As part of a busy summer, the Blue Jackets made seven selections at the 2022 NHL Draft – several of whom look like quality prospects. In fact, I have a suspicion that we will look back in 5 years and see the 2021 and 2022 draft classes, as the best the franchise has ever seen. With that in mind, we’re revisiting our list of the team’s top prospect rankings with an updated edition. Read: Previous rankings #20-11
The Rules
- We are only listing prospects who are aged 23 or under, prior to the start of the 2022-23 season. Unfortunately, this excludes Nick Blankenburg, who would have been on this list.
- To qualify for this list, players have to have fewer than 10 NHL games played. This excludes players such as Liam Foudy from the list.
Honorable Mentions (in no particular order)
(previous ranking in parentheses)
(HM) RW Ben Boyd, Charlottetown Islanders (QMJHL), 6th round (#165 overall), 2021 NHL Draft
(HM) G Jet Greaves, Cleveland Monsters (AHL), signed as a free agent February 2022
(NA) G Sergei Ivanov, SKA St Petersburg (MHL-RUS), 5th round (#138 overall), 2022 NHL Draft
(NA) RW James Fisher, Northestern University (NCAA), 7th round (#203 overall), 2022 NHL Draft
(20) D Nikolai Makarov, CSKA Moscow (KHL), 5th round (#132 overall), 2021 NHL Draft
(19) D Tim Berni, Cleveland Monsters (AHL), 6th round (#159 overall), 2018 NHL Draft
(18) LW Martin Rysavy, Moose Jaw Warriors (WHL), 7th round (#197 overall), 2021 NHL Draft
(17) D Aidan Hreschuk, Boston College (NCAA), Acquired via Trade March 2022
(16) C Josh Dunne, Cleveland Monsters (AHL), signed as a free agent March 2021
Prospects #20-11
20. (15) D Eric Hjorth, HC Vita Hästen (Allsvenskan), 4th round (#104 overall), 2019 NHL Draft
19. (14) D Ole Bjorgvik-Holm, Mississauga Steelheads (OHL), 5th round, 145th overall, 2020 NHL Draft
18. (NR) RW Kirill Dolzhenkov, Krasnaya Armiya Moskva (MHL – RUS), 4th round (#109 overall), 2022 NHL Draft
17. (13) D Guillaume Richard, Providence College (NCAA), 4th round (#101 overall), 2021 NHL Draft
16. (12) C Mikael Pyyhtia, Cleveland Monsters (AHL), 4th round (#114 overall), 2020 NHL Draft
15. (11) D Samuel Knazko, Seattle Thunderbirds (WHL), 3rd round (#78 overall), 2020 NHL Draft
14. (10) F James Malatesta, Quebec Remparts (QMJHL), 5th round (#133 overall), 2021 NHL Draft
13. (9) RW Trey Fix-Wolansky, Cleveland Monsters (AHL), 7th round (#204 overall), 2018 NHL Draft
12. (NR) RW Jordan Dumais, Halifax Mooseheads (QMJHL), 3rd round (#96 overall), 2022 NHL Draft
11. (8) C Tyler Angle, Cleveland Monsters (AHL), 7th round (#212 overall), 2019 NHL Draft
Prospects # 10-1
10. (7) D Jake Christiansen, Cleveland Monsters (AHL), signed as a free agent March 2020
9. (6) C Dmitry Voronkov, Ak Bars Kazan (KHL), 4th round (#114 overall), 2019 NHL Draft
8. (NR) C Luca Del Bel Belluz, Mississauga Steelheads (OHL), 2nd round (#44 overall), 2022 NHL Draft
7. (5) D Stanislav Svozil, Regina Pats (WHL), 3rd round (#69 overall), 2021 NHL Draft
6. (4) G Daniil Tarasov, Cleveland Monsters (AHL), 3rd round (#86 overall), 2017 NHL Draft
5. (NR) D Denton Mateychuk, Moose Jaw Warriors (OHL), 1st round (#12 overall), 2022 NHL Draft
4. (3) D Corson Ceulemans, Wisconsin Badgers (NCAA), 1st round (#25 overall), 2021 NHL Draft
3. (NR) D David Jiricek, HC Plzen (CZE), 1st round (#6 overall), 2022 NHL Draft
2. (2) RW Kirill Marchenko, Columbus Blue Jackets (NHL), 2nd round (#49 overall), 2018 NHL Draft
1 (1) F Kent Johnson, Columbus Blue Jackets (NHL), 1st round (#5 overall), 2021 NHL Draft
Lots of movement on this list after a very strong draft this summer. I expect at least two of these players to graduate from the list this as they make the club this fall (Johnson, Marchenko). It will be interesting to see if there are any other surprises on the opening night roster for the Blue Jackets. There are several quality prospects here who are close to NHL ready, and this list will likely look very different again next summer.
We’ll keep track of every player on this list and their development as hockey season gets underway around the world. Stay tuned for more prospects coverage!