PITTSBURGH – The St. Louis Blues selected eight total players in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft in Pittsburgh, including first round selection, 25th overall Jordan Schmaltz, second round selection, 56th overall Samuel Kurker, third round selections, 67th overall Mackenzie MacEachern and 86th overall Colten Parayko, fourth round selection, 116th overall Nicholas Walters, fifth round selection, 146th overall Francois Tremblay, sixth round selection, 176th overall, Petteri Lindbohm and seventh round selection, 206th overall, Tyrel Seaman.

Schmaltz, 18, split last season between the United States Hockey League’s (USHL) Green Bay Gamblers and Sioux City Musketeers, ranking second among USHL defensemen with 41 points (10 goals, 31 assists) in 55 games. A native of Madison, Wisconsin, Schmaltz played 46 games for Green Bay, leading the team’s defensemen in assists, points and power-play goals (five). He added seven points (two goals, five assists) and had a plus-10 rating in 12 playoff games for the Clark Cup Champions. He is the first player since the 1994-95 season (Scott Swanson, Omaha Lancers) to be named to the All-USHL First Team in consecutive seasons.

In 2010-11, Schmaltz had a 10-game point streak and registered 20 points in his final 13 games of the season to finish his rookie year as the USHL’s highest-scoring defenseman with 44 points (13 goals, 31 assists). For his efforts, he was named to the 2011 USHL All-Rookie Team and All-USHL First Team.

The 6’2”, 189-pound defenseman was ranked 34th among North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting and he will attend the University of North Dakota in the fall.

Kurker, 18, played in 24 games last season with St. John’s Prep in Massachusetts, recording 60 points (32 goals, 28 assists) along with 23 penalty minutes. The 6’2”, 198-pound forward and native of Boston, was ranked 36th among North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting.

MacEachern, 18, played in 29 games last season with Brother Rice High School in Michigan, registering 90 points (42 goals, 48 assists) along with 16 penalty minutes. The 6’3”, 170-pound forward and native of Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, was ranked 138th among North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting.

Parayko, 19, played in 53 games last season in the Alberta Junior Hockey League with Fort McMurray, recording 42 points (nine goals, 33 assists) along with 65 penalty minutes. Parayko is a 6’4”, 191-pound defenseman and native of St. Albert, Alberta.

Walters, 18, a 6’2”, 187-pound defenseman, played last season in the Western Hockey League (WHL) with Everett, registering 18 points (six goals, 12 assists) and 95 penalty minutes in 62 games played. He attended Canada’s National Men’s Summer Under-18 Team selection camp in Calgary, in July 2011 and won a bronze medal with Team Pacific at the 2011 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge in Winnipeg. The Edmonton, Alberta native was ranked 67th overall among North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting.

Tremblay, 18, a 6’2”, 200-pound goaltender from Baie-Comeau, Quebec, played in 57 games last season in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL), recording a 22-28-4 record, two shutouts, a 3.79 goals against average along with a .882 save percentage. Tremblay was ranked 5th overall among North American goaltenders by NHL Central Scouting.

Lindbohm, 18, played in 41 games last season with Jokerit Jr. in Finland’s Junior League, registering 10 points (three goals, seven assists) along with 98 penalty minutes. The 6’3”, 209-pound defenseman and native of Helsinki, Finland, was ranked 46th among European skaters by NHL Central Scouting.

Seaman, 18, played in 32 games last season with Brandon in the Western Hockey League (WHL), recording 19 points (six goals, 13 assists) along with 23 penalty minutes in 32 games played. The 6’2”, 196-pound forward and native of Choiceland, Saskatchewan was ranked 104th among North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting.

For complete coverage of the 2012 NHL Draft, go to stlouisblues.com/draft