CrashingTheGoalie

by Ron Spence

I enjoyed watching the Blues during the 1st round of last season’s playoffs.

They were a young team and showed a lot of promise (This didn’t continue into this season, however, and they are currently 26th of the NHL’s 30 teams.

T.J. OSHIE

courtesy of thehockeynews.com

During the summer, I read that Hockey’s Future had ranked the Blues as the NHL franchise with the most prospects:

I wondered at the time, whether this was because: St. Louis had drafted well, or had finished so low that they had great picks.

I decided to compare the Blues – with the Canucks – from 2001-2007.

I didn’t look at the last two draft draft years, as they are difficult to evaluate, and I reviewed only the 1st and 2nd rounds of each draft.

ST. LOUIS BLUES – 1ST AND 2ND ROUND DRAFT PICKS 2001-2007

St. Louis had 17 1st and 2nd round picks during the 7 drafts from 2001-07. And of their 17 picks, 7 are on today’s roster.

VANCOUVER CANUCKS – 1ST AND 2ND ROUND DRAFT PICKS 2001-2007

The Canucks were the opposite.

They had only 11 1st and 2nd round picks over the seven seasons. And only two – Ryan Kesler and Mason Raymond – have secured regular spots on Vancouver’s roster.

Vancouver had traded away a number of their draft selections – plus a few more that they had accumulated. One good player – R.J. Umberger – was swapped for virtually nothing, one draft – Luc Bourdon – has passed away, and another – Marc-Andre Bernier – was demoted from Major Junior.

To me, the best illustration of the difference between the two franchises is evident in the 1st round of the 2007 draft. Vancouver picked Patrick White with their 25th pick, and St. Louis selected David Perron with the following selection. The latter has already played nearly 150 games and White will never wear an NHL jersey.