Dunn deal: Everything you need to know about Blues' 2015 draft picks
ST. LOUIS -- In the absence of a first-round pick Friday, OHL defenseman Vince Dunn became the first player selected by the St. Louis Blues in the 2015 NHL Draft this weekend.
Immediately, local journalists began scouring the Internet trying to find every single thing Dunn has thought, said, Instagram'd or tweeted in his 18 years.
First, his stats. He's played two years in the OHL for the Niagara IceDogs and, in his rookie season, had more points than any first-year defensemen in the OHL. NJ.com listed him as one of the top 10 defensemen available in this year's draft, and he ranked 32nd among North American skaters on NHL.com.
His IceDogs coach and general manager, Marty Williamson, highlighted Dunn's play in the OHL against Connor McDavid, who went first overall in the 2015 draft.
"There were a couple of games where we matched him up with McDavid and he shut him out and that was kind of steppingstone," Williamson said in an article published by the St. Catharine's Standard. "All of a sudden (he realized) he could be a great defensive defenseman, too. He could shut guys down and we started playing him against top guys. I don't know if we quite had that confidence at the start of the season but it grew. His offensive talent was always there."
According to the article, 22 teams interviewed Dunn, whom the Blues ended up taking in the second round at 56 overall, during the NHL combine this year. He's also been invited to the Canada World Junior evaluation camp later in 2015.
"We were excited to get him because the way he played at times this year, he was a first-round pick, and the depth of the draft he just got (pushed) down," Blues director of amateur scouting Bill Armstrong told Blues.com on Saturday.
On top of his hockey skills, Dunn's also (apparently) a pretty nice guy:
Thank you so much @vince_dunn for giving my sister your stick you didn't have to but she is so happy ¡THANK YOU! pic.twitter.com/rL4grMQlUD
— Simon O'Brien (@simbeckham7) January 13, 2015
But there's some dirt, too. His favorite team is the Los Angeles Kings. His favorite player is Drew Doughty. If he ends up playing like Doughty, though, it's unlikely the Blues will quibble too much.
Besides, he's hardly the only Blues prospect with something embarrassing on his draft profile. The team's second pick in the draft, Adam Musil, listed his favorite musician as Justin Bieber. Clearly, the Canadian brotherhood runs a little too deep.
Musil, in fact, was one of two centers the Blues took in the fourth round from the WHL. Ranked 61st by NHL.com among North American skaters, he comes from a family with plenty of hockey experience: His brother was drafted in 2011 and eventually played four games for the Edmonton Oilers, his father went 38th overall in 1983 and played almost 800 games at the NHL level, and his uncle, Bobby Holik, won the Stanley Cup twice. Oh, and there's this:
Fun Fact: Musil's dad, Frank, was @AMacInnis2's defense partner in Calgary. #NHLDraft #stlblues
— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) June 27, 2015
Meanwhile, in his first season with the WHL, the younger Musil had 29 points and 36 minutes. In his second, those totals jumped to 39 points and 71 penalty minutes.
1st round pick that played vs Musil sent me this report: "Heavy on puck, good hands, stepped up and fought some tough guys. @StLouisBlues
— Darren R Pang (@Panger40) June 27, 2015
"He's a big man that can skate, and that's what we needed," Armstrong said of the 6-foot-2, 202-pound center. "He's still got pounds to pack on."
The second center, Glenn Gawdin, whom St. Louis selected 116th overall, had 54 points his second season in the WHL, and was ranked 59th among North American skaters going into the draft.
"Gawdin is a two-way player," Armstrong said. "He's one of those players that coaches love because he's always in the right position. He's certainly got something to add to us -- he's a smart, savvy player."
Here's how the rest of the draft developed for the Blues:
Round 5, pick 127: St. Louis went back to the blueline and selected a Finnish defenseman, Niko Mikkola. At 6-foot-4, he's already taller than everyone on the Blues' roster except for Jay Bouwmeester and Robert Bortuzzo, who also check in at 6-4.
"He is good -- he's a super sleeper," Armstrong said of Mikkola. "Our guys saw him and they just fell in love with him."
Overall, the defenseman was ranked 111th among European skaters.
"He's still raw, but loves to push the pace, loves to be involved," Armstrong continued. "He's a difference maker with a big body-type that can skate."
Round 5, pick 146: The Blues selected goaltender Luke Opilka from the USA U-18. His name should ring a bell for St. Louis fans ...
The best part of Opilka's online draft profile was his answer to the "favorite shootout move" question, which apparently no one thought to alter when giving the questionnaire to netminders along with the skaters in the draft. Opilka's response? The one where they miss the net.
"We think he's underrated. He ran into some difficulties at the end of the year, and I think that if he would have played in some of those situations, he would have went a lot higher," Armstrong said. "He's a very focused kid, with good size and good athletic ability. So to get him where we got him, he's an exciting goaltender. And not only that, he's a St. Louis kid, so we like to take them. They fight a little bit harder."
Round 6, pick 176: The Blues went with left winger Liam Dunda, who's played in the OHL for two seasons. He's already 6-4 and 212 pounds (same proportions as Bouwmeester) ... and he'll be 18 this September.
"Our scouts were at the end of the table, pounding, wanting us to take this guy," Armstrong said. "They feel he's really raw. He's another big guy that can skate. He's had a little consistency, where he'd like to see him play a little bit tougher all the time. But he can fight, and he's got the ability to get there for the hit."
For those who've lost track, that makes two defensemen, two centers, a winger and a goaltender taken by the Blues in 2015. That's also three Canadians, two Americans and one Finnish player.
Pipeline replenished. On to free agency.
You can follow Elisabeth Meinecke on Twitter at @lismeinecke or email her at ecmeinecke@gmail.com.
