The 2016-17 St. Louis Blues season was consistently inconsistent. From the highs of a successful Winter Classic to the lows of firing a head coach and another early playoff exit, the season was a tough way to celebrate their 50th.
The trade deadline saw defensive leader Kevin Shattenkirk get moved to Washington in exchange for a first round pick, giving the Blues two in the 2017 NHL Amateur Draft.
The team used a lot of youth in their lineup this past season. Many of the players showed they were not quite ready for the big stage. Losing Robby Fabbri was a huge blow to their scoring core. It also exposed the need for more players on the roster with talent like the 2014 first round pick.
Captain Paul Stastny is entering the final year of his deal-with a current cap hit of $7 million. Fabbri will be owed an upgrade in his RFA year and everyone knows they need to build around Vladimir Tarasenko.
Besides Fabbri there is little system depth at the center position. Lucky for the Blues this year’s draft class is showing many centers that could be NHL ready in about a year.
Martin Necas may only be 6-feet tall but he possesses pure scoring ability. He should become a top six forward in the near future.
Necas helped the HC Kometa Brno win their first ever championship in the Czech Republic’s elite league with four goals in 10 playoff games. During the 41 game regular season he had 15 points.
His introduction to the world stage came in 2016 at the World Juniors where he scored six points in 10 games. A year later he duplicated those numbers.
Most see him as a two way player with great vision on the ice. A guy that has a sneaky good shot and can also distribute the puck to high skilled wings, for Blues fans they know a winger who would love that.
The one sticking point could be the Blues bench boss. When in Minnesota, Mike Yeo proved on a few occasions he didn’t trust young smallish forwards. For Blues fans, they hope history doesn’t repeat itself.
With the 20th pick in the 2017 NHL Draft, the St. Louis Blues select Martin Necas from the Czech Republic.
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