Don Waddell has had a very busy week for the Blue Jackets, locking up several young players as the NHL team continues to battle for a playoff spot. On Wednesday, the team was able to ink rugged defenseman Charlie Elick to his three-year entry-level contract.
While he's not the top prospect in the system, I do think he's a very important future piece for this organization. They need this guy to become an impact player at some point down the road because he could be a bit of a unicorn.
At 6'4" and over 200 pounds, Elick plays an old school, punishing style of defense. He likes to use his body to separate players from pucks, whether that's in front of the net, along the boards, or on the rush with a big open ice check. This is all great.
What really makes him unique however, is his skating ability. This isn't a guy whose foot speed is going to leave him out of position often. Elick is a terrific skater whether moving forwards, backwards, or in transition. His combination of skating and physicality are pretty rare, especially for a guy with this kind of size.
Charlie Elick to Columbus. Big, mobile RD with a vicious shutdown game. Suffocating rush defence and excels at defending in chaos.
— Mitchell Brown (@MitchLBrown) June 29, 2024
Don't expect much offence, but he limits DZ time with his retrieval, passing, and activation skills.
Read on @EPRinkside: https://t.co/KmNaTYtVy9 pic.twitter.com/WbjMLhH62i
There are some concerns here, however. The advanced stats people will tell you that this is a guy who is a really long shot to even make it to the NHL. Indeed, his production is very low for a guy taken pretty high in the draft. And, even shutdown defenders are typically productive in juniors.
This season, split between the Brandon Wheat Kings and the Tri City Americans of the Western Hockey League, Elick scored 2 goals and 15 points in 66 games. He added 55 penalty minutes and a -6 rating on the season. Honestly, none of these numbers jump off the page, good or bad.
It is a little bit concerning that his offense didn't pop off at least a little bit more this season. As a high NHL draft pick, he's certainly seeing his share of minutes. And, as he continues to develop towards being a pro, he will need to find ways to contribute with the puck on his stick.
The days of being a bid-bodied, physical defense-only defenseman in the NHL are gone. Everyone has to be able to provide something on both sides of the puck, so this is an area of Elick's game that I would definitely like to see improve over the next year or two.
The plans shouldn't change here.
Despite signing his entry level contract, I don't see the Blue Jackets changing course with this player. Charlie Elick turned 19 in January, and he still has one more year of WHL eligibility. I expect him to play back in Tri City next season, continuing to hone his all-around game. Hopefully, the comfort of playing junior hockey for one more year, will afford him some offensive confidence.
After next season, we should see him playing some minutes for the Cleveland Monsters while he gets up to speed with the quicker, heavier professional game. Taking the slow path is important here. We don't want to see Elick thrown to the wolves in the NHL and shelled like we have seen with many other CBJ defense prospects over the years.
At his top end, I think Elick could be a second pairing shutdown defenseman. We'll never see much offense from him at the NHL level, and that's fine. But, he will bring the boom, block shots, and can skate well enough to keep pace with speedier forwards on the rush. This is exactly the kind of player this team is going to need when they hit their contention window.