Denouement

The draft was over and, contrary to my belief, the Blues were done dealing (mostly; they picked up a seventh round pick this year for next year's seventh round pick). I have to say, I am a little underwhelmed. Here are the picks:

Alex Pietrangelo D 4th (1st round)
Philip McRae C 33rd (2nd round)
Jake Allen G 34th (2nd round)
Jori Lehtera C 65th (3rd round)
James Livingstone RW 70th (3rd round, this is the Jamal Mayers pick)
Ian Schultz RW 87th (3rd round)
David Warsofsky D 95th (4th round)
Kristoffer Berglund D 125th (5th round)
Anthony Nigro C 155th (6th round)
Paul Karpowich G 185th (7th round)

The later rounds are such a crap shoot that I won't comment on them.

Alex Pietrangelo was the expected pick for the Blues. Not as developed defensively as Luke Schenn but has more potential. Nikita Filatov was a wildcard but was never really considered a pick for the Blues by most. Assuming his health is not a questions, he is expected to be an offensive force from the blueline and a power play quarterback. The duo of Erik Johnson and Alex Pietrangelo might be enough to make us forget the tandem of Chris Pronger and Al MacInnis. (It won't) The comparisons I hear are Chris Pronger without the edge. That could be a good thing as Pronger lets his temper get to him sometimes. However, 'without the edge' makes me think he might not be aggressive. When I think of passive defensemen, my thoughts turn to Christian Backman and I shudder with disappointment.

Philip McRae is the son of Basil McRae, the former Blue. This is by and large considered a reach by the Blues. McRae was rated, pre-draft, as a third round pick and he went at the beginning of the second. He is said to have good size and good hands but his speed and footwork are lacking. That is the description of Charles Linglet, who is now a career minor leaguer (outside chance to make the team this year, but I would be shocked). For a second round pick, he must be better than that. But will he be Jay McClement or Craig Conroy?

Jake Allen was not the top rated goalie when he was drafted. It is so hard to determine the potential of a goalie that I don't know if this was an appropriate pick

The last player I will touch on is Jori Lehtera. He is Finnish and is already 20 years old. I believe that he was passed up in two previous drafts but don't take that as fact. He had a breakout year offensively in Finland that put him on the radar of Jarmo Kekalanian, a fellow Finn. With his (relatively) advanced age and his recent performance, he would be my dark horse to make the team. However, I have not seen his name on the list of prospects at the development camp.