:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/49785117/GettyImages-451369196.0.jpg)
♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪
As anyone knows if you've been reading "Tomorrow's Blues" for any length of time, the time leading up to the annual NHL Entry Draft is your "Game Time" Prospect Department's favorite time of the year.
As of today, the Blues will have seven selections in the draft, to be held the weekend of June 24-25 in Buffalo. Barring any trades, the Blues will draft at 28th overall in the first round, and following any compensatory picks being awarded, will pick near the end of the second round, the end of the third round (Washington's pick from the Oshie trade), the end of the fourth, the top of the fifth (Columbus' pick from the Jordan Leopold trade), and two of the last three picks in the draft at the end of the seventh round.
The Blues acquired Pittsburgh's seventh-round pick in this draft along with Robert Bortuzzo in the Ian Cole trade, and had sent their seventh-round pick to San Jose for Konrad Abeltshauser, with the condition that the Sharks would only get the pick if Abeltshauser played "x" number of games for the Blues. Thanks to a poor showing by Abeltshauser with the Chicago Wolves, that condition was not met and the Blues will retain their seventh-round pick.
We will continue our coverage of the 2016 Entry Draft with our annual tradition of posting the "Game Time" Ssecond Seven, the seven prospects that our research and understanding of the Blues' developmental system tell us should be the most likely targets for the Blues' pick in second round this draft, and any later picks if one of these players remains on the board.
Presenting... The 2016 "St. Louis Game Time" SECOND SEVEN
 |
... | Wade ALLISON | RANKINGS |  |
|||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Right Wing | CSS Preliminary | N America N/R | ||||||||
| Shoots | Right | CSS Midterm | N America 192 | ||||||||
| Height | 6' 01.75" | CSS Final | N America 62 | ||||||||
| Weight | 205 lbs | ... | ... | ||||||||
| Born | Oct. 14, 1997 | Birthplace | Myrtle, MB | ||||||||
| SEASON | CLUB | GP | GL | AS | PT | +- | PM | PP | SH | GW | |
| 2015-16 Regular | Tri-City (USHL) | 56 | 25 | 22 | 47 | + 16 | 46 | 4 | 2 | 6 | |
| 2016 Playoff | Tri-City (USHL) | 11 | 9 | 7 | 16 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | |
| 2016 WJC | Canada U18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| SCOUTING NOTES | PLUS | MINUS | |||||||||
| Strong power forward game | Overall skating needs improvement | ||||||||||
| Works best in tight spaces | Slow first step, acceleration | ||||||||||
| Strong rise in rankings as season progressed | Needs work on defense | ||||||||||
| PHOTO: SBNCOLLEGEHOCKEY.COM | |||||||||||
 |
... | Filip BERGLUND | RANKINGS |  |
|||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Defense | CSS Preliminary | Europe N/R | ||||||||
| Shoots | Right | CSS Midterm | Europe N/R | ||||||||
| Height | 6' 03.00" | CSS Final | Europe 33 | ||||||||
| Weight | 209 lbs | ... | ... | ||||||||
| Born | May 10, 1997 | Birthplace | Skellefteå, SWE | ||||||||
| SEASON | CLUB | GP | GL | AS | PT | +- | PM | PP | SH | GW | |
| 2015-16 Regular | Skellefteå Jr (SWE U20) | 43 | 19 | 22 | 41 | + 8 | 6 | 12 | 1 | 3 | |
| 2016 Playoff | Skellefteå Jr (SWE U20) | 5 | 1 | 3 | 4 | + 5 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2016 WJC | Sweden U18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| SCOUTING NOTES | PLUS | MINUS | |||||||||
| Size makes him good at puck protection | Lacks speed and acceleration | ||||||||||
| Great shot from point | Needs to keep improving on defense | ||||||||||
| Good passing skills | Could play a more physical style | ||||||||||
| PHOTO: SKELLEFTEAAIK.SE | |||||||||||
 |
... | Kasper BJORKQVIST | RANKINGS |  |
|||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Right Wing | CSS Preliminary | Europe "C" | ||||||||
| Shoots | Left | CSS Midterm | Europe 35 | ||||||||
| Height | 6' 01.00" | CSS Final | Europe 22 | ||||||||
| Weight | 198 lbs | ... | ... | ||||||||
| Born | Jul. 10, 1997 | Birthplace | Espoo, FIN | ||||||||
| SEASON | CLUB | GP | GL | AS | PT | +- | PM | PP | SH | GW | |
| 2015-16 Regular | Blues Jr (FIN U20) | 45 | 28 | 38 | 66 | + 5 | 32 | 11 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2016 Playoff | Blues Jr (FIN U20) | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2016 WJC | Finland U18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| SCOUTING NOTES | PLUS | MINUS | |||||||||
| Trunk strength; puck protection skills | Needs to improve finishing skills | ||||||||||
| Great shot from point on power play | Needs to be more consistent defensively | ||||||||||
| Solid power game | Improvement needed in overall skating | ||||||||||
| PHOTO: BLUES.FI/BLUES-NUORET | |||||||||||
 |
... | Cam DINEEN | RANKINGS |  |
|||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Defense | CSS Preliminary | N America "C" | ||||||||
| Shoots | Left | CSS Midterm | N America 117 | ||||||||
| Height | 5' 11.00" | CSS Final | N America 39 | ||||||||
| Weight | 183 lbs | ... | ... | ||||||||
| Born | June 19, 1998 | Birthplace | Toms River, NJ | ||||||||
| SEASON | CLUB | GP | GL | AS | PT | +- | PM | PP | SH | GW | |
| 2015-16 Regular | North Bay (OHL) | 63 | 13 | 46 | 59 | + 18 | 18 | 1 | 0 | 5 | |
| 2016 Playoff | North Bay (OHL) | 11 | 0 | 8 | 8 | - 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2015 Ivan Hlinka | USA U18 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | + 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| SCOUTING NOTES | PLUS | MINUS | |||||||||
| Two-way defenseman; plays in all situations | Undersized for defense position as a pro | ||||||||||
| Maintains, closes the gap on defense | Needs to keep getting stronger | ||||||||||
| Excellent on-ice awareness | |||||||||||
| PHOTO: BATTALIONHOCKEY.COM | |||||||||||
 |
... | Trent FREDERIC | RANKINGS | |
|||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Center | CSS Preliminary | N America "B" | ||||||||
| Shoots | Left | CSS Midterm | N America 39 | ||||||||
| Height | 6' 01.75" | CSS Final | N America 47 | ||||||||
| Weight | 203 lbs | ... | ... | ||||||||
| Born | Feb. 11, 1998 | Birthplace | St. Louis, MO | ||||||||
| SEASON | CLUB | GP | GL | AS | PT | +- | PM | PP | SH | GW | |
| 2015-16 Regular | USNTDP U-18 (USHL) | 61 | 20 | 20 | 40 | 0 | 73 | 4 | 2 | 3 | |
| 2016 Playoff | USNTDP U-18 (USHL) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2016 WJC | United States U18 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 7 | + 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | |
| SCOUTING NOTES | PLUS | MINUS | |||||||||
| Strong on forecheck | Skill level good, not elite | ||||||||||
| Strong two-way game | Footspeed needs improvement | ||||||||||
| Very good faceoff skills | |||||||||||
| PHOTO: BRIAN WEIDLER/STLOUISGAMETIME.COM | |||||||||||
 |
... | Cameron MORRISON | RANKINGS | |
|||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Left Wing | CSS Preliminary | N America "C" | ||||||||
| Shoots | Left | CSS Midterm | N America 59 | ||||||||
| Height | 6' 02.25" | CSS Final | N America 46 | ||||||||
| Weight | 205 lbs | ... | ... | ||||||||
| Born | Aug. 27, 1998 | Birthplace | Aurora, ON | ||||||||
| SEASON | CLUB | GP | GL | AS | PT | +- | PM | PP | SH | GW | |
| 2015-16 Regular | Youngstown (USHL) | 60 | 34 | 32 | 66 | + 38 | 42 | 3 | 0 | 8 | |
| 2016 Playoff | Youngstown (USHL) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2016 WJC | Canada U18 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 4 | + 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| SCOUTING NOTES | PLUS | MINUS | |||||||||
| Size, shot, aggressive playing style | Skating needs improvement | ||||||||||
| Thinks the game at a high level | Needs to shoot more | ||||||||||
| Strong defensive zone awareness | |||||||||||
| PHOTO: YOUNGSTOWNPHANTOMS.COM | |||||||||||
 |
... | Aapeli RASANEN | RANKINGS | |
|||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Center | CSS Preliminary | Europe "C" | ||||||||
| Shoots | Right | CSS Midterm | Europe 85 | ||||||||
| Height | 6' 00.00" | CSS Final | Europe 21 | ||||||||
| Weight | 196 lbs | ... | ... | ||||||||
| Born | June 1, 1998 | Birthplace | Tampere, FIN | ||||||||
| SEASON | CLUB | GP | GL | AS | PT | +- | PM | PP | SH | GW | |
| 2015-16 Regular | Tappara Jr (FIN U20) | 50 | 19 | 19 | 38 | + 17 | 26 | 4 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2015-16 Regular | Tappara Jr (FIN U20) | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | - 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2016 WJC | Finland U18 | 7 | 3 | 6 | 9 | + 8 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| SCOUTING NOTES | PLUS | MINUS | |||||||||
| Hockey sense; understands the game | Physical game needs improvement | ||||||||||
| Strong two-way game | Needs to develop consistency | ||||||||||
| Puckhandling, playmaking skills | |||||||||||
| PHOTO: LEIJONAT.FI | |||||||||||