The Columbus Blue Jackets selected another small, scoring winger with their last pick in the draft.
Players drafted in the 7th round are long-shots to make it in the NHL. Scott Cullen’s fantastic analysis of players drafted show that these late round picks have an 8% chance to ever play 100 NHL games. The Columbus Blue Jackets pick at 204 overall is used to being a long shot though.
Standing at only 5’7″ tall, Trey Fix-Wolansky as always been overlooked. He was taken by the Jackets as the 14th to last player selected in this year’s draft.
The right shot winger plays in the Western Hockey League for the Edmonton Oil Kings. Fix-Wolansky put up great numbers in his second year eligible for the draft.
Though short in stature, Fix Wolansky is a pure finisher. In 71 games he scored 32 goals and 57 assist. His 89 points not only led his team, but placed him 18th overall in league scoring. Unfortunately, Fix-Wolansky has been the only source of scoring in Edmonton for the last few seasons. Last year, the Oil Kings finished last in the WHL.
Although he is small, he isn’t afraid to scrap. Here are a few of his fights from this year.
TFW vs Brad Morrison on 11/12/17
TFW vs Tyler Preziuso 1/5/18
Both opposing fighters had at least three inches and 20 pounds on Fix-Wolansky. You have to love a player of his size that won’t back down from anything.
Fix-Wolansky was originally going to head to play college hockey but then his rights were traded to his hometown team in Edmonton. That was enough to keep him in the WHL. The decision to stay has clearly paid off as now Fix-Wolansky has been drafted by the Jackets.
Long Road Ahead
Fix-Wolansky will certainly spend the next season in Edmonton playing for the Oil Kings. He will look to be one of the top five scorers in the league this year as he progresses in his third year in the league.
Trey is added to what is a somewhat deep corps of forwards in the Jackets farm system. He plays a similar style and is a similar size of a few of his fellow Jackets including 2018 draftee Markus Karlberg. Fix-Wolansky’s biggest task will be to continue to dominate at the WHL and put up scoring numbers while bulking up as he prepares for life in the AHL.
Next: Draft Profile: Markus Karlberg
In the 7th round teams are looking for players with potential that may have been overlooked. Fix-Wolansky has spent his hockey career being overlooked because of his size. The Columbus Blue Jackets hopefully found a player that can punch above his size and continue to score for years to come.