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Columbus Blue Jackets: History of the 18th Overall Pick

By Lansing Murphy

CHICAGO, IL - JUNE 23: A general view of the draft board is seen after the first round of the 2017 NHL Draft at United Center on June 23, 2017 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Dave Sandford/NHLI via Getty Images)
CHICAGO, IL - JUNE 23: A general view of the draft board is seen after the first round of the 2017 NHL Draft at United Center on June 23, 2017 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Dave Sandford/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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2012: Center, Teuvo Teravainen

Columbus Blue Jackets
SUNRISE, FL – APRIL 2: Teuvo Teravainen #86 of the Carolina Hurricanes crosses sticks with MacKenzie Weegar #52 of the Florida Panthers at the BB&T Center on April 2, 2018 in Sunrise, Florida. (Photo by Eliot J. Schechter/NHLI via Getty Images) /

The Chicago Blackhawks held the 18th pick in back-to-back years and ended up drafting two centers with widely different careers. Both draft picks ended up being traded away from Chicago.

In 2012 the 18th overall pick was Teuvo Teravainen. Teravainen was a smaller, more skilled center from the Finnish Liiga team, Jokerit Helsinki. At 17 he played at the top level of the Finnish mens league and won the rookie of the year award before his draft year. He had an impressive 31 points in 44 games. For comparison, the Jackets 2nd round pick from last year, Alexander Texier, played in Liiga this season at 18-years-old and had 22 points in 53 games.

Teravainen came to the NHL in 2014 and was a crucial component to the Blackhawks Stanley Cup run in 2015. In 18 playoff games he scored 10 points and became the fourth youngest player to score a goal in Stanley Cup Finals history.

Following the 2016 season, Teravainen was traded to Carolina where he has positioned himself as a top line NHL center. Last season at age 23, he played in all 82 games and scored 23 goals and 41 assist. The Columbus Blue Jackets would be overjoyed if they could pick up a center like Teravainen at 18. Perhaps a fellow Finn, Rasmus Kupari, could be this years Teravainen.

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