The Blue Jackets ended the draft weekend, making a weird trade. They traded Kerby Rychel to the Leafs for Scott Harrington and a conditional 5th. Rychel was a first round pick in 2013, so this is a major loss for the Blue Jackets. For whatever reason he couldn't get going in Columbus and with his off ice issues he had to. It would have been great to have got a pick for this years draft. I'll have more on this deal tomorrow.
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Good morning Blue Jacket fans! Things kick off early in day with the second round starting at 10am. I will be back in the arena in Buffalo and again depending on the wifi, will do my best to keep you posted on all the picks the Jackets make today.
I went over some names I like for
pick 34 last weekend and of the nine names, seven are still available so keep an eye out for those players. There has also been some talk of the Jackets acquiring more picks, and in all likelihood pick 34 is in play. I could see a team like a Chicago, or a Pittsburgh; teams without a first round pick, trying to move up into the early second round so they can land a player with first round talent.
Here are the picks the Blue Jackets have as we enter day two:
34: Andrew Peeke. Defencemen from the Green Bay Gamblers. He is a defensive defencemen standing 6'3. He scored an ok 30 points in 56 games. This was something I felt Columbus should have avoided. They have plenty of big defencemen already.
65: Vitaly Abramov: RW from Gatineau Olympiques. Small but highly skilled. May have the best hands in the draft. Scored 93 points in 63 games as a rookie in the QMJHL. This is a fantastic pick. Shocked he was here for this pick. What a steal.
155: Peter Thome: Goalie from the Aberdeen Wings. A re-entry goalie with good size at 6'3. Had a .929 sv% in the NAHL this season. A real off the board pick here.
185: Calvin Thurkauf: C from the Kelowna Rockets. Swiss born player in his first season in North America. Was passed over last season. Had 45 points and 61 games in the WHL. This is the kind of player who you bring to the prospect development camp. It is the seventh round but this is another highly questionable pick.
Barring any last minute trades, that completes the Blue Jackets draft. They were unable to add any picks and failed to make a trade to shed some salary. They got a great player in Abramov but whiffed on the Peeke pick. The final two picks were older and do not appear to have high skill or potential. My first reaction is that this was an average to below average group. As the summer progresses I will profile each player more in depth and get a better feel for the prospects.
Until then bring on free agency!
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