Since the day he was drafted by the Blue Jackets, Charlie Elick has been one of (if not the best) prospects in the system in terms of defensive skill. This hasn't really changed to this point, but his complete lack of offensive development combined with other prospects simply having more productive seasons leads to a drop by four spots from #9 last year to #13 this year.
The top prospects list was compiled by a collective ranking from all of the writers at Union and Blue: Matthew Duffey, Mike Stump, Weston Motz, Struan McNevan, and Curtis Deem. We only include players 24 years and under, with fewer than 25 NHL games. Stats are from the previous season, in the league where each player spent the most time. Projections are based on top-end upside.
Top Prospect #13: D Charlie Elick
How we ranked him: Curtis (11), Matthew (14), Mike (15), Weston (16), Struan (17). Last year, Elick was ranked #9 on this list.
Elick was drafted in 2024 from the Brandon Wheat Kings of the WHL, where he tallied four goals and 27 points in 65 games. Despite the lacking offense, his defense was arguably the best in the entire draft class.
He has played two more seasons in the WHL, and while his defensive skill continues to stand out and get even better, his offensive game is showing minimal growth at best, regression at worst.
The season after his draft year, he notched just two goals and 15 points in 66 games evenly split between Brandon and Tri-City after he was traded to the latter halfway through the season, which is 12 points less than he scored in his draft year.
Last year, while staying with the Americans and serving as an alternate captain, Elick did score a career-high six goals, but his 20 points still kept him short of his 2023-24 total.
To be fair, Tri-City wasn't very good this year, especially after fellow Blue Jackets prospect Jackson Smith left in favor of playing college hockey with Penn State. So Elick didn't have a ton of help offensively, but 20 points still isn't great for his fourth year in juniors.
With my negativity about his offense so far, you may be wondering why Elick is ranked this high, or even on this list, especially if you are rather unfamiliar with his game. The thing is, his defense really is elite and will allow him to be successful professionally, regardless of how he performs offensively.
Let's start with his defense skill-wise. He is incredibly smart and quick in the defensive zone and is able to cover a lot of ground between his long strides and active stick. He closes off opponents' time and space with ease, and has the reaction time to take away both passing and shooting lanes.
He is successful close to the net, where he uses his 6'4 205-pound frame to box out opponents and keep them out of the crease while also being able to stick-lift when the puck does get near the blue paint.
However, he also plays well in a more aggressive role, with enough puck skills to strip opponents rather frequently, and is even good at transitioning the play from defense to offense with good patience on breakout passing.
He also is a very physical defender, and is not afraid to throw big hits or even drop the gloves if he needs to. He is strong enough to be able to separate the vast majority of forwards from the puck using his body, and finishes checks into the boards.
Between this physicality, his intelligence, and his defensive stick skills, his defense is completely smothering at the junior level, to the point where the offense generated on his side of the ice is noticeably less.
I don't think it would be outrageous to say that his defense would even be the best on the Blue Jackets if he were to make it onto the roster. But with his offense as far behind as it is, he unfortunately still needs a decent amount of work before he gets to that point.
Pros: Size, physicality, defensive skill, d-zone intelligence, patience, willingness to defend teammates
Cons: Offensive game as a whole, agility, acceleration
Projection: Bottom-four defensive defenseman on the top penalty kill pair
Elick will play his first full season with the Cleveland Monsters next year after suiting up for two games with them at the end of last year. He should be able to immediately succeed in a penalty killing role while hopefully looking to develop his offensive game.
Although the Monsters already have a solid group of defenders, Elick could be a player who takes advantage of a new head coach where every player has a clean slate, and could impress enough to feature in a top-four role.
I have no doubts that Elick will get a chance with the Blue Jackets sooner or later, but his offense needs to be able to keep him afloat if he wants to stay in the NHL, regardless of how well he performs defensively.
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