Columbus Blue Jackets: Summer 2023 Top Prospects

Now that the 2023 NHL Draft is over, it’s time to take another look at the top prospects for the Columbus Blue Jackets. The Jackets boast one of the best prospect pools in the entire NHL, which made this an exciting article to put together.

This year’s Draft was wildly successful for the team, who came away with not only their future #1 center in Adam Fantilli – they landed another handful of players who could be contributors in the NHL by the time it’s all said and done. In fact, no fewer than five of the club’s eight picks this summer land on our top-20 list.

This is very impressive, more so when you consider that the Jackets already had a top-five prospect pool in the league, prior to this most recent draft. Adding Fantilli alone probably pushed them up to or near the top, depending on whose rankings you follow – but adding Gavin Brindley, William Whitelaw, and the other picks they made, could make this class one of the best in franchise history.

The Top Prospect List Rules:

• Players must be under 24 years of age.
• Fewer than 25 NHL games played.
• Most previous rankings are in parenthesis. (HM = Honorable Mention. NR = Not ranked / new to the list).
• Stats displayed are from where the player played most in the 2022-23 season.
• Projections are based on high end upside. Obviously, not all of these guys will hit their peak potential.
• We did our best to note where each player will play next season. Obviously, subject to change.

Honorable Mentions, in no particular order:

(HM) RW James Fisher 6’2″, 185 pounds. 7th round (#203 overall), 2022 NHL Draft. Projection: physical bottom-six winger. Scored 3 goals, 7 assists, 10 points for the Clark Cup champion Youngstown Phantoms (USHL). Will play for the Penticton Vees (BCHL) this fall – Northeastern University commit.

(HM) D Nikolai Makarov 6’1″, 195 pounds. 5th round (#132 overall), 2021 NHL Draft. Projection: physical bottom-three defenseman. Scored 1 goal, 1 assist, 2 points for CSKA Moscow (KHL). Will return to CSKA this fall.

(HM) LW Martin Rysavy 6’3″, 220 pounds. 7th round (#197 overall), 2021 NHL Draft. Projection: physical bottom-six winger. Scored 11 goals, 22 assists, 33 points for Moose Jaw (WHL). Signed to an ELC, will likely play for the Cleveland Monsters this fall.

(HM) D Aidan Hreschuk 5’11”, 190 pounds. Acquired from Carolina for Max Domi – originally selected 3rd round (#94 overall), 2021 NHL Draft. Projection: bottom pairing two-way defenseman. Scored 1 goal, 5 assists, 6 points for Boston College (NCAA). Will return to BC this fall.

For our top-20 rankings, each of us at Union and Blue put together our own list. Then we compared lists, assigned point values to each prospect (ranked first earns 20 points, ranked 20th earns 1 point, etc); and compiled our consensus top-20 prospects for the team. Here’s how we ranked them, again with previous rankings in parenthesis:

20 (NR) C Luca Pinelli 5’9″, 170 pounds. 4th round (#114) overall, 2023 NHL Draft. Projection: middle six two-way center. Scored 29 goals, 34 assists, 63 points for Ottawa (OHL). Will return to Ottawa this fall. Why we ranked him here: Luca’s combination of speed, skill, and tenacity makes him a pretty safe bet to at least see some time in the NHL. His scoring upside could make him a big time steal, if it translates to the big leagues.

19 (15) D Guillaume Richard 6’2″, 175 pounds. 4th round (#101 overall), 2021 NHL Draft. Projection: bottom-three two-way defenseman. Scored 1 goal, 7 assists, 8 points for Providence College (NCAA). Will return to Providence College this fall. Why we ranked him here: Guillaume is a little bit forgotten about in this prospect pool, but his skating, puck moving, and gap control should earn him more attention.

18 (NR) D Andrew Strathmann 5’11”, 190 pounds. 4th round (#98 overall), 2023 NHL Draft. Projection: bottom-four puck moving defenseman. Scored 3 goals, 35 assists, 38 points for Youngstown (USHL). Will return to Youngstown this fall. Why we ranked him here: Andrew’s offensive upside and stout physicality makes him an intriguing prospect. If his offense carries over to the NCAA quickly, he may shoot up this list.

17 (13) G Sergei Ivanov 5’11”, 165 pounds. 5th round (#138 overall), 2022 NHL Draft. Projection: starting goaltender. Posted a .928 save percentage, 2.17 goals against average for SKA St Petersburg (VHL, Russian tier 2 men’s league). Will return to St Petersburg this fall, may see more KHL time. Why we ranked him here: Sergei is not only obviously talented – he’s stopping pucks at a high level in a men’s league. This is a sleeper pick that could pay off huge, if he ever crosses the pond.

16 (14) LW Mikael Pyyhtia 6’0″, 160 pounds. 4th round (#114 overall), 2020 NHL Draft. Projection: middle six scoring winger. Scored 7 goals, 13 assists, 20 points for TPS (Finland). Joined the Cleveland Monsters late and will return there this fall. Why we ranked him here: Mikael is a pure sniper who has shown a penchant for producing at a higher rate when paired with other talented players. He can play up and down the lineup and provide secondary offense.

To make it into the top-15 of this list, you have to be a pretty special player. The Jackets should be stoked to have players like this ranked outside of their top 10:

15 (12) D Samuel Knazko 6’1″, 190 pounds. 3rd round (#78 overall), 2020 NHL Draft. Projection: bottom-four puck moving defenseman. Scored 1 goal, 20 assists, 21 points for Cleveland (AHL). Will return to Cleveland this fall. Why we ranked him here: Samuel’s hockey IQ is really high, he has a knack for finding himself with the puck in dangerous areas, and he knows what to do with it when he gets it. He’s close to NHL ready, too.

14 (11) RW Trey Fix-Wolansky 5’7″, 180 pounds. 7th round (#204 overall), 2018 NHL Draft. Projection: bottom-six pest, secondary scorer. Scored 29 goals, 42 assists, 71 points for Cleveland (AHL). Will return to Cleveland this fall. Why we ranked him here: Trey is probably the most NHL ready prospect the Jackets have. He’s the kind of guy the other teams hate playing against – but, will there be room for him in Columbus any time soon?

13 (8) C Hunter McKown 6’1″, 205 pounds. Undrafted, signed as a free agent spring 2023. Projection: middle six two-way center. Scored 21 goals, 7 assists, 28 points for Colorado College (NCAA). Will most likely play in Cleveland this year. Why we ranked him here: Hunter jumped right into the NHL and did not look out of place, aside from being snake-bitten. He’s a good two-way player and a natural sniper.

12 (NR) RW William Whitelaw 5’9″, 175 pounds. 3rd round (#66 overall), 2023 NHL Draft. Projection: second line scoring winger. Scored 36 goals, 25 assists, 61 points for Youngstown (USHL) this year. Will head to the University of Wisconsin this fall. Why we ranked him here: William combines a relentless work ethic, speed, high end hockey IQ and a pro-ready shot, giving him the potential to be a high end scoring winger in the NHL.

11 (7) G Daniil Tarasov 6’5″, 195 pounds. 3rd round (#86 overall), 2017 NHL Draft. Projection: starting goaltender. Posted a .882 save percentage, 3.85 goals against average for Cleveland (AHL) this season. Will play for the Blue Jackets this fall. Why we ranked him here: Daniil may be the most talented goaltender in the system. But injuries have slowed his development and caused him to fall in our list. Still, he’s the best goaltending prospect we have.

I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that every prospect ranked inside the top-10 for the Blue Jackets, will play in the NHL. Many of them in prominent roles.

10 (10) LW James Malatesta 5’9″, 190 pounds. 5th round (#133 overall), 2021 NHL Draft. Projection: middle six sniper/pest. Scored 37 goals, 29 assists, 66 points for Quebec (QMJHL) *Added 14 goals, 6 assists in 18 playoff games, 5 goals in 4 Memorial Cup games – named MVP in both cases as Quebec won the Memorial Cup. Will join the Cleveland Monsters this fall. Why we ranked him here: James has gone from being viewed as a potential bottom-six banger, to showcasing high end shooting abilities – while still being a tough, physical two-way player. He’ll be competing for an NHL job in 2024, if his confidence keeps up.

9 (9) C Dmitri Voronkov 6’4″, 190 pounds. 4th round (#114 overall), 2019 NHL Draft. Projection: physical bottom-six two-way center. Scored 18 goals, 13 assists, 31 points for Ak Bars Kazan (KHL). Will compete for a job in Columbus this fall. Why we ranked him here: Dmitri is probably the most NHL ready prospect in the system from a two-way and physicality standpoint. I think he’ll make the Jacket roster out of camp.

8 (5) D Corson Ceulemans 6’2″, 200 pounds. 1st round (#25 overall), 2021 NHL Draft. Projection: second pairing two-way defenseman. Scored 8 goals, 15 assists, 23 points for University of Wisconsin (NCAA). Will play in Cleveland full-time this fall. Why we ranked him here: Corson is another player who seems to get written off a lot. He doesn’t have the big offensive upside of some of the other guys on this list, but his skating and two-way play cannot be overlooked.

7 (6) C Luca del bel Belluz 6’0″, 180 pounds. 2nd round (#44 overall), 2022 NHL Draft. Projection: middle six scoring center. Scored 40 goals, 47 assists, 87 points split between Mississauga and Sarnia (OHL). Will play for Cleveland this fall. Why we ranked him here: Luca is not only a big time producer, his two-way game is refining and he looks like a fair bet to be this team’s second or third line center of the future.

6 (4) D Stanislav Svozil 6’0″, 180 pounds. 3rd round (#69 overall), 2021 NHL Draft. Projection: second pairing two-way defenseman. Scored 11 goals, 67 assists, 78 points for Regina (WHL). Will play for Cleveland this fall. Why we ranked him here: Stanislav is a flashy player; with slick hands, great playmaking ability, and the occasional massive hit. While still a raw talent, he’s done nothing but improve drastically over the last two seasons. His stock has risen through the roof.

As we wade into the top-five prospects for the Columbus Blue Jackets, I have to make one point clearly: all of these guys have big time star power. The five players below are a big part of the reason we should be excited for the direction of this team.

5 (NR) C Gavin Brindley 5’9″, 170 pounds. 2nd round (#34 overall), 2023 NHL Draft. Projection: middle-six two-way center. Scored 12 goals, 26 assists, 38 points for the University of Michigan (NCAA). Will return to Michigan this fall. Why we ranked him here: Gavin will be an NHL player, plain and simple – even though he’s undersized. He’s tenacious on the puck, physical, and then has the skill to be a quick strike player. At the very least, I think he’s a third line player at some point in the future – likely more.

4 (3) RW Jordan Dumais 5’9″, 175 pounds. 3rd round (#96 overall), 2022 NHL Draft. Projection: top-six scoring winger. Scored 54 goals, 86 assists, 140 points for Halifax (QMJHL). Will return to Halifax this fall. Why we ranked him here: Jordan is an elite thinker of the game. He gets to the dangerous areas quietly and strikes quickly; and can control the pace of the game with the puck on his stick. Not many players in the world have the kind of offensive skillset Dumais brings to the game.

3 (2) D Denton Mateychuk 5’11”, 190 pounds. 1st round (#12 overall), 2022 NHL Draft. Projection: top-four puck-moving defenseman. Scored 8 goals, 57 assists, 65 points for Moose Jaw (WHL). Will return to Moose Jaw this fall. Why we ranked him here: Denton is an elite skater and a one-man breakout. Look past his flat year over year productivity; he captained his team this season and worked hard to improve the other areas of his game. I think he’s a very safe bet to be a 15 year NHL player, a steady two-way defenseman who will rack up a lot of points in his career.

2 (1) D David Jiricek 6’3″, 210 pounds. 1st round (#6 overall), 2022 NHL Draft. Projection: top pairing defenseman, potential to be elite. Scored 6 goals, 32 assists, 38 points for Cleveland (AHL). Probably makes the Blue Jacket roster this fall. Why we ranked him here: David is arguably the top defense prospect in hockey right now. He checks every box: size, skating, physicality, IQ, and a near elite shot. He’ll be playing meaningful minutes in Columbus really soon.

1 (NR) C Adam Fantilli 6’2″, 195 pounds. 1st round (#3 overall), 2023 NHL Draft. Projection: elite first line center. Scored 30 goals, 35 assists, 65 points for the University of Michigan (NCAA) – winning the Hobey Baker award as the best player in college hockey. Will play for Columbus this fall. Why we ranked him here: Adam became the most highly touted prospect in Blue Jacket history, the moment his name was called. Which says a lot, because David Jiricek is turning out pretty good – like Jiricek, he checks all of the boxes: size, skill, work ethic, two-way presence. He will center one of this team’s top two lines this season, mark my words here. I think he has an inside chance at the Calder Trophy as the top rookie in the league, once you factor in the talent this team will roll out alongside him. He’ll be a day one difference maker.