The Blue Jackets development camp for their prospects is underway today. They have brought 35 players to camp, split into two rosters.
All of the team’s prospects are here with the exception of those who went on that big run with Lake Erie, so Zach Werenski and Oliver Bjorkstrand are not here. This is a great chance to see the new players like Pierre-Luc Dubois, Andrew Peeke and Vitali Abramov in action. For me however I'm more interested in the free agent invites.
These are the players who were just passed over in the recent entry draft and have played a full season in North America. If they perform well they could earn themselves a spot in main camp with the NHL club or earn themselves a contract. Last year the Blue Jackets signed Kole Sherwood after his strong performance in development camp. For a team that only made five selections at this year’s draft, this is a good way to add prospects to the system.
The Blue Jackets invited 14 free agents prospects to this year’s camp and of the 14, four look very interesting.
Carson Meyer – RW Tri-City Storm (USHL)
56GP 32G 19A 51P
Meyer was one of the best players in the USHL this season. He has a great shot helping him to score 32 goals, ranking fourth in the league. He has an August 1997 birthday, so despite being passed over in two drafts he is still very young. He’s undersized at 5’9 but that hasn’t stopped him from being productive where ever he has played. He was 15th in the USHL in scoring and eighth among players under 19. He is from Ohio and last year was the top player on the Ohio Blue Jackets U18 team. He’s currently slated to stay in Ohio and play at Miami University, though if he signs, he would have to do what fellow Ohio Blue Jacket alum, Kole Sherwood did and play Major Junior in the CHL. He is defiantly a player to keep an eye and could be worth a contract.
Bobby Nardella – D University of Notre Dame (NCAA)
35GP 4G 20A 24P
Nardella is an undersized defencemen who just finished up a great freshman season for Notre Dame. Among freshman d he ranked sixth in scoring one point behind Boston first rounder Charlie McAvoy. Nardella is a 96 born player so he is a little older relative to other freshman. He likes to shoot the puck averaging 1.97 shots per game. He would be a good player to sign and see how he develops but unfortunately by signing an NCAA they are no longer eligible for the NCAA. It seems unlikely he will sign.
Eric Roy – D Allen Americans (ECHL)
52GP 14G 16A 30P
Roy is the oldest player on this list and thus one of the most experienced. Last season was his first in professional hockey after spending five seasons in the WHL with the Brandon Wheat Kings. His 30 points were strong, ranking 5th in the ECHL among d under the age of 24. Roy’s success earned him a PTO with the Lake Erie Monsters where he scored four points in 10 games. He went back to the ECHL after that and crushed it. In 23 playoff games he scored 21 points as the Allen Americans won the ECHL Championship.
He’s a big player at 6’3 and clearly has nothing left to prove at the ECHL level. Lake Erie is going to have some turnover among their d-unit and Roy would be a great player to step in and fill that void. At 21 years old he’s still young and adds to the youth already in Lake Erie. He is a player that should be signed.
Dante Salituro – C Ottawa 67’s (OHL)
65GP 38G 45A 83P
For those who follow me on Twitter you know what a big fan I am of Salituro. He was invited to last season’s camp and earned a spot in NHL camp, though ultimately went unsigned. He's an undersized player at 5’8, but he has tremendous hands and a good shot. He has good anticipation which helps him step up and create turnovers in the neutral zone. Despite his size he doesn’t shy for the dirty areas of the ice, even playing as the slot/screen guy on Ottawa’s power play.
Using the tool Draft Expected Value (DEV) created by the people at
ProspectStats.com, Salituro’s season looks all the better. DEV looks at a players scoring and adjusts for age, era and league, and combines that with height to determine a player’s expected value. Last season despite all the love I gave him Salituro was only given a 4.76% chance to make the NHL by DEV, and worth just a 6th round pick. This season Salituro’s production shot up and so did his DEV rankings. He's now given a 22.22% chance to make the NHL and his successful comparables bring up names like Tyler Johnson, Mathieu Perreault, Brad Marchand and Matt Calvert. Salituro was given a fair pick value of 49-51, a mid-second round pick. He is a very good prospect and a must sign in my opinion.
For more information on DEV check out ProspectStats.com, linked above.
The Jackets had very few picks at the draft this season. Signing a couple of these players would be very helpful to replace those lost picks. They are older and further along in their development. A player like Eric Roy could step in next season and help the Lake Erie Monsters.
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