Fifth round (#145 overall), D Ole Bjorgvik-Holm
In his time as the GM of the Blue Jackets, Jarmo Kekalainen was known for finding some real late round gems-especially to add to his blue line. Unfortunately, in the case of Ole Bjorgvik-Holm, this pick has never looked good. At all.
The big Norwegian had played in the OHL prior to the pandemic, skating in 57 games for the Mississauga Steelheads after showing a lot of promise playing in Colorado. His rare combination of size and productivity made him a decent late-round prospect to take a flier on.
Post-draft, it was a different story. Ole played one season back in Norway, before coming back to North America. Since then, he's bounced between the Cleveland Monsters (121 GP) and the ECHL (76GP).
Simply put, he just does not have "it". He's a big guy, but his skating is sub-par, and there isn't any real offensive upside to his game. That's a bad combination in a sport that is constantly getting quicker. His ELC expired last year, and the Blue Jackets didn't even extend him a qualifying offer. He stuck around in Cleveland this year, but he's not a CBJ prospect anymore.
Verdict: bust. Grade: F
I didn't understand this pick at the time, and six years later, it looks even worse. This guy was never going to be able to skate well enough to play in the NHL. One could argue that he doesn't even skate well enough to play every day in the AHL.
Sixth round (#176 overall, D Samuel Johannesson
The final pick made by the Jackets at the 2020 draft was the third European defender they selected. Like Chinakhov, Samuel Johannesson was another overager, eligible for the draft for the second time.
Right when this pick was made, I thought about Markus Nutivaara. Jarmo and his scouts found NHL talent with this kind of player once before, and somewhere in their minds, I had to wonder if that's what the hope was here.
Johannesson is a Swedish defenseman of roughly the same build as Nutivaara, and with a lot of similar traits. Unfortunately, Samuel never made the jump to North America to play in the CBJ system, despite putting up numbers that make him look capable.
After being drafted, he played four more seasons in the SHL; then signed to play in the AHL with the Springfield Thunderbirds for two seasons, ultimately heading back home in the middle of this most recent campaign. He will play in the SHL again next year.
Verdict: bust. Grade: D.
This one wasn't as obvious a miss as Bjorgvik-Holm, so we give him a slightly higher grade. Still, it was a complete waste of a pick, so it's a failing mark.
Blue Jackets 2020 NHL Draft grade: B+
With only five picks at the 2020 Draft, the Blue Jackets came away with at least one NHL player. Maybe two, depending on what happens with Mikael Pyyhtia this next season. That's a really solid draft, especially for a team that did not have a pick until #21 overall-then no more until the third round.
Jarmo Kekalainen got a lot of flak during his tenure, but I will always argue that this team's drafting was extremely good with him at the helm. I wonder what could have been, if only they had improved upon their developmental system and overall organizational handling of the younger players.
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