The St. Louis Blues walked up on stage at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois during the 2017 NHL Entry Draft to make the 20th overall selection, taking a player out of the OHL that has turned out to be quite fruitful for the organization.
Approaching the tail end of the first round, Bill Armstrong, Director of Amateur Scouting at the time for the Blues, announced St. Louis’ pick, from the London Knights, Robert Thomas.
Thomas was the 13th forward selected in the 2017 draft. Most public ranking lists had him in the 20 to 32 range. His draft position was not a surprising pick by the Blues, but the Blues centerman certainly has outplayed where he went on draft day.
Robert immediately jumped into a full-time NHL role in 2018, even though he was still eligible to return to junior for one more season. He made a strong impression in training camp, playing in six of St. Louis’ seven preseason games recording four points.
Jumping into the NHL as a 19-year-old is a daunting task.
Alas, Thomas quickly showcased his intelligence and maturity to be a useful bottom-six forward averaging around 12 to 15 minutes a night. He spent most of his time playing alongside veterans Tyler Bozak and Pat Maroon.
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The Aurora, Ontario native continued to play his depth role on the way to winning the Stanley Cup with the team in 2019. Robert’s name was officially on the map.
Thomas has improved his game year after year, becoming a consistent offensive contributor, while playing a strong 200-foot game. He’s now become the Blues’ No. 1 centerman on the team and looks primed to hold that position for many years.
The team’s previous No. 1 center, Ryan O’Reilly, was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs at the 2023 trade deadline and then signed with the Nashville Predators. This was Thomas’ first year as the go-to center for St. Louis. And a career-high in assists (60) and points (86) seems like a pretty good first year.
With the emergence of Thomas becoming a No. 1 center in the league, we ask the question. Where would Robert Thomas rank in a 2017 re-draft?
*This list is of our own opinion on the caliber of the player and their importance to their franchise
1 (4). RHD, Cale Makar – Colorado Avalanche
2 (3). LHD, Miro Heiskanen – Dallas Stars
3 (5). C, Elias Pettersson – Vancouver Canucks
4 (26). G, Jake Oettinger – Dallas Stars
5 (111). G, Jeremy Swayman – Boston Bruins
6 (1). C, Nico Hischier – New Jersey Devils
7 (39). LW, Jason Robertson – Dallas Stars
8 (20). C, Robert Thomas – St. Louis Blues
9 (13). C, Nick Suzuki – Montreal Canadiens
10 (12). RW, Martin Necas – Carolina Hurricanes
We slotted Thomas as the eighth-best player from the 2017 draft, which means he would have been a Buffalo Sabre instead of a part of the Blues team if drafted at the No. 8 spot.
Thomas’ 315 career points rank him fourth amongst his draft class behind Elias Pettersson, Nico Hischier, and Cale Makar.
Since he started playing in the NHL early on at 19 years old, his 396 games played also rank him fourth.
It’s also worth considering that Thomas may be ranked higher than Jason Robertson. Because he has more career points and is a more effective two-way player. Additionally, playing the center position generally increases a player’s value compared to playing as a winger.
However, it’s hard to put Thomas above a player who has recorded two 40-plus goal seasons, 100-plus points two years ago, and has 38 playoff points in 45 games.
Regardless, Thomas moves up 12 spots from where he was originally drafted in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft, and the Blues have a new No. 1 centerman for many years to come.
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