The Columbus Blue Jackets, as well as nearly all NHL teams, are poised to go into the 2015 NHL Draft ready to use the “best available player” strategy. The Jackets should rethink their strategy.
The two sports where the “best available player” strategy makes the most sense is hockey and baseball. In these two sports players are drafted at very young ages. This leads to two potential issues, is the player going to reach the potential that we project and what will the needs of the NHL team be when the player is ready to join the big squad? The school of thought has been that as long as a team takes the best player available that even if they have a glut at that position the team can trade for what they need.
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From what I have seen the strategy has fallen apart in recent years for one reason; the high on ice value and lack of available top pairing defensemen. When free agency hits like a lion on July 1st notice how few of these players will be available.
The Columbus Blue Jackets should shift their strategy from taking the “best player available” and start taking players with the “highest projected value” (HPU). NHL teams have looked at players and draft picks for years as assets that can be utilized for the best use of the franchise, this is taking that thought process to the next level. In the current climate HPU players would be top flight defensemen or players who project to playing a top four role on defense. What position or what type of player that is an HPU would shift as the “market” of NHL players change over time. In the next five years maybe we will see a lot of talented defensemen coming up and then the HPU player would shift to a wing player.
Utilizing this strategy would set the team up in two ways. First they would have talent at positions that it is more likely they would be lacking. Secondly if the Columbus Blue Jackets had players at the HPU position already they would be able to command more for in the trade market.
Columbus Blue Jackets general manager Jarmo Kekalainen will make the choices that he thinks are best for the franchise but I hope that some outside the box thinking is happening in the offices on Nationwide Boulevard.
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