Rating Jarmo

A lot of mixed emotions have been spilling out of the blues boards over the past two or so weeks over draft picks made by Jarmo. Some people feel as if he is a genius who can turn picks into gold. Others believe him to be very overrated. I thought I'd look into some of these picks he has made, and lets see what they've become.

2005
1st round - #24 - TJ Oshie - Above average offensive talent, spark plug type of player that makes the whole team want to raise it's game another level. Was seen as a reach during the 2005 draft, but with oshie now being taken in the top 15 in most mocks of this draft by random experts and bloggers out there, it seems like Jarmo did well to take him.

2nd round - #37 - Scott Jackson - No longer part of the organization. He is in the top 20 at #18 on HF with the tampa bay lightning, but that is considered a bottom 5 organization as far as prospects are concerned. At 22 and as a defensemen, Jackson still has a chance to eventually make it to the pros, but Jarmo did not produce much for the blues with this pick.

3rd round - #85 - Ben Bishop - One of two goalies in the organization currently being considered as the future net minder for the blues (the other being jake allen). He ranks highly in Hockeysfuture, and with the frustrated/down schwarz no longer in front of him, the hometown kid looks to be in the drivers seat. Being as hit or miss as goalies are, this pick looks good on Jarmo's resume.

The Late Picks: Mostly duds. If there is one area that Jarmo isn't good at its at the back end of a draft. Most organizations get at least one right per draft, and in this draft outside of drazenovic there isn't even a chance of that.

So 2/3 in the first 3 rounds, and 0/4 in the remaining.

2006
1st Round - #1 - Erik Johnson - Injuries have stymied some of Johnson's #'s so far, but even still he looks to be a successful NHL prospect, and therefore Jarmo did good on this pick.

1st Round - #25 - Patrik Berglund - Another 1st round pick that the blues had in this draft, and another guy currently playing 2nd line duties for the blues. To have drafted two guys that within the first two seasons were playing for the blues and playing a key role on the blues organization means that jarmo once again has gotten his first round talent right.

2nd Round - #31 - Tomas Kana - Kana's ceiling seems limited for a guy taken #31. His offensive #'s have not come into play very much in the ECHL or the AHL levels. He does however seem to come in the mold of a gritty 3rd or 4th line player, and he's still young enough to become a factor later on, so I'd chalk this up as an average draft pick on jarmo's part.

3rd Round - #64 - Jonas Junland - Junland is currently fighting for a #6/#7 spot on the blues organization itself. He is labeled currently as a poor mans offensive defensemen, but is still only 21 years old. So to be on the fringe of making the blues organization within three seasons of being drafted means he could very well be a part of our future plans, and therefore he is a nice pickup by Jarmo and the blues scouts.

Late Rounds: I once again don't see anyone that looks like that guy that can contribute down the road for sure. Not that I am looking for that Zetterberg down here, but i am looking for a few guys to make it. The Lee Stempniaks, even a Petr Cajanek type.

So probably 3.5/4 for Jarmo again in the earlier rounds, and 0 for 5 in the late.

I could continue on, but i think we're getting the picture pretty quick. Jarmo is one of those guys who is really good and finding the best talent in the early rounds, but it seems like he puts so much emphasis there that he never has the resources and therefore the knowledge to make those good late picks.

For better or for worse, I'd say that makes jarmo and his stop in the upper end of most scouting groups, but I'd say they fall short where a few other organizations succeed in picking up late talents, so he doesn't turn picks into gold. Guess it's somewhere in that happy medium between sides (of the fanbase) on their opinions of jarmo.