The Columbus Blue Jackets 2023 Draft Breakdown Day 2

Gaining a Center in Round 1 of the 2023 NHL Draft was expected due to necessity. To the joy of many 5th Line Fans, Adam Fantilli, from the University of Michigan, wasn't taken by the Anaheim Ducks. This allowed us to take him, and the chills from that moment alone are still abundant. I've been shouting his name for months, and to see him in our jersey is nothing short of incredible. 

That said, the wonder of if this luck would continue for the Columbus Blue Jackets in Rounds 2-7 of this year's NHL Draft was unseen. Now, after its conclusion, however, I can definitely say this draft couldn't have gotten much better for us! We'll pick up in Round 2 where we had the 34th Pick Overall and took Gavin Brindley.  This pick made Adam Fantilli very happy as Gavin is also from the University of Michigan, meaning these two men already know how to play together; huge bonus. The Right Wing is years old. He's 5'9 and just 168 pounds, but don't let that fool you, this freshman can fly! In his 41 games as a Wolverene, he had 12 goals and 26 assists,  giving him 38 points total. Again, he was a freshman when putting up these numbers. Now, some people have some issues with Michigan players coming to Ohio. To that, I say this: Kent Johnson, Zach Werenski, and Nick Blankenburg are all from the University of Michigan. Further, if they get us to the playoffs or beyond, they can bring all their friends, I think. 

After Gavin, we move on to Round 3 and more specifically Pick 66. He comes from Ohio, showing just how much of an impact hockey has had on this state since the Blue Jackets were established in 2000. From the Youngstown Phantoms, Center William Whitelaw. The 5'9, 174 player has committed to play for the University of Wisconsin next season. He's a great player to add to our pipeline for the future, and in the meantime, he'll learn a great deal in the Wisconsin Men's Hockey Program. With 36 goals and 25 assists, totaling 61 points in just 62 games, it will be fun to see how he continues to improve his game before coming back to Ohio. 

On to Round 4 and our first of two picks. This was a fun pick because we gained another Youngstown Phantom from the USHL. A teammate of William Whitelaw, at Pick 98 we'd take Defenseman Andrew Strathmann. Given how last season turned out, another Defenseman is always a good answer. At age 18 he's currently 5'11 and 187 pounds, but has plenty of time to bulk up. That said, smaller defenseman have their place in the NHL as well, case and point, Nick Blankenburg. He played 56 games this past USHL season and had 3 goals, but shined with 35 assists, giving him 38 points. Not bad at all for a Defenseman. This next season he'll spend at the University of North Dakota where he will continue to improve upon those numbers. 

Our second pick in this round would come at 114. With this pick, we'd add Luca Pinelli to the growing list of 2023 Columbus Blue Jackets Draft Picks. Luca Pinelli is an OHL Center who comes in at 5'9 and 168 pounds. Again, a solid start but room to grow at just 18 years of age. Now, playing 67 games in the home of hockey (Canada) and putting up 29 goals and 34 assists for 63 points sounds pretty good to me! 

Now, do you know what this draft is missing? A Goalie. No worries, GM Jarmo gets us one in the 5th Round with our 156th Pick! Melvin Strahi is a 6'3, 165-pound Goalie straight out of Sweeden. This past season he played 23 games MoDo Hockey, in those he had a 3.35 Save Percentage and a .883 Goals Against Average. Again, not bad for an 18-year-old, and it's always good to add another Goalie to the pipeline, in my mind, each draft. They're an incredible asset, but also a position we've seen us need depth in due to injury in recent seasons. Easy pick in Round 5. 

Now, we had no picks in Round 6, so we now jump to Round 7. Now, we also know it isn't an NHL Draft until our GM, Jarmo Kekalainen, finds and drafts a player from his native country, Finland.is a 6'0, 181-pound Forward. We drafted him at 194. In his 38 games in Tappara, he appeared in 38 games, but had 20 goals and 21 assists for 41 points. I enjoy it when we draft players who have more points than games played, it's fun. Further, he has World Juniors experience. 

It was expected that the Round 7, 194th Pick would be our final. Until the very end, it should've been. Then, Jarmo pulled a deal to get us one more incredible player. We would trade the 2023 Stanley Cup Champion, Vegas Golden Knights, our 7th Round Pick next year for the right to use theirs this year. With them agreeing, this gave us the 224th Pick Overall, allowing us to close out the 2023 NHL Draft. The Columbus Blue Jackets would then acquire a prospect that was slotted to go in the top 100 but was shockingly overlooked, Tyler Peddle. The QMJHL Player is already 6'1 and 205 pounds at just 18 years old. He can also flip between the Center position and that of a Left Winger. He played 64 games this past season and had 24 goals with 17 assists, giving him 41 points. For his versatility, size, and points, I think this was a great choice. We traded a 7th-round pick in a draft no one is really watching right now for a sure player who was greatly overlooked. 

And, with that, the 2023 NHL Draft is already over! A huge welcome and congratulations to all of our new Columbus Blue Jackets. I, for one, cannot wait to see you all develop and hope to write about you in the NHL soon. The next step for many of these players ahead to step toward their dream of playing an NHL Game is Development Camp 2023. It will be at the Chiller North, starting this Sunday, and go till Wednesday when the scrimmages take place at 11 A.M. We also have the schedules out for preseason and the regular season. It's coming, 5th Line, the 2023-24 NHL Season is right around the corner. Are you ready? I am. 

Go CBJ!    

You can find all the stats about our new players above and more here<Elite Prospects - NHL Entry Draft 2023