The St. Louis Blues had a pretty quiet 2021 NHL Entry Draft weekend compared to some other organizations. Only possessing four picks will do that. Still, it is worth diving into a bit.

1. I think the best thing Doug Armstrong and his staff did all weekend took place before teams made any draft selections. Of course, I am referring to the trade with the Rangers. Acquiring Pavel Buchnevich from New York while only parting with Sammy Blais and a 2022 second-rounder was a huge win for St. Louis. Yes, Armstrong still has to sign the RFA to an extension, but the Blues brought in a player that improves the top-six and likely hasn't played his best season yet.

Obviously, there are still additions that need to be made to re-instill faith amongst the fanbase. However, trading for Buchnevich was a great start.

2. Onto the actual draft picks. Taking Zachary Bolduc surprised me a little bit. There were a few prospects I would have targetted before him, such as Chaz Lucius, Fydor Svechkov, and maybe even Jesper Wallstedt. If St. Louis was truly set on taking Bolduc, which seems to be the case, they possibly could have traded back a few picks and still brought him aboard. Off the top of my head, Minnesota seems like a team that might have traded up to ensure the selection of Wallstedt.

Now, even though I don't necessarily agree with the Blues going for Bolduc where they did, I still believe this kid has the potential to be a solid contributor in the NHL. If he can slot somewhere in the Blues' future middle six, St. Louis should be happy. The first step will be a bounce-back season in the QMJHL next season, which will hopefully resemble more normalcy than 2020-21.

3. Simon Robertsson was an intriguing selection at 71st overall. Again, not necessarily the pick I would have made, but please take my "insight" with the finest grain of salt. I would have drafted the USHL's Ayrton Martino, drafted by the Stars two picks later.

As teams move further along down the draft, NHL certainty with players becomes less likely. After the first two rounds, I prefer to witness teams take larger swings at prospects who could make an electrifying impact if they indeed put it all together. Martino was that guy for me. Still, Robertsson will be an interesting one to keep an eye on.

4. In all honesty, I know very little about Tyson Galloway (#145) and Ivan Vorobyov (#198), aside from what I've read about them this morning. It appears as though there is not much to get excited about, which one should expect when you hit the late rounds of any draft.

5. At the end of the day, St. Louis did what they could with the minimal amount of picks they possessed. Obviously, Bolduc packs the most excitement out of the four young players. Although the Blues are currently more concerned with the NHL product, rightfully so, acquiring more picks in future drafts and deepening their prospect crop will soon turn into a necessity.

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