Wealth of draft picks should benefit Blues

Published Friday, June 22, 2007

ST. LOUIS (AP) - This year’s NHL draft is an ideal building opportunity for the St. Louis Blues.

The Blues don’t have the luxury of the top overall pick like last year, when they selected defenseman Erik Johnson. But they do have three first-round picks, the ninth, 24th and 26th, in the draft that takes place today and tomorrow in Columbus, Ohio.

The bounty has attracted considerable interest from other teams interested in trades. The Blues and Edmonton Oilers each have three first-round picks.

"It’s a good situation for us," team President John Davidson said. "There’s been a lot of talk. A lot of things will happen once the draft starts."

Davidson said he’d be happy if all the Blues do is stockpile young talent. Where they’re picking, though, the team sees no players who can make an immediate impact.

"We’ll try to make the best of it," Davidson said. "The worst thing that could happen is we’ll draft a lot of good players."

The Blues believe they’re on the verge of returning to contending status after missing the playoffs the last two years following a 25-year run. St. Louis surged after Andy Murray was hired as coach in mid-December and finished one game below .500 with 81 points.

That was a 24-point improvement from the previous season, when the franchise was last overall in the NHL.

Johnson is projected as a member of the Blues’ defensive rotation next season after leaving the University of Minnesota after one year and signing a contract in April.

The Blues’ biggest immediate need is on offense with only one forward, Lee Stempniak, scoring 20 or more goals last season. They’re likely to address that area during free agency, which begins July 1.

The surplus of first-rounders came from trade deadline deals, the 24th coming from the Atlanta Thrashers for Keith Tkachuk and the 26th from the San Jose Sharks for Bill Guerin.

The Chicago Blackhawks have the first pick in this year’s draft, which most observers believe lacks a can’t-miss superstar.

Either 17-year-old Kyle Turris, a puck-handling marvel of a center, or 18-year-old Patrick Kane, a sweet-shooting winger, will likely be selected No. 1 in the draft tonight.

Philadelphia is No. 2, followed by Phoenix, Los Angeles, Washington, Edmonton and Columbus.

But unlike the past few years, when it was easy to pinpoint the talents of No. 1 picks such as reigning MVP Sidney Crosby (2005), Alexander Ovechkin (2004), Rick Nash (2002) and Ilya Kovalchuk (2001), no one would be surprised if someone other than Turris or Kane ended up being the first name called.

"There’s probably fewer automatic-type guys at the top of the draft than other years," Davidson said.

Some NHL teams reportedly are shying away from Turris because he has already committed to play next year at the University of Wisconsin.

Likewise, some teams have whispered that Kane, at 5-foot-10 and 160 pounds, isn’t big enough.