With the Columbus Blue Jackets final pick in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft, defenseman Robbie Stucker from St. Thomas Academy was selected.
The Columbus Blue Jackets final pick of the 2017 NHL Entry draft came at pick 210. The Jackets went to a familiar spot with their seventh round pick and selected defenseman Robbie Stucker from St. Thomas Academy (USHS) in Minnesota.
Stucker is an older 18-year-old with some good height. He stands at 6’3″ but could stand to bulk up. The youngster is only 170 pounds.
He did score 40 points in 25 games at St. Thomas Academy. For a high school skater, Stucker would have faced some of the toughest competition possible at St. Thomas.
Columbus Blue Jackets
Familiar 7th Round Selection
I say familiar because this is the third time in four seasons that the Jackets have taken a defenseman in the seventh round. In 2015, the Columbus Blue Jackets took Markus Nutivaara with their 7th round pick. That turned out pretty well.
And in 2014 the Jackets selected Olivier Leblanc. Leblanc just finished his final season in the QMJHL and will not have an opportunity with the organization. But hey, one for two in the seventh round on defenseman is pretty darn good.
Consider this, according to TSN, only about 17% of any seventh round draft picks make it to the NHL. The road for Robbie Stucker will be long and tough. Next season he will play in the USHL with the Chicago Steel. Following that, he will attend Colorado College in the 2018-2019 calendar year.
Even if everything goes incredibly well and he blossoms into a stud prospect, he won’t sniff the NHL until late in 2019. But that is unlikely. The soon to be 19-year-old has a lot to improve on to become a top flight college player, let alone make the NHL.
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At that time in 2019-2020 players like Seth Jones, Zach Werenski, and Cabriel Carlsson will all be in the prime of their career. It makes it challenging to see an opportunity for Stucker to find a spot with the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Hopefully he continues to develop and he becomes a nice trade asset for the Jackets. Welcome to Columbus Stucker.