NHL Draft: Worst 1st-round pick in franchise history: St. Louis Blues, Keith Osborne 1987 NHL Draft
The St. Louis Blues were always a proud franchise who couldn’t live up to the hype in the big moments. They were missing a certain something that teams like the Detroit Red Wings, Colorado Avalanche, and New Jersey Devils had in the mid-to-late 90s. It started with the draft picks in the late 80s and early 90s for each of those teams. Joe Sakic was one of those players that seemed to carry the load when it matter most on his way to a Hall of Fame career. Unfortunately, the Blues took Keith Osborne instead.
Osborne played a total of 16 NHL games and scored four points. That’s obviously not ideal from a 12th-overall pick. He actually had a pretty good shot, but the one thing that separates NHL players from ones that can dominate the juniors and the minors is speed. Osborne’s speed was just nowhere near the level needed to make an impact in the NHL, which is why teams never really gave him a shot here.
The Blues actually have a pretty good draft record overall. They seem to make the most of their picks, and they get the most out of the players they develop. Osborne was just a major mistake that left a ripple effect leading to no championships for the first few decades of hockey in Missouri. Sakic likely would have changed that, but hindsight is always 20-20.