Blue Jackets get no lottery luck, will draft 4th overall next month. Who will they pick?
By Curtis Deem
The Anaheim Ducks have done an incredible job loading up quality blue chip prospects.
Just look at this crop of young talent coming together in Anaheim: Trevor Zegras, Leo Carlsson, Cutter Gauthier, Mason McTavish, Pavel Mintyukov, Olen Zelweger, Lukas Dostal, and on and on...
You know what is missing from that group? A big, heavy shutdown defenseman. Gotta think the Ducks are really keen on what Anton Silayev can bring to this mix.
He's exactly the kind of player they need, and with a third overall pick adding to the impressive group of young players they already have, they can wait however long it takes for him to come over and step right into their top-four.
That should be right around the time they are on the upswing. It just makes too much sense.
With all of that said, and those names out there, that means the Blue Jackets must take Ivan Demidov ... right?
No, I don't think that's the case at all.
By the time it's all said and done, 5 or 8 years from now, we may look back at this draft and see Demidov as the second best forward off the board. In fact, I think that's a fair enough bet, if he's developed properly.
But, do the Jackets really need another smallish, skilled winger? That's one thing this franchise is completely set on, both for now and into the future. There is a ton of young skill on the wings, in the NHL and in the system.
The Jackets also seem to be coming into shape down the middle, if the play of Adam Fantilli, Dmitri Voronkov, and Cole Sillinger are any indication. Let's not forget that Gavin Brindley might be a center; they have Luca del bel Belluz and Hunter McKown in the AHL also.
Maybe it's a defenseman? Or, something else?