Prospect Info: CBJ Prospect Thread XI

[CBJx614]

Whitelaw's skill, will stand out on the ice | Columbus Blue Jackets

Whether its board games or hockey, the Michigan-bound forward does everything he can to win

www.nhl.com

 

[EDM]

Well we certainly do have quite a collection of under 5' 10" forwards with fiestyness and offensive skills in our franchise right now.

 

[CBJWerenski8]

Two Blue Jackets defenseman prospects are nearing the end of their college careers, which means decisions will be made next spring or summer about their futures.

Guillaume Richard will be a senior at Providence and Aidan Hreschuk will be a senior at Boston College.

Waddell originally selected Hreschuk in the third round of the 2021 NHL draft (No. 94) as the Carolina Hurricanes’ GM and then traded his rights to the Blue Jackets in March 2022 as part of a multi-team deal to acquire forward Max Domi. The Blue Jackets selected Richard in the fourth round of the 2021 draft (No. 101) under the tenure of former GM Jarmo Kekalainen.


Both players attended the Blue Jackets’ development camp last week at the Ice Haus attached to Nationwide Arena and should hold important roles for their college teams.

Should the Blue Jackets extend an NHL entry-level contract to either next spring, it will be up to each player to decide whether to sign or wait until an Aug. 15, 2025 deadline to become an unrestricted free agent. It’s a loophole built into the NHL’s collective bargaining agreement with the NHL Players’ Association that allows NCAA players who haven't signed four years after their draft year to hit the open market.It might be a toss-up whether the Blue Jackets extend either one a contract, but having a strong senior season could change the scenario either way for each defenseman. The Dispatch caught up with Richard last week and asked about his plans at this stage.“Columbus invested a lot of time in me, I’ve invested a lot of time in Columbus, and I want to be a Blue Jacket,” he said. “That is the plan. I want to have a great season at Providence, and then join the Blue Jackets organization. That’s the path I’m planning to go.”

https://x.com/i/web/status/1810327746566066319

 

[Youngguns80]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1810327746566066319

Ohh please no Blashill

 

[CBJx614]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1810758319512113334

Goes over everyone in the system from the OHL.

 

[Xoggz22]

Listened to the final episode of NHL Draft Class pod on way home from work. Craig Button (not my favorite, but he is connected still and does some player evaluation for the draft - not sure it's always good....), anyway, Button had nice things to say about Luca Marrelli. Basically said even with Sennecke in Oshawa he came away from every game thinking Marrelli was a player. Smart, skilled, could skate, had size and was effective in all three zones. Thought he could be a very good NHL player and wouldn't be surprised if he was this year's Jacob Slavin (later pick/sleeper that became a very very good NHL player).

 

[GoJackets1]

Listened to the final episode of NHL Draft Class pod on way home from work. Craig Button (not my favorite, but he is connected still and does some player evaluation for the draft - not sure it's always good....), anyway, Button had nice things to say about Luca Marrelli. Basically said even with Sennecke in Oshawa he came away from every game thinking Marrelli was a player. Smart, skilled, could skate, had size and was effective in all three zones. Thought he could be a very good NHL player and wouldn't be surprised if he was this year's Jacob Slavin (later pick/sleeper that became a very very good NHL player).

Yeah, I have been super excited about this pick. I haven’t seen him play but everything I read makes it seem like he’s a great pick in that range. I could be wrong but it feels like defensemen who put up that many points in juniors tend to translate well to the NHL. I feel similarly about Marrelli to how I felt about Savard when we picked him.

 

[Doggy]

OK, now I am a fan of Tanner Henricks. In his interview with BobbyMac and Dylan Tyrer, Tanner mentioned one of the things he enjoys doing in his off-ice time is playing pickleball

 

[CBJWerenski8]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1813208345072775198

 

[GoJackets1]

Lindstrom below Eiserman is certainly a choice.

 

[squashmaple]

I understand it's Wheeler's list and he can make whatever arbitrary choices he wants for who qualifies and who doesn't, but I don't think either of Johnson or Jiricek should be on this list. And considering there isn't a single snap-judgment pundit who liked the Jackets' 2024 draft, I'm not surprised Lindstrom is the only one on here and that he's ranked so low.

Lindstrom below Eiserman is certainly a choice.

Wheeler has been Eiserman's biggest fan all year. He was also consistent in not particularly caring for Lindstrom. This isn't surprising for him at all.

Edit: for those who are paywalled, the relevant Jackets are:

#12 Jiricek (tier 3)
#18 Lindstrom (tier 3)
#27 Johnson (tier 4)
#35 Mateychuk (tier 4)
#70 Brindley (tier 5)
#71 Dumais (tier 5)

 

[Doggy]

Lindstrom below Eiserman is certainly a choice.

Just like Squash posted, Wheels has been bullish on Eiserman all season. Wrote an in-depth article on the kid and thinks his personality and all-around game have been unfairly picked apart and misunderstood.

I understand it's Wheeler's list and he can make whatever arbitrary choices he wants for who qualifies and who doesn't, but I don't think either of Johnson or Jiricek should be on this list. And considering there isn't a single snap-judgment pundit who liked the Jackets' 2024 draft, I'm not surprised Lindstrom is the only one on here and that he's ranked so low.


Wheeler has been Eiserman's biggest fan all year. He was also consistent in not particularly caring for Lindstrom. This isn't surprising for him at all.

Edit: for those who are paywalled, the relevant Jackets are:

#12 Jiricek (tier 3)
#18 Lindstrom (tier 3)
#27 Johnson (tier 4)
#35 Mateychuk (tier 4)
#70 Brindley (tier 5)
#71 Dumais (tier 5)

I would add Nemec to the list of players who should have graduated from this list. He played sixty NHL games last season and I am sure is penned into the Devils starting blue line for this upcoming season.

While I think it would be hard to send KJ back to Cleveland, I would not be surprised if Jiricek starts next season there again.

As for Wheels not being Lindstrom's biggest fan, the write up is pretty darn positive and he says he thought about ranking him a bit higher. There is no doubt we are (and should be) excited about him as a prospect but the fact is he had just one dominant half-season...there is still much to prove he was worth his draft position.

If anything, I am most surprised by Mateychuk being as low as he is. Right now I feel he's a better prospect than KJ and more likely to hit his ceiling (I have more faith in Mateychuk as a high end 2nd pairing d-man than I do KJ as a top six forward).

 

[Doggy]

Hey Mods, just a suggestion worth considering (maybe polling the group about). What if the CBJ Prospect Rankings were done every other day vs everyday. Believe it or not, sometimes I miss a day on the site because I am busy. That way you can even spread out the poling over 40 days rather than cramming it into 20 days.

 

[Viqsi]

Hey Mods, just a suggestion worth considering (maybe polling the group about). What if the CBJ Prospect Rankings were done every other day vs everyday. Believe it or not, sometimes I miss a day on the site because I am busy. That way you can even spread out the poling over 40 days rather than cramming it into 20 days.

It's easier to remember to set up the next poll when it's every day. Beyond that...

 

[Jovavic]

Believe it or not, sometimes I miss a day on the site because I am busy.

That's blasphemous!

 

[DoingItCoolKiwi]

#70 Brindley (tier 5)
#71 Dumais (tier 5)

Was there any reasoning on why these two are so close to each other? Feels like Brindley's playstyle should put him further ahead, since he should be a lot safer bet to have a good NHL career.

Must be a difference in ceilings, right? So I'm wondering whether Wheeler thinks Dumais has really high ceiling, or does he see Brindley as more of a low ceiling prospect

 

[majormajor]

Was there any reasoning on why these two are so close to each other? Feels like Brindley's playstyle should put him further ahead, since he should be a lot safer bet to have a good NHL career.

Must be a difference in ceilings, right? So I'm wondering whether Wheeler thinks Dumais has really high ceiling, or does he see Brindley as more of a low ceiling prospect

Wheeler used to have Dumais near the top.

He's only tumbled, I imagine, because of Dumais' hip problems. On another scouts list, Dumais might not go top 100.

 

[squashmaple]

Was there any reasoning on why these two are so close to each other? Feels like Brindley's playstyle should put him further ahead, since he should be a lot safer bet to have a good NHL career.

Must be a difference in ceilings, right? So I'm wondering whether Wheeler thinks Dumais has really high ceiling, or does he see Brindley as more of a low ceiling prospect

He doesn't really explain relative comparisons in the rankings.

 

[tunnelvision]

This is not a breakdown video of any CBJ prospect but it is a good one and relates to the small forward conversation. There are a lot of new uploads on his channel, great prospect content for boring summer days.



Recent Eiserman video:


Also worth mentioning: at the end of each video he says he's taking requests for new player videos (preferably NCAA/USHL kids)... and in case you didn't know, he's an active poster on prospect boards too.

 

[Doggy]

Scott Wheeler’s goalie prospect rankings came out and Ivanov was #18. I don’t know Wheel’s goalie credentials (Pronman admits he’s no goalie expert and leans on others).

 

[Aaaarrgghh]

Scott Wheeler’s goalie prospect rankings came out and Ivanov was #18. I don’t know Wheel’s goalie credentials (Pronman admits he’s no goalie expert and leans on others).

Ivanov might be my favourite Blue Jackets prospect. He seems like a hidden gem.

 

[Doggy]

Looks like Sergei Ivanov is going to be sharing the net in Sochi with another young and talented goalie. SKA lent Yegor Zavragin to Sochi. Zavragin was a 3rd round pick of the Flyers in 2023 and last season had a .944 Save Percentage and 1.62 GAA split between the MHL (1/3) and VHL (2/3).

 

[CBJWerenski8]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1815370210876010863

 

[SergeConstantin74]

That's a lot of rings just for 2023.

From left to right : QMJHL Playoffs MVP, QMJHL champion (Gilles-Courteau trophy), CHL champion (Memorial Cup), Memorial Cup MVP

https://x.com/i/web/status/1823811877115408895

 

[MoeBartoli]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1815370210876010863

Any idea when the roster comes out?