your offense, when you have defensemen who can move the puck up quickly and have a good transition game, who understand the game and have good vision and puck movement skills. That's when you build strong offensive teams as well. If you have a situation where you have two players that you compare to each other and they're very close, I'd say that I would lean towards taking the defenseman if those guys are pretty much on the same level."

-- Jarmo Kekalainen on "The Bernie Miklasz Show," 101.1 FM ESPN radio, May 27

Kekalainen clung tightly to that philosophy this weekend, selecting three defensemen out of the six total picks the Blues made in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft.

After the break, learn everything you ever wanted to know about the six players drafted by the Blues on Friday and Saturday in Montreal.

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Tomorrows Blues Online with Brian Weidler

"With the 17th pick in the 2009, NHL Entry Draft, the St. Louis Blues are pleased to select..."

Your Game Time Prospect Department was recently given the honor of representing St. Louis and the Blues in the SBN Mock Draft, making a pick at 17th overall which is intended to (somewhat) accurately reflect the wishes of the fanbase, and be based on an informed analysis of the organization's needs and draft tendencies.

In a series of recent online articles (linked below), we have tried to break down the Blues' draft tendencies in the Jarmo Kekalainen era and present a list of players who project to be available when it is the Blues' turn to select in each round of the draft (through Round Four).

What exactly IS a "Blues' prospect," anyway... Part One

What exactly IS a "Blues' prospect," anyway... Part Two

What exactly IS a "Blues' prospect," anyway... Part Three

Game Time's "Silver Seven" for Round One

Game Time's "Silver Seven" for Round Two

Game Time's "Silver Seven" for Round Three

Game Time's "Silver Seven" for Round Four

Based on that breakdown and analysis, as well as on the results of online polling and the comments posted by you, the readers, after each article, we here at the Game Time Prospect Department have made our selection for the Blues in the SBN Mock Draft.

And the winner is...

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Potential Blues Targets in the fourth round of the 2009 NHL Entry Draft

Tomorrow's Blues Online with Brian Weidler

In this report, and the ones to follow, your Game Time Prospect Department will spotlight seven players whom we feel are (or should be) the Blues' primary targets in each round of the upcoming NHL Entry Draft.

We will spotlight potential selections in the first, second, third, fourth, and sixth rounds; the Blues do not currently have a selection in the fifth round (traded to LA for T.J. Fast in 2008) or the seventh round (traded to LA for a pick that the Blues used to select Paul Karpowich in 2008).

First, let's review the selections that the Blues have made in the fourth round of each draft in the Jarmo Kekalainen Era (since 2003):

...	Avg Sel	Avg Ht	IN	CM	Wt (lb)	Wt (kg)	In NHL	.....
...	103	6-00.4	72.4	183.8	178.4	80.9	0	.....
...					...	...	...	.....
Goal	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1
Def	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	3
Fwd	1	2	1	0	0	0	0	4

As we can see from the chart, the Blues' most likely selection in this round has historically been an Amerian defenseman, followed by a Canadian forward, since Jarmo Kekalainen's first picks for the Blues at the 2003 Draft.

After the break, we'll put the spotlight on seven players whom we expect to figure in the discussions when the Blues' turn to draft comes up at 108th overall on June 27.

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Potential Blues Targets in the third round of the 2009 NHL Entry Draft

Tomorrow's Blues Online with Brian Weidler

In this report, and the ones to follow, your Game Time Prospect Department will spotlight seven players whom we feel are (or should be) the Blues' primary targets in each round of the upcoming NHL Entry Draft.

We will spotlight potential selections in the first, second, third, fourth, and sixth rounds; the Blues do not currently have a selection in the fifth round (traded to LA for T.J. Fast in 2008) or the seventh round (traded to LA for a pick that the Blues used to select Paul Karpowich in 2008).

First, let's review the selections that the Blues have made in the third round of each draft in the Jarmo Kekalainen Era (since 2003):

...	Avg Sel	Avg Ht	IN	CM	Wt (lb)	Wt (kg)	In NHL	.....
...	81	6-01.4	73.4	186.5	193.7	87.8	1	.....
...								.....
Goal	0	1	0	0	0	1	0	2
Def	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	2
Fwd	2	0	1	1	1	0	0	5

As we can see from the chart, the Blues have literally gone around the world for picks in this round since Kekalainen took the reins at the 2003 Draft.

After the break, we'll put the spotlight on seven players whom we expect to figure in the discussions when the Blues' turn to draft comes up at 78th overall on June 27.

Continue reading this post »

Potential Blues Targets in the second round of the 2009 NHL Entry Draft

Tomorrow's Blues Online with Brian Weidler

In this report, and the ones to follow, your Game Time Prospect Department will spotlight seven players whom we feel are (or should be) the Blues' primary targets in each round of the upcoming NHL Entry Draft.

We will spotlight potential selections in the first, second, third, fourth, and sixth rounds; the Blues do not currently have a selection in the fifth round (traded to LA for T.J. Fast in 2008) or the seventh round (traded to LA for a pick that the Blues used to select Paul Karpowich in 2008).

First, let's review the selections that the Blues have made in the second round of each draft in the Jarmo Kekalainen Era (since 2003):

...	Avg Sel	Avg Ht	IN	CM	Wt (lb)	Wt (kg)	In NHL	.....
...	41	6-01.5	73.5	186.7	191.0	86.6	1	.....
...					...	...	...	.....
Goal	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1
Def	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1
Fwd	3	0	2	1	0	0	0	6

Based on past history, it looks like the Blues just might be thinking about drafting a forward in the second round, eh?

After the break, we'll put the spotlight on seven players whom we expect to figure in the discussions when the Blues' turn to draft comes up at 48th overall on June 27.

Continue reading this post »

Potential Blues Targets in the first round of the 2009 NHL Entry Draft

Tomorrow's Blues Online with Brian Weidler

In this report, and the ones to follow, your Game Time Prospect Department will spotlight seven players whom we feel are (or should be) the Blues' primary targets in each round of the upcoming NHL Entry Draft.

We will spotlight potential selections in the first, second, third, fourth, and sixth rounds; the Blues do not currently have a selection in the fifth round (traded to LA for T.J. Fast in 2008) or the seventh round (traded to LA for a pick that the Blues used to select Paul Karpowich in 2008).

First, let's review the selections that the Blues have made in the first round of each draft in the Jarmo Kekalainen Era (since 2003):

...	Avg Sel	Avg Ht	IN	CM	Wt (lb)	Wt (kg)	In NHL	.....
...	18	6-01.3	73.3	186.3	196.8	89.3	4	.....
...						...	...	.....
Goal	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1
Def	2	0	0	0	2	0	0	4
Fwd	1	0	1	1	1	0	0	4

After the break, we'll put the spotlight on seven players whom we expect to figure in the discussions when the Blues' turn to draft comes up at 17th overall on June 26.

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Tomorrows Blues Online with Brian Weidler

Further Analysis Of The Blues' Picks, Round-By-Round, In The Jarmo Kekalainen Era

In this part of our ongoing series, we'll look at some of the Blues' drafting trends in the fourth through seventh rounds, and also see just what players have come from which countries during Jarmo Kekalainen's tenure as The Man in charge of the Blues' drafting.

Despite Kekalainen's European origins, or perhaps because of them, it's interesting to note that of the 56 players the Blues have drafted since 2003, 34 of them (60.71%) have come from North America -- 18 Canadians and 16 Americans.

That still means that almost 40% of all Blues' draftees have roots in Europe, a number which would seem to put the Blues about in the middle of the pack in terms of drafting Euros. By contrast, here's what the Blues' division rivals, and a couple of out-of-division rivals, have done in terms of scouting and drafting in Europe since 2003:

CHICAGO: 62 picks/15 Europeans, 24.19%

COLUMBUS: 56 picks/14 Europeans, 25.00%

DALLAS: 46 picks/18 Europeans, 39.13%

DETROIT: 43 picks/22 Europeans, 51.16%

NASHVILLE: 52 picks/24 Europeans, 46.15%

SAN JOSE: 50 picks/9 Europeans, 18.00%

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Tomorrows Blues Online with Brian Weidler

An Analysis Of The Blues' Picks, Round-By-Round, In The Jarmo Kekalainen Era

Previously in this space, we presented an overview of the Blues' drafts since 2003, when Director of Amateur Scouting and Assistant General Manager Jarmo Kekalainen was tasked to run the draft for the Blues.

In this report, we'll break down the drafts in the Kekalainen Era round-by-round, to identify trends in each round (if any), and to pave the way for the identification of likely draft targets for the Blues in the upcoming draft at the end of June.

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