Columbus Blue Jackets draft candidate, Beckett Sennecke is a big riser
Beckett Sennecke has climbed the draft rankings steadily, all season long. At this point, he looks like a mid-first rounder, but the interest is clearly there for the Blue Jackets.
Just when we thought we had profiled every potential player that could be targeted by the Blue Jackets in the first round of this year's draft, another name popped up. Last week at the NHL's scouting combine, the Blue Jackets took only two players out to dinner.
One was to be expected: Medicine Hat Tigers center Cayden Lindstrom. The other comes as a bit of a surprise: Oshawa Generals winger Beckett Sennecke. While it was surprising at first, the deeper I dive into Sennecke, the more I'm intrigued. This feels like a Blue Jackets type of pick.
First, let's dive into why Sennecke isn't rated in the top-5 or 10 of this year's class to begin with. By the numbers, he sure looks like he should be.
For starters, an impressive 16 year old season in the OHL was somewhat overlooked because Sennecke was a 5'10" (undersized) winger. Still, he scored 20 goals and 55 points in 60 games, which honestly is not bad for a first year player in that league.
But over the last year or so, a lot of that has changed. Sennecke hit a surprise growth spurt and is now listed at 6'3", 180 pounds. He's still thin, but gaining 5" in height will certainly draw some attention.
As his height grew so drastically, his skating stride became a little bit clunky. That's not to say he's a bad skater; it's just not a conventional style. I think this has put some teams off when they've scouted him, and I do understand that. In my opinion, it's not that big a concern.
At 17 years old, with basically a new body; Sennecke turned a lot of heads with the Oshawa Generals this season. He finished third on the team in scoring with 68 points (27 goals) in 63 games. In the playoffs, he added 10 goals and 22 points in 16 games - again, finishing third on the team.
He went from a seldom talked about draft prospect, to a guy ranked in the teens by many. In fact, I think it's safe to say that he's one of the fastest risers in the entire draft.
With that said, I don't know that I can see a team taking a chance on him inside the top-10 - let alone with the fourth overall pick, held by the Jackets. But, clearly there is some interest here, so let's talk about how they could land Sennecke on draft day.
Beckett Sennecke is likely to be selected somewhere between 10-20 in the draft later this month. Could the Jackets pick up another pick and nab him?
If you believe in foreshadowing, the Blue Jackets taking Cayden Lindstrom out to dinner is very telling. If he's on the board when they make their selection, this would point towards a higher interest than some of the other prospects in this range. It is possible that they used this dinner to mark him off of their list, as well.
Either way, if Lindstrom isn't their guy, I have a hard time seeing them use the #4 overall pick on Sennecke. But, that doesn't mean they won't try to find a way to get him.
This team has quite a few assets that they could look to move. Be it a package of draft picks, prospects, an NHL player, or all of the above; they could find a way to pick up another first round pick.
Another thought: they could trade their fourth overall pick and move back in the draft to get him, if a team offers them something else they like.
One more thing to keep an eye on: the Patrik Laine situation. If a team feels they're close to contending, but need to add some scoring, they could pony up a first round pick to get Laine. Especially if the Jackets retain some salary.
Teams with picks in the mid-late first round, may very well feel that they are just one player away from contending. That could put some picks in play for a team like the Jackets to strike, if they feel strongly enough about Beckett Sennecke and his NHL potential.
Speaking of his NHL potential; I don't think this is a guy that will drive the play heavily. In that regard, I don't think he's a premier scoring winger in the NHL. But, I do think he can produce big numbers if you put him alongside other skill guys. That's exactly what he's doing in the OHL.
Sennecke is hard to knock off the puck, and he's got really good hands on top of his newly formed long frame. He can score goals by shooting or deking, and he's one of the best passers in the entire draft.
To me, he looks like an ideal fit alongside Adam Fantilli. Imagine having two guys that size, with that much energy and skill, working together on a future top line. I have to think that's what the Blue Jackets scouts are seeing here as well.
feed