Columbus Blue Jackets Future Watch - April 2022
My first order of business when I took over in Columbus was try and rebuild the asset base of the Blue Jackets. They were extremely over-leveraged and had not much to show for it. I am hoping that I have rebuilt the cupboards a bit with some high end potential.
Top Prospects, in no particular order, here in Columbus:
Josh Doan – Drafted in the 2nd round by Arizona in the NHL. Acquired from the CPHL Wild for a top 80 3rd round draft pick in 2022.
Doan put up 37pts in 35 games this year for Arizona State which is a heck of a Freshman year for him. The Pedigree is there for sure but we have to see how it translates to Pro.
Marat Khusnutdinov – Drafted in the 2nd round by Minnesota in the NHL. Acquired with Ryder Rolston from the Pittsburgh Penguins for Mason Marchment.
It is curious if the current situation in Ukraine drives some of these solid prospects over to North America next season. If the ultra-talented Khustnutdinov can put it together he could follow in fellow countryman Kaprizov’s footsteps and be a star in the NHL.
Jonatan Berggren – Drafted in the 2nd round by Detroit in the NHL. Acquired from the CPHL Wild in a blockbuster involving Vasily Podkolzin.
Berggren led Detroit’s AHL team in scoring this season and set the Griffens franchise scoring record, which is a tall order considering the talent that has flowed through Detroit’s farm system over the years. He has a very high NHL ceiling.
Cam York – Drafted in the 1st round by Philly in the NHL. Acquired from the CPHL Wild in a blockbuster involving Vasily Podkolzin.
York took a big step forward once Justin Braun was moved at the deadline and he took on a bigger NHL role and ran with it. Should be a full time NHLer next season.
Theodor Niederbach – Drafted in the 2nd round by Detroit in the NHL. Acquired in a blockbuster with LA in the CPHL involving Roman Josi.
Playing on the third line as a 20 year old for Frolunda of the SHL he was able to rank 10th in points on the team and 5th in Goals. He is a two way talent who is part of the talented Swedish prospect core that Detroit is compiling.
Brock Faber – Drafted in the 2nd round by LA in the NHL. Was on the roster when I took over.
Faber had a heck of season that saw him suit up for the US Olympic team this year, win the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year award and was a first team Allstar for the Big Ten. He is returning to the University of Minnesota next season and could be in the NHL as soon as the end of next season.
Aleksi Heimosalmi – Drafted in the 2nd round by Carolina in the NHL. Drafted by us in the 2021 draft.
He is a mobile, smooth skating defenseman who already shows good defensive positioning while playing in the Top Finnish league this past year. If he can put it all together, he is projected to be a top 4 NHL defenseman. Next season it will be important for him to show more offensive upside.
William Wallinder – Drafted in the 2nd round by Detroit in the NHL. Acquired from the CPHL Stars with a 2nd round draft pick for 3 M in the 2021-2022 season.
A 6ft 4in defender that was named the top U20 Defenseman in the SHL (the top league in Sweden). He progressed up the depth chart as the season wore on. He actually tied Simon Edvinsson in points last season (tops among all U20 defenseman in the SHL). It is possibly he is over in North America as soon as next season.
Nikita Chibrikov – Drafted in the 2nd round by Winnipeg in the NHL. Drafted by us in the 2021 draft.
Chibrikov is a creative playmaker who has high end skating ability. With the recent Ukrainian troubles it is possible he is part of the exodus to North America to help develop his offensive game at the pro level.
Other prospects with NHL potential: Ryder Rolston, Ben Meyers, Jacob Bernard-Docker, Clay Stevenson, Marc McLaughlin, Dominik Bokk, Klim Kostin, Pavel Dorofefev, Ryder Korczak, Ayrton Martino, Ryan Francis, Joni Jurmo, Jack Peart, Martin Kaut.
Notes:
Nearly every prospect took big steps forward this season.
We like that the majority of our top prospects were drafted by good drafting and development teams.
As always no one is untouchable. Hit me up if you really like any of the above listed players and we can play ball on a potential deal.
Last edited by Knut; 04-27-2022 at 08:36 PM.
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