With the 80th overall pick, the Columbus Blue Jackets selected Swedish forward Marcus Karlberg.
The first three picks for the Columbus Blue Jackets in the 2018 draft were all, unsurprisingly, fast, skilled forwards. Liam Foudy in the first round and Krill Marchenko in the second round both will help replenish the farm system with scoring forwards with a high ceiling.
The same is true for the the Jackets third round pick Marcus Karlberg. The 18-year-old forward plays a fast, skilled game that leads to scoring chances. Last season in Sweden’s top junior tier, Karlberg scored 47 points in 39 games. That was good for fourth in points per game in the entire league for players who played over 20 games.
Also on that list was fellow Columbus Blue Jackets prospect Emil Bemstrom. Although he only played 13 games with Leksands IF J20 before heading up to the parent club in the Allsvenskan. The Jackets scouting staff saw a plethora of Karlberg while keeping tracks on Bemstrom who had a strong season and is rolling that success over into a World Junior Championship tryout.
Related Story: Bemstrom Invited to Swedish WJC Camp
You would think that Marcus Karlberg’s five foot seven inch frame would preclude him from battling for tough pucks but that doesn’t seem to be the case. From all accounts, Karlberg plays hard in the corners and is feisty in puck battles. He surely gives up a lot of ground in the size department but that isn’t everything as Jackets fans know.
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Cam Atkinson is just an inch taller than Karlberg but is strong on the puck as is Artemi Panarin who is only 5’11, 180 pounds. Folks have knocked Karlberg for his lack of size but it won’t be a deterrent in today’s NHL.
Karlberg in the third round is seen as bit of a stretch though. He was not one of the top 173 ranked skaters in Europe by NHL Central Scouting. Although that list is not a definitive by any stretch, it does show that many other scouts didn’t have Karlberg as a player to keep an eye on. But the Jackets went ahead and selected him 80th overall.
Karlberg will be at Development camp before returning to Sweden for a full season with Leksand as his team looks to climb up into the SHL. They just missed promotion last season as they were eliminated in the final series by Timra.
Next: CBJ Draft Liam Foudy with 1st Round Pick
Karlberg will look to follow his fellow Columbus Blue Jackets prospect Bemstrom and have a coming out party in the Allsvenskan next year.