The expansion draft has engulfed the hockey world these past few weeks, but it’s on a small hiatus until Wednesday as Vegas goes through all the lists and figures out who they are going pick. This is the perfect time to turn our attention to the NHL Draft which is taking place on Friday and Saturday in Chicago. Today we will look at three things the Blue Jackets should be looking to accomplish at the draft and tomorrow pending any breaking news, we will look at three things they should avoid.

1.Continue the trend of picking a high upside player in the third round

The Jackets have been very successful in recent seasons picking players in the third round. Vitali Abramov who they picked last year is already one of the top prospects in the organization, while Oliver Bjorkstrand is ready to make the jump to being a full time impact player at the NHL level. What both these players have in common is their size, or lack thereof it. They had the skill to be first rounders but fell because of that size. The Jackets were able to take advantage, and need to do so again in Chicago. This is a great way to add to your system when you don’t have high picks.

2.Keep the success in the seventh round going

In the past two seasons the Jackets have drafted Markus Nutivaara and Calvin Thurkauf in the seventh round, and both quickly established themselves as NHL prospects. Each pick was criticized at the time of the selection because the Jackets went so far against the grain it was hard to make sense of what they saw. Nutivaara was picked at 21 years old, having been passed over in the previous four drafts and really wasn’t a player who had shown much of anything over his career in Finland. The Jackets however saw something in him they liked and he's now a staple in their top six. Nutivaara is also one of just five players picked in the 2015 draft outside of the first round to play in at least 10 NHL games.

Thurkauf looks to be following down a similar path. The Jackets again went against the grain, picking an older CHL player who had just an ok season. Re-entry CHL players are starting to become more common in the draft as teams are realizing their potential but were usually talking about the Adam Brooks’ of the World who light up the CHL with 100+ points. Thurkauf was not that player; he had just 45 points in 61 games for Kelowna. Thurkauf though was more of a depth player last season and this year got a larger role and thrived. He put himself on the map with a strong performance at the World Juniors and finished the WHL season with 70 points in 60 games. He has played himself into prospect status and will continue developing in the AHL.
The Jackets scouts have done extremely well at seeing what a player will do down the road instead of focusing on what they are right now.

3.Draft Igor Shvyryov

This point is really a combination of the previous two. Shvyrov is a smallish skilled player who was passed over in the previous draft. He plays in Russia but in the MHL as opposed to the KHL, making him an ever more unconventional type of pick. The Jackets have done well picking skilled players and over aged players. Shvyrov fits perfectly into that mould.

Why overage players could be found money in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft https://t.co/nYEZPfa0pP #Leafs #NHL

— The Leafs Nation (@TLNdc) June 16, 2017

The Jackets would be wise to pick any of the players mentioned in that Leafs Nation article. These players all skilled but for one reason or another were passed over. With the Jackets not having a second round pick and likely not having a first, this is another great opportunity to high some high end players to the system.

You can follow me on Twitter @PaulBerthelot

Join the Discussion: » 1 Comments » Post New Comment

» Blue Jackets extend John Tortorella

» Blue Jackets extend Hockey Operations Staff

» Thoughts on the Blue Jackets Traverse City roster

» How the Blue Jackets can get more national coverage

» Just how bad is the Blue Jackets prospect system?