Blues are eager to continue building

For his first few years with the St. Louis Blues, Jarmo Kekalainen didn't feel great about his contributions to the franchise.

The Blues' assistant general manager and director of scouting worked hard along with his scouting staff to scour the world for hockey talent --just as he had done with the Ottawa Senators.

The only problem was not seeing tangible proof of that work as impact players on the Blues' NHL roster. Hockey players need time to develop, so the process was hardly a quick fix.

"You sit there for two or three years and feel like you haven't contributed at all," said Kekalainen, who will lead the Blues' draft braintrust today and Saturday in Montreal at the NHL draft. "It's not a great feeling obviously. I'm not talking about players making it to the NHL, it's players making it to the NHL, making a contribution and an impact."

The return on Kekalainen's investment has been seen in each of the past few seasons. Now the team has 11 home-grown players on the roster, including top-end youngsters David Backes, Erik Johnson, Patrik Berglund, David Perron, T.J. Oshie and Alex Pietrangelo.

"Now there's few of them out there and of course it makes you feel like you've contributed to building the team," Kekalainen said. "There's a little bit more emotion and proudness every time you watch our team play."

Through trades and their regular picks, the Blues have had seven first-round picks since 2004-05, along with a total of 36 picks. Some of that talent may eventually be used in trades for star veteran help, but the pipeline is definitely flowing in a positive direction.

"That's Jarmo and the crew, they work really hard," Blues President John Davidson said. "Our guys have done a tremendous job, it's been kind of a perfect storm with a lot of these kids already here -- and we've got more coming."

Kekalainen knows his job depends on the draft picks he makes.

"Obviously our success is measured on guys that make it to the NHL and make a career out of it," he said. "But what we're really aiming at is an impact player."

The top two picks tonight are expected to be Canadian forward John Tavares and Swedish defenseman Victor Hedman, with Canadian center Matt Duchene also in the top three.

Among the players who may still be available to the Blues with the 17th overall pick are forwards Louis Leblanc, Jacob Josefson and Scott Glennie and defenseman Ryan Ellis.

"I think scoring is one of the needs," Kekalainen said. "Speed is one of the needs; size and speed and scoring. If we could get a 6-4 winger that can score, that would be pretty nice."

The Blues like to wheel and deal on draft day, so don't rule out a move that would allow them to move higher if they target a player they really like.

They also may use some of their surplus of youth to trade for immediate scoring help.

Whatever else happens, expect Kekalainen to stick with his usual "best player available" approach.

"I think it's very good up top and it's deep as well," he said. "Last year was a good draft and this year is even deeper than last year. We can confidently go in knowing at 17 we're going to take a good player."

Just because the Blues have a scoring need doesn't necessarily mean a forward will be taken.

"I think it's a dangerous thing to do," Kekalainen said. "Before that player's ready to play in the NHL, those needs could be a lot different. We're not going to jump the (Blues draft board) order. If we think the defenseman is a lot better than the next forward available, we would definitely go with the defenseman."

Some of the NHL's hottest trade rumors involve Ottawa Senators sniper Dany Heatley, Anaheim defenseman Chris Pronger, Florida defenseman Jay Bouwmeester -- a potential free agent whose rights could be dealt for a high draft pick -- and Toronto defenseman Tomas Kaberle.

Also said to be on the trading block are Tampa Bay star Vincent Lecavalier, Boston youngster Phil Kessel, San Jose forward Ryane Clowe and Kings defenseman Jack Johnson.

Published reports also have linked the Blues to potential deals for both Heatley and Pronger.

Scoring was a definite issue with the 2008-09 Blues, but injuries had a lot to do with that. The team played the bulk of the season without Johnson, Paul Kariya and Eric Brewer, while Andy McDonald also missed extensive time.

Blues coach Andy Murray has talked about needing more scoring from the defense. Johnson's return and continued improvement from Carlo Colaiacovo will help, and if Pietrangelo makes the club that should be another bonus.

However, adding another veteran defenseman with scoring punch that can be a shooting threat on the power play is a definite priority.

Another is adding a veteran goalie with NHL experience to back up starter Chris Mason. Mason was obtained in a draft-day trade with Nashville last summer and wound up being the starter down the stretch when Manny Legace was dispatched to the minors.

There are some intriguing possibilities, including Minnesota goalie Josh Harding, former Blues prospect Dwayne Roloson, Detroit's Ty Conklin, Vancouver's Jason LaBarbera and New Jersey backup Scott Clemmensen.

Unless the Blues feel career minor-league Chris Holt is ready to be an NHL backup, their in-house goaltending options are limited. They want Ben Bishop to gain more experience at Peoria and rising star Jake Allen is still in junior hockey, while former first-round pick Marek Schwarz went back to Europe.