The Columbus Blue Jackets have signed prospect Guillaume Richard to a two-year entry level contract beginning in the 2025-26 season.
Richard was originally a fourth round pick (#101 overall) at the 2021 NHL Draft. Since then, he's spent four seasons with the Providence Friars (NCAA), where he accumulated 9 goals and 54 points in 139 career games.
This morning, the Cleveland Monsters announced that he would be joining them for the remainder of this season on an amateur tryout contract (ATO). So, while his contract with the Jackets doesn't take affect this season, he will be playing games within the system. This is good news because we'll get to see him playing at the professional level right away.
We're big fans of Guillaume Richard.
This is a player that those of us at Union and Blue really like. Though his offensive numbers don't jump off the page from the NCAA level, there is a lot to like about Richard's game. At 6'2" and around 190 pounds, he has a solid frame that allows him to match up physically against the opposition.
He's not a punishing defenseman, however. His best asset is that he's a terrific skater, able to keep pace with attacking forwards whether forwards, backwards, or side to side. Because of his mobility, he's strong in his gap control, which lets him keep his body tight to his check and force players to make decisions before they are ready.
I'm really interested to see how he does with the Monsters down the stretch. They can certainly use some more help on the back end - and you can never have too many of these guys around. Richard's experience, skating ability, and understanding of the defensive side of the game; should allow him to make an immediate impact in Cleveland.
Where does he project in the long-term?
We'll temper expectations a little bit here because he doesn't bring a ton of offense. But, that's totally fine, because he's probably not going to be a guy who quarterbacks the power-play or chips in 40 assists in a season.
More likely, Richard is a guy who could settle into a bottom pairing role for the Blue Jackets at some point down the road, and become a matchup nightmare. If he reaches his full potential, he's a guy whose skating and defensive awareness are going to make it really hard to exploit third pairing matchups against his team.
He's also closer to the NHL than I think some might realize. At 22 years old, he's played a lot of college hockey over the last few years. All he needs is a little bit of time to adjust to the pro game, and I think we could see him pushing for minutes as early as next season.
Naturally, he could surprise us all and find more of a scoring touch - which would thrust him further up the eventual depth chart. But, even if he doesn't, I think he has NHL potential. Seeing Don Waddell get him signed to a contract nearly four years after he was drafted, is proof that the Blue Jackets agree.