Andrew Peeke – McKeen's Hockey

MCKEEN’S 2024-25 NHL YEARBOOK – BOSTON BRUINS – Team Preview

Thu, 12 Sep 2024 20:00:54 +0000

_{BOSTON, MA - APRIL 06: Boston Bruins right wing David Pastrnak (88) drives past Florida Panthers right wing Sam Reinhart (13) during a game between the Boston Bruins and the Florida Panthers on April 6, 2024, at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Fred Kfoury III/Icon Sportswire)}

With Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci gone, Boston was expected to see a noteworthy decline in 2023-24, and while the Bruins did indeed have a drop off from their stunning 65-12-5 campaign in 2022-23, they still posted a dominant 47-20-15 record last year. That was thanks in no small part to the overwhelming goaltending of Jeremy Swayman and Linus Ullmark, who helped the team tie for fifth defensively (2.70 goals allowed per game), and another stellar offensive showing from David Pastrnak, who provided 47 goals and 110 points across 82 regular-season contests. In the playoffs, Boston managed to eke out a first-round seven-game victory over the Maple Leafs in the first round, but for the second straight year, Boston’s path was ended by the Panthers.

WHAT’S CHANGED? That goaltending duo that served Boston so well over the past three seasons is over. With just one season remaining on his team-friendly four-year, $20 million contract, Ullmark was dealt to Ottawa in exchange for enforcer Mark Kastelic, the 2024 No. 25 draft pick (Dean Letourneau) and a veteran goalie with a mixed record in Joonas Korpisalo. They also lost middle-six forward Jake DeBrusk to free agency. It wasn’t all subtraction, though. Boston made some big splashes on the unrestricted free agent market by inking defensive defenceman Nikita Zadorov and two-way center Elias Lindholm to long-term contracts.

WHAT WOULD SUCCESS LOOK LIKE? Adding Lindholm goes a long way toward solidifying Boston’s center group, which was a bit of a weakness of theirs last year. Ideally, he’ll gel with either Pastrnak or Brad Marchand after Lindholm was limited to just 44 points last season due in large part to him not quite working out following a trade from Calgary to Vancouver. Another good season out of Marchand, who is now 36, is also important for the Bruins’ attack. However, the most important thing is Boston needs either Korpisalo to be a solid contributor or for Swayman to play significantly more than his previous career high of 43 games. The former might be a tall order, because…

WHAT COULD GO WRONG? Korpisalo is coming off a disastrous campaign in which he posted a 3.27 GAA and an .890 save percentage across 55 contests with Ottawa. Some will blame playing for the mediocre Senators for that and expect him to improve with a contender like Boston. That argument is popular, but Ottawa’s xGA/60 last season was a respectable 2.97, and even above that of Boston’s 3.03, which suggests that the Senators’ skaters were playing responsible hockey and instead let down by their goaltenders, so the idea that playing for a better squad might help Korpisalo is on a shaky foundation. Outside of that, there are the concerns about Marchand’s age, and what to expect from Lindholm after his lukewarm showing in Vancouver.

TOP BREAKOUT CANDIDATE: Poitras only played 33 games with Boston in 2023-24 due to injury, but the rookie showed promise when healthy with five goals and 15 points. The addition of Lindholm pretty much locks Poitras out of a top six spot, so he’ll instead likely start the campaign as the third-line center. That’s a fair role for him and coupled with sprinkling of power-play ice time, he should prove to be a solid contributor for Boston this year.

Forwards

David Pastrnak

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
82	51	56	107	1.30

One of the premier goal scorers in the game, Pastrnak has buried 148 goals in 236 games across the past three seasons, which is tied for second with Leon Draisaitl, behind only Auston Matthews. His 4.67 shots on goal per game in those three seasons also ranks second, trailing only Nathan MacKinnon. Pastrnak is a stellar play driver, and the Bruins have outscored opponents by more than 20 goals with Pastrnak on the ice during five-on-five play in four of the past five seasons. The only exception was the 2020-2021 season, which was shortened by COVID, and in that case, the Bruins still outscored opponents by 15 with Pastrnak on the ice. On a Bruins team that is full of hard-working and smart players, Pastrnak stands out for bringing game-breaking skill to the table in a way that few others can. He has a lethal wrist shot that he can use to score from the top of the circles, especially if he is given time to step into the shot. Although Pastrnak does play an overly physical game, he has good size and is happy to use it to protect the puck so that he can create a more dangerous scoring chance. That Pastrnak continued to be so productive, even after Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci retired, shows just how great he really is, able to produce essentially no matter who is dishing him the puck. That puts him in rare company and Pastrnak ought to be expected to score 45-50 goals and 100-plus points in 2024-2025.

Elias Lindholm

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
82	25	45	70	0.85

After scoring a career-high 82 points with the Calgary Flames in 2021-2022, Lindholm saw his production fall off to 64 points in 2022-2023 then 44 points last season. Inconsistency was an issue for him last season, especially after getting traded to Vancouaver, where he struggled with just 12 points in 26 games but then he showed up in the playoffs with 10 points in 13 games. At his best, he looks like a solid No. 1 centre who can play effectively at both ends of the rink. When he is not at his best, Lindholm is not generating enough offence, and that can cause challenges throughout the lineup. Lindholm was a runner-up in Selke Trophy voting in 2021-2022, so he has credentials as a two-way performer, but he has not been able to approach those levels, either offensively or defensively, since. In Boston, Lindholm should have a chance to play with the best Bruins forwards and that should not only give him a chance to resurrect his offensive game, but also to deliver strong possession numbers because that has generally been a hallmark of Boston’s top forwards forever. Lindholm is excellent on faceoffs, too, winning 56 percent of his draws across the past two seasons. Looking at the 2024-2025 season, Lindholm should be expected to score 20-25 goals and 55-60 points in his first season for the Bruins.

Brad Marchand

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
82	28	41	69	0.84

Renowned for on-ice behaviour that can be deemed questionable, or worse, 36-year-old Marchand remains highly productive, even if that can sometimes get overshadowed by his antics. He has recorded 67 points in back-to-back seasons, making it eight consecutive seasons that he has reached that threshold. He also recorded a career-high 115 hits in 2023-2024. For years, Marchand has put up elite possession numbers, which was not a surprise when he was playing with Bergeron, but last season was Marchand’s first season falling below 50 percent Corsi, even though he was among the Bruins’ leaders. He remains a productive player at 36-years old and it becomes a delicate balance for players at this stage of their career. At some point, the production tails off, and Marchand’s is down from his peak performance, but he is a driven and competitive player, who does not look like he is going to drop off dramatically. What would affect Marchand’s production is how much he ends up playing with Pastrnak, who has the ability to elevate the production of his linemates. Considering his recent production, Marchand ought to still be able to produce 25 goals and 65 points, which is rare at his age. There were five players over the age of 35 last season that finished with 65 or more points: Sidney Crosby (94), Anze Kopitar (70), Evgeni Malkin (67), Joe Pavelski (67), and Alex Ovechkin (65).

Charlie Coyle

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
82	23	35	58	0.71

With Bergeron and Krejci retiring, Coyle was the Bruins centre who stepped up the most and he delivered career highs with 25 goals and 60 points while playing a career-high 18:04 per game. He also scored on a career-high 17.0 percent of his shots on goal, so a lot was going well for Coyle last season. Coyle is physically strong and can win puck battles and uses his size to be an effective net-front presence. The majority of Coyle’s 25 goals last season came from in-close, which is fine because he is a strong skater and consistently puts himself in that position and he also has good hands that allow him to make quick moves in-tight to create scoring chances. After the holiday break, Coyle went on a tear, contributing 24 points in 19 games but also managed just one goal and five points in 13 playoff games. While the counting stats were strong for Coyle last season, he had a 45.0 percent Corsi, and 47.4 percent of on-ice expected goals, neither of which represent the kind of play-driving numbers that the Bruins need from a top centre. Coyle did play a lot with Marchand in 2023-2024 so if he has that opportunity again, his offensive output should still be solid, along the lines of 15-20 goals and 45-50 points.

Pavel Zacha

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
82	18	34	52	0.63

In the two seasons since he was acquired from the New Jersey Devils, Zacha has set new career highs for points, hitting 59 in 78 games last season. He logged a career-high 18:06 per game and won a career-best 54.8 percent of his faceoffs. Zacha has been riding wildly high percentages in two seasons with the Bruins (104.8 PDO), and the Bruins have outscored opponents 121-72 during five-on-five play with Zacha on the ice. That does not quite fit with someone who has been below 50 percent in terms of goals and expected goals during five-on-five play. Zacha does provide versatility, able to play both wing and centre as well as moving up and down the lineup. His most common linemates last season were Pastrnak, Jake DeBrusk, and Danton Heinen, so Zacha is pretty much a plug-n-play option for Boston. He is a smart player who gets himself into good position to create chances. The challenge for Zacha is to be more aggressive shooting the puck. He scores in a variety of ways, so it’s not like he can only generate offence in one way, but even with more ice time in Boston, he is averaging less than two shots on goal per game, and it is difficult to maintain consistent offensive production with such a low shot rate. With the addition of Elias Lindholm in free agency, there is some uncertainty when it pertains to Zacha’s role. He could very well play on Boston’s top line, or he could move into the middle six somewhere. In any case, it’s fair to expect 20 goals and 50 points from Zacha in 2024-2025.

Trent Frederic

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
79	17	19	36	0.46

The 26-year-old power forward has made steady consistent progress in his career, reaching career highs in goals (18), assists (22), and points (40) last season. When he first entered the league, he was little more than a fourth-line bruiser, eagerly hitting and fighting to earn his spot. He delivered a career-high 204 hits last season, so Frederic is still capable of making his presence felt on the ice, but his ice time climbed to 13:45 per game and he had a more well-rounded contribution. He may not be climbing too much higher in the lineup, because his offensive skills are not ideal for a top six role, for example, but there is nothing wrong with being a third-line player who can contribute offensively and provide a physical presence. In fact, players who bring physicality like Frederic are in demand around the league. He has been dependent on high percentages in the past couple of seasons, which makes him a prime candidate for regression, so it is not likely that he will exceed last season’s totals. However, 15 goals and 35 points, with perhaps another 200 hits, does give Frederic some appeal for fantasy managers in deep leagues.

Morgan Geekie

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
81	22	24	46	0.57

Signed as a free agent by the Bruins after the Kraken did not give him a qualifying offer last summer, Geekie stepped into a bigger role with Boston and set career highs in goals (17), assists (22), and points (39), while playing a career-high 15:25 per game. He also recorded a career-best 137 hits. At 6-foot-3, Geekie has size and speed, but now appears to have gained confidence when it comes to making plays offensively. Among Bruins skaters to play at least 1000 five-on-five minutes, only David Pastrnak and Jake DeBrusk had higher rates of on-ice expected goals per 60 minutes. Geekie does get power play time, as 12 of his 39 points last season came with the man advantage. This is not to suggest that Geekie should be climbing further up the depth chart. Based on his results to this point in his career, the 26-year-old should be a third-line player for Boston and continue to make a solid contribution at both ends of the ice. Given his jump forward last season, there is a new normal for Geekie, one that puts him consistently in a top nine role. As a result, it’s fair to expect 12-15 goals and 35 points in 2024-2025.

Matthew Poitras

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
71	12	21	33	0.46

Only 19 years old at the start of last season, Poitras was a surprise to make the team out of training camp and he had 15 points in his first 28 games before falling down the depth chart and going scoreless in five games with limited ice time before he suffered a season-ending shoulder injury. Poitras has good speed, sound instincts, and soft hands that serve him well around the net. Provided that he is healthy again, Poitras should have a spot in Boston’s top nine, which will give him an opportunity to contribute, though it could be challenging for the young centre to move up the depth chart in 2024-2025. Although his season was shortened by injury, Poitras showed enough to be excited about his potential. The Bruins controlled 54.3 percent of expected goals during five-on-five play with Poitras on the ice. James van Riemsdyk was the only Bruins player to play more than 300 five-on-five minutes to rank higher. As a young player, Poitras also has so much room to improve. He won 43.7 percent of his faceoffs as a rookie and generated only 1.21 shots on goal per game, which is far too low to sustain consistent offensive production. It would be reasonable to anticipate Poitras contributing 35 points this season, and he has potential for more if he somehow finds his way to a higher slot on the depth chart.

DEFENCE

Charlie McAvoy

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
77	7	35	42	0.55

One of the best all-around defencemen in the game, McAvoy tends not to get full credit for his play because his point totals are not as gaudy as some of the other top blueliners. Nevertheless, McAvoy continues to drive play in the right direction and has never had a season where the Bruins have been less than +10 against the opposition during five-on-five play with him on the ice. H has finished in the top five of Norris Trophy voting twice, though his defensive metrics like shots and expected goals against have climbed a little since then, knocking him further out of the race. McAvoy is a strong puckhandler and passer who is not at all shy about playing a physical game. He finished last season with matching career highs of 159 hits and 159 blocked shots. McAvoy recorded 34 even-strength points in 2023-2024, which left him tied for 21st among defencemen with Carolina’s Jaccob Slavin. McAvoy is still Boston’s No. 1 option on the point, and he quarterbacks the top power play unit, so it is not like he is left without opportunities to produce points. A fair expectation for 2024-2025 would have McAvoy contributing 10 goals and 50 points, with room for some upside if his power play numbers start to click.

Hampus Lindholm

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
78	4	21	25	0.32

After finishing with a career-high 53 points and finishing fourth in Norris Trophy voting in 2022-2023, Lindholm dropped to three goals and 26 points last season. In the 163 games that Lindholm has played with the Bruins, Boston has outscored the opposition by 61 goals during five-on-five play. This while starting more of his shifts in the defensive zone. Lindholm has good size and is an excellent skater, which allows him to attack offensively and quickly shut down opportunities on the defensive end. Lindholm appears to have the talent to challenge for Norris Trophies, but that is only going to happen when he is putting up numbers offensively and that is unlikely since he has surpassed 35 points in a season just once in his career. Last season, Lindholm’s shot rate dropped to 1.36 per game, the lowest mark of his career. If he is going to contribute offensively, launching more pucks at the opposing net is likely to help. While there are clear limitations to Lindholm’s offensive production, especially if he loses second unit power play time, he can go on streaks, too. Around midseason, he recorded 12 assists in a 15-game span. That kind of burst gives him a higher floor and Lindholm should still be capable of delivering 30-35 points for the Bruins.

Nikita Zadorov

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
79	9	18	27	0.34

A mammoth physical presence on the blueline, Zadorov is listed at 6-foot-6 and 248 pounds, and he is not shy about using that size to make his mark on the game. He racked up a career-high 125 penalty minutes last season while delivering 177 hits, the seventh consecutive season that he finished with more than 170 hits. That ability to affect the game with size and aggressiveness is what made Zadorov in demand as a free agent, but it should be noted that he has never played 20 minutes per game for a full season in the National Hockey League. Over the course of his career, Zadorov’s possession numbers have tended to be slightly positive, and it’s enough to consider him a reliable contributor in that role, without necessarily wanting to feed him big minutes. In Boston, He might see a little more ice time, but there is a limit to what can be reasonably expected of him. Zadorov reached the 20-point plateau last season for the third straight season, then kicked it up a notch in the playoffs, scoring four goals and eight points in 13 games. It’s not fair to expect him to keep that pace over the long haul but that little sample, along with the 14 goals Zadorov scored in 2022-2023 suggests that there is some latent offensive ability that can be brought to the forefront from time to time. Zadorov’s fantasy appeal will lie in banger leagues where he delivers hits and penalty minutes, but he should be able to chip in 20-25 points in his first season with the Bruins.

Mason Lohrei

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
75	5	17	22	0.29

The rangy 6-foot-5 blueliner made his NHL debut last season and flashed potential that he could become a valuable contributor on the Boston blueline for years to come. A second-round pick in 2020, Lohrei played a couple of seasons at Ohio State and a total of 29 AHL (regular season plus playoff) games before getting called up to the Big Bruins. His results in 41 games were relatively uneven. He scored 13 points and, among the seven defencemen that played at least 500 five-on-five minutes for the Bruins last season, Lohrei ranked fifth in Corsi percentage (45.7 percent) and sixth in expected goals percentage (46.8 percent). That suggests he may be worth a longer look but hardly assures him of success at this level. In the playoffs, though, Lohrei contributed four points in 11 games and ranked second among Boston defencemen in Corsi percentage (48.2 percent) and fourth in expected goals percentage (53.9 percent). That postseason showing added a dose of optimism to Lohrei’s future as he and McAvoy started to show progress as defence partners. Lohrei does possess intriguing puck skills for such a big guy, skates well and uses his reach effectively, so the 2024-2025 season should be about securing his full-time spot on the Boston blueline. He is one of Boston’s more capable puckhandling defencemen, so 25 points is a reasonable expectation.

Andrew Peeke

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
80	2	9	11	0.14

Acquired from Columbus at the trade deadline, Peeke has an opportunity for a fresh start in Boston. In the 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 seasons, he was one of four defencemen to record both 350 hits and 350 blocked shots across those two seasons. (Brayden McNabb, Jacob Trouba, and Moritz Seider were the others.) Peeke is a warrior, a 6-foot-3 defenceman who does not hesitate to lay his body on the line, but the Blue Jackets cut his ice time by more than five minutes per game last season and made him a frequent healthy scratch. In Boston, Peeke was reasonably effective in the regular season, with the Bruins managing 52.7 percent of expected goals during five-on-five play with him on the ice. He was not as effective in the postseason and missed time with a broken finger, but there is a reasonable expectation for him to fit as a physical third-pair defender who can kill penalties. He has never had a major offensive impact and that doesn’t figure to change. Still, there might be fantasy appeal for managers in deep banger leagues that would appreciate 150-plus hits and blocked shots to go with maybe 15 points.

GOAL

Jeremy Swayman

Predicted Stats
GP	W	L	OT	SO	SV%	GAA
59	32	20	6	4	0.912	2.60

Joonas Korpisalo

Predicted Stats
GP	W	L	OT	SO	SV%	GAA
23	13	8	3	1	0.302	2.88

It was the fault of neither Jeremy Swayman nor Linus Ullmark that the Boston Bruins once again bowed out early from the Stanley Cup chase this past spring. Nevertheless, the Bruins - perennially up against the salary cap and sitting on a wealth of goaltending talent - opted to make their biggest move of the offseason in net, sending Linus Ullmark to the Ottawa Senators in a swap that brought a struggling Joonas Korpisalo into the fold to partner up with Swayman come October.

Korpisalo looked particularly vulnerable behind the Ottawa Senators during his 2023-24 campaign. He was goaded into moving out of position by opponents whenever the defensive line in front of him suffered any kind of breakdown, leaving him with an abysmal stat line and a fresh host of bad habits to pack up with him in his move to TD Garden. Luckily, he'll enter a much calmer environment in Boston with far less pressure on him specifically; the crease is now Swayman's primary domain, and the Bruins should see his workload uptick enough to possibly even give him that long-awaited attention in the Vezina conversation. Even during a season in which Boston seemed to struggle at times with re-establishing their identity post-Patrice Bergeron, Swayman's statistical proficiency and ability to settle into a good rhythm even after a bad goal or game served as a calming presence throughout the year. It feels a little surprising that the Bruins are sticking with Korpisalo as their number two, but ultimately the team made a strong statement with that choice: this is Jeremy Swayman's starting gig.

NHL: DADOUN – THE FANTASY WEEK AHEAD (March 11th to 17th) – Post-NHL Trade Deadline Impact – Favourable schedules and players to target

Ryan Dadoun — Sun, 10 Mar 2024 18:06:59 +0000

_{OTTAWA, ON - OCTOBER 14: Ottawa Senators Right Wing Vladimir Tarasenko (91) after a whistle during second period National Hockey League action between the Philadelphia Flyers and Ottawa Senators on October 14, 2023, at Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa, ON, Canada. (Photo by Richard A. Whittaker/Icon Sportswire)}

The trade deadline is behind us and it certainly was eventful. Although we didn’t get a lot of trades in the leadup to the final week -- just four deals in all of February -- general managers made up for lost time with six trades on Wednesday, 10 on Thursday and 23 on the final day.

This isn’t a winners and losers column, but if it was, Vegas would naturally be at the top of the winners list. The rest of the league might be annoyed at the Golden Knights’ seemingly unending ability to make blockbusters, but as a fan of one of the other 31 franchises, I suspect a lot of that is just because we collectively wish that our general manager had a bit more of Kelly McCrimmon’s boldness and the ownership for the teams we rooted for were a bit more willing to green-light whatever it takes to win.

Vegas added forwards Anthony Mantha and Tomas Hertl as well as Noah Hanifin on Friday. Clearly, the Golden Knights are gearing up for a defence of their Stanley Cup championships -- despite some lacklustre play of late -- but these aren’t exclusively win-now moves. Hertl is signed through 2029-30 and with the Sharks retaining part of his contract, he comes at a reasonable $6.75 million annually for the Golden Knights over that span. Mantha and Hanifin are on expiring contracts, but it is possible Vegas will be able to retain Hanifin’s services long-term.

Carolina also had a pretty interesting trade season with the additions of Evgeny Kuznetsov and Jake Guentzel. Kuznetsov, who has just six goals and 17 points through 43 games this season, is definitely a risk, but it will be interesting to see if a fresh start does him any good. If nothing else, the addition of Guentzel should bolster what was already a pretty solid offense.

Florida also upgraded its forward corps by adding Vladimir Tarasenko. After falling just short of the Cup last year, I’d at the very least say that the Panthers are the team to beat in the East. The only reason why I hesitate to call the Panthers the outright Cup favourites is that I love Vancouver and Colorado in the west.

The Avalanche in particular are looking strong after grabbing Casey Mittelstadt, albeit at the high price of Bowen Byram. Colorado’s offense is the best in the league at 3.70 goals per game, but the Avalanche have been extremely reliant on Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen and defenseman Cale Makar to drive that scoring. If you were to have judged the Avalanche from their second line down, then you would have found a team that was wanting. Adding Mittelstadt does a lot to address that shortcoming, though Alexandar Georgiev’s less-than-stellar play is still a concern. The Avalanche might wish they had acquired a veteran backup come playoff time.

Of course, that’s all just scratching the surface of how the trade deadline has changed things. Let’s do a deeper dive while highlighting some of the best teams to utilize this coming week.

Anaheim Ducks - TUE @ CHI, THU @ MIN, FRI @ WPG (BTB), SUN @ STL

The Ducks don’t have much left to play for, but at least their upcoming schedule isn’t too bad. They’ll be on the road next week, playing in Chicago on Tuesday, Minnesota on Thursday, Winnipeg on Friday and St. Louis on Sunday. The Jets are the only of those adversaries in a playoff position.

Anaheim dealt away forwards Adam Henrique and Sam Carrick to Edmonton on Wednesday and acquired Ben Meyers from the Avalanche on Friday.

Meyers was in the minors before the trade, but he’s likely to remain with the Ducks for the remainder of the campaign. Don’t expect too much from him, though. He had six goals in 53 career contests over parts of three seasons with Colorado and is likely to serve primarily on the third line in Anaheim.

The loss of Henrique will be felt, though. He had 18 goals and 42 points in 60 contests with the Ducks this season, which was good for third in the team’s scoring race at the time of his trade. His departure might increase how much Mason McTavish is leaned on. We’ve also started to see a significant spike in Max Jones’ playing time recently -- logging over 15 minutes in each of his past three contests compared to his average of 11:43 over his first 44 outings -- and that’s likely to persist for the remainder of the season.

With the Ducks looking toward the future, Olen Zellweger is likely to stay in the NHL for the rest of the season. Although he has just two assists through his first eight contests with Anaheim, the 20-year-old defenseman has offensive upside and is getting power-play ice time, so he’d be an interesting pickup for the upcoming week given the competition.

Columbus Blue Jackets - TUE @ MTL, THU VS OTT, SAT VS SJS, SUN VS WPG (BTB)

Like Anaheim, Columbus doesn’t have any hope of making the playoffs, but next week’s schedule is still a favourable one for the Blue Jackets. They’ll play in Montreal on Tuesday before hosting the Senators on Thursday, the Sharks on Saturday and the Jets on Sunday. While Winnipeg is having a strong campaign, those other three teams are among the worst in the league.

Columbus was somewhat quiet at the deadline, but the Blue Jackets did part ways with Jack Roslovic and Andrew Peeke.

Their biggest move came earlier when they acquired Alexander Nylander from Pittsburgh on Feb. 22 in exchange for Emil Bemstrom. That wasn’t expected to be a noteworthy move, but Nylander has provided an incredible five goals and seven points in seven contests with the Blue Jackets. Nylander is likely to remain in a top-six role for the remainder of the season, so while he’s unlikely to maintain his point-per-game pace, the 26-year-old should continue to have fantasy relevance.

Roslovic was red hot too with four goals and 13 points in his last 12 games prior to the trade. He was serving primarily on the top line with Boone Jenner and Johnny Gaudreau, but now that he’s gone, Kirill Marchenko might be put in that role. Marchenko has 17 goals and 32 points in 60 contests this season, and the 23-year-old might see his offensive pace increase if he does lockdown that first-line assignment.

One player who didn’t move is goaltender Elvis Merzlikins. There was some suggestion back in January that he would welcome a trade because he was unhappy with his workload. Maybe that issue will get resolved over the summer, but Merzlikins and Daniil Tarasov are likely to share the netminding duties fairly evenly for what’s left of the season.

Detroit Red Wings - TUE @ BUF, THU VS ARI, SAT VS BUF, SUN @ PIT (BTB)

Detroit will continue its fight for a wild-card berth next week. The Red Wings will start by playing in Buffalo on Tuesday before returning home to face the Coyotes on Thursday and the Sabres on Saturday. They’ll complete the week with a game in Pittsburgh on Sunday. None of those opponents are in a playoff position, so it’s important that the Red Wings take advantage by picking up at least six points.

The Red Wings were quiet at the deadline, though to be fair, they made their major move back in November when they signed Patrick Kane. The 35-year-old has gone on to provide 13 goals and 31 points through 31 games, so they have to be happy with that addition.

They’ll need to lean on Kane even more in the short term because Dylan Larkin suffered a lower-body injury Monday that’s expected to cost him at least one more week. While Larkin’s unavailable, Joe Veleno might see his workload increase and consequently should have more short-term value in fantasy leagues.

This could also be a good week for David Perron, who is on a roll with a goal and four points over his past four games. He’s up to 13 goals and 32 points in 56 contests in 2023-24. Defenseman Olli Maatta has looked good recently too, supplying two goals and four points across his last four outings. Maatta typically isn’t a significant offensive contributor, though, so he would be at best a short-term pickup option.

Los Angeles Kings - MON VS NYI, WED @ STL, FRI @ CHI, SAT @ DAL (BTB)

The Kings hold a playoff position, but their postseason berth is far from secure. They’ll need to play next week while hosting the Islanders on Monday and then playing on the road against St. Louis, Chicago and Dallas on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, respectively.

LA didn’t add anyone at the deadline, so if the Kings are going to get into the playoffs, it’ll have to be with basically the same group they’ve had for the entire year. However, injuries have made their task even harder. Viktor Arvidsson (lower body) has played just four games in 2023-24 while Mikey Anderson (upper body) and Adrian Kempe (upper body) also might not be available next week.

At least Kevin Fiala has been doing his part. The 27-year-old forward has a superb seven goals and 13 points over his last nine games. With his marker Thursday, Fiala reached the 20-goal milestone for the fifth consecutive campaign, but he’s also exceeded 25 tallies just once in his career (2021-22). In other words, don’t count on him providing goals at his recent rate for much longer, but it wouldn’t be surprising if he still ended up having a strong finish to the season offensively.

Drew Doughty has looked good lately too, providing three goals and 12 points over his last 11 outings. Six of those points came with the man advantage, which is noteworthy because LA’s power play has been middling this season with a 22.6 percent success rate. However, the Kings have converted on 32.0 percent of their power plays over their past 11 games, and if they can keep that up, it will do wonders for Doughty’s fantasy value.

It wouldn’t mean much to Matt Roy -- he isn’t typically used with the man advantage -- but the 29-year-old blueliner has three even-strength assists across his past three games. That has brought Roy up to 20 points (three goals) through 61 contests -- this is his third straight campaign with at least 20 points.

Ottawa Senators - TUE VS PIT, THUS @ CBJ, SAT @ NYI, SUN VS CAR (BTB)

Ottawa has a relatively easy start to the week with a home contest against the Penguins and then a road match versus Columbus on Thursday. Things do pick up after that, though. The Senators will play on the road against the Islanders on Saturday in a contest that matters for the Islanders in their pursuit of a wild-card spot. Ottawa will conclude the week by hosting the Hurricanes on Sunday.

The Senators made just one trade in the leadup to the deadline, shipping Vladimir Tarasenko to Florida in exchange for a 2024 fourth-round pick and a 2025 third-round selection. That’s a minimal return for a top-six forward, but Tarasenko’s full no-trade clause tied the Senators’ hands.

Either way, Ottawa’s offense is looking a little thinner between the loss of Tarasenko and Josh Norris potentially missing the rest of the season with a shoulder injury. The top two lines going forward will be combinations of Brady Tkachuk, Shane Pinto, Drake Batherson, Mathieu Joseph, Tim Stutzle and Claude Giroux. That will work fine, but the bottom six will be a collection of whatever Ottawa can cobble together.

For example, Boris Katchouk, who was claimed off waivers from Chicago on Friday, is likely to be a regular on the third unit going forward. The 25-year-old has five goals and nine points in 38 contests this season, so he’s not exactly expected to be a scoring threat in that role. Dominik Kubalik, who has averaged 12:30 of ice time this season while providing 10 goals and 14 points across 57 contests, might see his playing time increase too. Ridly Greig might round out that third unit despite recording just three goals and four points over his past 21 appearances.

For what it’s worth, Ottawa also has the option of calling up Angus Crookshank, who has 22 goals and 43 points in 47 contests with AHL Belleville this season. He was limited to a goal and an assist during a seven-game stint with Ottawa earlier in the campaign, but the 24-year-old averaged just 8:50 of ice time. He’d almost certainly get a bigger role if Ottawa promoted him now, so keep an eye out for that.

Pittsburgh Penguins - TUE @ OTT, THU VS SJS, SAT VS NYR, SUN VS DET (BTB)

Although the Penguins’ playoff hopes are all but gone, they still have an opportunity to at least make their final weeks of the campaign interesting. Pittsburgh will play in Ottawa on Tuesday before heading home to host the Sharks on Thursday, the Rangers on Saturday and the Red Wings on Sunday.

As already noted, the Penguins traded star forward Jake Guentzel on Thursday. Pittsburgh also shipped away defenseman Chad Ruhwedel, though the club did add Michael Bunting.

Bunting is an interesting option the rest of the way. He had 13 goals and 36 points in 60 games with Carolina before the trade, which is nothing special, but with Guentzel gone, Bunting might play alongside Sidney Crosby going forward. That’s an ideal assignment that should boost Bunting’s fantasy value.

John Ludvig is the other Pittsburgh player who was significantly impacted by the trade deadline. With Ruhwedel gone, there’s an opportunity for Ludvig, who was last in the lineup on Feb. 18, to play regularly for the remainder of the season. Ludvig isn’t much of an offensive threat with just a goal and an assist through 23 games, but he’s a physical force. The 23-year-old has 23 PIM and 51 hits in 2023-24, so he might have some value to certain fantasy managers now that he’s projected to remain in the lineup.

Beyond that, I’m really interested to see how Crosby performs for the remainder of the campaign. He’s been fantastic with 32 goals and 63 points in 61 outings but has supplied only one helper across his past five appearances. It’s probably just a slump that will end soon, but this is also a new position for the 36-year-old. Crosby is used to playing on a contender. Even last year when the Penguins failed to make the playoffs, they missed by just one point.

Personally, I expect Crosby to bounce back shortly and have a solid finish to the season, but we’ll have to wait and see if being out of contention impacts his motivation more than I suspect.

San Jose Sharks - TUE @ PHI, THUS @ PIT, SAT @ CBJ, SUN @ CHI (BTB)

The Sharks will play in Philadelphia on Tuesday, but that will be their only game next week against a team in a playoff position. After that, San Jose will continue its road trip with stops in Pittsburgh on Thursday, Columbus on Saturday and Chicago on Sunday.

San Jose traded away forwards Anthony Duclair and Tomas Hertl, defenseman Nikita Okhotyuk and goaltender Kaapo Kahkonen at the deadline. The Sharks did get Vitek Vanecek from New Jersey, but the goaltender might be done for the season due to a lower-body injury. Keep in mind, the Sharks were 15-40-7 even before those trades, so to say the squad is in a sad state now would be an understatement.

With Vanecek unavailable, Mackenzie Blackwood will likely be leaned on heavily for what’s left of the season…or at least he will be once he’s recovered from a groin injury. In the meantime, San Jose’s goaltending duo are Magnus Chrona and Devin Cooley. When Blackwood is healthy, Cooley might be sent to the minors. Regardless, none of them are good options in fantasy circles given the team in front of them.

Klim Kostin might have a little bit of value, though, to fantasy managers. The Sharks acquired him from the Red Wings on Friday. He was frequently a healthy scratch in Detroit and averaged just 8:43 when he did play, but in San Jose, Kostin might be a mainstay on the third line. That likely won’t lead to him getting much offense, but Kostin could be a good source of PIM and hits -- he has 38 and 60, respectively, through 33 appearances.

William Eklund might also be able to provide a bit of a silver lining. The 21-year-old hasn’t been as productive as hoped this campaign with 10 goals and 29 points through 60 contests, but he does have two goals and four points over his last four games, so perhaps he’ll end the season on a positive note. Certainly, the Sharks will give him plenty of opportunities at both even strength and on the power play.

Winnipeg Jets - MON VS WSH, WED VS NSH, FRI VS ANA, SUN @ CBJ

The Jets will start the week at home, hosting the Capitals on Monday, the Predators on Wednesday and the Ducks on Friday. They’ll conclude the week with a road game versus the lowly Blue Jackets on Sunday.

Winnipeg added Colin Miller and Tyler Toffoli in separate trades with New Jersey on Friday, which compliments the Jets’ addition of Sean Monahan on Feb. 2. The Jets have enjoyed an effective forward trio of Mark Scheifele (19 goals and 56 points in 56 contests), Kyle Connor (26 goals and 44 points in 46 outings) and Nikolaj Ehlers (19 goals and 44 points in 62 appearances), but the team’s scoring depth up front was lacking. With Monahan and Toffoli in the mix, Winnipeg can now roll two dangerous lines with ease.

This isn’t good news for everyone, though. Cole Perfetti has a respectable 14 goals and 31 points in 61 contests this season, but the 22-year-old has been cold for a while, providing just two assists over his last 21 games. With Winnipeg’s recent upgrades, Perfetti is projected to serve strictly in a bottom-six capacity without much, if any, power-play ice time. He might even be a healthy scratch in situations where everyone is healthy.

Vladislav Namestnikov has averaged 15:04 of ice time this season, but he might see work primarily on the third line going forward. He has been effective recently, though, with two goals and five points across his last five contests while seeing time with Connor and Scheifele, so perhaps the 31-year-old will be able to avoid that demotion in the short term.

Mason Appleton has done well lately too, collecting four assists over his last three contests, but the Jets’ additions will likely push him down in the depth charts too. Although he’s averaged 16:05 in 2023-24, he might play mostly in a bottom-six capacity going forward.

MCKEEN’S 2023-24 NHL YEARBOOK – COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS – Team Preview – Player Profiles

Thu, 28 Sep 2023 19:26:20 +0000

OTTAWA, ON - JANUARY 03: Columbus Blue Jackets Left Wing Johnny Gaudreau (13) before a face-off during second period National Hockey League action between the Columbus Blue Jackets and Ottawa Senators on January 3, 2023, at Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa, ON, Canada. (Photo by Richard A. Whittaker/Icon Sportswire)

Review: Columbus made a huge free agent splash in the summer of 2022 when they inked Johnny Gaudreau to a seven-year, $68.25 million contract and…then they got worse, dropping from a 37-38-7 record in 2021-22 to 25-48-9 last year. To be fair, that wasn’t Gaudreau’s fault. He did regress significantly from his 115-point showing in 2021-22 to 74 points, but he still served his role as the team’s offensive leader. There wasn’t much backing him though. Patrik Laine was the only other player to even hit the 50-point mark, and Columbus ranked 30th in goals per game with 2.60. The Blue Jackets also had the second-worst five-on-five expected goals against (213.18), which indicates that their defense was horrendous. Even still, goaltender Elvis Merzlikins shouldn’t escape blame for his 4.23 GAA and .876 save percentage in 30 contests, not that the alternatives in net other than Joonas Korpisalo (who was dealt to the Kings on March 1) were much better. In the end, it was a miserable season for Columbus.

What’s Changed? Not a change, but Zach Werenski is expected to be ready for training camp after missing almost the entire 2022-23 campaign because of a shoulder injury, so that will substantially bolster the blue line. He’ll be joined by defensemen Ivan Provorov and Damon Severson, who were acquired from Philadelphia and New Jersey, respectively. Columbus also selected center Adam Fantilli with the third overall pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, and he might make an immediate impact.

What would success look like? Making the playoffs is probably too much to hope for, but the Blue Jackets might be a bit of an underrated team. Their defense should be substantially better thanks to their summer additions and the anticipated return of Werenski. If they could get a solid rookie season out of Fantilli, who might get a serious look as the team’s second-line center, and some progression from sophomores Kent Johnson and Kirill Marchenko, then their offense will take a meaningful step forward too.

What could go wrong? Even if their defense improves, it won’t be enough if Merzlikins plays like he did last year. With Korpisalo gone, Daniil Tarasov is penciled in to be the backup, but his 4-11-1 record, 3.91 GAA and .892 save percentage in 17 contests with Columbus in 2022-23 did nothing to inspire confidence. The Blue Jackets might have the worst goaltending duo in the league this year. Combine that with the fact that their second line might cons

Forwards

Johnny Gaudreau – LW

Gaudreau’s first season with Columbus may not have led to a high impact in the league standings, but from a personal output perspective, Gaudreau’s offensive outputs eclipsed his peers on the team by significant totals. Most of his damage was done off of the rush, where he also led the Jackets in both controlled entries and shots off of those controlled entries. Gaudreau’s passing also helped to elevate his teammates as only Jakub Voracek had more high danger passes at even-strength last season. Gaudreau’s elite skating and hockey sense enabled him to consistently find time and space for himself throughout the course of the year. As Columbus continues their rebuild, finding top line talent that can provide a set-up element to Gaudreau’s game will be crucial. A lot of the creating that Gaudreau did was independent of a high-level of passes to the danger areas of the offensive zone. Given that he was a mere 13 points away from the Jackets franchise record for points, it’s not unreasonable to assume he could break that record if given a stronger supporting cast of characters in the near future.

Patrik Laine – RW

Laine again struggled with injuries and availability in an otherwise strong campaign. His production was down by three points in one less game than the previous season, but he saw increased returns in his defensive performance and his passing distribution in the offensive zone, giving a much more complete picture of what Laine can do when he’s available and showing engagement throughout the ice. He did a surprising, volunteer stint as a center last season and held his own in the process. He led all Blue Jacket forwards in shot-attempts by a wide margin and was just behind Johnny Gaudreau in quality scoring chance production by a tenth of a percentage point. Laine’s puck handling was also on display in a prominent fashion last year as he was second among Blue Jacket forwards in both chances created off the rush and shots created off of the rush. Laine remains a pure sniper with a high-velocity shot and above-average finishing ability. If he can continue to round out his game as he has the last two seasons, the only thing stopping him from being an impact player is his health and availability. His peripherals outside of scoring getting a bump last season has people interested in whether or not that trend can continue.

Boone Jenner - C

The Blue Jacket’s Captain saw a 2022-23 campaign where, despite a recurring bout of injuries to his hand and back, he was able to post high water marks in goals (26) and points (45) that he had not achieved since the 2015-16 season. Jenner was cemented as Columbus’ top line center and posted those totals in the face of some difficult deployments. The aforementioned injuries seemed to hit Jenner at the worst times and during periods of strong play. Only Patrik Laine attempted more shots than Jenner at even-strength last season. In addition, Jenner’s expected goal shares were a net positive relative to his teammates. As evidenced by his assist totals, play making and passes that created a shot-attempt were not a part of his strong suit last season. Jenner has some youthful challengers around him that can push for the top center spot for the Blue Jackets as the year progresses. Whether or not Jenner can stay healthy and maintain his place in the lineup will be the biggest question of the upcoming season.

Kent Johnson – LW

Johnson’s rookie season needs to be ingested with a heavy dose of perspective. This young member of the Blue Jackets ended his first full professional season on an echelon that he simply wasn’t close to when the year began. When it was all said and done, Johnson was a routine member of the Jackets top six forward group and he carved out 16 goals and 40 points in 79 games despite some raw youthfulness behind his performances. As his game became more refined, so did his ice time. Johnson was deployed heavily in offensive situations and started a higher percentage of his shifts in the offensive zone than any other Blue Jackets forward. Johnson’s finishing ability was on display throughout the year, and he showcased a wrist shot that possessed several deceptive elements. That being said, his ability to control the play at even-strength and contribute to longer offensive shifts will need to improve. Johnson’s share of expected goals was second to last on the team at just 41 percent. Moving into next year, Johnson will need to continue to refine his game and become more involved away from the puck. Drafted as a center, there’s a question as to whether he will remain on the wing or return to his natural position.

Kirill Marchenko – RW

Marchenko was called up in December and scored 13 goals in the first two months of the season before leveling out and cooling off later in the year. He finished the season with a total of 21 goals and had the fourth highest rate of scoring-chance generation on the team. Marchenko also posted some of the stronger defensive returns on a Blue Jackets team that struggled overall from a defensive perspective. Marchenko didn’t do a ton of heavy lifting with regards to zone entries, but he was a volume shooter, generating the fourth highest rate of even-strength shots among Blue Jacket forwards. Marchenko has shown a deep, unique set of offensive skills that he isn’t afraid to utilize. He’s very bullish with the puck on his stick and sometimes holds it to a detriment. He had the lowest number of high danger passes on the Blue Jackets roster and had none attributed to his name in the games tracked by the All Three Zones project. As Marchenko evolves, puck distribution will be a critical element of his game as he looks to further cement his spot in the top six.

Jack Roslovic – C

Roslovic’s season had a mix of successes and struggles but ultimately ended with a performance that is likely a little below the line of where he was deployed. With his time on ice reflective firmly of a second line player, Roslovic finished the season with just 11 goals and the worst share of expected goals among any Blue Jacket forward at this season with just 40.6 percent of the quality shots to his name at five-on-five. These results are perplexing when you consider that Roslovic led the Blue Jackets in zone entries per 60 and created more shots off of the forecheck than any forward on the team per the All Three Zones project. These loose ends make a little more sense when you also consider Roslovic had the second highest rate of giveaways on the team and generally made some low-percentage plays from the exterior of the high-danger areas with those possessions. Additionally, Roslovic’s defensive returns were in the 6th percentile among NHL forwards. The wow-factor that Roslovic can provide hasn’t been consistent enough or developed beyond what fans saw upon his arrival in Columbus. There is a large question around where his best deployment is moving into this upcoming season.

Emil Bemstrom – LW

Bemstrom played 55 games for the Blue Jackets last year as he spent a chunk of time in the AHL with Cleveland. The sheen of an exciting, sniper-based prospect has quickly dissolved off of Bemstrom’s game and there’s some question about where he projects for the current state of the Blue Jackets makeup. His defensive work has been his best attribute so far. While he exhibited an ability to take defensive zone deployments and flourish, he struggled in some critical areas of offensive support. Per the All Three Zones data, Bemstrom put had the lowest total of shots off the forecheck and the second lowest total of zone entries per 60 among Blue Jacket forwards. Bemstrom’s shot, arguably his best asset, hasn’t been used in enough high-danger areas to make an impact. As a result, Bemstrom had the second lowest even-strength shooting percentage on the team at just over four percent. Tying this back into Bemstrom’s lack of shots on the forecheck, and it’s clear that the challenge for him is to find ways to get to the front of the net and generate scoring chances from in tight on goal. There will be a battle for him to carve out his place in the bottom six for Columbus this season.

Cole Sillinger - C

Sillinger hit a lot of struggles in his second year in the league, including a run where he went on a nearly 50 game goal-scoring drought in the middle of the season before ultimately being sent down to the American Hockey League. That sophomore slump, combined with an average-at-best performance in the AHL, raises legitimate questions about where Sillinger will start the year for Columbus in 2023-24. A big problem for Sillinger comes from the results outside of his goal scoring. Goal scoring slumps can be tolerable when players are driving play and generating chances, but that truly was not the case here. Sillinger’s game seemed to develop a vanilla element and appeared to lack confidence. Sillinger’s hallmark in his rookie season was creating space and participating in zone entries. This season, he had the second lowest carry-in percentage of any forward on the Blue Jackets. I’d argue Sillinger’s path to returning to impactful hockey is centric towards putting the puck on his stick more this season. His confidence in carrying the puck and pushing the play forward garnered him a load of shots and chances in his rookie season that were simply missing from his game entirely last year.

Alexandre Texier – RW

Texier returns to the NHL for 2023-24 after playing in Switzerland last year. In dealing with a personal issue, Texier opted to be closer to his family in France. He returns to the NHL with 49 points to his name in 129 career games. Texier’s returns defensively make him a good bet to feature as a winger on the third line. His penalty killing impacts have traditionally been strong as a direct link to his defensive performances at even-strength and it’s expected he’ll make a significant impact in that area as well. He’s coming off of a productive season in Zurich where he scored 35 points in 46 games and played a significant role on special teams. Hearkening back to his last time in the NHL, Texier played a massive role in forechecking per the All Three Zones data from that season. He recovered the third most dump-ins among team forwards that season. The expectation is that he’ll have a continued impact in that area as well as the other traditionally difficult areas of the ice. Expect Texier to be present in front of the net and creating issues for opposing defensemen with his forechecking ability.

Defense

Zach Werenski – D

Werenski’s campaign was cut drastically short after just 13 games last season. Werenski landed awkwardly on his elbow and ended up requiring surgery that would cut his season short. While there isn’t enough of a body of work to make any drastic evaluations from his prior year, what we can acknowledge is how strong he started the year offensively speaking. Through the first 13 games of the year, Werenski registered three goals and five points in that small sample, putting him well on his way to pacing towards a career high in points. With his health back, Werenski will be looked upon as the champion of the Blue Jackets backline. From taking on the most difficult minutes Mike Babcock and the coaching staff can drum up to being looked at to help drive zone entries and offensive contributions. Looking back at the All Three Zone data from 2021-22, Werenski averaged seven more successful zone exits per 60 than his next closest peer, further evidence of the massive role he plays in the Jackets ability to navigate out of the defensive zone successfully. For this year, Werenski will be looking for a continuation of his hot start from the previous year and a clean bill of health.

Ivan Provorov – D

Provorov arrived in Columbus from Philadelphia via a three-team trade. Coming off of a season where his offensive numbers plummeted and he was embroiled in controversy around his vocal decisions to opt-out of team-based social causes, he’ll move to the Jacket’s where his responsibilities in deployment should drastically change. In Philadelphia, he was deployed and used as a number one overall defenseman and the results were, quite frankly, disastrous. Provorov tied a career low in goals (6) despite playing in all 82 games and seeing an increase in minutes. His offensive outputs regarding shot and chance creation dropped to the 29th percentile in the NHL among defensemen. Provorov also struggled defensively and exhibited a few steps back in his decision-making processes. One strength he will certainly bring to the Jacket’s defensive unit is a strong ability to retrieve pucks and get them to safety. He led the Flyers last season and in previous seasons for defensive zone retrievals per hour of even-strength ice time. Overall, a change of scenery was necessary for both player and team in the case of Provorov. With Columbus having a new look, revamped blue line, it may allow him to take on a more friendly deployment that re-centers his performances both offensively and defensively.

Damon Severson – D

Severson arrives in Columbus via a sign-and-trade deal that will keep him with the Blue Jackets for a total of eight years. Severson is expected to be paired on the top pairing alongside offensive defenseman Zach Werenski. This duo should have no issue moving the puck up ice as both defenders have developed a strong reputation for doing so. Per the All Three Zones data, Severson had the second highest average of zone exits with possession per hour of even-strength ice time among Devil defenders. His offensive impacts last season with regards to driving shots and scoring chances put him in an elite company. At even-strength last season, Severson controlled 60% of the expected goals while he was on the ice, a gaudy number that should have Jackets fans excited for his debut. Severson’s performance defensively, while unremarkable, is notably consistent and reliable. The biggest question for this season is how his performance will handle a stark increase in quality of competition. His minutes are sure to grow, and his responsibilities are sure to increase. His mobility and vision should aid him in navigating that new environment with few issues.

Andrew Peeke - D

Peeke once again eclipsed the 80-game mark for the second season in a row. He’s evolved into a one-way, stay-at-home style defenseman who posted extremely respectable results in defensive buckets last season. For instance, among Blue Jacket defenders with at least 500 minutes played, Peeke had the lowest expected-goals against per hour of even-strength hockey on the team. The issue for Peeke is that despite his performance defensively, he’s a detriment to offensive performance. The All Three Zones data reveals a lot of failed zone exits and entries that lead to a scoring chance. Peeke’s skating can be an issue in situations where the game quickly transitions from offensive to defense or vice versa. As a result of some of these limitations, only Erik Gudbranson posted worse puck-possession and expected-goal share numbers than Peeke’s 43 percent in both buckets. His time on ice leads to a lot of low event hockey, but a new potential partner along his flank could assist in some of the heavy lifting around zone exits and offensive contributions to help level out what he does defensively. While the discussion around Peeke’s ceiling as changed, he still has utility when deployed correctly.

ist entirely of rookies and sophomores in Fantilli, Johnson and Marchenko while two of the three forwards on their projected first line – Boone Jenner and Laine – have significant injury histories, and there’s a lot that could go wrong up front too.

Top Breakout Candidate: At the same time, there is plenty of reason to be hopeful about Johnson. The 20-year-old had 16 goals and 40 points in 79 contests last season despite averaging a modest 14:31 of ice time. Selected with the fifth overall pick in the 2021 NHL Draft, he’s got tons of upside and should play a bigger role this season. A 60-point showing in 2023-24 is far from guaranteed, but not out of the question.

Goaltending

Elvis Merzlikins - G

Few goaltenders have come onto the scene looking brighter – and with better fanfare – before falling as spectacularly from grace as Columbus Blue Jackets starter Elvis Merzlikins. Of all goaltenders in the NHL last season, no one struggled more than the Latvian netminder – who will turn 30 at the end of this upcoming season, making it harder and harder to imagine that his regression is something he can definitively bounce back from.

Merzlikins still boasts a lot of the characteristics in his game that made him so easy to root for when he first hit the ice in Columbus. He’s a lower-body powerhouse who plays using his skating and his edgework as a weapon, consistently capitalizing on needing less time to get from point A to point B than even the average NHL starter. He still has an arsenal of ‘fun’ saves to choose from that he’ll break out when fans least expect it, and he’s still capable of showcasing impressive depth management through stretches of mundane saves. That, when he was at the top of his game, set him apart from so many of the league’s other ‘athletic’ goaltenders; while he was capable of playing a fun and free-wheeling game, he could keep things under control in order to avoid being drawn away from his crease and opening up unnecessary holes. In theory, he has one of the best styles to plonk in net behind a transitioning Columbus roster – but even though he was able to deliver for his first few years in the league, he’s been an Achilles heel for Columbus for going on three seasons now and counting. Last year, his goals saved above expected was the worst in the entire NHL, his quality start percentage was below 30 percent, and he failed to record a shutout for the first time over a full season since he came to the NHL in 2019. It was more than just a smattering of really bad games that dragged his numbers down, too; he was only able to string together eight games with a save percentage above league average eight times all season. Game film makes it hard to figure out why, too; while his reads still looked good and his technique didn’t look like he was slipping, he just kept missing stops that he had gotten well into position for. It looked like a struggle defined in millimeters, making it that much harder to diagnose just why exactly he can’t put it all together anymore. That’s hardly a comfort for the Blue Jackets, who have to hope he’s able to finally return to his old form next year without throwing the younger Daniil Tarasov to the wolves as the team’s only clear-cut starting option. But without fellow tandem partner Joonas Korpisalo around anymore, maybe Merzlikins will finally be able to shake off the seemingly jinxed game he’s been playing for the last few years and reset his game as the team’s lone vet in net.

Projected starts: 50-55

MCKEEN’S 2022-23 NHL YEARBOOK – COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS – NHL Player Profiles

Ryan Dadoun – Forwards and Defense, Catherine Silverman - Goaltending — Thu, 15 Sep 2022 23:16:12 +0000

LOS ANGELES, CA - APRIL 16: Columbus Blue Jackets Right Wing Patrik Laine (29) warms up before a Los Angeles Kings game versus the Columbus Blue Jackets on April 16, 2022, at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, CA. (Photo by Rob Curtis/Icon Sportswire)

FORWARDS

Johnny Gaudreau

Gaudreau is a rare talent. His lack of size made many initially question his viability in the NHL and he certainly has never been a physical threat. He hasn’t needed to be though. His speed, stickhandling, high hockey IQ, and playmaking ability make him one of the most dangerous players offensively in the NHL. By Gaudreau’s own admission, he likes to pass the puck and he excels at setting up his linemates, but he’s fully capable of taking the shot himself. He did so with more frequency last season, averaging 3.2 shots/game compared to just 2 in 2020-21 and an average of 2.69 over his career. That increase in shots led to him setting a career-high of 40 goals. That jump in goals was in addition to him having one of his best seasons overall, leading to him scoring 115 points and finishing fourth in Hart Trophy voting. He’s growing defensively too and excelled from a puck possession perspective with 5v5 Corsi and Fenwick’s of 57.1% and 56.9% respectively. All that being said though, he was put in an ideal situation. He spent 76% of his even strength ice time alongside Elias Lindholm and Matthew Tkachuk. That trio was amazing with all three of them finishing with at least 40 goals and 80 points. Gaudreau was a huge part of that success to be sure, but will he be able to do just as well after moving to the Columbus Blue Jackets? Perhaps and the key to that could be how well he meshes with Patrik Laine. Laine has one of the best shots in the league. He’s had an inconsistent career, but he’s also still young and playing with someone of Gaudreau’s caliber should be mutually beneficial.

Patrik Laine

Early in Laine’s career, it looked like he might be the next Alex Ovechkin. Laine scored 36 goals as a rookie and 44 in his sophomore season. Trouble is, he’s been a mixed bag since then with some amazing stretches and prolonged cold streaks. The 2020-21 campaign was a brutal one for him. He performed poorly under then Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella, scoring 10 goals and 21 points in 45 contests after being acquired by Columbus. He did rebound in 2021-22 under new bench boss Brad Larsen though, recording 26 goals and 56 points in 56 contests. In terms of points/60 minutes that was his best season to date, though his goals/60 still lagged behind the pace he set in his first two seasons. The Blue Jackets’ addition of Johnny Gaudreau over the summer could change that. We’ll have to see how the two mesh, but at least on paper combining one of the best shots in the league with one of the NHL’s top playmakers seems like a match made in heaven. The Blue Jackets need to hope so because they signed Laine to a four-year, $34.8 million deal and outside of his offensive skills, he doesn’t bring a lot to the table. He’s a defensive liability and his puck possession numbers have been underwhelming. He’s had a negative 5v5 Corsi and Fenwick relative in every single season to date, which means that from a puck possession perspective, the teams he’s played on have done better when he’s off the ice compared to when he’s on it. So there are clear risks associated with Laine, but he’s an exciting player and the prospect of him playing with Gaudreau makes him one of the must watch forwards of 2022-23.

Jakub Voracek

Although it had been roughly a decade since Voracek last played for Columbus, when the Flyers traded him to the Blue Jackets in the summer of 2021, he settled right back in. Voracek had six goals and 62 points in 79 contests, making it the 10th straight season he recorded at leas 0.74 points-per-game, which translates to about 61 points over 82 games. In other words, while Voracek has only finished in the top-10 in points once, he has been a reliably good forward throughout his career. He used to be an okay, though not spectacular goal scorer too, but his game has changed with age. At his height in 2016-17, he averaged 3.09 shots-per-game, but he hasn’t crossed the 2 shots-per-game mark over his last three seasons and in 2021-22 he dropped to just 1.86 shots-per-game. Fortunately, the 33-year-old can still generate those scoring chances with most combinations of linemates. He lacked anything close to consistent linemates at even strength last season and he was still a consistent contributor with his longest point drought being only three games. That flexibility is important because he’ll likely serve in a second-line role while offseason addition Johnny Gaudreau along with Patrik Laine will occupy the top unit’s wings. For Voracek, the more important factor will be his role on the power play. He was a mainstay on the top power-play unit, averaging 3:13 minutes and he contributed two goals and 25 points in that role. If Voracek sees his power-play time diminish then that, more than having him on the second line, could meaningfully reduce his point total. He’s still more likely than not to find success this season, but it’s the one thing to keep in the back of your mind while watching how the Jackets are assembled around Gaudreau.

Gustav Nyquist

Nyquist is a pretty good, but unexciting forward. When his career began, he looked like a solid goal scorer, but the last time he recorded at least 25 markers was 2014-15. Nowadays he doesn’t fire the puck nearly enough (just 1.49 shots-per-game last season) to be anything more than a secondary gaol scoring threat. He’s skilled offensively, but he’s more of a good second-line option than the kind of elite talent teams want to lean on heavily. Not every player is going to be a headlining act though and he’s pretty much everything you’d want in a complimentary forward. He does a lot right, is sound defensively, and gets sent out on both the power play and shorthanded situations. He also wore an ‘A’ last season, highlighting his worth to the Blue Jackets as a team leader. The 33-year-old (as of his birthday on Sept. 1) has aged well so far and he likely has at least a couple more good seasons in him. It helps that he’s enjoyed a fairly healthy career with the obvious exception of 2020-21 when he missed the full campaign due to a shoulder injury. He bounced right back last season though, scoring 18 goals and 53 points while playing the full 82 games. There’s just plenty to like here and he’s a good bet to record around 50 points again in the final campaign of his four-year, $22 million contract.

Jack Roslovic

After breaking out in 2019-20 with 12 goals and 34 points in 48 games, Roslovic’s production was all over the place last season. He had a couple nasty cold spells, including a season-opening stretch of three assists in 13 games, a run from Dec. 16-Jan. 27 where he scored a goal and three points in 13 contests, and an 11-game stretch from Mar. 17-Apr. 7 where he was limited to three assists. Those droughts were balanced out by some great stretches, the most notable of which was his run of 10 goals and 13 points in 10 games to cap out the season. It’s worth noting that sometimes the problem was circumstances. In that final hot stretch, he was averaging 20:24 minutes, in large part because top center Boone Jenner was injured. Contrast that with his aforementioned season-opening slump where he logged just 12:03 minutes per game and the issue becomes apparent. He ultimately had 29 games in 2021-22 where he was given under 12 minutes of ice time, and he had just two goals and five points in those contests. In games where he got over 12 minutes, he had 20 goals and 40 points in 52 contests. Clearly, he can step up offensively when put in the right position. Whether or not he will get that opportunity is the key question going into the season, but the odds are in his favor. After signing him to a two-year, $8 million contract over the summer, Roslovic is projected to start the campaign as the second-line center. He will have to battle Cole Sillinger for that spot, but at least going into the campaign, that top-six role is likely to be held by the more experienced Roslovic.

Sean Kuraly

Kuraly has size and he will use that to his advantage defensively, but his offensive game has never been great. Even in 2021-22, when he averaged a career-high 15:52 minutes, he was still limited to 14 goals and 30 points in 77 games. Those numbers are strong when measured against the rest of his career, but still nothing to get excited over. Without the puck though, he had a very busy season. He was credited with 51 blocks and tied for 11th in the NHL with 240 hits. He also led all Blue Jackets forwards with an average of 2:22 shorthanded minutes, further highlighting his defensive role with the team. There’s not much else to praise him for though. After winning 57.4% of his faceoffs in 2020-21, he dropped to 49.4% last season and his career average is 50.3% so he’s not a real asset there and in terms of 5v5 Corsi and Fenwick he was an underwhelming 47.4% and 46.3% respectively. His goal and point totals were career-highs for him, but he’ll probably regress in 2022-23. The issue he faces in that regard is that the Blue Jackets are looking solid up the middle between Boone Jenner, the maturing Jack Roslovic, and the up-and-coming Cole Sillinger. That leaves Kuraly as potentially the fourth line center and a shorthanded specialist going into the season. It’s a role he should do well in, but not one that leads to much in the way of points.

Cole Sillinger

His father, Mike, played for 12 different NHL teams, but the Blue Jackets see Cole Sillinger as a potential cornerstone player who will hopefully stick with their team for a long time. The younger Sillinger’s rookie season wasn’t spectacular, but for a teenager who jumped straight from the USHL to the NHL, he did well. Sillinger had 16 goals and 31 points in 79 games while averaging a modest 13:42 minutes. His role included a little power-play ice time (0:51 minutes per game), but just two of his points came with the advantage. The 6-foot-0, 201-pound forward also had a bit of a physical aspect to his game, contributing 98 hits while accumulating 37 penalty minutes. It’s also worth noting that he blocked 43 shots, which was the fourth most among Blue Jackets forwards. Those are important aspects of his game for him to build on, but in the long run it’s his offensive instincts and in particular his wrist shot that figure to be his bread-and-butter. Looking ahead, he’s projected to open the season as the Blue Jackets’ third center, though he could challenge Jack Roslovic for the second slot as the season goes on and of course there’s always the potential that injuries will present Sillinger with an opportunity. We might not see him breakout in 2022-23, but we should see him take another step forward by reaching the 20-goal and 40-point milestones.

Boone Jenner

While Jenner couldn’t play beyond March 11 last season due to a lower back injury, everything that happened before that was good. He struggled in 2020-21 with eight goals and 17 points in 41 games, but bounced back nicely last season, scoring 23 goals and 44 points in 59 games. He established himself as the Blue Jackets’ clear number one center and led all their forwards with an average of 20:28 minutes per game, including 2:58 power-play minutes. He was also won 53.6% of his 1,198 faceoffs, which isn’t amazing, but it was better than Columbus’ other primary options: Sean Kuraly (49.5%), Jack Roslovic (43.5%), and Cole Sillinger (46.5%). In addition to that, the Blue Jackets also felt comfortable regularly sending him out in shorthanded situations. With his importance to Columbus in so many aspects of the game, he’s been a good captain for them since getting the job at the start of the 2021-22 campaign. This coming season could be his best yet though. Columbus signed Johnny Gaudreau over the summer, which might lead to Jenner’s linemates being him and Patrik Laine. At least on paper, that looks like a potent combination and Jenner should benefit from being part of that trio. He’s come close to reaching the 50-point milestone before but has fallen short. There’s a good chance that this will be the year he breaches it.

Alexandre Texier

Anyone looking for promising forwards who have flown a little under the radar a bit might want to consider Texier. He got off to a quiet start in 2021-22, recording two goals in nine games, but his game started to come together after that. He had nine goals and 18 points in 22 contests from Nov. 6-Jan. 13. Had he been able to continue from there, perhaps he wouldn’t be entering this campaign as an underrated forward, but he didn’t play beyond Jan. 26 due to a fractured finger and later personal reasons. He’s ready to play now though after scoring three goals and five points in seven games while representing France in the World Championships. Getting that extra work in after the season should help given how much time he’s missed not just in 2021-22, but in general. Between injuries, time spent either unavailable or on the taxi squad, and the pandemic shortening campaigns, Texier has logged just 121 NHL games plus 10 playoff contests over the last three seasons. That’s not exactly ideal for the 23-year-old’s (as of his birthday on Sept. 13) development, but he’s nevertheless come along nicely. He’s responsible at both ends of the ice and impressive speed. He’s also versatile, capable of playing as either a center or on the wing. It wouldn’t be surprising to see him start the season on the third line, but he has top-six potential.

DEFENSE

Zach Werenski

Since Werenski first entered the NHL in 2016, he has played primarily alongside Seth Jones. In fact, a staggering 87.6% of Werenski’s even strength ice time was shared with defensive partner Jones in 2020-21. With Jones now in Chicago though, how would Werenski do? As it turns out, just fine. Werenski scored 11 goals and a career-high 48 points in 68 games while averaging 25:40 minutes. Rather than have a consistent defensive partner like he had a year prior, Columbus tested out a bunch of different partners, most notably Jake Bean and Andrew Peeke, who shared 36.9% and 36.5% of Werenski’s even strength minutes respectively. Werenski adjusted nicely to that new normal. Defensively, Werenski wasn’t anything impressive, but he also wasn’t a liability. His 5v5 Corsi and Fenwick stood at 49.7% and 48.6% respectively, which doesn’t sound good, but it’s worth noting that’s better than the Blue Jackets overall. Columbus was one of the worst teams defensively last season and that more than anything kept the squad out of the playoffs, but it’s important to remember that wasn’t Werenski’s fault. He’s not a perfect defenseman or the league’s top blueliner, but he more than held up his end of the bargain last season and at the age of 25, he should continue to do so. He’ll once again enter the campaign as Columbus’ undisputed number one defenseman and will consequently be deployed liberally in all situations. That will only serve to reinforce Werenski’s offensive numbers and if he stays healthy, it’s entirely possible that we’ll witness his first 50-plus point campaign.

Adam Boqvist

Acquired from Chicago in the summer of 2021 as part of the Seth Jones trade, Boqvist entered Columbus with plenty of potential, but also significant question marks. He’s an offensive defenseman through and through. He loves having the puck and he has the speed and shot to justify his style of play. When it comes to his defensive work though, he’s lacking. He doesn’t have size and won’t play a physical game, nor does he block a ton of shots. He really does seem to be developing into a purely offensive defenseman, though he is still just 22-years-old, so some further growth is to be expected. In fact, some further growth is practically required, because while Boqvist made some strides in his first season with Columbus, he also left something to be desired. He had 11 goals and 22 points in 52 games while averaging a modest 17:03 minutes. With offensive contributions being his bread-and-butter, how hot-and-cold he was in that area of the game was somewhat disheartening. He had six goals and 13 points in 14 games from Nov. 24-Jan. 8, but his numbers before and after that are underwhelming. As he matures though, that’s something that is likely to be addressed and we might see more regular production out of him as early as this season, which would lead to him comfortably surpassing his 2021-22-point total. Columbus inked him to a three-year, $7.8 million contract over the summer. If he can continue to develop offensively, then that should prove to be a very good signing.

Vladislav Gavrikov

With Seth Jones gone, the Blue Jackets didn’t have anyone who could step in and assume the full burden he left. Instead, Columbus needed multiple defensemen to do more and Gavrikov was one of the key players to help fill that void. He finished second on the Blue Jackets with an average of 22:17 minutes, up from 19:24 minutes per game during his 2020-21 sophomore season. Gavrikov also made strides offensively, scoring five goals and a career-high 33 points in 80 contests. He was a great blueliner for Columbus with a bargain cap hit of $2.8 million, but he wasn’t a pure stand-in for Jones. In contrast to Jones, who was a key part of the Blue Jackets’ power play during his tenure there, Gavrikov got almost no ice time with the man advance in 2021-22. That’s not likely to change either. While Gavrikov did make solid offensive contributions last season, he’s a two-way defender who leans a bit more to the defensive side of the game. He finished second on the team with 138 blocks and third with 124 hits. He also was leaned on heavily in shorthanded situations, averaging 3:05 minutes per game. He’ll turn 27-years-old in November, so he’s well past the point of being a prospect and it’s probably too much to hope for him to grow his offensive game significantly more. But even if he stays exactly as he is, he’ll carve out a great career for himself as an important top-four defenseman.

Jake Bean

Bean established himself with Carolina in 2020-21, logging 42 games, but he only averaged 14:32 minutes. When Columbus acquired him from Carolina in July 2021, he was put in a situation to succeed. The Blue Jackets had just dealt away Seth Jones – in fact they used one of the draft picks they got in the Jones trade to acquire Bean – so there was a big hole left to be filled. Bean couldn’t replace Jones of course, but did play a big role, scoring seven goals and 25 points in 67 games while averaging 20:34 minutes. In terms of average ice time, Bean was the third most commonly used player in Columbus at even strength (18:22 minutes). He got a bit of power play and shorthanded ice time too, but he wasn’t a key part of either special team unit. He also was far from a physical threat, accumulating 41 hits. When measuring puck possession though, he did okay. He had a 48.4% 5v5 Corsi and 46.4% 5v5 Fenwick, which is roughly in line with how Columbus did as a team. All-in-all, it wasn’t a bad season for Bean, but it wasn’t anything special either. He was simply fine and for a player with a $2,333,333 cap hit, that’s acceptable. Bean does have some untapped offensive upside though and after a year adjusting to his bigger role and life in Columbus, it will be interesting to see how he does in 2022-23. Don’t expect him to overtake Zach Werenski as the team’s main offensive threat from the blueline, but Bean has the potential to finish in the 30-40 point range.

GOALTENDING

Elvis Merzlikins

It was hard not to feel for Merzlikins last year, as the fun-loving 28-year-old Latvian netminder navigated a season playing in a building boasting a cannon just months after losing his teammate and friend to a fireworks accident on the Fourth of July. His numbers were far from the main focus for many as they considered what his year would look like – but that will likely change this year as the Blue Jackets make a big push to return to contention. The addition of Johnny Gaudreau in the off-season made it clear that the playoffs were an objective for the Metropolitan Division club – and they’ll look to Merzlikins to be the goaltender that gets them there.

At 28, we likely know what Merzlikins is going to be for the Blue Jackets. He’s best known for his eye-catching stops that take the influence of free-wheeling Slovakian goaltending coach Dusan Sidor, Sr. and enable Merzlikins to pull the trickiest techniques without it affecting the rest of his game. If anything, he sometimes looks a little too eager to make the stops no one else can; while he’s equally capable of playing the waiting game in the blue paint and holding his positioning against approaching offense, he prefers the chances he gets to pull out all the stops. No one seems to love putting on a show more than Merzlikins, and the Blue Jackets have been able to feed off that energy in the past as they adjusted to a world after Sergei Bobrovsky’s departure for the Florida Panthers. There’s a chance that Merzlikins will see a changing of the guard as his number two halfway through the year, with prospect Daniil Tarasov set to return from hip surgery and Joonas Korpisalo’s name still bandied about the ever-rumbling trade market. If Columbus does opt to move Korpisalo out to make room for a younger talent, expect Merzlikins to take on a heavier workload to help the newer Tarasov adjust. But for now, this is a team that has thrived with their tandem battalion over the last handful of years – so there’s little reason to be worried that they’ll stray from that course any time soon.

Projected starts: 50-55

Joonas Korpisalo

The goaltending conundrum faced by the Columbus Blue Jackets in the summer of 2021 – when the team seeed poised to seriously consider jettisoning one of either Elvis Merzlikins or Joonas Korpisalo to pave the way for the other to be the clear number one – has quite noticeably resolved itself. While the 2021-22 season wasn’t one that anyone on the Blue Jackets likely wants to spend much time reminiscing about, Korpisalo’s very apparent struggles stood out and lent favor to Merzlikins to be the team’s clear number one moving forward. It’s not likely that Korpisalo will be able to turn the tides in his favor again, short a miraculous season that revitalizes his game entirely. While Korpisalo has always been the more consistent entity for Columbus, his game’s weaknesses – including his struggles with angles and getting properly centered to shots in close – became predictable enough that teams were able to take advantage. He still had a few heart-stopping highlight-reel moments throughout the year, and it’s entirely possible that the constant spectre of a trade hanging over his head made it hard for the Finnish-born netminder to keep his focus. But with Columbus focused on taking a step back forward and returning to contention, it seems hard to picture Korpisalo being given anything but a short leash.

Projected starts: 25-30

CULLEN: 20 FANTASY POINTS – Evgeni Malkin returns to action and Evander Kane might have a new team soon. Jared McCann, Nico Hischier, Clayton Keller, Trevor Moore and more

Scott Cullen — Sat, 15 Jan 2022 22:57:13 +0000

Each week I will dive into the numbers and offer some insights that should help when it comes time to make fantasy hockey decisions.

In this week’s edition of 20 Fantasy Points, Evgeni Malkin returns to action and Evander Kane might have a new team soon. Jared McCann, Nico Hischier, Clayton Keller, Trevor Moore and more.

PITTSBURGH, PA - MARCH 09: Pittsburgh Penguins Center Evgeni Malkin (71) handles the puck during the NHL game between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the New York Rangers on March 9, 2021, at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, PA. (Photo by Mark Alberti/Icon Sportswire)

#1 The Pittsburgh Penguins have waited patiently and finally had Evgeni Malkin make his season debut this week after a long recovery from knee surgery. He has taken his place on Pittsburgh’s first power play unit and is centering Jeff Carter and Kasperi Kapanen. While injuries have plagued Malkin throughout much of his career, he is still averaging 1.17 points per game since 2017-2018, the seventh highest rate in the league in that time.

#2 After the San Jose Sharks waived left winger Evander Kane for the purposes of terminating his contract, the door was open for Kane to sign with any team as a free agent. The Edmonton Oilers may be the landing spot most loudly rumored. That would obviously present a beneficial opportunity for Kane, who might even get to play with Connor McDavid. Alas, before the deal could even get signed, the league was reportedly investigating another potential COVID-19 protocol violation from Kane and that has put any signing on pause.

#3 If you can get past the off-ice issues, of which there are many, Kane has been a very productive player. In the three seasons prior to this one, Kane was tied for sixth among left wingers with 78 goals. He was tied with Tom Wilson for most penalty minutes among forwards (317) and his 405 hits ranked 13^th among left wingers. Kane’s 678 shots on goal in that span ranked third among left wingers. The shots and goals are difference makers in most fantasy leagues, the hits and penalty minutes are typically in the realm of banger-style leagues. Of course, he comes with more risk than the average player for a lot of reasons but, for fantasy purposes, he does have higher upside than the standard waiver wire addition.

#4 Seattle Kraken center Jared McCann had a breakthrough season for the Penguins last year, stepping into a bigger opportunity when Malkin was injured, and he has continued producing with the expansion Kraken. In his past five games, he has six points (3 G, 3 A) and 21 shots on goal and is up to 15 goals in 31 games. He has emerged as the No. 1 centre for the Kraken, which might even be better than was expected when he was selected in the expansion draft.

NEWARK, NJ - OCTOBER 04: New Jersey Devils center Nico Hischier (13) skates during the first period of the pre-season National Hockey League game between the New Jersey Devils and the Washington Capitals on October 4, 2021 at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ. (Photo by Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire)

#5 Nico Hischier was limited to 21 games last season and the New Jersey Devils captain started slowly this season, but he has been rounding into form. In the past 23 games, Hischier has 19 points (6 G, 13 A) and 43 shots on goal. Pavel Zacha has been his most consistent linemate this season, though Jesper Bratt, Tomas Tatar, and Jimmy Vesey have skated with Hischier, too. With Jack Hughes picking up the scoring pace, the Devils are starting to see what could happen as their top two centers start to reach their offensive potential.

#6 Goals don’t come easily for the Arizona Coyotes. Their 2.15 goals per 60 minutes ranks 31^st, ahead of only the Montreal Canadiens (2.07), and yet Clayton Keller has really started to hit his stride offensively. In the past 18 games, Keller has 20 points (9 G, 11 A) and 61 shots on goal while averaging 20:49 of ice time per game. He is widely available in fantasy leagues and while the Coyotes are likely to shed some veteran talent before the trade deadline, Keller might just hang around and play big minutes on a bad team for the rest of the season.

#7 Point production has been inconsistent for Blake Coleman in his first season with the Calgary Flames, but the hard-driving winger does offer fantasy value in other categories, too. He had finished 2021 with one point in 14 games but in 2022 he has four points (2 G, 2 A) to go with 24 shots on goal and 15 hits in five games. As a player with multiple 20-goal and multiple 200-hit seasons, Coleman has sufficient fantasy upside.

#8 All of the schedule changes this season have resulted in a dramatic difference in terms of games played, so a team like the New York Islanders figures to offer more appeal going forward. The Islanders have played just 29 games, 10 fewer than the teams with the most games played. Mathew Barzal is the obvious target on the Islanders but, in deeper leagues, consider Oliver Wahlstrom, who has 10 points (3 G, 7 A) and 24 shots on goal in the past nine games, and Kieffer Bellows, who has eight points (3 G, 5 A) in his past eight games.

#9 The Ottawa Senators are another team that has played fewer games, with game No. 30 coming Thursday night in Calgary. Drake Batherson and Brady Tkachuk are the more obvious targets for the Sens but consider winger Alex Formenton, whose role is increasing, and he has produced nine points (4 G, 5 A) and 24 shots on goal in his past 10 games.

#10 If the Islanders and Sens are teams to target because they are low on the games played list, it stands to reason that the team that have played more might come with a buyer beware tag. Those teams include the Anaheim Ducks, Vegas Golden Knights, and Tampa Bay Lightning. Beware Ducks veteran center Ryan Getzlaf, who had a productive start to the season but has four points (1 G, 3 A) and 15 shots on goal in his past 13 games.

#11 The Golden Knights appear to be a team on the rise but there is some reason to be cautious with them, too. Chandler Stephenson, for example, has 36 points (10 G, 26 A) in 38 games. That includes seven points (1 G, 6 A) and 12 shots on goal in the past 11 games but that is not the real reason to worry about Stephenson’s production the rest of the way. The bigger concern is what will happen to his ice time once Jack Eichel is ready to play next month. There may be other line shuffling opportunities for the Golden Knights but if Stephenson drops from the top line to make room for Eichel, that could obviously impact his offensive upside.

#12 Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Brady Skjei is experiencing an offensive surge, putting up eight points (4 G, 4 A) and 21 shots on goal in his past six games. That shot rate is very encouraging and Skjei has a chance to have his best offensive output since scoring 39 points as a rookie in 2016-2017.

#13 Calgary Flames defenseman Oliver Kylington had a breakthrough early in the season and was a hot commodity in fantasy circles but is available in more leagues now. He has seven points (1 G, 6 A) in his past 13 games but 33 shots on goal in that time is a decent indicator that Kylington’s production should continue at a reasonably high level.

#14 When Trevor Moore scored 23 points (10 G, 13 A) in 56 games last season, that counted as the best season of his career. The Los Angeles Kings winger then opened this season with zero points in 11 games. Time has brought about new opportunity, though, and Moore is now skating with Phillip Danault and Viktor Arvidsson on the Kings’ second line and Moore has produced 10 points (3 G, 7 A) and 23 shots on goal in the past seven games.

#15 Florida Panthers defenseman Radko Gudas has long been a fantasy sleeper, but it bears repeating that his hit totals can be a major factor. Since the beginning of December, Gudas is averaging 4.2 hits per game, tops among defensemen that have played at least 10 games in that span. (Edmonton’s Markus Niemelainen had 5.1 hits per game in seven games.)

#16 Other defensemen bringing the boom, with the most hits per game since the start of December, include Montreal’s Alexander Romanov (4.1), Vancouver’s Luke Schenn (4.0), Nashville’s Mark Borowiecki (4.0), Columbus’ Andrew Peeke (3.4), and Seattle’s Jeremy Lauzon (3.4).

#17 A prime fantasy category for defensemen is blocked shots and given its nature as a peripheral type of statistic, sometimes it’s an area which might offer some undervalued players. Chicago’s Connor Murphy (3.0 blocks per game), St. Louis’ Colton Parayko (2.9), Vegas’ Brayden McNabb (2.8), and Montreal’s David Savard (2.8) are the per-game blocked shot leaders since the start of December. Savard and Murphy are both averaging more than 2.4 hits per game in that span, too.

#18 Sometimes it can be hard to find goaltending value at this stage of the fantasy season. Usually, the safe and reliable options are taken but short-term value can come from backup goaltenders getting a chance due to injuries. Some of the best backups this season include Anaheim’s Anthony Stolarz (.929 SV%) and Minnesota’s Kaapo Kahkonen (.915 SV%) who have had some opportunity to play a bit more recently.

#19 Dallas’ Jake Oettinger was not a starter at the beginning of the season, but it sure appears that is the path the Stars have now chosen. Oettinger has earned it, with a .923 save percentage in 17 games.

#20 If there is a backup goaltender who might get a shot at the starting role it is Edmonton’s Stuart Skinner. It is possible that the Oilers make a trade for a more established veteran but, if not, 23-year-old Skinner has a .916 save percentage in 10 appearances for the Oilers this season in addition to a .925 save percentage in eight AHL games. Given the struggles of Mikko Koskinen and injury woes plaguing Mike Smith, Skinner might have some potential to steal the starting job. It is at least enough to make him worth monitoring.

Advanced stats via Natural Stat Trick.

2021-22 NHL ROOKIES AND SECOND YEAR BREAKOUT CANDIDATES

Corey Sznajder — Mon, 27 Sep 2021 12:56:50 +0000

Rookies and Second Year Breakout Candidates

Training camp is the most exciting time of year for hockey fans. Development camp just ended, and prospects are fresh on your minds. You hold out hope that maybe, just maybe the kid you just watched tear it up in the preseason can force their way onto the roster. Rookie production is still the best way to shift your team’s projection in a cap world and it’s understandable for fans to be excited about prospects I camp. It’s not always a plug and play situation, though.

Most teams have their rosters set by now and at most, there are only two or three available spots for a rookie. Sometimes those are only depth minutes where they’re stuck on the fourth line to get their bearings in the NHL. There are always exceptions to this rule. You have rebuilding teams going emphasizing “youth movements” where rookies are going to get a lot of rope. Then there’s the high draft picks who are usually too good to keep off the roster and finally, there are teams who are just better at setting up rookies for success than others. There’s a lot of context that goes into what makes a rookie a Calder candidate and the team situation is arguably the most important factor. Do they have the right linemates for him? Are there enough spots open? Are there power play spots open?

Today, we’re going to look at which teams are going to be asking the most out of rookies, which players are walking into favorable situations and which teams have the toughest rosters to crack in the NHL.

The Tiers

Instead of doing the usual “rookies to watch” list, we’re going to put teams into different tiers based on how many top-nine forward spots or top-six defense spots are “open” in training camp and the talent available to them. This is a little subjective because it’s tough to separate out the biases from the coaching staff, but these are all based off CapFriendly’s depth charts and they players they have projected for top-nine/top-six spots vs. how many minutes they played per game last year. (For instance, a player like Isac Lundestrom would have his spot listed as “open” even though he is Anaheim’s first line left winger on Cap Friendly because he is still unproven at the NHL level with fewer than 100 games played and less than .5 points per game). Injuries to players are also taken into account when determining what roster spots are open, but we will get into that later.

Youth Movements/Sink or Swim

First, we’re going to look at the teams with the most holes on their roster, teams that finished near the bottom of the standings last year and are expecting their younger players to hold spots high in the lineup. These aren’t always the best situation to walk into because teams aren’t going to hit on all of their draft picks and will often ask too much out of players who just aren’t ready. Players who are talented enough will benefit long-term from the number of minutes and puck touches they’ll get on these teams, though. Think of Jack Hughes in his first year with the Devils. The production wasn’t there, but you could see his confidence with the puck and how the team ran the offense through him last year. He is poised to take a big step this season now with the talent around him improving.

ANAHEIM, CA - MARCH 10: Anaheim Ducks Left Wing Trevor Zegras (46) in action during a game against the Los Angeles Kings played on March 10, 2021 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, CA. (Photo by John Cordes/Icon Sportswire)

Anaheim

The Ducks went this route with most of their forward prospects like Max Jones and Sam Steel getting regular playing time and struggling to make much of an impact at the NHL level. The one exception was Maxime Comtois, who led the team in goals and looked like a legit offensive threat when the puck was below the faceoff circles. They have much bigger aspirations for their prized center prospect Trevor Zegras, likely the team’s second line center out of camp.

Zegras is in a unique situation compared to other rookies because he got a head start with his 24-game stint last year and formed a nice line with Comtois and Troy Terry when he was moved to center. The three only played seven games together, but they were effective, and it at least gives the Ducks a baseline to work on where to play Zegras on Opening Night. He is likely in the “talent wins out” class of young players because even though he didn’t produce points, he did enough to show he belonged in the NHL at 19 years old.

Zegras was above average at producing shots, one of the best players on the Ducks at creating high danger chances and showed versatility by both being effective off the rush and off cycles. All things that should make him an effective NHLer for a very long time, especially when you consider how hard it was for the Ducks to create any offense off the rush last year. It also helps that his linemates play complementary styles, Comtois being one of the most underrated netfront players in the league and Terry being very effective at creating off the rush.

It’s tough to call Terry a breakout player, seeing how he’s already 24 years old with 148 games of experience, but he should see his point totals see a big improvement if he can start finishing more chances, as he’s going to get plenty of opportunity with Zegras. The same can be said for most of the Ducks young core with most of their top-nine consisting of players under 25, although it’s getting tough to see any future stars in the likes of Steel, Jones and Lundestrom at this point. Zegras taking over and becoming the star Anaheim hopes he can be could cause a ripple effect for some of these players, which is what makes the Ducks an interesting spot for rookies.

With the exception of Zegras and Jamie Drysdale on defense, their more talented players are probably too young for full-time roles, but the team has a lot of spots open with their previous wave of prospects being on their last legs and that could lead to there being more spots open later in the year as opposed to the three or four spots they have open at camp now. They are the one team giving their rookies the most high leverage spots with Zegras and Drysdale, though.

Buffalo

It’s blank canvas in Buffalo as they enter yet another rebuild. Their roster is largely unproven but there aren’t many true rookies expected to make camp. Instead, it’s a lot of players who are still young but have posted very underwhelming results in their brief NHL careers. The Casey Mittelstadts and Henri Jokiharjus of the world. Even Rasmus Dahlin is only 21 years old and has yet to make the impact the Sabres hoped he would when they took him first overall. With Owen Power and Ryan Johnson both in the NCAA this year, Buffalo’s rookie contributions are coming from someone a little off-the-board like a Jack Quinn or maybe goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, who should have a shot to make the team with Craig Anderson and Aaron Dell being the only competition.

Buffalo’s main source of hope is going to be tied to whatever progressions Dylan Cozens makes in his second year. The former 7^th overall pick struggled to score at the NHL level in his first year, but there were some encouraging underlying numbers.

He could create off the rush, which is saying a lot when the only player who could do that on Buffalo last year was Taylor Hall, and while he’s not going to take over for Jack Eichel, he should be prepared to get a lot of puck touches because he is the team’s most talented center as of right now. Buffalo likely won’t see the fruits of this for another few years when they get through this rebuild but building up Cozens’ confidence by getting him reps high in the lineup is going to be a priority for them.

Columbus

Even before the injury to Max Domi, the door was open for some younger players to take the reins in Columbus. Adam Boqvist isn’t a rookie, but if they’re looking for someone to fill Seth Jones’ spot on the power play at a low-cost, he could be their best option. His calling card is passing and that could help them get more out of Patrik Laine on the power play, as a righty getting him the puck with pace is key to that 1-3-1 setup working. Filling those shoes at 5v5 is going to be a tougher task that the Jackets might have to fill by-committee. Asking anyone to play the 24-26 minutes Jones averaged a night is tough for anyone, let alone a rookie, but Boqvist is the best skater out of their younger group so he might get first dibs at filling this void.

The number of power play guys departing is what makes Columbus an attractive spot for rookies, although Voracek and Nyquist should slide into those roles. There’s still room for someone like Liam Foudy or Yegor Chinakhov to take one of those spots and maybe push someone like Sean Kuraly or Boone Jenner down the lineup if they can hang at 5v5. Other second year defensemen like Jake Bean and Andrew Peeke are also likely playing big minutes for most of the year and it will be trial by fire to see how much they can handle at the NHL level. Bean’s struggled with decision making and making plays under pressure when he had to play beyond the third pair in Carolina, but he should get plenty of chances to work through this with the Jackets, as they’re going through a transition year.

VANCOUVER, BC - APRIL 22: Ottawa Senators center Shane Pinto (57) skates up ice during their NHL game against the Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Arena on April 22, 2021 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. (Photo by Derek Cain/Icon Sportswire)

Ottawa

It’s the second year of the youth movement in Ottawa and progression is expected from young forwards like Josh Norris and Tim Stutzle, who will likely be the team’s main scoring. The main rookie to watch is 2019 second round pick Shane Pinto, who played 12 games with the Sens last year. DJ Smith liked him enough to use him on the penalty kill in a few games and his aggressive tendencies there could make him a nice fit with speedster Alex Formenton or maybe Nick Paul in a full-time role. Ottawa’s middle-six center spots aren’t totally up for grabs with Chris Tierney and Colin White in the mix, but both players are coming off down years and Pinto could provide more upside here. He’s in a decent spot for success with how many young players are in the mix with the Sens, although point production might be hard to come by if he’s centering the third line.

Also, in the “not a rookie, but young enough to take a big step” class is Erik Brannstrom. The 22-year-old posted modest results in lower-leverage role last year, paying about 16-17 minutes a night. He’s a very active defender, often challenging forwards before they even get to the blue line and that’s going to result in some growing pains because more talented forwards are going to be able to weave around you if you’re too aggressive. Other smaller defenders like Matt Grzelcyk have had to go through this too and Brannstrom is similar with how his skating and puck skills are going to be what keeps him around even if it doesn’t result in points. A second play spot along with power play time should be open to him from the start of October.

Making the Cut

In this tier, we’re going to look at teams who have their roster set but have a high-leverage spot open for a rookie or young player to take advantage of. Some of these are due to injuries (i.e. Philadelphia losing Kevin Hayes), but other teams like the Rangers and Kings have kept spots open for their younger players expecting them to take the next step. Like the last tier, we’re looking for top-nine forward spots, open power play spots or anywhere in the top-six on defense.

NYR – Vitali Kravtsov, second line RWer

The Pavel Buchnevich trade freed up some cap space for the Rangers down the line, but it also left a gaping hole at the top of their lineup. A breakout year from Kaapo Kakko should cover up some of this, but another player expected to take a leap is Vitali Kravtsov. The ninth overall pick from 2018 didn’t have a great start to his NHL career, recording only four points in 20 games in a depth role. More is expected from him this year and he showed a little of why he can be a decent Buchnevich replacement.

Kravtsov’s boxcar numbers might not have been good, but he did show some very good playmaking ability on the Rangers third line and more of those passes should result in goals now that he’s slated to play higher in the lineup. It’s tough to say if he’s ready to carry the mail on a line because most of his offense came off sequences where the Rangers had sustained possession rather than creating off the rush. Does he have the legs to create on his own or does someone need to do the work in the neutral zone for him? That’s something the Rangers are going to find out next year. Regardless, the opportunity is his to lose, including power play time.

ANAHEIM, CA - APRIL 30: Los Angeles Kings center Quinton Byfield (55) in action during a game against the Anaheim Ducks played on April 30, 2021 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, CA. (Photo by John Cordes/Icon Sportswire)

Los Angeles – Quinton Byfield, entire second power play unit

The Kings are in an interesting spot because they’re rebuilding and have a roster where the top-six spots are taken by veterans. Is there a spot for their second overall pick Quinton Byfield? There is, but it might come at the expense of Gabriel Vilardi, another player finding his way in the league. The Kings are in a position where they can shelter younger players with Anze Kopitar and Phillip Danault taking most of the defensive minutes, but there aren’t many open top-nine spots as of right now.

The good news is that LA has to replace basically their entire second power play unit with Jeff Carter gone and most of the other players not producing much there. This creates a pathway for Byfield (and possibly Arthur Kaliyev at netfront) to get their feet wet in the league and get more puck touches. Also, worth noting that while LA’s top power play unit was quietly one of the best in the league, it shouldn’t take much for Byfield to slide into Alex Iafallo or Dustin Brown’s spot if he is as good as advertised. Based on his AHL production, it should take long to get adjusted, it’s just going to be a challenge for LA to find a spot for him, although he is the type of player who can be “too good” to send back down or play on the fourth line.

The same can be said for Alex Turcotte and most of LA’s other forwards that could be stuck in the AHL to start the year. It’s possible that they could push someone like Trevor Moore or Andreas Athanasiou down the lineup, but it will take some roster maneuvering from the Kings to get all of these kids ice-time. Byfield is likely the one at the top of the list for obvious reasons.

NYI – Oliver Wahlstrom, 1^st line RWer/Noah Dobson, 2RD

The Islanders have exactly two roster spots open and they’re both huge opportunities for second year players. The first is replacing Jordan Eberle on Mathew Barzal’s line, which could be a perfect spot for second year player Oliver Wahlstrom to slide into. He had a solid rookie campaign with 12 goals in 44 games but playing on Barzal’s wing is a chance for him to really put up some numbers. Barzal is one of the best playmakers in the game and Wahlstrom’s calling card so far is that he’s a shot machine who is very good at creating rebound chances. With how much the Isles shoot from the point and Eberle’s minutes needing to be replaced, Wahlstrom could find himself in a spot to put up 20+ goals.

Speaking of point shots, there’s also an opportunity for Noah Dobson to become more than just a third pair guy for the Isles with Nick Leddy out of the picture. The recent signing of Zdeno Chara WILL MAKE IT tough for him to be a direct replacement, but neither Chara or Scott Mayfield brings the puck rushing and offensive skills that Leddy was known for. This is where Dobson can slide in, most notably on the power play. He will probably be asked to play more of a simple game, as it’s tough to imagine him going coast-to-coast like Leddy did, but he will get plenty of opportunities to tee off from the point and maybe use his vision to create from there a little more. The Isles don’t project to have much offense form their blue line, so there’s an opening for Dobson to become more of an integral player instead of just a depth piece.

TBL – Alex Barre-Boulet, 2^nd/3^rd line winger

An undrafted player who has done nothing but score goals in the AHL, Barre-Boulet will get a chance to stick full-time this year. He got an audition as Brayden Point’s winger for 15 games last year and got plenty of chances to show his calling card, shooting the puck every chance he got. He might have to work a little more for his opportunities this year, likely starting on the fourth line, but he has a chance to move up in the lineup with Tampa needing to replace their entire third line and second power play unit from last year.

NSH – Alexandre Carrier, top-four RD

An underrated storyline during Nashville’s run to the playoffs was the emergence of Alexandre Carrier as a top-four defenseman. He played well enough to push Dante Fabbro out of a lineup spot once the team got healthy and with Ryan Ellis gone, the door is open for Carrier to be Josi’s running mate this year. A solid puck-mover and offensive defenseman in the AHL, it will be tough for Carrier to carry over that production. However, he showed that he can do a lot of the little things to stick around at the NHL level. Using his skating to defend the line and keep pucks out of the Nashville zone, he was a good compliment to Josi and one of Nashville’s better defenders.

The one caveat is that this is only 19 games and sustaining it over a full-season is another challenge. Carrier’s play from last year gives him a slight inside edge for this roster spot, though.

MTL – Cole Caufield, 1^ST Line RW

The Canadiens playoff run from last year have all but guaranteed Caufield a spot on the top line. That’s not to say the Habs don’t have other options but with the exception of Brendan Gallagher, it’s hard to see any of the other wingers being able to do what Caufield can. He’s already shown to have a complementary skillset for Nick Suzuki, being a shoot-first player who can trail him off the rush and create chances from in-tight. He scored only four goals in 20 games in the playoffs, but it’s hard to argue that his line wasn’t a threat to strike off the rush whenever they were on. Caufield is likely starting this season in the same spot and is an early favorite to win the Calder based on his projected ice-time.

ST. PAUL, MN - JANUARY 31: Colorado Avalanche Defenceman Bowen Byram (4) skates with the puck during an NHL game between the Minnesota Wild and the Colorado Avalanche on January 31, 2021, at Xcel Energy Center, St. Paul, MN.(Photo by Nick Wosika/Icon Sportswire)

Colorado – Bowen Byram 2LD, Alex Newhook, top-nine forward

With Ryan Graves traded and Devon Toews recovering from shoulder surgery, there’s a real opportunity for the former 4^th overall pick Bowen Byram to standout. Colorado has been a place where defenseman have had career seasons across the board the past couple of years, so it’s a favorable situation or Byram to walk into, especially when considering the forward lines he will be playing behind. Injuries kept him from sticking around last year, so it will be interesting to see how he does in the top-four until Toews gets back. Can he be a building block for the Avs or is he more?

The same can be said for Alex Newhook, another former first round pick expected to break into a full-time role. His is a little more carved out, as the Avs are insulated well at center and he will likely be the third line pivot. The one caveat is that it might be tough for him to put up points depending on who his linemates are. Tyson Jost and JT Compher are good players, but they’ve never been huge point producers. Neither has Val Nichushkin or most of the Avs depth forwards. This will change drastically if he gets Andre Burakovsky as his linemate, though. It’s easy to see him succeeding but being a Calder candidate might depend on how the Avs lines shake out.

Edmonton – Evan Bouchard

If the Oilers weren’t currently employing Tyson Barrie, it would be easy to peg Evan Bouchard as a Calder favorite because he would be getting those power play minutes. The 21-year-old hasn’t quite earned the trust of the coaching staff yet, but when he was in the lineup, he showed that he can create offense, never hesitating to shoot the puck from the point and injecting some life into the bottom-half of the Oilers roster. There’s a slightly easier path for Bouchard to earn a full-time job this year, as he’s likely the best puck-mover the Oilers have in their reconstructed second and third pairs. He is a stealth Calder candidate in the event of an injury to Barrie or Duncan Keith.

Philadelphia – Morgan Frost 2C/3C

Coming off a lost season due to a dislocated shoulder, Morgan Frost has a chance to hit the reset button filling in for an injured Kevin Hayes. The former Greyhound showed some flashes in his first cup of coffee with the Flyers, centering Giroux and Konecny and showing some of the creative offensive instincts that got him drafted in the first round. He was a plus in just about every category except actually finishing chances, which should hopefully come with time.

What makes a prospect like Frost so interesting to follow is most of his offense comes out of “nothing” plays where he doesn’t need to be setup or have a lot of open ice. He proved to be very good at recovering pucks, taking creative routes to the front of the net and quickly making plays to the net to catch defenders off-guard. It didn’t result in as many points as it should have, but the talent is hard to ignore with him. Two years later, he should get plenty of opportunities to earn a spot in the Flyers top-nine.

2021-22 TOP 15 PROSPECTS: COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS – RANK: #17 – TIER III

McKeen's Hockey — Fri, 10 Sep 2021 15:44:10 +0000

Columbus Blue Jackets

#17 Columbus - Columbus has six players in the top 100, but no one else seems likely to threaten the upper echelon. Blue Jackets need more big draft classes like this last one, as they had too many small draft classes in recent years.

Kent Johnson; Photo courtesy of University of Michigan

Kent Johnson - C

What a year for Ann Arbor, three players drafted inside the Top Five (four if you count recruit Luke Hughes) to give the Michigan Wolverines their greatest draft buzz since the days of the Fab Five almost 30 years ago.

Johnson is a master of the scoresheet. His puck skills are sublime. He sometimes plays as if the game is actually a skills competition, treating opponents like pylons. This approach worked tremendously in the BCHL and as well as it could in the Big 10. He is a joy to watch because of his creative approach. Yet scouts are left with the nagging feeling that he will need to make significant alterations to his game to play at the highest levels. As is, too many potential opportunities die on Johnson’s stick, and not through lack of skill, but through needlessly overcomplicating the game. Beyond that, he seldom makes his presence felt without the puck on his stick. The tools are here for an All-Star ceiling, but the pieces do not yet fit together smoothly enough. He will return to Michigan and look to improve his skating, physicality, and decision making. After his sophomore year, the Jackets should get a better read on whether he is ready to turn pro and be an impact player for them. - McKeen’s Draft Guide 2021

Cole Sillinger - C

Born in Columbus, Ohio while his father Mike “Suitcase” Sillinger played with the Blue Jackets – the eighth of a record 12 teams he would play for during his career, young Cole saw his hockey career take off after his father retired back to Regina, Saskatchewan. Interestingly enough, things came full circle when Cole was drafted by the Jackets this year.

Unsure of when, or if, the 2020-21 WHL season would take place, Cole left Medicine Hat to play in the USHL for Sioux Falls. His 46 points in 31 games would lead the Stampede in scoring. Sillinger’s bread and butter is his shot. A high-volume shooter, the shot quality is as impressive as the release, with strength, suddenness, and accuracy. The rest of his package should begin with a look at his game processing capabilities. You might want to attribute his advanced hockey mind to a childhood spent in and out of NHL rinks. He plays a two-way game, with an average of nearly two minutes of shorthanded ice time per game this year. At both ends of the ice, he is more often than not found in a position to make something positive happen for his team, with his stick at the ready to capitalize. He could improve the quickness of his first few steps, or the sharpness of his edges, however Sillinger is an NHL’er in the making. His full skill set has the look of a front line, goal scoring winger, with the questions revolving mostly on what kind of linemate assistance he will need to succeed at the highest level. He will return to Medicine Hat this year and is a candidate to lead the WHL in scoring. - McKeen’s Draft Guide 2021

Yegor Chinakhov - RW

There were quite a few skeptics a year ago when the Blue Jackets selected Chinakhov in the first round of the 2020 NHL draft, even though he was already a competent MHL goal scorer at the time. This past season he continued to do so, progressing further as a blossoming young Russian star. Interestingly enough, those same skeptics were quieter this year. Even though he got injured at the World Juniors, his season had to be considered a success by becoming a KHL champion and winning the KHL rookie of the year award.

Immediately after the end of the KHL season Chinakhov signed his entry-level contract with the Blue Jackets (burning the first year of it that way), but there are reasonable doubts about him being able to play in the NHL next season. However, he does have a history of proving the doubters wrong. He likely starts in the AHL, where he can adjust to the speed and physicality of the North American game. Armed with a wicked shot, deceptive stickhandling ability, and a strong skating base, Chinakhov is a potential top six goal scorer for the Blue Jackets. - VF

Liam Foudy - LW

Speed, speed, and more speed, that is the name of Foudy’s game. Already one of the NHL’s elite skaters, Foudy’s first pro season following a successful 2020 playoff performance with the Jackets, had its moments. No question his speed can play at the NHL level. However, his hands and ability to process the game have yet to catch up to his quickness, causing a lack of production and finish at the NHL level. This led to Foudy being on the shuttle back and forth between Cleveland (AHL) and Columbus. When in the AHL, Foudy was a standout, showing that with patience, his offensive game could come around at the NHL level.

As mentioned, Foudy’s greatest strength is his quickness. A former track star at a young age, Foudy accelerates to top speed as if he were shot out of a cannon. This allows him to be a disruptive force without the puck. With the puck, he is still learning how to best blend his skating and puck skill to be a consistently effective attacker and finisher. Worst case scenario, the offensive skill set never translates, and he becomes an effective fourth line penalty killer. Best case, he learns to utilize his gifts and is able to carve out a long career similar to that of Andrew Cogliano. - BO

Corson Ceulemans - D

The third of three first round selections made by Columbus this year, Ceulemans is a two-way defender headed to the University of Wisconsin after several years playing with the Brooks Bandits of the AJHL (better known as Cale Makar’s alma mater). He showed well at the Under 18’s, playing a critical role for the gold medal winning Canadians. Ceulemans played in all situations for Canada, showcasing his versatility and potential as a two-way defender.

One of Ceuleman’s best attributes is his mobility. A strong and powerful mover in all four directions, Ceuleman rarely puts himself in a position where he cannot recover due to his excellent skating ability. As a powerplay quarterback, Ceuelemans shows great potential because of his big point shot and comfort level with playing deep in the offensive zone. At the University of Wisconsin, he will need to work on his decisiveness with the puck and learn to make quicker decisions. At times, he seems a step too slow to find a teammate with a pass or exploit open shooting lanes. Greater confidence and experience may certainly help in this regard, especially at higher levels when challenged by quicker and more skilled opponents. He is a prospect with a high floor and high ceiling. This means that at worst, Ceulemans probably still develops into a serviceable third pairing defender who can do a little bit of everything, and most importantly play the right side. At best, his confidence offensively grows, and he establishes himself as a dominant two-way defender. - McKeen’s Draft Guide 2021

Kirill Marchenko - LW

Marchenko's progress has been steady over the last couple of seasons, to the point where he has emerged as a top young player in Russia. His development curve is heading towards him becoming one of the top snipers in the KHL, although an injury did interrupt the most recent season. Another thing that he has missed this season was the World Championships, as he was left on the Team Russia taxi squad due to wingers from the NHL joining the team.

Marchenko has the right kind of tools to achieve status as a top player for the Bluejackets in the future: he is very mobile, has good size and, of course, has a high-precision right-handed shot. This coming season is the last season of his current KHL contract — my guess would be that the Blue Jackets management is counting on him to come over after that. He should emerge as one of the top forwards in the KHL this year before making that jump. Marchenko's NHL ambitions probably are at least as a top-six left wing level and given his progress thus far, that looks like a very likely outcome. - VF

Dmitri Voronkov - LW

This has been a real breakout year for Voronkov as he has shown that he can be not just a hard-working player, but also can lead his KHL team in big games. Even in the KHL playoffs, Voronkov's game just kept getting better. His impressive season concluded at the World Championships, where Voronkov played on the top line for Team Russia and made people talk about him as a legitimate candidate for the Olympics next year.

Voronkov is very versatile, always playing with high-intensity and physicality, getting to the dirty areas and under opponents' skin. Every NHL coach wants a player like that on his team. In terms of the offense, it is important not to underestimate Voronkov’s offensive skill set, as it has improved considerably in recent years. At the end of the day Voronkov may become a player who can play anywhere on the NHL team's roster and fans can be certain that his performance will be consistent. There are plenty of reasons to get excited, yet patience is the key for the Blue Jackets fans because Voronkov still has two years left on his KHL contract. When that deal is up, he should be ready to make an immediate impact in Columbus. - VF

Stanislav Svozil - D

A third-round selection this year, Svozil is only 18 years old yet has already spent roughly two full seasons playing against men in the top Czech league. He played big minutes in both the WJC and the WU-18s this year. He can read and anticipate the game at a level well above his age and experience.

In his own end, off the puck or on, he is reliable. His positioning is generally strong, taking good angles to lower the danger of any given play, whether the zone has already been established, or he is facing an opponent trying to enter his zone with control. When he has the chance to exit the zone, he has the wherewithal to make the simple, safe play if it is there, a sign of his maturity and poise. In the offensive zone, his low point totals may be deceptive, as Svozil flashes skills that could contribute more heavily to scoring chance generation. He may need some time to grow more comfortable taking a leading role against men, but even if he doesn’t, his floor is high enough that he could be a serviceable NHL defender. He has already inked his ELC with the Jackets, giving them some flexibility as to where to assign him for the upcoming season. Currently he is slated to play in the WHL with Regina (and Connor Bedard), who own his Import rights. - McKeen’s Draft Guide 2021

Andrew Peeke - D

After three seasons at Notre Dame, the last of which saw him serve as team Captain, Peeke got his pro career off to a promising start in 2019-20, falling three games shy of losing his prospect eligibility before the pandemic ended the season early. A tall, wide-bodied, right-handed shooter, he never demonstrated consistent big-time offensive upside, but profiled in more of a shut-down role, with plus mobility, a very strong off-puck game, and a tendency to transition the puck smartly.

Last year didn’t see so much regression as it did a player caught in the COVID-era no-man’s land of the taxi squad, limiting him to 18 games combined between the NHL and AHL. Peeke took on a workhorse role in his AHL time, but he could not seem to gain the trust of former Columbus coach John Tortorella. However, Torts is gone and incumbent GM Jarmo Kekalainen had enough faith in the former second rounder to grant him a two-year contract extension. Along with the shake up behind the bench, the Columbus blueline has also undergone significant upheaval, with the departure of star Seth Jones just one of the big changes. Peeke should have a real opportunity to establish himself this year, with a top four outcome still a distinct possibility. - RW

Trey Fix-Wolansky - RW

Trey Fix-Wolansky is a smaller player that plays without fear. Typically, a player of his size prefers the perimeter, but Fix-Wolansky is a guy that makes a living driving the net with and without the puck. He is comfortable along the wall and uses his low center of gravity to his advantage in puck battles. The puck skills were very noticeable in Junior but there were concerns he might not be able to handle the puck as much in the pro game. He has adjusted well and makes quicker plays without sitting on the puck as long. At the AHL level he has shown to be a solid and consistent contributor despite Covid shortened seasons and a torn ACL last year affecting his development.

His game revolves around his quick feet, effort and puck skills all of which he has continued to improve upon during his time in the AHL. Fix-Wolansky has a powerful frame and lower body that makes him a challenge to knock off the puck even though he lacks the height and wingspan of most players in the NHL. The Jackets will be looking for him to continue to play his competitive style following the rehab of his knee injury. With diminutive scorer Cam Atkinson moving on, Fix-Wolansky could find himself inserted into the middle six of a Blue Jacket roster in transition as early as next season if he proves to be fully healthy. - VG

Tyler Angle - C

Sometimes breakout performances come out of nowhere and that was the case for Angle last season as a first-year pro with Cleveland. Expectations were low for his first pro year, but he ended up scoring at over a point per game and really put himself on the map as a significant prospect in the system. Angle never stops moving his feet in the offensive zone and has the skill to be an NHL player.

Daniil Tarasov - G

A former third round pick by the Jackets, Tarasov had a strong 2020/21 season, performing well in the KHL. He even joined Cleveland briefly at the end of the season in Russia. He will play in Cleveland full time this year and has a chance to be the starter for the Monsters.

Samuel Knazko - D

The captain of Slovakia’s entry at the World Junior Championships this year, Knazko also suited up for his country at the World Championships in a depth role. The highly mobile blueliner will play in Liiga on loan this year with TPS, his first exposure to full time professional hockey.

James Malatesta

Ranked by McKeens as considerably better than a fifth round pick this year, Malatesta is built like an ox and loves to drive the net to earn scoring chances. Consistency and decision making with the puck remain issues, but he will try to improve upon those with Quebec again this year in the QMJHL.

Guillaume Richard - D

A defense first, stay at home type, Richard will attend Providence College this season. His upside may be relatively limited, but his combination of size and defensive awareness makes him a good bet to become a reliable third pairing defender in the future for Columbus.

McKeen’s 2020-21 Hockey Yearbook: Top 300 Prospect Rankings

McKeen's Hockey — Fri, 04 Dec 2020 17:09:56 +0000

These are our final prospect ranking prior to the start of the season. As a subscriber you can download the list in an excel chart and can link to the player pages in the chart found here. As always, the rankings you see below are based on our 20-80 scouting system looking at five categories for skaters (Skating, Shot, Puck Skills, Hockey Smarts, Physicality) and six for netminders (Athleticism/Quickness/Speed, Compete/Temperament, Vision/Play Reading, Technique/Style, Rebound Control, Puck Handling). Our prospect team spent large portions of their last few months pre-COVID in the rinks, watching the players below and many others, and further work on video (Instat Hockey has been a terrific resource in recent days) before passing judgement on their future projections.

The 20-80 scouting system is meant to allow players from different leagues in different parts of the world to be compared to one another, such that grades on a player in the OHL can be directly compared to grades from an AHL player, and to grades of someone playing in the MHL.

PROSPECT CRITERIA

Players under 26 years of age as of the September 15th prior (Sep. 15, 1994) to the season in question who have appeared in less than 60 NHL games (30 for goalies) and less than 35 in any one season – or 25 last year (20 for goalies, 15 last season) are considered prospects

RANK	PLAYER	NHL	POS	AGE	HT/WT	ACQUIRED
1	Alexis Lafreniere	NYR	LW	19	6-1/195	`20(1st)
2	Tim Stutzle	Ott	C	18	6-1/185	`20(3rd)
3	Quinton Byfield	LA	C	18	6-4/215	`20(2nd)
4	Trevor Zegras	Ana	C	19	6-0/170	`19(9th)
5	Kirill Kaprizov	Min	LW	23	5-10/200	`15(135th)
6	Lucas Raymond	Det	LW	18	5-11/170	`20(4th)
7	Dylan Cozens	Buf	C	19	6-3/185	`19(7th)
8	Bowen Byram	Col	D	19	6-0/195	`19(4th)
9	Peyton Krebs	VGK	C	19	5-11/180	`19(17th)
10	Jake Sanderson	Ott	D	18	6-1/185	`20(5th)
11	Moritz Seider	Det	D	19	6-3/185	`19(6th)
12	Jamie Drysdale	Ana	D	18	5-11/175	`20(6th)
13	Igor Shesterkin	NYR	G	25	6-1/190	`14(118th)
14	Alexander Holtz	NJ	RW	18	6-0/190	`20(7th)
15	Cole Perfetti	Wpg	LW	19	5-10/180	`20(10th)
16	Marco Rossi	Min	C	19	5-9/185	`20(9th)
17	Vasili Podkolzin	Van	RW	19	6-1/190	`19(10th)
18	Victor Soderstrom	Ari	D	19	5-11/180	`19(11th)
19	Nick Robertson	Tor	LW	19	5-9/160	`19(53rd)
20	Cole Caufield	Mtl	RW	19	5-7/165	`19(15th)
21	Yaroslav Askarov	Nsh	G	18	6-3/175	`20(11th)
22	Spencer Knight	Fla	G	19	6-3/195	`19(13th)
23	Philip Broberg	Edm	D	19	6-3/200	`19(8th)
24	Jack Quinn	Buf	RW	19	6-0/180	`20(8th)
25	Matthew Boldy	Min	LW	19	6-1/190	`19(12th)
26	Nils Lundkvist	NYR	D	20	5-11/180	`18(28th)
27	Seth Jarvis	Car	RW	18	5-10/175	`20(13th)
28	Ty Smith	NJ	D	20	5-10/180	`18(17th)
29	Grigori Denisenko	Fla	LW	20	5-11/185	`18(15th)
30	Barrett Hayton	Ari	C	20	6-1/190	`18(5th)
31	Alex Newhook	Col	C	19	5-10/195	`19(16th)
32	Thomas Harley	Dal	D	19	6-3/190	`19(18th)
33	Alex Turcotte	LA	C	19	5-11/185	`19(5th)
34	Vitali Kravtsov	NYR	RW	21	6-3/185	`18(9th)
35	Philip Tomasino	Nsh	C	19	5-11/180	`19(24th)
36	Connor McMichael	Wsh	C	19	5-11/175	`19(25th)
37	Dawson Mercer	NJ	C	19	6-0/180	`20(18th)
38	Ilya Sorokin	NYI	G	25	6-2/180	`14(78th)
39	Gabriel Vilardi	LA	RW	21	6-3/200	`17(11th)
40	Ryan Merkley	SJ	D	20	5-11/170	`18(21st)
41	Alexander Romanov	Mtl	D	20	5-11/185	`18(38th)
42	Kaiden Guhle	Mtl	D	18	6-2/190	`20(16th)
43	Samuel Poulin	Pit	LW	19	6-1/205	`19(21st)
44	K'Andre Miller	NYR	D	20	6-3/205	`18(22nd)
45	Scott Perunovich	StL	D	22	5-10/175	`18(45th)
46	Evan Bouchard	Edm	D	21	6-2/195	`18(10th)
47	Braden Schneider	NYR	D	19	6-2/200	`20(19th)
48	Juuso Valimaki	Cgy	D	22	6-2/205	`17(16th)
49	Cam York	Phi	D	19	5-11/175	`19(14th)
50	Anton Lundell	Fla	C	19	6-1/185	`20(12th)
51	Morgan Frost	Phi	C	21	5-11/180	`17(27th)
52	Owen Tippett	Fla	RW	21	6-1/200	`17(10th)
53	Albert Johansson	Det	D	19	5-11/165	`19(60th)
54	Liam Foudy	CBJ	C	20	6-0/175	`18(18th)
55	Kieffer Bellows	NYI	LW	22	6-0/200	`16(19th)
56	Arthur Kaliyev	LA	RW	19	6-2/190	`19(33rd)
57	Oliver Wahlstrom	NYI	RW	20	6-1/205	`18(11th)
58	Nils Hoglander	Van	RW	20	5-9/185	`19(40th)
59	Matias Maccelli	Ari	LW	20	5-11/170	`19(98th)
60	Tobias Bjornfot	LA	D	19	6-0/200	`19(22nd)
61	Jacob Bernard-Docker	Ott	D	20	6-0/180	`18(26th)
62	Connor Zary	Cgy	C	19	6-0/180	`20(24th)
63	Dominik Bokk	Car	RW	20	6-1/180	T(StL-9/19)
64	Ryan Suzuki	Car	C	19	6-0/180	`19(28th)
65	Dylan Samberg	Wpg	D	21	6-3/190	`17(43rd)
66	Jake Bean	Car	D	22	6-1/175	`16(13th)
67	Josh Norris	Ott	C	21	6-1/195	T(SJ-9/18)
68	Rasmus Kupari	LA	C	20	6-1/185	`18(20th)
69	Jakob Pelletier	Cgy	LW	19	5-9/165	`19(26th)
70	Drake Batherson	Ott	RW	22	6-1/190	`17(121st)
71	Jan Jenik	Ari	RW	20	6-1/180	`18(65th)
72	John-Jason Peterka	Buf	LW	18	5-11/190	`20(34th)
73	Kirill Marchenko	CBJ	LW	20	6-3/190	`18(49th)
74	Bode Wilde	NYI	D	20	6-2/195	`18(41st)
75	John Beecher	Bos	C	19	6-3/210	`19(30th)
76	Tyler Madden	LA	C	21	5-10/155	T(Van-2/20)
77	Jack Studnicka	Bos	C	21	6-1/170	`17(53rd)
78	Jake Oettinger	Dal	G	22	6-4/210	`17(26th)
79	Alex Formenton	Ott	LW	21	6-2/165	`17(47th)
80	Matthew Robertson	NYR	D	19	6-3/200	`19(49th)
81	Calen Addison	Min	D	20	5-10/180	T(Pit-2/20)
82	Ty Dellandrea	Dal	C	20	6-0/185	`18(13th)
83	Akil Thomas	LA	C	20	5-11/170	`18(51st)
84	Mavrik Bourque	Dal	C	18	5-10/180	`20(30th)
85	Ian Mitchell	Chi	D	21	5-11/175	`17(57th)
86	Jason Robertson	Dal	LW	21	6-2/195	`17(39th)
87	Hendrix Lapierre	Wsh	C	18	5-11/180	`20(22nd)
88	Brendan Brisson	VGK	C	19	5-11/180	`20(29th)
89	Theodor Niederbach	Det	C	18	5-11/175	`20(51st)
90	Zac Jones	NYR	D	20	5-10/175	`19(68th)
91	Robert Mastrosimone	Det	LW	19	5-10/160	`19(54th)
92	Joe Veleno	Det	C	20	6-1/195	`18(30th)
93	Rodion Amirov	Tor	LW	19	6-0/170	`20(15th)
94	Jake Neighbours	StL	LW	18	5-11/195	`20(26th)
95	Julien Gauthier	NYR	RW	23	6-4/225	T(Car-2/20)
96	Justus Annunen	Col	G	20	6-4/215	`18(64th)
97	Egor Zamula	Phi	D	20	6-4/175	FA(9/18)
98	Shane Pinto	Ott	C	20	6-2/190	`19(32nd)
99	Noel Gunler	Car	RW	19	6-2/175	`20(41st)
100	Ridly Greig	Ott	C	18	5-11/165	`20(28th)
101	Jesse Ylonen	Mtl	RW	21	6-1/185	`18(35th)
102	Samuel Fagemo	LA	RW	20	6-0/195	`19(50th)
103	Mattias Norlinder	Mtl	D	20	5-11/180	`19(64th)
104	Olli Juolevi	Van	D	22	6-3/200	`16(5th)
105	Kristian Vesalainen	Wpg	LW	21	6-3/205	`17(24th)
106	Raphael Lavoie	Edm	RW	20	6-4/195	`19(38th)
107	Jan Mysak	Mtl	C	18	5-11/180	`20(49th)
108	Cayden Primeau	Mtl	G	21	6-3/180	`17(199th)
109	Pavel Dorofeyev	VGK	LW	20	6-1/170	`19(79th)
110	Morgan Barron	NYR	C	22	6-2/200	`17(174th)
111	Ville Heinola	Wpg	D	19	5-11/180	`19(20th)
112	Dylan Holloway	Edm	C	19	6-0/205	`20(14th)
113	Jack Dugan	VGK	RW	22	6-2/185	`17(142nd)
114	Alexander Khovanov	Min	C	20	5-11/195	`18(86th)
115	Jacob Perreault	Ana	RW	18	5-11/195	`20(27th)
116	Jake Evans	Mtl	C	24	6-0/185	`14(207th)
117	Adam Beckman	Min	LW	19	6-1/170	`19(75th)
118	Jett Woo	Van	D	20	6-0/205	`18(37th)
119	Nolan Foote	NJ	LW	20	6-3/190	T(TB-2/20)
120	Logan Brown	Ott	C	22	6-6/220	`16(11th)
121	Martin Kaut	Col	RW	21	6-1/175	`18(16th)
122	Jack Rathbone	Van	D	21	5-10/175	`17(95th)
123	Ozzy Wiesblatt	SJ	RW	18	5-10/185	`20(31st)
124	Ryan O'Rourke	Min	D	18	6-0/180	`20(39th)
125	Lukas Reichel	Chi	LW	18	6-0/170	`20(17th)
126	Jordan Harris	Mtl	D	20	5-11/180	`18(71st)
127	Lukas Dostal	Ana	G	20	6-1/170	`18(85th)
128	Egor Afanasyev	Nsh	RW	19	6-3/205	`19(45th)
129	Conor Timmins	Col	D	22	6-1/185	`17(32nd)
130	Lassi Thomson	Ott	D	20	6-0/190	`19(19th)
131	Eeli Tolvanen	Nsh	RW	21	5-10/175	`17(30th)
132	Kasper Simontaival	LA	RW	18	5-9/180	`20(66th)
133	Roni Hirvonen	Tor	C	18	5-9/165	`20(59th)
134	Thomas Bordeleau	SJ	C	18	5-9/180	`20(38th)
135	Benoit-Olivier Groulx	Ana	C	20	6-1/195	`18(54th)
136	Tyler Kleven	Ott	D	18	6-4/200	`20(44th)
137	Tyson Foerster	Phi	C	18	6-1/195	`20(23rd)
138	Helge Grans	LA	D	18	6-2/205	`20(35th)
139	Jonathan Dahlen	SJ	LW	23	5-11/185	T(Van-2/19)
140	Marat Khusnutdinov	Min	C	18	5-11/175	`20(37th)
141	Alexander Alexeyev	Wsh	D	21	6-3/200	`18(31st)
142	Pierre-Olivier Joseph	Pit	D	21	6-2/170	`17(23rd)
143	Topi Niemela	Tor	D	18	5-10/160	`20(64th)
144	Oskari Laaksonen	Buf	D	21	6-2/165	`17(89th)
145	Filip Hallander	Tor	LW	20	6-1/185	T(Pit-8/20)
146	Serron Noel	Fla	RW	20	6-5/205	`18(34th)
147	Martin Chromiak	LA	LW	18	6-0/185	`20(128th)
148	Shakir Mukhamadullin	NJ	D	18	6-3/180	`20(20th)
149	Mattias Samuelsson	Buf	D	20	6-3/215	`18(32nd)
150	Janne Kuokkanen	NJ	LW	22	6-1/190	T(Car-2/20)
151	Ryan Johnson	Buf	D	19	6-0/175	`19(31st)
152	Sean Farrell	Mtl	C	19	5-8/175	`20(124th)
153	Martin Fehervary	Wsh	D	21	6-1/190	`18(46th)
154	Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen	Buf	G	21	6-4/195	`17(54th)
155	Will Lockwood	Van	RW	22	5-11/175	`16(64th)
156	Isac Lundestrom	Ana	C	21	6-0/185	`18(23rd)
157	Michael DiPietro	Van	G	21	6-0/195	`17(64th)
158	Jonatan Berggren	Det	RW	20	5-10/185	`18(33rd)
159	Kevin Bahl	NJ	D	20	6-6/230	T(Ari-12/19)
160	Aliaksei Protas	Wsh	C	19	6-5/205	`19(91st)
161	Reilly Walsh	NJ	D	21	5-11/180	`17(81st)
162	Nick Abruzzese	Tor	C	21	5-9/160	`19(124th)
163	Tyler Tucker	StL	D	20	6-1/205	`18(200th)
164	Arseni Gritsyuk	NJ	RW	19	5-10/170	`19(129th)
165	Klim Kostin	StL	C	21	6-3/195	`17(31st)
166	Brayden Tracey	Ana	LW	19	6-0/175	`19(29th)
167	Joel Hofer	StL	G	20	6-3/160	`18(107th)
168	Joey Anderson	Tor	RW	22	6-0/195	T(NJ-10/20)
169	Yegor Spiridonov	SJ	C	19	6-2/195	`19(108th)
170	Sam Colangelo	Ana	RW	19	6-1/205	`20(36th)
171	Joey Keane	Car	D	21	6-0/185	T(NYR-2/20)
172	Jared McIsaac	Det	D	20	6-1/195	`18(36th)
173	Jamieson Rees	Car	C	19	5-10/175	`19(44th)
174	Ivan Morozov	VGK	C	20	6-1/180	`18(61st)
175	Rem Pitlick	Nsh	C	23	5-11/200	`16(76th)
176	Tyce Thompson	NJ	RW	21	6-0/170	`19(96th)
177	Michael McLeod	NJ	C	22	6-2/195	`16(12th)
178	Jaret Anderson-Dolan	LA	C	21	5-11/190	`17(41st)
179	Dustin Wolf	Cgy	G	19	6-0/165	`19(214th)
180	Antti Tuomisto	Det	D	19	6-4/190	`19(35th)
181	Brett Berard	NYR	LW	18	5-9/155	`20(134th)
182	Luke Evangelista	Nsh	RW	18	5-11/170	`20(42nd)
183	Joel Blomqvist	Pit	G	18	6-1/180	`20(52nd)
184	Joni Ikonen	Mtl	C	21	5-10/170	`17(58th)
185	Olivier Rodrigue	Edm	G	20	6-1/165	`18(62nd)
186	Lucas Elvenes	VGK	RW	21	6-0/175	`17(127th)
187	Anthony Angello	Pit	RW	24	6-5/205	`14(145th)
188	Tuukka Tieksola	Car	RW	19	5-10/160	`19(121st)
189	Declan Chisholm	Wpg	D	20	6-1/190	`18(150th)
190	Cole Koepke	TB	LW	22	6-1/195	`18(183rd)
191	Valtteri Puustinen	Pit	RW	21	5-9/185	`19(203rd)
192	Ty Smilanic	Fla	C	18	6-1/175	`20(74th)
193	Patrik Puistola	Car	LW	19	6-0/175	`19(73rd)
194	Justin Barron	Col	D	19	6-2/190	`20(25th)
195	Andrew Peeke	CBJ	D	22	6-3/210	`16(34th)
196	Michael Vukojevic	NJ	D	19	6-3/210	`19(82nd)
197	Alec Regula	Chi	D	20	6-3/200	T(Det-10/19)
198	Connor Corcoran	VGK	D	20	6-1/185	`18(154th)
199	Jeremy Swayman	Bos	G	22	6-1/190	`17(111th)
200	Pyotr Kochetkov	Car	G	21	6-1/175	`19(36th)
201	Mikey Anderson	LA	D	21	6-0/195	`17(103rd)
202	Carter Savoie	Edm	LW	18	5-9/190	`20(100th)
203	Samuel Walker	TB	C	21	5-11/160	`17(200th)
204	William Wallinder	Det	D	18	6-4/190	`20(32nd)
205	Jack Drury	Car	C	20	5-11/180	`18(42nd)
206	Emil Andrae	Phi	D	18	5-9/185	`20(54th)
207	Cal Petersen	LA	G	26	6-3/190	FA(7/17)
208	Jeremie Poirier	Cgy	D	18	6-0/200	`20(72nd)
209	Tarmo Reunanen	NYR	D	22	6-0/180	`16(98th)
210	Simon Holmstrom	NYI	RW	19	6-1/185	`19(23rd)
211	Aleksi Saarela	Fla	RW	23	5-11/200	T(Chi-10/19)
212	Anton Johannesson	Wpg	D	18	5-9/155	`20(133rd)
213	Lauri Pajuniemi	NYR	RW	21	6-0/185	`18(132nd)
214	Morgan Geekie	Car	C	22	6-2/180	`17(67th)
215	Shane Bowers	Col	C	21	6-2/190	T(Ott-11/17)
216	Sasha Chmelevski	SJ	C	21	5-11/190	`17(185th)
217	Ruslan Iskhakov	NYI	C	20	5-8/155	`18(43rd)
218	Cole Schwindt	Fla	RW	19	6-2/185	`19(81st)
219	Hugo Alnefelt	TB	G	19	6-3/195	`19(71st)
220	Nikita Okhotyuk	NJ	D	20	6-1/195	`19(61st)
221	Sampo Ranta	Col	LW	20	6-2/205	`18(78th)
222	Alexander Volkov	TB	LW	23	6-1/190	`17(48th)
223	Alexander True	SJ	C	23	6-5/205	FA(7/18)
224	John Leonard	SJ	C	22	5-11/190	`18(182nd)
225	Carl Grundstrom	LA	LW	23	6-0/195	T(Tor-1/19)
226	Dmitri Semykin	TB	D	20	6-3/200	`18(90th)
227	Cal Foote	TB	D	22	6-4/215	`17(14th)
228	Jean-Luc Foudy	Col	C	18	5-11/175	`20(75th)
229	Alex Barre-Boulet	TB	C	23	5-10/165	FA(3/18)
230	Tristen Robins	SJ	RW	19	5-10/175	`20(56th)
231	Max Gildon	Fla	D	21	6-3/190	`17(66th)
232	Nikita Alexandrov	StL	C	20	6-0/180	`19(62nd)
233	Michael Benning	Fla	D	18	5-9/180	`20(95th)
234	Justin Sourdif	Fla	RW	18	5-11/175	`20(87th)
235	Tanner Laczynski	Phi	C	23	6-1/200	`16(169th)
236	Eamon Powell	TB	D	18	5-11/165	`20(116th)
237	Kaedan Korczak	VGK	D	19	6-3/190	`19(41st)
238	Drew Commesso	Chi	G	18	6-1/180	`20(47th)
239	Nikolai Kovalenko	Col	RW	21	5-10/175	`18(171st)
240	Pius Suter	Chi	C	24	5-11/170	FA(7/20)
241	Wade Allison	Phi	RW	23	6-2/205	`16(52nd)
242	Bobby Brink	Phi	RW	19	5-10/165	`19(34th)
243	Lukas Cormier	VGK	D	18	5-10/180	`20(68th)
244	David Farrance	Nsh	D	21	5-11/190	`17(92nd)
245	Roby Jarventie	Ott	RW	18	6-2/185	`20(33rd)
246	Dmitri Voronkov	CBJ	LW	20	6-4/190	`19(114th)
247	German Rubtsov	Phi	C	22	6-2/190	`16(22nd)
248	Vitaly Abramov	Ott	RW	22	5-9/175	T(CBJ-2/19)
249	Alex Laferriere	LA	RW	19	6-0/175	`20(83rd)
250	Trey Fix-Wolansky	CBJ	RW	21	5-8/185	`18(204th)
251	Isaac Ratcliffe	Phi	LW	21	6-5/200	`17(35th)
252	Kale Clague	LA	D	22	6-0/180	`16(51st)
253	Landon Slaggert	Chi	LW	18	5-11/180	`20(79th)
254	Wyatt Kalynuk	Chi	D	23	6-1/180	FA(7/20)
255	Mikko Kokkonen	Tor	D	19	5-11/200	`19(84th)
256	Kevin Mandolese	Ott	G	20	6-4/180	`18(157th)
257	Daniil Tarasov	CBJ	G	21	6-5/185	`17(86th)
258	Evan Barratt	Chi	C	21	6-0/190	`17(90th)
259	Tyler Benson	Edm	LW	22	6-0/200	`16(32nd)
260	Yegor Korshkov	Tor	RW	24	6-4/215	`16(31st)
261	Hunter Skinner	NYR	D	19	6-2/175	`19(112th)
262	Riley Damiani	Dal	C	20	5-9/165	`18(137th)
263	Ryan McLeod	Edm	C	21	6-2/205	`18(40th)
264	Ilya Konovalov	Edm	G	22	6-0/195	`19(85th)
265	Will Cuylle	NYR	LW	18	6-3/205	`20(60th)
266	Evan Vierling	NYR	C	18	6-0/165	`20(127th)
267	Emil Heineman	Fla	LW	19	6-0/180	`20(43rd)
268	Zayde Wisdom	Phi	RW	18	5-10/195	`20(94th)
269	Hunter Jones	Min	G	20	6-4/195	`19(59th)
270	Ty Tullio	Edm	RW	18	5-10/165	`20(126th)
271	Jordan Spence	LA	D	19	5-10/165	`19(95th)
272	Dmitri Zavgorodny	Cgy	LW	20	5-9/175	`18(198th)
273	Alex Beaucage	Col	RW	19	6-1/195	`19(78th)
274	Matiss Kivlenieks	CBJ	G	24	6-2/190	FA(5/17)
275	Artyom Zub	Ott	D	25	6-2/200	FA(5/20)
276	Urho Vaakanainen	Bos	D	22	6-0/185	`17(18th)
277	Dmitri Samorukov	Edm	D	21	6-2/180	`17(84th)
278	Michal Teply	Chi	LW	19	6-3/185	`19(105th)
279	Colby Ambrosio	Col	C	18	5-8/170	`20(118th)
280	Mads Sogaard	Ott	G	20	6-7/195	`19(37th)
281	Jeremy Lauzon	Bos	D	23	6-3/205	`15(52nd)
282	Dennis Gilbert	Col	D	24	6-2/200	T(Chi-10/20)
283	Trent Frederic	Bos	C	22	6-4/215	`16(29th)
284	Lucas Carlsson	Chi	D	23	6-0/190	`16(110th)
285	Zack Macewen	Van	RW	24	6-3/205	FA(3/17)
286	Brandon Hagel	Chi	LW	22	6-1/175	FA(10/18)
287	Vasily Ponomarev	Car	C	18	5-10/180	`20(53rd)
288	Jakub Zboril	Bos	D	23	6-1/200	`15(13th)
289	Garrett Pilon	Wsh	RW	22	5-11/190	`16(87th)
290	Jeremy Bracco	Car	RW	23	5-9/180	FA(10/20)
291	Dylan Sikura	VGK	RW	25	6-0/170	T(Chi-9/20)
292	Kyle Capobianco	Ari	D	23	6-1/180	`15(63rd)
293	Sami Niku	Wpg	D	24	6-0/175	`15(198th)
294	John Farinacci	Ari	C	19	5-11/185	`19(76th)
295	Jackson Lacombe	Ana	D	19	6-1/170	`19(39th)
296	David Cotton	Car	LW	23	6-3/205	`15(169th)
297	Erik Portillo	Buf	G	20	6-6/210	`19(67th)
298	Jacob Truscott	Van	D	18	6-1/170	`20(144th)
299	Mikhail Berdin	Wpg	G	22	6-2/165	`16(157th)
300	Cam Hillis	Mtl	C	20	5-10/170	`18(66th)

McKeen’s 2020-21 Hockey Yearbook: Columbus Blue Jackets Top 20 Prospects

Tue, 24 Nov 2020 12:54:28 +0000

McKeen's Top 20 Columbus Blue Jackets prospects for the 2020-21 season. You can read an organizational assessment prior to the draft in Ryan Wagman's article found here. Following the draft we provided a review on each teams performance based on our rankings found here.

Liam Foudy, C (18^th overall, 2018. Previous ranking: 1)

The focal point of Foudy’s game is his skating ability. A former track star, he shows an explosiveness that would put him into the upper echelon of NHL players. This year he learned to use that speed to be effective without the puck. He works hard to recover dump-ins, force turnovers on the forecheck, and apply pressure on the backcheck, making him a complete two-way player. Offensively, there may still be some limitations. His shot remains average. While his ability to maintain possession through cuts at top speed has improved, his vision and decision making can leave some to be desired. Turnovers can be a part of his game when he tries to force his way into the offensive zone or to the net. While these issues may ultimately limit his NHL potential to that of middle six forward, he still projects as a very valuable player who can provide versatility. He should be able to play as a top penalty killer, and work to open up ice for his linemates. His pace of play will be a major asset in today’s NHL. - BO

Kirill Marchenko, LW (49^th overall, 2018. Previous ranking: 2)

One of the top young forwards in Russia, Marchenko is coming off a strong season. At 6-2”, he has the size and skill package which all NHL teams are looking for from potential top six wingers. As an offensive player, he is the complete package. He skates well, especially when it comes to using his edgework to create shooting opportunities. He has the skill and creativity to play through traffic and be consistently dangerous. His shot is high end. He sees the ice well as a playmaker. When the puck is not on his stick, that is where Marchenko’s game will need to grow before he can become an impact NHL player. Improving his engagement level in all three zones, and improving his awareness defensively will be key to his development and it will be interesting to see if he can round out his game in the KHL over the next few seasons. He recently signed an extension in the KHL with SKA that will keep him in the KHL until after the 2021-22 season. - BO

Andrew Peeke, D (34^th overall, 2016. Previous ranking: 3)

Peeke is a big bodied blueliner capable of playing both a strong offensive game and a good defensive game. Although not completely offensively minded, he knows when to pinch low or when to jump in on a play which is what makes him fit in perfectly with the way Columbus’ defensive system is structured. He can shoot and has a good eye for making lead passes and back door plays allowing him to both start a rush and finish one as well. Peeke can play it a little too safe at times, preferring to stay in one spot on the blueline instead of keeping mobile, which could help his vision and give him more passing options. Keeping his feet moving and straying away from one horizontal line will be his go-to improvement project and once he acts on it he should be able to gain more confidence and up his assists column a little. Peeke is an asset on the blueline, with size, a shot, and a good head on his shoulders. - SC

Dmitri Voronkov, LW (114^th overall, 2019. Previous ranking: 4)

A big-bodied center, Voronkov plays a solid two-way game. He moves surprisingly well given his frame, especially in a straight line. He is a powerful skater and tough to stop when he accelerates with the puck. He has a long reach and uses his body well to protect the puck, not only along the boards and in the corners, but also when taking pucks towards the net. It is difficult to take the puck away from him when he is skating at full speed. He provides excellent net front presence and scores many of his goals from point blank range. He also finishes his checks with regularity. He is purposeful and gets to the areas that matter. He plays an active game away from the puck and takes away time and space from opponents. Offensively he keeps his game rather simple and does not try to complicate things. He is not particularly creative or flashy, but he has skill to make plays and contribute. Voronkov’s style of play seems perfectly suited for North American rinks. - MB

Trey Fix-Wolansky, RW (204^th overall, 2018. Previous ranking: 5)

Fix-Wolansky may be small, but he packs quite the punch when it comes to carrying the puck and finding open space. He has made the adjustments to his offensive game in order to know what works for him when with the puck or without. He skates well, has good hands, and has the hockey sense to make him a threat and keep him safe when on the forecheck. He is also capable of scoring equally as much as creating scoring chances for his teammates, which is part of what makes him so fun to watch. Fix-Wolansky needed time last season to adjust to the speed at which offensive plays are made. He will need to keep his feet moving and stay sharper in his own end in order to improve his overall game and production. He is a testament to the fact that successful players do not all embody one mold, and that skill and hockey sense play a much bigger role than size in the modern game. - SC

Daniil Tarasov, G (86^th overall, 2017. Previous ranking: 6)

Tarasov had a decent season with Ässät in the Liiga. He came to Finland with high expectations and made strides as the season progressed. There were some games where he was excellent, but on the other hand, he also had mediocre performances. He didn’t make a whole lot of timely saves that could have changed the outcome of games. But when he is on his game, it is extremely difficult to score on him. Tarasov is an athletic goalie who relies a lot on his quick reflexes. He has quick legs and moves well across the crease but needs to develop the technical side of his game. When the play is more at the other end of the ice and there are fewer shots, he occasionally allows some soft goals. Tarasov has a lot of ability and potential, but he will need a strong goalie coach who puts in the work to help him improve upon his weaknesses. - MB

Matiss Edmunds Kivlenieks, G (Undrafted Free Agent, signed May 25, 2017. Previous ranking: 7)

As a backup goaltender in the AHL, Kivlieniks did well in a part-time role, interestingly, his early-season crease-mate was one of the only other Latvian players and goalies in the NHL system. Kivlieniks is not the biggest goaltender size-wise but he knows how to cover his net and has a good head on his shoulders when it comes to positioning and being able to anticipate plays. He remains calm and collected in high stress situations and is capable of keeping a relatively level head after a bad goal or bad play. He will have to work a little on playing the puck and getting across the crease faster in terms of his pushing and strength. However, he still has a bright future ahead of him and tough competition as a rising goaltender in Columbus’ system, so much so that his play has elicited rumors that the organization could deal away one of their NHL netminders to give Kivlienks a bigger chance. With his determination and focus he can certainly become a starting goalie at some point, opportunity-permitting. – SC

Yegor Chinakhov, RW (21^st overall, 2020. Previous ranking: NA)

Our highest ranked undrafted player from our 2019 guide – by far – Chinakhov responded to the snub by laying the Russian junior league to waste, finishing fifth in the league scoring race. He has also bulked up allowing his plus puck skills to play up and to get into better positions for his fine wrist shot. He didn’t stop there, though, as he took advantage of the Russian league’s status as first to restart and parlayed a highly impressive KHL debut into first round pick status by the iconoclastic scouts of Columbus. We still have some concerns about his skating ability, in addition to his stature limiting his ability to play an inside game at the highest levels, but the remainder of his offensive tools all project as above average. Even with his warts, he plays a heady enough game to take advantage of the things he does well while minimizing his weaknesses. He should be able to contribute offensively once he comes over to North America but will need to prove that he will not require sheltering. - RW

Veini Vehvilainen, G (173^rd overall, 2018. Previous ranking: 8)

For a younger goaltender, and one who’s rookie North American professional season was only last year, Vehvilainen’s development and composure were everything that Columbus could have hoped for. From the Finnish Liiga, he brought with him a calm sense of stability, focus, and athleticism. He sees the ice well and is across the net already anticipating plays before they happen, since his timing is good. A weak point is Vehilainen’s reliance on his lateral movement, meaning that he sometimes finds himself already down in the butterfly position before a shot has even hit him. He will need to rely on his experience and be more patient as to not jump on too many plays or over-compensate in any way. As the Cleveland Monsters starter last season, Vehvilainen has all the tools and had ice time he needs to grow into a starting goaltender for Columbus in the future as well. - SC

Calvin Thurkauf, C/LW (185^th overall, 2016. Previous ranking: 9)

The first thing to be said about Thurkauf is the fact that, yes, he still has prospect eligibility even though he does not currently have a contract with the Blue Jackets and has decided to go back home to his birth country Switzerland to play in the NLA with EV Zug. That being said, it is unsure with the way hockey and the world is now if he will find his way back to Columbus or Cleveland for that matter. Thurkauf is a big forward whose ability to get to the net and find passing or shooting lanes is what makes him stand out. He needs to round out his game a bit more and find leverage in being more creative in his own end but overall, he offers enough to a team for there to be no complaints. That being said, Thurkauf could definitely find himself called up as a member of the Columbus bottom six and hold his own should the team re-assert its contractual rights to the hulking forward and bring him back in a post-pandemic world. - SC

Tyler Angle, C (212^th overall, 2019. Previous ranking: 10)

It was certainly a bit of a rollercoaster of a season for Angle. For certain stretches of the season, he played at an elite level, but had trouble sustaining that week to week. However, for a seventh-round selection, the season had to be considered a success given some nice forward steps taken. Angle provides a high energy level and is always looking to lead the attack over the blueline, pushing the pace and driving the middle. He excels with the puck on his stick and looked much quicker this season, both in terms of quickness and processing ability. With greater confidence, he was able to be the focal point for Windsor’s attack on a lot of nights. His creativity and puck skill is high and he keeps his feet moving without the puck, always hunting down scoring chances. For Angle, and the entire Windsor roster for that matter, it is simply about sustaining production and effectiveness over longer stretches. Going into his overage season, Angle’s production should increase again as he continues to get stronger, quicker, and more confident. His projection remains as a middle six playmaker. - BO

Ryan MacInnis, C/RW (Trade: Jul. 18, 2018. Originally: 43^rd overall, 2014 [Arizona]. Previous ranking: 11)

Next season will be the year for MacInnis, who is coming up on aging out of prospect eligibility and running short on time, to make an impact enough to earn an NHL roster spot. This past season, he finally made an impact and was pushed hard enough by management to produce for the Cleveland Monsters and prove to the Columbus staff that he deserved a chance. He finished second in team points for Cleveland and earned time on both special teams’ units, predominantly their powerplay, where his playmaking ability was on full display. Although not the fastest or most skillful player to watch, MacInnis is a big body and a hard forward to stop when he has the puck. He is a good two-way player and contributes well in all areas of the ice. That being said he would do well to put the finishing touches on his potential to earn a bottom six spot with the Blue Jackets. - SC

Tim Berni, D (159^th overall, 2018. Previous ranking: 12)

Yet another late round pick trending in the right direction for Columbus. Berni had already both appeared in one WJC and had some experience playing against men when he was drafted, spending most of his U18 year in Switzerland’s second highest men’s league. Since then, he has spent two seasons up in the NLA, and appeared in two more WJCs for Switzerland, playing bigger roles – and more successfully – at each level, year-over-year. A heads up puck mover with strong skating ability, Berni lacks the dynamic skill set to be much more than a decent #5 at the NHL level, and his point shot all but precludes usage on the power play, but he plays a mature enough game that he could be trusted to eat his share of minutes and not need to be shielded against tougher competition. He should also be tested on the PK, where he played regularly for the Swiss WJC team and where he could provide more value to his team. - RW

Marcus Karlberg, RW/LW (80^th overall, 2018. Previous ranking: 13)

When Karlberg played with U20 national team last July and August he was flying on the ice and looked great. He did not earn a spot on the SHL roster though and had a weird season playing another year in junior although being overqualified. Leksand was the dominant team in SuperElit even without him. The SHL team, on the other hand, was a bottom team with pressured coaches who preferred playing veterans. Karlberg was loaned out to Allsvenskan, but to by far worst team in Allsvenskan and had a tough time there as well. He was also cut for the Swedish WJC roster. Karlberg has nice hands and speed. He plays a bit too much on the outside but is a good playmaker and he has a good shot. I don’t see top six forward potential but with good work ethic I can see being a good third line winger and penalty killer with his speed. He has an SHL contract in place for next season. - JH

Eric Hjorth, D (104^th overall, 2019. Previous ranking: 14)

Hjorth came pretty much as advertised in his first OHL season with Sarnia. The big, 6-3” defender has some projectable skills (big point shot, improving mobility, creativity and skill), however he remains a work in progress as he learns to harness and utilize his skill set effectively. In particular, his decision making will need to improve at both ends of the ice. While Sarnia struggled as a team defensively, Hjorth looked uncertain at times and coverage issues and turnovers were too prominent. However, it is important to remember that he was coming off a lost season due to injuries and was thrown into the fire on a weaker team. It will be very interesting to see how much his game can progress next season as he is now fully healthy and should have a greater confidence level due to his familiarity with the league and his teammates. Given the raw nature of his game, he is a long ways away from making an impact in the NHL, but as mentioned, he possesses the potential to be a second or third pairing defender somewhere down the line if his game continues to improve and evolve. - BO

Jake Christiansen, D (Undrafted Free Agent, signed Mar. 4, 2020. Previous ranking: 15)

Christansen requires some caution when looking at his eye-popping numbers this past season. As a 20-year-old with a relatively small sample size of just 38 games, his production rates need to be viewed with some skepticism. That isn’t to say he is not a solid contributor but rather his offensive outburst needs to be tempered. The positives are his impressive shot rate at just over five shots per game, his continuous improvement in all metrics: goals/game, assist/game, points/game, and minutes/game across each season, showing a steady growth pattern throughout his junior career. He does not have a dynamic aspect to his game. He plays a good brand of physical hockey; he is a decent play maker and has a pretty good shot. He is a project that will need to round out his overall game with a few seasons in the minors before the NHL becomes a possibility. – VG

Kole Sherwood, RW (Undrafted Free Agent: Jul. 7, 2015. Previous ranking: 17)

The first Columbus area native to be signed by the Blue Jackets, Sherwood has developed enough to find himself regularly under consideration whenever the NHL team needs an injury replacement. Even though his second professional season saw his already low offensive contributions take a tumble, he still managed to appear in three games. He has a solid figure, and all of his tools project to at least average potential, but nothing really seems like it can eclipse that low ceiling. He is aggressive and plays with his heart on his sleeve, which can be endearing, even if he is unlikely to ever receive a long-term NHL contract. Having been loaned out to KHL side Kunlun Red Star for the duration of the pandemic pause, Sherwood should be in line to once again receive NHL action this year. To start to see more regular time in the NHL, he will need to begin showing more than just grit in the AHL. - RW

Samuel Johannesson, D (176^th overall, 2020. Previous ranking: NA)

Ignored in his first season of draft eligibility, Johannesson moved up from the Swedish junior ranks to the SHL partway through last season and more than held his own, even if he could not replicate his big partial season offensive numbers from the SuperElit. The right-handed blueliner is on the smaller side, but is a fine skater, and plays a very mature game. His reads are beyond his years and he is a skilled puck mover. His hockey IQ allows him to remain calm when the going gets rough and be trusted in numerous situations. Unfortunately, Johannesson has not been given as frequent an opportunity to prove himself in the SHL so far this year, as his ice time over three minutes per game through his first 11 matches. He does not have a top four ceiling, but his combination of attributes, especially the skating, puck moving and brains, make a depth defenseman outcome reasonable, which is as much as anyone could hope for out of the sixth round. - RW

Samuel Knazko, D (78^th overall, 2020. Previous ranking: NA)

A long-time stalwart for Slovakia’s age-based national teams, Knazko is now in his third season of development in Finland’s top junior league, ignoring the siren song of the CHL, where he has been a first round pick in the Import Draft for two years running – his CHL rights are currently held by the Seattle Thunderbirds. As solid as he has been in the Finnish juniors, his overall game presents questions as to what type of player he could become, making his selection in the third round by the Blue Jackets, perhaps even more head scratching than their first round pick of Yegor Chinakhov. Outside of his ability to read the game, none of his tools really sticks out. Even though he was given a big role for Slovakia at the most recent WJC (in addition to other big tournaments) the step up in competition hampered his effectiveness. One would like to see him either move to the CHL, or push his way into the Liiga, as his continued development seems to require a better level of opponent. - RW

Ole Bjorgvik Holm, D (145^th overall, 2020. Previous ranking: NA)

A big Norwegian with two years of North American hockey under his belt, Bjorgvik Holm made the jump from 16U Tier I hockey in Colorado to the OHL, with only two games in the USHL to ease the transition. Prior to that, he was still playing in Norway, and taking on similar importance to their national programs as Knazko did for Slovakia’s. It was easy to see how raw he was last year, prone to rushing pucks wildly out of the defensive zone with only marginal applied pressure. He skates quite well for his size, and knows how to use his size, while showing just enough flashes of adequacy with the puck to be hopeful of more with added higher-level experience. To that effect, he has returned to Norway for the duration of the pandemic, and through the first roughly ten games of the men’s league season, was among the top scoring blueliners in the nation. Take that with however much salt you need, but it isn’t bad. - RW

MCKEENS 2020 NHL PROSPECTS REPORT – TOP 250 PROSPECTS

McKeens Hockey; Article by Ryan Wagman — Tue, 22 Sep 2020 11:50:55 +0000

I write these words less than 24 hours after the Dallas Stars took game one of the Stanley Cup Finals against the heavily favored Tampa Bay Lightning. Unlike most seasons wherein the end of the Stanley Cup marks the beginning of off-season player movement, this year teams have taken an early start to the transactional Ferris wheel as many expect the upcoming offseason (from the awarding of the Cup, through to the draft in the first week of October to the start of the 2020-21 season perhaps as soon as early December, pending COVID trends in North America) to be especially turbulent.

We have seen a few trades of NHL pieces, one deal which impacted this guidebook, as Toronto sent Kasperi Kapanen to Pittsburgh and Swedish winger Filip Hallander was among those coming back to Toronto. Hallander was our selection for the second-best prospect in the Penguins system and now holds that title for the Maple Leafs. That trade knocked the Penguins down a few slots on our organizational rankings and allowed Toronto to go the other way accordingly.

Of course, with the draft roughly 17 days away, and with it a complete re-shuffling of the organizational rankings, this is just a snapshot in time of how every team’s system shakes up. We will re-run this list, incorporating the drafted players, in our pre-season fantasy guide, where we will expand the lists up to 20.

What you are about to dive into is a comprehensive list of all prospect eligible players on all 31 teams. To hold prospect eligibility, a player needs to 25 or younger, as of September 15, 2020. All skaters need to have played less than 60 career games, with no more than 35 of those games coming in a single season (or 25 for this past shortened season). For goalies, the age criteria remain the same, but the games played benchmark drops to 30 career games and 20 in a given season (or 15 last year). Any cutoff that does not hew exactly to the Calder Trophy award criteria is, by nature, arbitrary, but we aim to be inclusive for all players who have not yet cemented NHL jobs and/or have not had a prolonged chance to prove himself capable – or incapable.

We rank 15 per team, as depth is as important as the high end. Our goal is to identify players who could – if they have an advocate for them within the team’s braintrust – play a role in the NHL. These players were identified through our thorough vetting of each prospect across the globe, assigning scores, or grades, to five areas for skaters (skating, shot, puck skills, smarts, physicality) and six for netminders (athleticism/speed/quickness, compete/temperament, vision/play reading, positioning/technique, rebound control, and puck handling). Depending on the position, the grades are run through an algorithm to come up with an overall future projection (OFP).

The OFP, if the scout is being honest, measures the future role we anticipate the prospect being able to hold. A 50 score is the lower threshold to be a regular 4^th line forward, or bottom pairing defender. Grades over 56 are potential top line/pairing skaters. The grades in between, obviously project to the middle of the lineup.

As we are reminded every year, development is not linear. Some players take unexpected sudden leaps forward (see Marino, John), and others stagnate (see Ho-Sang, Josh), and many do exactly what we expect of them when they are given the chance. As much as I trust the analysts in our team, I can also tell you that this exercise is always humbling. There will be at least one player who we rate highly who bombs. There will be at least one player who did not feature on his team’s top 15 who becomes an NHL regular next year. We accept those errors in judgment and promise you, our faithful subscriber, that we will learn from them and refine our work for next year, as we learn just as NHL teams learn.

Until then, please enjoy this snapshot view of the future of the beautiful, frozen game. Putting this together has provided at least some sense of normalcy during this crazy summer.

NHL	RNK	PLAYER	POS	AGE	HT/WT	TM	Acquired
Ana	1	Trevor Zegras	C	19	6-0/170	Boston University (HE)	`19(9th)
Min	2	Kirill Kaprizov	LW	23	5-10/200	CSKA (KHL)	`15(135th)
Col	3	Bowen Byram	D	19	6-0/195	Vancouver (WHL)	`19(4th)
Buf	4	Dylan Cozens	C	19	6-3/185	Lethbridge (WHL)	`19(7th)
Fla	5	Spencer Knight	G	19	6-3/195	Boston College (HE)	`19(13th)
VGK	6	Peyton Krebs	C	19	5-11/180	Winnipeg (WHL)	`19(17th)
Ari	7	Victor Soderstrom	D	19	5-11/180	Brynas (Swe)	`19(11th)
Mtl	8	Cole Caufield	RW	19	5-7/165	Wisconsin (B1G)	`19(15th)
Van	9	Vasili Podkolzin	RW	19	6-1/190	SKA St. Petersburg (KHL)	`19(10th)
Edm	10	Philip Broberg	D	19	6-3/200	Skelleftea AIK (Swe)	`19(8th)
Tor	11	Nick Robertson	LW	19	5-9/160	Peterborough (OHL)	`19(53rd)
Col	12	Alex Newhook	C	19	5-10/195	Boston College (HE)	`19(16th)
Det	13	Moritz Seider	D	19	6-3/185	Grand Rapids (AHL)	`19(6th)
Fla	14	Grigori Denisenko	LW	20	5-11/185	Lokomotiv Yaroslavl (KHL)	`18(15th)
Min	15	Matthew Boldy	LW	19	6-1/190	Boston College (HE)	`19(12th)
NJ	16	Ty Smith	D	20	5-10/180	Spokane (WHL)	`18(17th)
LA	17	Alex Turcotte	C	19	5-11/185	Wisconsin (B1G)	`19(5th)
Nsh	18	Philip Tomasino	C	19	5-11/180	Nia-Osh (OHL)	`19(24th)
Pit	19	Samuel Poulin	LW	19	6-1/205	Sherbrooke (QMJHL)	`19(21st)
Wsh	20	Connor McMichael	C	19	5-11/175	London (OHL)	`19(25th)
LA	21	Gabriel Vilardi	RW	21	6-3/200	Ontario (AHL)	`17(11th)
NYR	22	Igor Shesterkin	G	24	6-1/190	Hartford (AHL)	`14(118th)
Dal	23	Thomas Harley	D	19	6-3/190	Mississauga (OHL)	`19(18th)
Ari	24	Barrett Hayton	C	20	6-1/190	Arizona (NHL)	`18(5th)
NYR	25	Nils Lundkvist	D	20	5-11/180	Lulea (Swe)	`18(28th)
LA	26	Arthur Kaliyev	RW	19	6-2/190	Hamilton (OHL)	`19(33rd)
Cgy	27	Juuso Valimaki	D	21	6-2/205	DNP - Injured	`17(16th)
Det	28	Jared McIsaac	D	20	6-1/195	Hal-Mon (QMJHL)	`18(36th)
NYR	29	Vitali Kravtsov	RW	20	6-3/185	Hartford (AHL)	`18(9th)
Edm	30	Evan Bouchard	D	20	6-2/195	Bakersfield (AHL)	`18(10th)
NYR	31	K'Andre Miller	D	20	6-3/205	Wisconsin (B1G)	`18(22nd)
Edm	32	Raphael Lavoie	RW	19	6-4/195	Hal-Chi (QMJHL)	`19(38th)
NYI	33	Ilya Sorokin	G	25	6-2/180	CSKA (KHL)	`14(78th)
Det	34	Albert Johansson	D	19	5-11/165	Farjestads (Swe)	`19(60th)
Ari	35	Matias Maccelli	LW	19	5-11/170	Ilves Tampere (Fin)	`19(98th)
Van	36	Nils Hoglander	RW	19	5-9/185	Rogle (Swe)	`19(40th)
Ari	37	Jan Jenik	RW	20	6-1/180	Hamilton (OHL)	`18(65th)
Phi	38	Cam York	D	19	5-11/175	Michigan (B1G)	`19(14th)
Phi	39	Morgan Frost	C	21	5-11/180	Lehigh Valley (AHL)	`17(27th)
Ana	40	Lukas Dostal	G	20	6-1/170	Ilves Tampere (Fin)	`18(85th)
LA	41	Tobias Bjornfot	D	19	6-0/200	Ontario (AHL)	`19(22nd)
SJ	42	Ryan Merkley	D	20	5-11/170	London (OHL)	`18(21st)
NYI	43	Kieffer Bellows	LW	22	6-0/200	Bridgeport (AHL)	`16(19th)
NYI	44	Oliver Wahlstrom	RW	20	6-1/205	Bridgeport (AHL)	`18(11th)
LA	45	Rasmus Kupari	C	20	6-1/185	Ontario (AHL)	`18(20th)
CBJ	46	Liam Foudy	C	20	6-0/175	London (OHL)	`18(18th)
LA	47	Tyler Madden	C	20	5-10/155	Northeastern (HE)	T(Van-2/20)
Mtl	48	Alexander Romanov	D	20	5-11/185	CSKA (KHL)	`18(38th)
NYI	49	Bode Wilde	D	20	6-2/195	Bridgeport (AHL)	`18(41st)
Ott	50	Jacob Bernard-Docker	D	20	6-0/180	North Dakota (NCHC)	`18(26th)
Cgy	51	Jakob Pelletier	LW	19	5-9/165	Moncton (QMJHL)	`19(26th)
LA	52	Akil Thomas	C	20	5-11/170	Nia-Pbo (OHL)	`18(51st)
Wpg	53	Dylan Samberg	D	21	6-3/190	Minn-Duluth (NCHC)	`17(43rd)
Chi	54	Ian Mitchell	D	21	5-11/175	Denver (NCHC)	`17(57th)
Ott	55	Josh Norris	C	21	6-1/195	Belleville (AHL)	T(SJ-9/18)
NYR	56	Matthew Robertson	D	19	6-3/200	Edmonton (WHL)	`19(49th)
VGK	57	Pavel Dorofeyev	LW	19	6-1/170	Magnitogorsk (KHL)	`19(79th)
Dal	58	Jake Oettinger	G	21	6-4/210	Texas (AHL)	`17(26th)
Ott	59	Drake Batherson	RW	22	6-1/190	Belleville (AHL)	`17(121st)
LA	60	Samuel Fagemo	RW	20	6-0/195	Frolunda (Swe)	`19(50th)
Col	61	Justus Annunen	G	20	6-4/215	Karpat Oulu (Fin)	`18(64th)
Bos	62	John Beecher	C	19	6-3/210	Michigan (B1G)	`19(30th)
Phi	63	Egor Zamula	D	20	6-4/175	Calgary (WHL)	FA(9/18)
NYR	64	Zac Jones	D	19	5-10/175	Massachusetts (HE)	`19(68th)
CBJ	65	Kirill Marchenko	LW	20	6-3/190	SKA St. Petersburg (KHL)	`18(49th)
VGK	66	Jack Dugan	RW	22	6-2/185	Providence (HE)	`17(142nd)
StL	67	Scott Perunovich	D	22	5-10/175	Minn-Duluth (NCHC)	`18(45th)
Bos	68	Jack Studnicka	C	21	6-1/170	Providence (AHL)	`17(53rd)
Dal	69	Ty Dellandrea	C	20	6-0/185	Flint (OHL)	`18(13th)
Min	70	Calen Addison	D	20	5-10/180	Lethbridge (WHL)	T(Pit-2/20)
NYR	71	Julien Gauthier	RW	22	6-4/225	Charlotte (AHL)	T(Car-2/20)
Van	72	Olli Juolevi	D	22	6-3/200	Utica (AHL)	`16(5th)
NJ	73	Nolan Foote	LW	19	6-3/190	Kelowna (WHL)	T(TB-2/20)
NJ	74	Janne Kuokkanen	LW	22	6-1/190	Cha-Bng (AHL)	T(Car-2/20)
Ott	75	Alex Formenton	LW	21	6-2/165	Belleville (AHL)	`17(47th)
Det	76	Robert Mastrosimone	LW	19	5-10/160	Boston University (HE)	`19(54th)
NYR	77	Morgan Barron	C	21	6-2/200	Cornell (ECAC)	`17(174th)
Mtl	78	Jesse Ylonen	RW	20	6-1/185	Pelicans (Fin)	`18(35th)
Car	79	Dominik Bokk	RW	20	6-1/180	Rogle (Swe)	T(StL-9/19)
Nsh	80	Egor Afanasyev	RW	19	6-3/205	Windsor (OHL)	`19(45th)
Ana	81	Benoit-Olivier Groulx	C	20	6-1/195	Hal-Mon (QMJHL)	`18(54th)
Min	82	Alexander Khovanov	C	20	5-11/195	Moncton (QMJHL)	`18(86th)
Det	83	Joe Veleno	C	20	6-1/195	Grand Rapids (AHL)	`18(30th)
NJ	84	Kevin Bahl	D	20	6-6/230	Ottawa (OHL)	T(Ari-12/19)
Car	85	Ryan Suzuki	C	19	6-0/180	Bar-Sag (OHL)	`19(28th)
Van	86	Jett Woo	D	20	6-0/205	Calgary (WHL)	`18(37th)
Mtl	87	Mattias Norlinder	D	20	5-11/180	MODO (Swe 2)	`19(64th)
Min	88	Adam Beckman	LW	19	6-1/170	Spokane (WHL)	`19(75th)
Bos	89	Jeremy Swayman	G	21	6-1/190	Maine (HE)	`17(111th)
Wpg	90	Kristian Vesalainen	LW	21	6-3/205	Manitoba (AHL)	`17(24th)
Tor	91	Filip Hallander	LW	20	6-1/185	Lulea (Swe)	T(Pit-8/20)
Fla	92	Owen Tippett	RW	21	6-1/200	Springfield (AHL)	`17(10th)
Car	93	Jake Bean	D	22	6-1/175	Charlotte (AHL)	`16(13th)
Ott	94	Shane Pinto	C	19	6-2/190	North Dakota (NCHC)	`19(32nd)
Col	95	Martin Kaut	RW	20	6-1/175	Colorado (AHL)	`18(16th)
Van	96	Jack Rathbone	D	21	5-10/175	Harvard (ECAC)	`17(95th)
Tor	97	Nick Abruzzese	C	21	5-9/160	Harvard (ECAC)	`19(124th)
Bos	98	Urho Vaakanainen	D	21	6-0/185	Providence (AHL)	`17(18th)
Wsh	99	Alexander Alexeyev	D	20	6-3/200	Hershey (AHL)	`18(31st)
NYI	100	Simon Holmstrom	RW	19	6-1/185	Bridgeport (AHL)	`19(23rd)
LA	101	Jaret Anderson-Dolan	C	21	5-11/190	Ontario (AHL)	`17(41st)
Car	102	Joey Keane	D	21	6-0/185	Hfd-Cha (AHL)	T(NYR-2/20)
Wsh	103	Martin Fehervary	D	20	6-1/190	Hershey (AHL)	`18(46th)
StL	104	Tyler Tucker	D	20	6-1/205	Bar-Fnt (OHL)	`18(200th)
SJ	105	Yegor Spiridonov	C	19	6-2/195	Stalnye Lisy Magnitogorsk (MHL)	`19(108th)
NJ	106	Joey Anderson	RW	22	6-0/195	Binghamton (AHL)	`16(73rd)
Col	107	Conor Timmins	D	21	6-1/185	Colorado (AHL)	`17(32nd)
StL	108	Klim Kostin	C	21	6-3/195	San Antonio (AHL)	`17(31st)
Mtl	109	Cayden Primeau	G	21	6-3/180	Laval (AHL)	`17(199th)
SJ	110	Jonathan Dahlen	LW	22	5-11/185	Timra IK (Swe 2)	T(Van-2/19)
NJ	111	Reilly Walsh	D	21	5-11/180	Harvard (ECAC)	`17(81st)
Buf	112	Oskari Laaksonen	D	21	6-2/165	Ilves Tampere (Fin)	`17(89th)
NJ	113	Arseni Gritsyuk	RW	19	5-10/170	Omskie Yastreby (MHL)	`19(129th)
Wsh	114	Aliaksei Protas	C	19	6-5/205	Prince Albert (WHL)	`19(91st)
Cgy	115	Dustin Wolf	G	19	6-0/165	Everett (WHL)	`19(214th)
StL	116	Joel Hofer	G	20	6-3/160	Portland (WHL)	`18(107th)
VGK	117	Ivan Morozov	C	20	6-1/180	SKA St. Petersburg (KHL)	`18(61st)
Mtl	118	Jake Evans	C	24	6-0/185	Laval (AHL)	`14(207th)
Nsh	119	Eeli Tolvanen	RW	21	5-10/175	Milwaukee (AHL)	`17(30th)
Wpg	120	Ville Heinola	D	19	5-11/180	Lukko Rauma (Fin)	`19(20th)
VGK	121	Lucas Elvenes	RW	21	6-0/175	Chicago (AHL)	`17(127th)
TB	122	Cole Koepke	LW	22	6-1/195	Minn-Duluth (NCHC)	`18(183rd)
Ana	123	Isac Lundestrom	C	20	6-0/185	San Diego (AHL)	`18(23rd)
NYR	124	Tarmo Reunanen	D	22	6-0/180	Lukko Rauma (Fin)	`16(98th)
Mtl	125	Jordan Harris	D	20	5-11/180	Northeastern (HE)	`18(71st)
Ana	126	Brayden Tracey	LW	19	6-0/175	MJ-Vic (WHL)	`19(29th)
Phi	127	Tanner Laczynski	C	23	6-1/200	Ohio State (B1G)	`16(169th)
Chi	128	Alec Regula	D	20	6-3/200	London (OHL)	T(Det-10/19)
Buf	129	Mattias Samuelsson	D	20	6-3/215	Western Michigan (NCHC)	`18(32nd)
Car	130	Jamieson Rees	C	19	5-10/175	Sarnia (OHL)	`19(44th)
Edm	131	Olivier Rodrigue	G	20	6-1/165	Moncton (QMJHL)	`18(62nd)
Fla	132	Serron Noel	RW	20	6-5/205	Osh-Kit (OHL)	`18(34th)
Det	133	Antti Tuomisto	D	19	6-4/190	Assat Pori (Fin Jr)	`19(35th)
Dal	134	Jason Robertson	LW	21	6-2/195	Texas (AHL)	`17(39th)
Mtl	135	Joni Ikonen	C	21	5-10/170	DNP - Injured	`17(58th)
Nsh	136	Rem Pitlick	C	23	5-11/200	Milwaukee (AHL)	`16(76th)
Ott	137	Logan Brown	C	22	6-6/220	Belleville (AHL)	`16(11th)
TB	138	Samuel Walker	C	21	5-11/160	Minnesota (B1G)	`17(200th)
Phi	139	Wade Allison	RW	22	6-2/205	Western Michigan (NCHC)	`16(52nd)
Wpg	140	Declan Chisholm	D	20	6-1/190	Peterborough (OHL)	`18(150th)
NJ	141	Tyce Thompson	RW	21	6-1/180	Providence (HE)	`19(96th)
VGK	142	Connor Corcoran	D	20	6-1/185	Windsor (OHL)	`18(154th)
Ana	143	Jackson Lacombe	D	19	6-1/170	Minnesota (B1G)	`19(39th)
NYR	144	Lauri Pajuniemi	RW	21	6-0/185	TPS Turku (Fin)	`18(132nd)
Car	145	Tuukka Tieksola	RW	19	5-10/160	Karpat Oulu (Fin Jr)	`19(121st)
CBJ	146	Andrew Peeke	D	22	6-3/210	Cleveland (AHL)	`16(34th)
Ana	147	Axel Andersson	D	20	6-0/180	Moncton (QMJHL)	T(Bos-2/20)
Car	148	Patrik Puistola	LW	19	6-0/175	Tap-Juk-Koo (Fin)	`19(73rd)
NJ	149	Michael McLeod	C	22	6-2/195	Binghamton (AHL)	`16(12th)
Car	150	Pyotr Kochetkov	G	21	6-1/175	SKA-VIT (KHL)	`19(36th)
NJ	151	Michael Vukojevic	D	19	6-3/210	Kitchener (OHL)	`19(82nd)
NYI	152	Ruslan Iskhakov	C	20	5-8/155	UConn (HE)	`18(43rd)
Wpg	153	Sami Niku	D	23	6-0/175	Manitoba (AHL)	`15(198th)
TB	154	Hugo Alnefelt	G	19	6-3/195	HV 71 (Swe)	`19(71st)
NJ	155	Nikita Okhotyuk	D	19	6-1/195	Ottawa (OHL)	`19(61st)
NYR	156	Hunter Skinner	D	19	6-2/175	London (OHL)	`19(112th)
LA	157	Mikey Anderson	D	21	6-0/195	Ontario (AHL)	`17(103rd)
Col	158	Shane Bowers	C	21	6-2/190	Colorado (AHL)	T(Ott-11/17)
NYI	159	Joshua Ho-Sang	RW	24	6-0/175	Bri-SA (AHL)	`14(28th)
LA	160	Cal Petersen	G	25	6-3/190	Ontario (AHL)	FA(7/17)
Col	161	Sampo Ranta	LW	20	6-2/205	Minnesota (B1G)	`18(78th)
Wpg	162	Mikhail Berdin	G	22	6-2/165	Manitoba (AHL)	`16(157th)
Bos	163	Jeremy Lauzon	D	23	6-3/205	Providence (AHL)	`15(52nd)
Nsh	164	David Farrance	D	21	5-11/190	Boston University (HE)	`17(92nd)
Van	165	Will Lockwood	RW	22	5-11/175	Michigan (B1G)	`16(64th)
NYI	166	Sebastian Aho	D	24	5-10/175	Bridgeport (AHL)	`17(139th)
Wpg	167	Logan Stanley	D	22	6-7/225	Manitoba (AHL)	`16(18th)
Buf	168	Ryan Johnson	D	19	6-0/175	Minnesota (B1G)	`19(31st)
Van	169	Michael DiPietro	G	21	6-0/195	Utica (AHL)	`17(64th)
VGK	170	Kaedan Korczak	D	19	6-3/190	Kelowna (WHL)	`19(41st)
Car	171	Jack Drury	C	20	5-11/180	Harvard (ECAC)	`18(42nd)
StL	172	Nikita Alexandrov	C	19	6-0/180	Charlottetown (QMJHL)	`19(62nd)
Col	173	Nikolai Kovalenko	RW	20	5-10/175	Lokomotiv Yaroslavl (KHL)	`18(171st)
Nsh	174	Juuso Parssinen	C	19	6-2/205	TPS Turku (Fin)	`19(210th)
Chi	175	Pius Suter	C	24	5-11/170	ZSC Lions (NLA)	FA(7/20)
Fla	176	Aleksi Saarela	RW	23	5-11/200	Rfd-Spr (AHL)	T(Chi-10/19)
Bos	177	Trent Frederic	C	22	6-4/215	Providence (AHL)	`16(29th)
CBJ	178	Dmitri Voronkov	LW	20	6-4/190	Ak Bars Kazan (KHL)	`19(114th)
Ott	179	Lassi Thomson	D	19	6-0/190	Ilves Tampere (Fin)	`19(19th)
Car	180	Morgan Geekie	C	22	6-2/180	Charlotte (AHL)	`17(67th)
CBJ	181	Trey Fix-Wolansky	RW	21	5-8/185	Cleveland (AHL)	`18(204th)
Ott	182	Vitaly Abramov	RW	22	5-9/175	Belleville (AHL)	T(CBJ-2/19)
TB	183	Alexander Volkov	LW	23	6-1/190	Syracuse (AHL)	`17(48th)
Tor	184	Mikko Kokkonen	D	19	5-11/200	Jukurit (Fin)	`19(84th)
Ott	185	Kevin Mandolese	G	20	6-4/180	Cape Breton (QMJHL)	`18(157th)
CBJ	186	Daniil Tarasov	G	21	6-5/185	Assat Pori (Fin)	`17(86th)
LA	187	Carl Grundstrom	LW	22	6-0/195	Ontario (AHL)	T(Tor-1/19)
LA	188	Kale Clague	D	22	6-0/180	Ontario (AHL)	`16(51st)
Ott	189	Artyom Zub	D	24	6-2/200	SKA St. Petersburg (KHL)	FA(5/20)
Edm	190	Tyler Benson	LW	22	6-0/200	Bakersfield (AHL)	`16(32nd)
Det	191	Jonatan Berggren	RW	20	5-10/185	Skelleftea AIK (Swe)	`18(33rd)
Tor	192	Yegor Korshkov	RW	24	6-4/215	Toronto (AHL)	`16(31st)
Dal	193	Riley Damiani	C	20	5-9/165	Kitchener (OHL)	`18(137th)
VGK	194	Zach Whitecloud	D	23	6-2/210	Chicago (AHL)	FA(3/18)
Buf	195	Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen	G	21	6-4/195	Cincinnati (ECHL)	`17(54th)
Car	196	David Cotton	LW	23	6-3/205	Boston College (HE)	`15(169th)
Chi	197	Wyatt Kalynuk	D	23	6-1/180	Wisconsin (B1G)	FA(7/20)
Min	198	Hunter Jones	G	19	6-4/195	Peterborough (OHL)	`19(59th)
LA	199	Jordan Spence	D	19	5-10/165	Moncton (QMJHL)	`19(95th)
Cgy	200	Dmitri Zavgorodny	LW	20	5-9/175	Rimouski (QMJHL)	`18(198th)
Col	201	Alex Beaucage	RW	19	6-1/195	Rouyn-Noranda (QMJHL)	`19(78th)
TB	202	Dmitri Semykin	D	20	6-3/200	SKA-1946 St. Petersburg (MHL)	`18(90th)
CBJ	203	Matiss Kivlenieks	G	24	6-2/190	Cleveland (AHL)	FA(5/17)
StL	204	Ville Husso	G	25	6-3/205	San Antonio (AHL)	`14(94th)
Phi	205	Bobby Brink	RW	19	5-10/165	Denver (NCHC)	`19(34th)
NYI	206	Otto Koivula	C	22	6-4/220	Bridgeport (AHL)	`16(120th)
Car	207	Eetu Makiniemi	G	21	6-2/180	KOOVEE (Fin 2)	`17(104th)
NYI	208	Anatoli Golyshev	RW	25	5-8/180	Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg (KHL)	`16(95th)
Chi	209	Evan Barratt	C	21	6-0/190	Penn State (B1G)	`17(90th)
Buf	210	Erik Portillo	G	20	6-6/210	Dubuque (USHL)	`19(67th)
Fla	211	Cole Schwindt	RW	19	6-2/185	Mississauga (OHL)	`19(81st)
Chi	212	Michal Teply	LW	19	6-3/185	Winnipeg (WHL)	`19(105th)
Ott	213	Mads Sogaard	G	19	6-7/195	Medicine Hat (WHL)	`19(37th)
Buf	214	Jonas Johansson	G	24	6-4/205	Rochester (AHL)	`14(61st)
TB	215	Cal Foote	D	21	6-4/215	Syracuse (AHL)	`17(14th)
StL	216	Niko Mikkola	D	24	6-5/200	San Antonio (AHL)	`15(127th)
NYI	217	Robin Salo	D	21	6-1/190	SaiPa (Fin)	`17(46th)
Bos	218	Jakub Zboril	D	23	6-1/200	Providence (AHL)	`15(13th)
Buf	219	Will Borgen	D	23	6-2/200	Rochester (AHL)	`15(92nd)
Pit	220	Pierre-Olivier Joseph	D	21	6-2/170	Wilkes-Barre (AHL)	`17(23rd)
SJ	221	Sasha Chmelevski	C	21	5-11/190	San Jose (AHL)	`17(185th)
Ari	222	Kyle Capobianco	D	23	6-1/180	Tucson (AHL)	`15(63rd)
Det	223	Keith Petruzzelli	G	21	6-5/180	Quinnipiac (ECAC)	`17(88th)
Wsh	224	Garrett Pilon	RW	22	5-11/190	Hershey (AHL)	`16(87th)
NJ	225	Nikola Pasic	RW	19	5-10/185	Karlskoga (Swe 2)	`19(189th)
TB	226	Alex Barre-Boulet	C	23	5-10/165	Syracuse (AHL)	FA(3/18)
Edm	227	Ryan McLeod	C	20	6-2/205	Bakersfield (AHL)	`18(40th)
NYI	228	Samuel Bolduc	D	19	6-3/210	BLB-She (QMJHL)	`19(57th)
Ott	229	Joey Daccord	G	24	6-2/195	Belleville (AHL)	`15(199th)
StL	230	Hugh McGing	C	22	5-9/180	Western Michigan (NCHC)	`18(138th)
Edm	231	Cooper Marody	C	23	6-0/180	Bakersfield (AHL)	T(Phi-3/18)
Tor	232	Jeremy Bracco	RW	23	5-9/180	Toronto (AHL)	`15(61st)
Phi	233	German Rubtsov	C	22	6-2/190	Lehigh Valley (AHL)	`16(22nd)
Wsh	234	Brian Pinho	C	25	6-1/195	Hershey (AHL)	`13(174th)
Col	235	Logan O'Connor	RW	24	6-0/170	Colorado (AHL)	FA(7/18)
Buf	236	Casey Fitzgerald	D	23	5-11/190	Rochester (AHL)	`16(86th)
NJ	237	Daniil Misyul	D	19	6-3/180	Lokomotiv Yaroslavl (KHL)	`19(70th)
Ari	238	John Farinacci	C	19	5-11/185	Harvard (ECAC)	`19(76th)
Edm	239	Aapeli Rasanen	C	22	6-0/195	Boston College (HE)	`16(153rd)
Pit	240	Anthony Angello	RW	24	6-5/205	Wilkes-Barre (AHL)	`14(145th)
Mtl	241	Cam Hillis	C	20	5-10/170	Guelph (OHL)	`18(66th)
Cgy	242	Mathias Emilio Pettersen	RW	20	5-9/170	Denver (NCHC)	`18(167th)
SJ	243	Alexander True	C	23	6-5/205	San Jose (AHL)	FA(7/18)
NYI	244	Reece Newkirk	C	19	5-11/175	Portland (WHL)	`19(147th)
Dal	245	Dawson Barteaux	D	20	6-0/180	RD-Wpg (WHL)	`18(168th)
Bos	246	Jack Ahcan	D	23	5-8/185	St. Cloud State (NCHC)	FA(3/20)
Det	247	Seth Barton	D	21	6-2/175	Mass-Lowell (HE)	`18(81st)
Fla	248	Max Gildon	D	21	6-3/190	New Hampshire (HE)	`17(66th)
Ari	249	Aku Raty	RW	19	6-0/175	Karpat Oulu (Fin)	`19(151st)
Wpg	250	David Gustafsson	C	20	6-1/195	Winnipeg (NHL)	`18(60th)

Andrew Peeke – McKeen's Hockey

MCKEEN’S 2024-25 NHL YEARBOOK – BOSTON BRUINS – Team Preview

Forwards

DEFENCE

GOAL

NHL: DADOUN – THE FANTASY WEEK AHEAD (March 11th to 17th) – Post-NHL Trade Deadline Impact – Favourable schedules and players to target

Anaheim Ducks - TUE @ CHI, THU @ MIN, FRI @ WPG (BTB), SUN @ STL

Columbus Blue Jackets - TUE @ MTL, THU VS OTT, SAT VS SJS, SUN VS WPG (BTB)

Detroit Red Wings - TUE @ BUF, THU VS ARI, SAT VS BUF, SUN @ PIT (BTB)

Los Angeles Kings - MON VS NYI, WED @ STL, FRI @ CHI, SAT @ DAL (BTB)

Ottawa Senators - TUE VS PIT, THUS @ CBJ, SAT @ NYI, SUN VS CAR (BTB)

Pittsburgh Penguins - TUE @ OTT, THU VS SJS, SAT VS NYR, SUN VS DET (BTB)

San Jose Sharks - TUE @ PHI, THUS @ PIT, SAT @ CBJ, SUN @ CHI (BTB)

Winnipeg Jets - MON VS WSH, WED VS NSH, FRI VS ANA, SUN @ CBJ

MCKEEN’S 2023-24 NHL YEARBOOK – COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS – Team Preview – Player Profiles

Forwards

Johnny Gaudreau – LW

Patrik Laine – RW

Boone Jenner - C

Kent Johnson – LW

Kirill Marchenko – RW

Jack Roslovic – C

Emil Bemstrom – LW

Cole Sillinger - C

Alexandre Texier – RW

Defense

Zach Werenski – D

Ivan Provorov – D

Damon Severson – D

Andrew Peeke - D

Goaltending

MCKEEN’S 2022-23 NHL YEARBOOK – COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS – NHL Player Profiles

FORWARDS

GOALTENDING

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McKeen’s 2020-21 Hockey Yearbook: Top 300 Prospect Rankings

McKeen’s 2020-21 Hockey Yearbook: Columbus Blue Jackets Top 20 Prospects

Liam Foudy, C (18th overall, 2018. Previous ranking: 1)

Kirill Marchenko, LW (49th overall, 2018. Previous ranking: 2)

Andrew Peeke, D (34th overall, 2016. Previous ranking: 3)

Dmitri Voronkov, LW (114th overall, 2019. Previous ranking: 4)

Trey Fix-Wolansky, RW (204th overall, 2018. Previous ranking: 5)

Daniil Tarasov, G (86th overall, 2017. Previous ranking: 6)

Matiss Edmunds Kivlenieks, G (Undrafted Free Agent, signed May 25, 2017. Previous ranking: 7)

Yegor Chinakhov, RW (21st overall, 2020. Previous ranking: NA)

Veini Vehvilainen, G (173rd overall, 2018. Previous ranking: 8)

Calvin Thurkauf, C/LW (185th overall, 2016. Previous ranking: 9)

Tyler Angle, C (212th overall, 2019. Previous ranking: 10)

Ryan MacInnis, C/RW (Trade: Jul. 18, 2018. Originally: 43rd overall, 2014 [Arizona]. Previous ranking: 11)

Tim Berni, D (159th overall, 2018. Previous ranking: 12)

Marcus Karlberg, RW/LW (80th overall, 2018. Previous ranking: 13)

Eric Hjorth, D (104th overall, 2019. Previous ranking: 14)

Jake Christiansen, D (Undrafted Free Agent, signed Mar. 4, 2020. Previous ranking: 15)

Kole Sherwood, RW (Undrafted Free Agent: Jul. 7, 2015. Previous ranking: 17)

Samuel Johannesson, D (176th overall, 2020. Previous ranking: NA)

Samuel Knazko, D (78th overall, 2020. Previous ranking: NA)

Ole Bjorgvik Holm, D (145th overall, 2020. Previous ranking: NA)

MCKEENS 2020 NHL PROSPECTS REPORT – TOP 250 PROSPECTS

Liam Foudy, C (18^th overall, 2018. Previous ranking: 1)

Kirill Marchenko, LW (49^th overall, 2018. Previous ranking: 2)

Andrew Peeke, D (34^th overall, 2016. Previous ranking: 3)

Dmitri Voronkov, LW (114^th overall, 2019. Previous ranking: 4)

Trey Fix-Wolansky, RW (204^th overall, 2018. Previous ranking: 5)

Daniil Tarasov, G (86^th overall, 2017. Previous ranking: 6)

Yegor Chinakhov, RW (21^st overall, 2020. Previous ranking: NA)

Veini Vehvilainen, G (173^rd overall, 2018. Previous ranking: 8)

Calvin Thurkauf, C/LW (185^th overall, 2016. Previous ranking: 9)

Tyler Angle, C (212^th overall, 2019. Previous ranking: 10)

Ryan MacInnis, C/RW (Trade: Jul. 18, 2018. Originally: 43^rd overall, 2014 [Arizona]. Previous ranking: 11)

Tim Berni, D (159^th overall, 2018. Previous ranking: 12)

Marcus Karlberg, RW/LW (80^th overall, 2018. Previous ranking: 13)

Eric Hjorth, D (104^th overall, 2019. Previous ranking: 14)

Samuel Johannesson, D (176^th overall, 2020. Previous ranking: NA)

Samuel Knazko, D (78^th overall, 2020. Previous ranking: NA)

Ole Bjorgvik Holm, D (145^th overall, 2020. Previous ranking: NA)