The Blue Jackets need defensemen. There are quite a few of them with NHL potential inside of their top-16 prospects, including both players on this page.
16. (NR) D Malte Vass 6'2", 194 pounds. 3rd round (#76 overall), 2025 NHL Draft. Projection: second pairing shutdown defenseman. Stats: 2g, 9a, 11 pts in 40gp for Farjestad J20 (Sweden). Will return to the Farjestad system this fall. How we ranked him: Curtis (14), Matt (13), Mike (20).
Why we ranked him here: Malte has the tools to become exactly what the Blue Jackets desperately need: A true shutdown defenseman. He's big, can skate, takes away time and space by being assertive; and he can lay the hammer with a punishing hit. It's all there for him to at least earn a look in the NHL at some point, though his overall upside is somewhat limited.
He's probably not ever going to be a big point producer at any level because that just isn't his game. But, he's a somewhat "safe" pick in the third round because of his size and skating. Malte is a true low ceiling/high floor player in that regard. The Jackets can play the long game here and let him develop against men in Sweden, then figure it all out later.
If you want a true comparable to Malte Vass and the trajectory he might take: look no further than the next guy on our list.
15. (16) D Guillaume Richard 6'2", 187 pounds. 4th round (#101 overall), 2021 NHL Draft. Projection: second pairing shutdown defenseman. Stats: 2g, 12a, 14pts in 37gp for Providence College (NCAA). Turned pro and scored 2g, 2a, 4pts in 8gp for Cleveland. Will return to the Monsters this fall. How we ranked him: Curtis (16), Matt (14), Mike (16).
Why we ranked him here: Guillaume is a popular player with us, and we think it's for good reason. He's a terrific skater who actively shuts plays down by attacking the puck with his stick. Now that his NCAA career is over, we were really excited to see him turn pro. And, he did not disappoint. He stepped right into a prominent role with the Cleveland Monsters, and even started producing offensively; which we did not expect.
While we don't necessarily expect him to be a big point scorer, we do think Guillaume is going to be an eye opener within the organization this year. He's one of the more NHL ready blue liners in the entire system, and I think a few months in the AHL might have him ready to make the jump. He's a sleeper in the system, no doubt about it.
The two guys on the next page might be close to playing in the NHL.