The St. Louis Blues are flush with good talent at the minor league level on the blue line. Now it is just a question of when those guys get their shot in the NHL.

The St. Louis Blues have some very good prospects on the blue line. While they have not seen as much action as the forwards coming through the system, there are still some interesting possibilities on the horizon for St. Louis.

Earlier we did an article discussing the chances we get some new or more interesting line combinations with the forwards. Now, it’s time to look toward the back.

The defenders are going to be a little more cut and dry. There are enough players coming back that are likely to simply take up any potential open spots.

Still, it would be interesting to get more of a mix of veterans and younger players in there. With that in mind, here are some still too early guesses as to what the Blues will look like on the blue line.

What I would like to see

1st Pairing) Joel Edmundson, Alex Pietrangelo

2nd Pairing) Jay Bouwmeester, Colton Parayko

3rd Pairing) Vince Dunn, Jordan Schmaltz

First things first, I don’t think Joel Edmundson is a first line defender – not yet, anyway.

If you were going to go by straight up talent, Colton Parayko would be on the top pairing. However, there seems little possibility that the Blues would have two right-handed shots on the top line.

The reason I’d like to see those as the top pairings is how they compliment each other. Edmundson is more of a straight up defender, that can cover for Alex Pietrangelo‘s push up the ice.

The same could be said of Parayko for Jay Bouwmeester. Bouwmeester is still faster than many give him credit for, but having help with Parayko’s speed would benefit him if he gets caught up ice.

The last pairing is a pipe dream. Unless they come out and amaze everyone, similar to how Parayko and Edmundson did, there is little chance one of them makes the starting lineup let alone both.

The reason I’d like to give them a shot is to inject some more life and energy on that bottom pairing. No offense to the guys that are likely to be there, but they just don’t offer a lot when they are on the ice.

Vince Dunn had no offensive dropoff going from juniors to the AHL. He had 13 goals and 45 points with the Wolves last season.

Jordan Schmaltz is less of an offensive threat, but still more of a defender in the mold of today’s game than his elders.

What we are likely to see

1st Pairing) Jay Bouwmeester, Alex Pietrangelo

2nd Pairing) Joel Edmundson, Colton Parayko

3rd Pairing) Carl Gunnarsson, Robert Bortuzzo

The top line is the top line. We’ve had it for several years and, even with Mike Yeo in his first full season, I just don’t see them splitting those two up quite yet.

It’s been a very serviceable pairing. They work well together, overall. At this point in their careers, they don’t compliment each other’s faults is the only issue. If anything, they both have the same holes in their games these days.

We have not actually seen Edmundson and Parayko together a ton yet. They’ve played together, mostly due to the lefty/righty matchup.

However, at this point, if Edmundson gets relegated to the third pairing then something is quite off about the entire process. He’s just too good to not be playing on that second line.

The last one is sort of a shoulder shrug. Carl Gunnarsson is Mr. Ghost for this team. He’s not a bad player, but he doesn’t do anything positive that stands out either.

I actually like Robert Bortuzzo. His problem is he can’t seem to stay healthy. He had an excellent stretch where he was one of the Blues better defenders last season. However, due to injury or simply being a scratch, he only saw 38 games of action.

54 games is the most he has ever played in a season. 40 is the most he has ever suited up for the Blues. He will start as the team’s third line defender, but can he stick around the entire season?

The one thing I will say for the third pairing is they offer veteran presence while still being expendable enough that the younger guys will get to play. We’re going to see Dunn and Schmaltz at some point during the season. It just won’t likely be together, barring injury.

Regardless of who is out there, in whichever combination, they have to play better. The goaltenders had some bad moments, but they received very little defensive help early in the 2016-17 season.

If the Blues want to go far this year, they cannot have that kind of stretch. The division is going to be too good this year.