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St. Louis Blues Take Nolan Stevens in Fifth Round of NHL Draft

By Patrick Karraker

Apr 4, 2016; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Blues goalie Brian Elliott (1) and teammates salute their fans after defeating the Arizona Coyotes 5-2 at Scottrade Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 4, 2016; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Blues goalie Brian Elliott (1) and teammates salute their fans after defeating the Arizona Coyotes 5-2 at Scottrade Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports /
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The St. Louis Blues took a player with a strong hockey pedigree as they selected in the fifth round of the NHL Draft.

With their fifth pick in the 2016 NHL Draft–a round 5 selection, pick 125 overall–the St. Louis Blues selected center Nolan Stevens, a 6-foot-2, 185-pounder from Northeastern University. He’s the son of Los Angeles Kings associate coach John Stevens, who was a longtime AHL defenseman and also spent 53 games in the NHL during the late 1980s and early ’90s for the Philadelphia Flyers and Hartford Whalers.

The 19-year-old Stevens took a major step forward in terms of offense last season, scoring 20 goals and adding 22 assists in 41 games at Northeastern. He also took 10 minutes in penalties and had a plus-13 rating. Though Stevens has never experienced that type of success offensively or as a two-way forward before, there’s reason to believe that he’s turned a corner and could be a diamond in the rough selection in the fifth round.

Next: Blues Select Tanner Kaspick

As long as he can pack on some weight, Stevens has the ideal frame to stick at center long-term. With that said, he’ll face some stiff organizational competition, as he was the fourth of six centers that the Blues drafted on Saturday, following Tage Thompson, Jordan Kyrou, and Tanner Kaspick while preceding Conner Bleackley and Nikolaj Krag Christensen. He’ll likely stick at Northeastern for at least the 2016-17 season while he continues to develop his game.

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