canucklax

St. Louis Blues 2008 NHL Entry Draft Review Coming into the draft with a whopping 11 draft picks, including 6 first round picks, the St. Louis Blues were poised to make a big splash after a tough season that saw them finish 28th in the league. With no delay, St. Louis made a headline trade for the 1st overall pick and acquired Sarnia Sting standout Steven Stamkos. The young center from the OHL will look to break into the team's top 6 forward group as an 18 year old and has the look of a franchise player about him. Another trade saw St. Louis move up from 16 to 13 in order to grab defenseman Roman Josi from Switzerland who has top pairing potential and could be the best Swiss-born blueliner since Marc Streit. At 20th overall, the Blues continued to focus on the blueline with the small but highly skilled Adam Hagelin from the Malmo Redhawks who is said to have some of the highest potential but also highest risk in the draft. 26th overall saw St. Louis again lean on their European scouting department, taking left-winger Kim Paulsson of Sweden who is known as a big and fast skilled forward who needs to develop his defensive game. Soon after at 28th overall, right-winger Karl Obermeyer heard his name called by Gary Bettman who stands a diminutive 5'9" but has a deadly shot. At 33rd overall, St. Louis returned to the OHL and selected Brampton Battalion captain Cody Hodgson who adds depth down the middle with a complete offensive game but lacking in foot speed. Nikita Filatov came off the board with the 43rd selection in the draft who was once touted as a high selection but fell due to size concerns and the "Russian factor". A long wait until the 78th overall selection saw St. Louis select checking forward Marcus Kruger from Stockholm's Djurgardens program with their final pick of the draft. Blues management was said to be ecstatic with the draft, believing that the rebuild has now turned a corner with this draft bringing in so many high end players to set the foundation of the future of the franchise. 2008 St. Louis Blues Draft Class Paulsson (8.0C)-Stamkos(9.5A)-Obermeyer(8.0C) Filatov(8.0C)-Hodgson(8.0C)-Kruger(8.0D) Josi(8.5C)-Hagelin(9.0D)

St. Louis selects from Djurgardens of the SEL Marcus Kruger @Alain Vigneault

St. Louis selects from CSKA of the KHL Nikita Filatov @Alain Vigneault

Pick 47 available, up soon

St. Louis selects from the Brampton Battalion Cody Hodgson @Blue Jay 22 up

Plan to be around for all of my picks but skip in worst case scenario please

St. Louis is proud to select Karl Obermeyer @Monty

St. Louis is proud to select Kim Paulsson @Sane33

St. Louis is proud to select Adam Hagelin @Monty

St. Louis recalls Steven Stamkos

Looking to trade up from 16 to anywhere ranging from an upcoming pick to the 12/13 area. Have picks and prospects available

With the 1st overall pick in the 2008 CSL Entry Draft, St. Louis is proud to select Steven Stamkos! @JE14 is up

St. Louis recalls Logan Couture and Matt Carle

Here we go again: St. Louis releases Petr Cajanek, Eric Nystrom, Mark Smith, Dallas Drake, Josh Green, Mattias Weinhandl, Nathan Dempsey, Brett Hedican, Freddy Meyer, Bryce Salvador, Mirko Lehtonen, Ilya Bryzgalov, Scott Clemensen, Joel Kwiatkowski, Rob Davison, Matt Jones

oops

St. Louis recalls TJ Oshie

St. Louis open to taking on cap, can have term attached if price is right

Looking to move leading scorer Antti Laaksonen, 33 point in 55 games. Asking for a 2nd

Congratulations to St Louis prospects Logan Couture, Erik Johnson and Thomas Hickey on their impressive WJC performances

St. Louis waives Rhett Warrener, and recalls Mattias Weinhandl

St Louis sends down Matt Jones

Every roster player on St. Louis is available, even Backes but he will be tough to trade

St. Louis trade block Manny Legace- 2.76GAA, .916 sv% available for 3rd plus replacement goalie Petr Cajanek- 8 pts in 15 games on the 2nd line. 1.7 Million dollar expiring contract, can play all 3 forward positions. Looking for a 2nd Eric Nystrom-8 pts in 15 games on the 2nd line. 24 years old signed for 0.901 Million winger. Looking for a 2nd Brett Hedican- 5 pts in 15 games on 2nd pairing, 42 blocked shots. 2.432 Million expiring contract, can play both sides. Looking for a 3rd

To make room for our 3 signings, St. Louis waives Mattias Weinhandl. He was a FA signing this year so if it becomes a cancelled signing that is fine

St. Louis open to taking on cap