Top 5 Late Round Draft Steals in Blues History

The St. Louis Blues have been known in recent history for several prospects coming from the later rounds of the NHL Entry Draft. The search for hidden value past the fourth round of the NHL Draft is a true testament of front offices that build sustainable, long-term contenders. 

Looking back through the history of the St. Louis Blues, the deep rounds of the draft board have yielded foundational icons, high-end trade chips, and identity-defining pillars. 

Here are the top five late-round steals in Blues organizational history.

Doug Gilmour (1982 — Round 7, #134 Overall)

Passed over initially due to size concerns, Gilmour didn’t just become an NHL legend; he delivered elite production right to the team that drafted him. Across five seasons in St. Louis, Gilmour averaged nearly a point per game, racking up 354 points in 384 games. According to Hockey-Reference, his performance single-handedly accounted for over 13 wins in the standings before he was traded. His 105-point campaign in 1986-87 remains one of the finest individual seasons in franchise history, cementing him as the ultimate late-round home run.

Cliff Ronning (1984 — Round 7, #134 Overall)

Another forward ignored by scouts, Ronning turned a seventh-round selection into a stellar 1,137-game NHL career. He provided excellent secondary scoring during his four years in St. Louis, playing at a 0.69 points-per-game pace and logging 125 points. Ronning’s value went well beyond his on-ice production, though. In March 1991, management weaponized the under-sized Center as the primary asset in a blockbuster trade with Vancouver to acquire Dan Quinn and Garth Butcher, shaping the heavy-hitting Blues rosters of the early 1990s.

Roman Polák (2004 — Round 6, #180 Overall)

Polák was a draft choice that helped shape organizational identity. The rugged defenseman gave his absolute prime years directly to the Blues, skating in 424 games over eight seasons. Routinely logging bottom-four minutes, he helped stabilize the blueline, consistently issuing over 200 hits and blocking roughly 120 shots per season. Defensively, his consistent reliability generated 18.6 Defensive Point Shares in St. Louis. When his tenure finally ended, the Blues flipped his expiring contract to Toronto for Carl Gunnarsson, extending his draft-day return on investment for years to come.

Lee Stempniak (2003 — Round 5, #148 Overall)

Drafted out of the NCAA, Stempniak drastically outperformed his draft position from the moment he arrived, exploding for 27 goals during a 52-point sophomore breakout campaign. His four years in St. Louis were the longest, most stable stretch of his nomadic 911-game career, where he grabbed 130 points in a Blues sweater. Stempniak provided crucial top-six forward depth at a minimal acquisition cost before being traded to Toronto in 2008 for Alexander Steen and Carlo Colaiacovo, a franchise-altering swap that laid the structural groundwork for a decade of success.

Ryan Reaves (2005 — Round 5, #156 Overall)

Reaves edges out other depth options in Blues history, after redefining the physical identity of the franchise for the better part of a decade. Appearing in 419 games across seven seasons, he made the most of his limited ice time by punishing opponents with 1,324 hits and 695 penalty minutes. His presence in the lineup altered how opponents played against the Blues. Plain and simple. To top it off, his draft value culminated in a massive asset return in 2017, when the Blues managed to extract a first-round draft pick (Klim Kostin) and forward Oskar Sundqvist from Pittsburgh in exchange for the veteran enforcer and the 51st overall selection.