With the Conference Finals set, we now know where the Blue Jackets will be picking in the first round of the draft.
The #CBJ will pick 24th in the 1st Rd of the NHL Entry Draft. Will pick 28th in rounds 2-7
— CBJ Prospects (@CBJProspects) May 11, 2017
Despite finishing with the fourth best record in the league the Jackets will be selecting 24th in the first round. They were bumped up because Anaheim, Nashville and Ottawa all made the conference finals with a lower point total and because Montreal was a division winner.
This is the lowest pick the Blue Jackets have ever owned (excluding trades), and a far cry from the top 10 picks they have had in the last two seasons. There isn’t one obvious player they should be looking at this time, so it’s really going to come down to whom the scouts like the best.
The idea that this is a weaker draft has been overblown in my opinion. Eliteprospects has a great feature highlighting various draft rankings. There will be plenty of good players available. Here are a couple names to keep an eye on for pick 24.
Hockey Prospect ranks Kole Lind a right winger from the Kelona Rockets 24th ISS has Henri Jokharju defencemen from the Portland Winterhawks Future Considerations has Kristian Vesalainen a winger from Frolunda McKeen’s has Maxime Comtois a centre from the Victoriaville Tigers Craig Button has Aleksei Heponiemi a centre from Swift Current Bob McKenzine has Urho Vaakanainen a defencemen from JYP
There is a good mix of players here and the Jackets can really go any direction they want, should these players all be available. Lind and Heponiemi are very skilled high scoring CHL players. Jokiharju is slightly undersized but a skilled defencemen. Vaakanainen doesn’t look to have a ton of skill but played 41 games in the Liiga this season.
The two most interesting players are Vesalainen and Comtois. Vesalainen is a big winger who spent the past season playing in the SHL. In 26 games he put up a very good for his age, six points. Comtois was very highly regarded as a 16 year old and was thought to potentially be a top 10 pick. He was coming off a season in which he had 60 points in 62 games and a strong defensive reputation. This past however he regressed with just 51 points in 64 games, and has fallen to the back-end of the first round. He could be a player to take a chance on and hopefully he bounces back to the form that had people thinking of him as a top 10 talent. This is a boom or bust pick and, a player that might be worth a gamble with a low first rounder.
As the draft gets closer, coverage will ramp up with more in depth thoughts an analysis on players who should be in the Jackets range.
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