2025 Blues Only Mock Draft (Modified)

How This Draft Will Work

This is Road to the Notes' first Blues-only Mock Draft of the year and I will be writing this in a modified format due to the potential of trades and the lackluster number of picks currently. Essentially how this will work is that for each pick, I will give three options as to who the Blues could draft. I will rank these prospects 1-3 with 1 being the one I think the Blues should draft based on need and draft position. Once we get to the offseason, this mock draft will look a lot more regular, but for now, this should work out fine.

Option 1 – Radim Mrtka (RD)

Age – 17, Weight – 198lbs, Height – 6’6’’

Nation – Czechia

Current Team – Seattle Thunderbirds (WHL)

Stats:

WHL – 27GP, 3G, 24A, -2

CzechiaU18 – 8GP, 2A

CzechiaU20 – 4GP, 3A

Summary:

Coming into this draft the Blues have a clear need for right-handed defensemen (RHD). The only top prospect the Blues have in this position is Adam Jiricek who has struggled to stay healthy throughout his career. Radim Mrtka fits this spot perfectly. Now some questions will be had if the Blues go RHD round 1 if this pick should be Mrtka or Logan Hensler from the University of Wisconsin. I think there are a few reasons why St. Louis will lean Mrtka here. Firstly, size was a big focal point in last year’s draft and Mrtka is a staggering 6’ 6’’ tall (more than likely the tallest first-rounder in this year's draft), 4 inches taller than Hensler. The Blues also seemed to be pleased with the Czech developmental system as seen by last year draft and some of the Czech prospects drafted last year have connections with Mrtka playing with him in international U18 action last year. Finally, the Blues have shown interest in draft players from the WHL last year selecting Tomas Mrsic, Adam Jecho, and Will McIsaac last year. RHD is clearly the top need and in the battle between Mrtka and Hensler, Mrtka has a lot more things the Blues seem to prefer. This is all without saying how effective of an offensive player Mrtka seems to be putting up a point per game in the WHL during his first season.

Option 3 – Victor Eklund (RHLW)

Age – 18, Weight – 161lbs, 5’11’’

Nation – Sweden

Current Team – Djurgardens IF (HockeyA)

Stats:

HockeyAllsvenskan – 32GP, 11G, 9A, +8

WJC20 – 7GP, 2G, 4A, +7

Summary:

Now there’s a lot to hate here about Eklund from what I mentioned previously. He is a little undersized and is not truly in a position of need for the Blues. However, what Eklund has that Mrtka and Desnoyers currently do not is playing experience against some of the top prospects in WJC 20. Eklund recently played for Team Sweden in the most recent WJC and in his first tournament with Sweden, he excelled putting up about a point per game in the competition. This does not even factor in Eklund playing with Otto Stenberg and Theo Lindstein in the tournament meaning he has some Blues connections. Alex Steen possibly having more power in this draft might also tempt the Blues into drafting a Swede. In terms of play, there is a lot to like about Eklund. He has greatly improved in the HockeyAllsvenskan this season. He only scored 4 points in 15 outings for Djurgardens last year so the 26 points he currently has is a great improvement. His speed is one thing that shined in the WJC this season and can be a need if the Blues continue to focus on taller (and usually slower) players. Age is also something the Blues may find interesting in Eklund as he is one of the oldest players in this year's draft. Eklund more developed nature could allow him to be a part of the Blues organization much sooner than others. So, if the Blues want to start the youth revolution sooner rather than later, Eklund might get the nod on draft day.

Option 1 - Samuel Murin (RW)

Age – 17, Weight – 170lbs, Height 6’0’’

Nation – Slovakia

Current Team – HK Poprad (Slovakia)

Stats:

Slovakia – 21GP

Slovakia U20 League – 9GP, 6G, 6A, +4

Slovakia U18 International – 12GP, 4G, 2A

Summary:

We immediately head to the fifth round of the draft and at this point, it's simply taking chances on guys. Murin is a guy with a lot of talent but just has not been able to put it all together so far in his career. He has tremendous puck skills and some very solid de especially this late in the draft but there are just some major question marks. Murin struggles with puck battles at times, especially around the net. His work ethic has also been questioned at times with Steven Ellis writing in a daily faceoff article that Murin work ethic was all over the place during the Hlinka Gretzky Cup. If the Blues could work out the work issue that comes with Murin, you will not find too many other prospects with this much skill this late in the draft.

Option 3 – Carlos Handel (RD)

Age – 17, Weight – 170lbs, Age – 6’1’’

Nation – Germany

Current Team – Halifax Mooseheads (QMJHL)

Stats:

QMJHL – 38GP, 2G, 17A, -16

WJC20 – 5GP, -7

Summary:

We go from a very aggressive guy in Belle to a very calm cool and collected guy in Carlos Handel. Handel is very cool and collected and knows how to create break-out passes. In defensive situations, Handel also doesn’t make too many mistakes, especially during breakaways. His gap control and stick checking are also fairly good compared to others in this class.  Handel currently plays for Halifax of the QMJHL meaning he is forced to play in the most offensively driven league in the CHL and he has held his own for the most part (considering Halifax is the second-worst team in the Q). Handel also got some playing time in the WJC20 this year which most prospects this late in the draft will not be able to say. Although Germany was terrible in the tournament, some scouts called Carlos Handel “one of the few bright spots for Germany.” Handel seems like a safe pick this late in the draft. Handel being a right-hander only makes him more appealing for the Blues especially if they do not go RHD round 1.

Option 1 – Elijah Neuenschwander (G)

Age – 18, Weight – 192lbs, Height – 6’4’’

Nation – Switzerland

Current Team – HC Fribourg-Gotteron (U20 Elit)

Stats:

U20 Elit – 14GP, 2.25 GAA, 2SO

SL – 9GP, 2.67 GAA, .909 SV%

WJC20 - 3GP, 5.17 GAA, .817 SV%,

Summary:

In terms of goaltending, the Blues are in a weird spot. It seems as if Hofer is the favorite to replace Binnington in a few years so that is not the issue. The issue comes from goalie depth. The Blues currently hold the contract rights to Colten Ellis (24), Vadim Zherenko (23), and Will Cranley (22). All these goalies are RFAs at the end of the season and I have a strong feeling the Blues will only keep two of them over the next few years. Combine that with the Blues having no goalies currently as reserve non-roster players and the need for a goalkeeper becomes clear. Out of the three mentioned above, Zherenko is the one I feel has the best chance of being the one let go. Neuenschwander is the most comparable to Zherenko in terms of size and weight. Neuenschwander is also a guy who has probably been scouted by the Blues as Neuenschwander was the starting goalie for the Swiss team during this season's World Juniors. Neuenschwander has been consistently the Swiss starting goalie throughout his career. Neuenschwander's playing style isn’t flashy like Binnington and is just simply a guy that knows how to use his size and angles to beat forwards. His stats are not the greatest, to say the least, which is why he might fall this late, but goalies are very unpredictable when draft day comes. Never know where they might fall.

Option 3 – LJ Mooney

Age – 17, Weight - 157lbs, Height – 5’7’’

Nation – USA

Current Team – USDP (USHL)

Stats:

USHL - 13GP, 2G, 9A, +5

Summary

From one of the biggest players in this year's draft to one of the smallest. Mooney is a guy who has plenty of talent to go much higher in this draft. He’s overall a good playmaker and has shown slight improvements over this year's USDP campaign. The biggest question mark for Mooney is just his size. He is so small that he struggles on the perimeter and against the bones. We have seen smaller guys have some success in the NHL (Alex DeBrincat) but the question will be if Mooney can ever be offensively sound enough to crack into the NHL. Mooney is committed to the University of Minnesota for next season so maybe the Blues have some connections with him due to Snuggerud being a Golden Gopher. This is the sixth round so every guy drafted will truly be a wild card and Mooney fits that definition perfectly.