Blues Sign Pietrangelo

Well, just moments after reading and writing about the third pick overall in the 2008 Draft getting signed, the articles of the fourth overall pick being signed to his 3-year entry-level deal surface. The Blues signed defenseman Alex Pietrangelo to his deal on Thursday.

Much like his fellow first round defensemen (Doughty & Bogosian), Pietrangelo has a great shot at making his pro club right away this season. He stands at 6'3" and 206 lbs. (according to the team website), which has him at the right size for a mobile, physical defender in the league. His offensive upside is rated about the same as Doughty or Bogosian, but he does lack his defensive coverage. Coverage being one of the items a good coaching staff can look after in camp.

The Blues will look forward to seeing him join their training camp this Fall, as they still have a spot open for someone (namely Pietrangelo) for the coming year. He'll likely earn the same sort of deal that Bogosian signed today, which should be chalk-full of incentives and a rookie maximum salary. The team wasn't in danger of falling below the cap floor, so his deal will fit nicely into the mix, if he can crack the line-up right away.

As for projections from the publications... the Hockey News has him scoring 7 goals and 28 points, the Score has him scoring 5 goals and 20 points and Hockey - The Magazine neglected to include him. The Blues don't quite have all the offensive weapons in place to score a lot of goals this year, which could hurt Pietrangelo's assist numbers, so he could find himself a little lower than Bogosian in rookie scoring. 15 to 20 points seems more reasonable in St. Louis.