3 Players the St. Louis Blues Should Target in the 2025 NHL Draft

Now that the St. Louis Blues have ended their playoff run, they can look forward to the 2025 NHL Draft, which will be held on June 27 in Los Angeles. While only teams from spots 1 to 16 were revealed in the NHL Draft Lottery on May 5, the Blues will likely be within spots 17 to 26. Despite being lower in the draft this year, the Blues still have many options and a lot of time to decide who will join their impressive list of prospects. Last year, they selected defenseman Adam Jiricek in the first round (16th overall). Let’s take a look at three prospects they should keep in mind for this year’s draft.

Cameron Reid (LD)

Cameron Reid is one of the top options; the Blues will go with him mainly because he is a shutdown defenseman. It would be great to have now that the Blues are starting to become a playoff contender and need more defensive defensemen on their roster. At 6 feet and 190 pounds, don’t let Reid’s size fool you, as he’s used it very well to be a strong skater and quick to close gaps in tight areas of the defensive zone.

Reid’s skilled defensive IQ can also be great for the Blues’ special teams on the penalty kill, where they lack strength and need more than one shutdown defenseman outside of Colton Parayko to have a sufficient penalty kill. Their defense mainly consists of offensive defensemen like Justin Faulk, Philip Broberg, and Cam Fowler. However, he’s also improved on the offensive side, recording 54 points this season with the Kitchener Rangers, an increase from last season, where he finished with 23 points. To add to his special-teams skillset, he did well quarterbacking the power play this season, notching 22 power-play assists, the most on the Rangers.

The only cons about Reid are that he is left-handed, which the Blues have an abundance of with defenseman prospects, and he is not a great finisher when shooting. He takes too many poor shots and needs to improve his shot selection to be a top D-man in the Blues’ lineup. If the Blues select him in the draft, they will be able to build a great defensive core for the future.

Blake Fiddler (RD)

If the Blues are looking for a solid right-handed defenseman, then Blake Fiddler is their guy. At 6-foot-4 and 209 pounds, he is the opposite of Reid defensively, playing a very physical shutdown defense style. However, Fiddler’s right-hand shot is a rare trait within the game, and having someone like him on the Blues would add one more right-handed defenseman to their prospect pool.

Fiddler’s size plays a key factor in his physicality, but for a player of his stature, he does very well at keeping the puck in motion and transitioning quickly to each play. The Blues would benefit from having a player like him on the roster, as he would also support their penalty kill more. The only issue with his performance is that his offensive game is weak, as he only put up 33 points through 64 games with the Edmonton Oil Kings this season. Fiddler also lacks a sound puck-handling ability and is known to make bad decisions under pressure, and take too many penalties, which the Blues want to do less if they want to become a consistent playoff contender.

That said, these weaknesses in Fiddler’s game are fixable once he gets to the NHL level and can work on them slowly in his development process. For the most part, he is a leader and has shown that through his captaincy of Team USA at the 2025 U18 World Championship, helping them win bronze in the tournament. If the Blues select Fiddler, he would join Jiricek as the only right-handed defenseman chosen in the first round out of all their current defensive prospects.

Bill Zonnon (LW/C)

Based on their position, Bill Zonnon stands out as a compatible forward for the Blues in this draft, for the sake of stepping away from all the possible defensemen on this list. He is a very underrated prospect in this draft, as a power forward brings a lot to the table for the Blues if they choose him, which could help their second power play unit and third line. The Blues don’t have a lot of support on either of those.

This season with the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies of the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL), Zonnon finished with 83 points through 64 games, the second-most on the team and top-10 in the league in points. One of the most standout traits about Zonnon is his size at 6-foot-2 and 190 pounds, and his ability to use it with his excellent work ethic and strong skating when attacking. He does a great job at winning puck battles, and the Blues may need that on their third line with players like Oskar Sundqvist and Zachary Bolduc. His playmaking also stands out as he finished in the top five in the QMJHL in assists (55).