Columbus Blue Jackets Select Zach Werenski #8

With the #8 pick the Columbus Blue Jackets selected Zach Werenski from Michigan. After it seemed like non-stop talks, the price tag was apparently just too high for the Jackets to move up to grab either Noah Hanifin who went #5 to the Carolina Hurricanes or Ivan Provorov who went #7 to the Philadelphia Flyers as we had reports flowing in, seemingly at every pick, that GM Jarmo Kekalainen was on the phones with the team picking. None of it would come to fruition and the Jackets would stay and grab my choice, if the price was too high for Hanifin, in Zach Werenski.

Here’s what I had on Werenski from an earlier post:

This could be the last lottery draft choice for the Blue Jackets for a long time if their explosive finish to last season is any indication. They finished the season winning 15 of their last 17, 9 of those 15 wins came against playoff teams still fighting for seeding, outscoring opponents 70 goals to 43 in that stretch. So they can’t miss with this last golden opportunity.

That’s why Werenski should be a celebrated explosive addition to a struggling blue-line that is in need of a serious spark.

Luckily need and talent coincided for us to grab a great prospect at a hurting spot.

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I really like Werenski‘s aggressiveness, tenacity, and his IQ to make smart quick decisions to take advantage of guys out of position. He flashes great strength mainly in his sumo control in front of the net keeping opponents away from positioning for rebounds and picks. He has a big body, standing 6’2″ 214 lbs which he uses to keep his body in front of the puck and does a great job of tunneling the opposing rush and blocking lanes.

Imagine a Troy Polamalu on the ice. He’s definitely going to take some chances and while they may not always pan out, more likely than not his aggressiveness helps turn the tide on the position whether it stops a rush from the opposing team or keeps alive offensive control. He’s an exciting player that sometimes gets caught out of positioning a little but that is something he should gain more knowledge later, when to take the risk and when to play it safe.

Offensively his shot is powerfully accurate and has great quarterbacking skills on the PP which makes him extremely versatile for many pushes down the ice. He makes great tape to tape passes, mainly conservative but knows when to take a shot down the ice to take advantage when necessary.

Werenski is a fully complete player. He has a great want and love for the game, he sped up his schooling so he could enroll early in Michigan, which makes him extremely coachable on the things he needs to work on and even more encouraging… he’s still only 17!!