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The Jackets top target at 18 should be…

June 18, 2018, 6:05 PM ET [13 Comments]
Paul Berthelot
Columbus Blue Jackets Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
Over the weekend I took part in the HockeyBuzz Mock Draft HockeyBuzz Mock Draftrun by Jan Levine. For those you read that the player I think the Jackets should be targeting will be no surprise. I think the Jackets should be taking a long look at selecting Bode Wilde with pick 18.

Before diving in on Wilde, let’s play a fun game of blind comparisons. Below you will see a table showing three stat lines. They are from three 17 year old defencemen who all played for the US National Development program Under 18 team. They are from three different years so we are missing some context, but on the surface these numbers looks pretty similar.



Two of these players are two of the better young defencemen in the NHL. The other is obviously Wilde. Wilde. Wilde has been dropping in rankings as people are concerned with the warts in his game. The point of this is to show that his stat line, matches some of the better defencemen to come out of this program in recent memory.

Player B is Wilde. Player A is Boston Bruin Charlie McAvoy and Player C is none other than current Blue Jacket defencemen Seth Jones.

All three players were 17 but this wasn’t Jones’ draft season as his late birthdate made him eligible a season later.

Wilde’s season rates as one of the best ones from a USNDP defencemen. Only himself, McAvoy, Cam Fowler, Quinn Hughes and Adam Fox have cleared the 40 point mark. His 12 goals are tied for the most ever with Erik Johnson and Justin Faulk, though both of them did it in under 40 games.

Wilde is a puck rushing defencemen. He’s an extremely good skater and has wicked hands, especially when you consider he’s 6’2. He likes to have the puck on his stick and carry it in and out of the zone. He can be a fourth forward at times, taking the puck deep into the zone. He would fit in nicely with the Jackets and their roving style of defencemen. In fact, Wilde models his game after Zach Werenski.

The two players are different in that Werenski can slow the game down, where Wilde wants to play fast. But they both have really good shots and are able to walk the line at the point and get shots on net. Keeping Wilde from going in the top 10 like Werenski did is the fact that he needs to work on his defensive game and his decision making. He turns the puck over far too much just by skating himself into trouble and he tends to hold onto the puck too long. If he can clean up those issues he could be a Werenski-lite type of player.

Wilde, like Werenski is going to the University of Michigan. That program will be good for Wilde as they too seem to embrace the puck moving defensemen, whether it be a Werenski or a Quinn Hughes. Wilde will go to Michigan and can learn from a Hughes, and if he is selected by the Jackets, he could learn first-hand from Werenski.

He’s far from perfect but the upside of Bode Wilde is absolutely worth taking a chance on at 18. He could be another great skilled offensive defencemen for the Blue Jackets.

You can follow me on Twitter @PaulBerthelot
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