Not a lot of high end forwards, but lots of depth.
The top of this list looked very different this summer. That's because some of the more important forward prospects for this team, failed to take a larger step.
As a result, Luca Del Bel Belluz is the highest ranked forward on the list, at #4. That's not meant to be a knock on him, but lets be honest here: he's a second round pick from four years ago. Someone should be higher than him at this point. I think Luca could be a decent second line center, or maybe a high end third line center in the NHL.
Just behind him are two players that really need to have a big year. Sitting at #5 is Oscar Hemming, who looks like a pretty safe bet to play somewhere in this team's middle six, in a few years time. Then, at #6 is Cayden Lindstrom, who has fallen from potential #1 center; to hopefully being a guy who can similarly play somewhere in the middle six.
The next highest ranked forward in our eyes is Luca Pinelli, who we ranked 9th. Consider this: I think, at this point, Pinelli shows as much promise as both Hemming and Lindstrom. He had a strong first year in Cleveland, and what a difference a year can make (ahem, Oscar and Cayden).
Oiva Keskinen moves up a few spots on our list, landing at #11 on this list. He's still a bit of an unknown commodity since he hasn't played in North America yet; but this is a good skill center who can play an all-around game. Might he be the next Luca Del Bel Belluz in Cleveland?
If we look down a little further into the mid-teens, we have two guys who may have the highest offensive ceilings in the entire system. Jeremy Loranger (#14) was a big riser, while Jordan Dumais (#15) fell a ways. Both are undersized, but both have shown penchants for big numbers in the right situation.
The Jackets need one or both of them to pan out, in a big way. If they don't, maybe William Whitelaw (16th) will? He is (you guessed it) another undersized forward who can produce big numbers. Any of these three could turn into a top-two scoring winger in the NHL.
Meanwhile, 17th ranked Owen Griffin lurks in the OHL, where he's developing as a center. You can never have too many of those. He's a big boom or bust candidate like the three guys above, but I'm not sure his impact is as crucial, since the Blue Jackets are currently fairly deep down the middle. I can't believe I just said that.
Sitting 18th is another center, Alessandro Di Iorio. He projects more into the middle six or even the bottom six, but there are a lot of interesting traits to his game. A big breakout season in the OHL next year, could rocket him up this list. He has the talent.
At 19, we ranked James Malatesta, who was our biggest faller this summer. That's because he didn't push for NHL minutes as we expected. Nor did he press the issue in Cleveland. I'm still a big fan, but the Jackets can't plan on him being much more than a depth/energy guy at this point.
Finally, Jack Williams rounded out our top-20 this summer. He had a strong year in Cleveland, and his game is very translatable to the NHL. He's also pretty close to ready for the highest level. But, at his ceiling, he's probably a third or fourth line center at best.
Overall, I think the Blue Jackets have a lot of talent and depth here; but the system is really lacking game breakers. Now that the organizational foundation is built, I would like to see Don Waddell and his scouting staff target skill at next summer's draft.
Heavy, defensive hockey is great. But after all, if you can't score, you aren't going to win. It will be interesting to see how all of these players progress this season.
Add us as a preferred source on Google