Saw this over on hockeybuzz.com -- not breaking news or anything but assuming the Doughty and Bogosian are off the board, Blues beat writer Andy Strickland says they will decide between Schenn or Pietrangelo:
Assuming Drew Doughty and Zach Bogosian are taken before the Blues are on the clock St. Louis will be selecting one of two D-men, either Kelowna’s Luke Schenn or Niagra’s Alex Pietrangelo.
The Blues love both players and without question value hockey sense over talent. With that being said it certainly helps if the player has a little bit of both. These two D-men bring enough of both to the table.
I’m a little confused why Schenn is being labeled by some as a stay at home defenseman. He may not put up eye popping offensive numbers, but he can definitely handle himself just fine in the offensive zone. He is more a shutdown defenseman, but sees the ice very well and has the ability to see the second and third option.
International Scouting Service has St. Louis taking Schenn with the fourth overall pick next week.
I know St. Louis is high on Schenn but they are also more than impressed with Pietrangelo’s offensive upside. It is a close call at this point and I wouldn’t be surprised if they took either guy.
I had a scout recently tell me Pietrangelo has incredible hockey sense, vision, and passing ability.
I don’t want to drive Blues fans nuts here because I know I recently said and wrote that I thought the Blues would be drafting Schenn. I also know for a fact that they love Pietrangelo and many in the organization feel his game may be best suited for today’s NHL game.
Assuming Drew Doughty and Zach Bogosian are taken before the Blues are on the clock St. Louis will be selecting one of two D-men, either Kelowna’s Luke Schenn or Niagra’s Alex Pietrangelo.
The Blues love both players and without question value hockey sense over talent. With that being said it certainly helps if the player has a little bit of both. These two D-men bring enough of both to the table.
I’m a little confused why Schenn is being labeled by some as a stay at home defenseman. He may not put up eye popping offensive numbers, but he can definitely handle himself just fine in the offensive zone. He is more a shutdown defenseman, but sees the ice very well and has the ability to see the second and third option.
International Scouting Service has St. Louis taking Schenn with the fourth overall pick next week.
I know St. Louis is high on Schenn but they are also more than impressed with Pietrangelo’s offensive upside. It is a close call at this point and I wouldn’t be surprised if they took either guy.
I had a scout recently tell me Pietrangelo has incredible hockey sense, vision, and passing ability.
I don’t want to drive Blues fans nuts here because I know I recently said and wrote that I thought the Blues would be drafting Schenn. I also know for a fact that they love Pietrangelo and many in the organization feel his game may be best suited for today’s NHL game.
Of course that is assuming Bogosian and Doughty are off the board. I won't be surprised if Nikita Filatov is picked between #2 and #3 and then things will get real interesting.
If Stamkos, Doughty and Bogosian all fall off the board by pick #4 I suspsect that the Jackets will take whomever the Blues don't as I think its all but a lock that the Islanders will gobble up what many say is the 2nd best propsect in the draft in Filatov at #5.
My mock top 6 is still unchanged:
1. Tampa - Stamkos
2. LA - Bogosian
3. Atlanta - Doughty
4. St. Louis - Schenn
5. NYI - Filatov
6. Columbus - Pietrangelo
Honestly if we hold onto the pick I'll be happy with any of those guys.
-LTL
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I've settled on Pietrangelo as the guy I want most, but any of the top 6 would look great in a CBJ uni
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