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Columbus Blue Jackets top prospects, summer of 2024: primer and honorable mentions

The 2024 NHL Draft took place last month, so it's time to re-rank the top prospects for the Columbus Blue Jackets.

By Curtis Deem |
London Knights v Oshawa Generals
London Knights v Oshawa Generals / Chris Tanouye/GettyImages
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Our last ranking of the top prospects for the Blue Jackets took place at Christmas, so it's time to take a fresh look. We lost one player from the honorable mentions (Tyler Angle departed as an unqualified RFA), but otherwise every prospect from that last ranking is still within the organization.

The club also added some really intriguing prospects at the draft last month, with several of those players landing inside the top-20 on our new list. We had some movement within the system, with some players having strong seasons - and others falling off. This means our list overall looks pretty different than it did at Christmas.

Top prospect list notes:

This list was compiled by a collective ranking from all of the writers at Union and Blue. We only include players 24 years and under, with fewer than 25 NHL games. Previous rankings are the number in parenthesis (HM = honorable mention; NR = not ranked). Stats are from the previous season, in the league where each player spent the most time. Projections are based on top-end upside. Note at the end is where each player will spend their 2024-25 season.

Honorable mentions (in no particular order):

(HM) RW James Fisher 6’2″, 185 pounds. 7th round (#203 overall), 2022 NHL Draft. Projection: physical bottom-six winger. Stats: 20g-16a-36pts, 54gp for Penticton (BCHL). Expected to play for Northeastern University (NCAA) next season.

(HM) LW Martin Rysavy 6’3″, 210 pounds. 7th round (#197 overall), 2021 NHL Draft. Projection: physical bottom-six winger. Stats: 25g-19a-44pts, 63gp for Moose Jaw (WHL). Returned to Czechia, will play for Bílí Tygři Liberec next season.

(HM) D Aidan Hreschuk 5’11”, 180 pounds. Acquired from Carolina for Max Domi – originally selected 3rd round (#94 overall), 2021 NHL Draft. Projection: bottom pairing two-way defenseman. Stats: 2g-13a-15pts, 41gp for Boston College (NCAA). Will return to BC next season.

The next page includes a couple of players drafted by the Blue Jackets just last month...

This year's honorable mentions continue...

(HM) D Ole Bjorgvik-Holm 6’3″, 195 pounds. 5th round (#145 overall), 2020 NHL Draft. Projection: bottom pairing shutdown defenseman. Stats: 5g-28a-33pts, 57gp for Cincinnati (ECHL). Will play in Cincinnati and/or Cleveland again next season.

(HM) G Nolan Lalonde 6’1″, 190 pounds. Undrafted, signed as a free agent summer 2023. Projection: backup goaltender. Stats: .874% save percentage, 3.16GAA, 21-6-0 record for Saginaw (OHL). Recently traded to Kingston (OHL), will play there next season.

(HM) RW Cameron Butler 6’4″, 210 pounds. Undrafted, signed as a free agent summer 2023. Projection: bottom-line, physical winger. Stats: 2g-6a-8pts, 51gp for Cleveland (AHL). Will return to the Monsters next season.

Pittsburgh Penguins v Columbus Blue Jackets
Pittsburgh Penguins v Columbus Blue Jackets / Jason Mowry/GettyImages

(NR) D Tanner Henricks 6'4", 205 pounds. 4th round (#101 overall), 2024 NHL Draft. Projection: bottom-four puck moving defenseman. Stats: 0g-9a-9pts, 59gp for Lincoln (USHL). Will play for St Cloud State (NCAA) next season.

(NR) D Luke Ashton 6'7", 231 pounds. 6th round (#165 overall), 2024 NHL Draft. Projection: physical depth defenseman. Stats: 18g-18a-36pts, 53gp for Langley (BCHL). Will play for Minnesota State (NCAA) next season.

(NR) C Max McCue 6'1", 185 pounds. Signed as a free agent, March 2024. ***Originally selected by San Jose, 5th round (#156 overall), 2021 NHL Draft. Projection: physical 4th line center. Stats: 27g-34a-61pts, 62gp for London (OHL). Will play for the Cleveland Monsters next season.

The next page details five players who fell out of the top-20 prospect list after last month's draft.

The following five players fell off of our top-20 list and are now honorable mentions. As a reminder, the number in parenthesis was their previous ranking.

(T-20) LW Tyler Peddle 6’1″, 205 pounds. 7th round (#224 overall), 2023 NHL Draft. Projection: bottom six physical/scoring winger. Stats. 11g-7a-18pts, 28gp for St John (QMJHL). Will return to St John next season.

2023 Upper Deck NHL Draft - Portraits
2023 Upper Deck NHL Draft - Portraits / Terry Wyatt/GettyImages

(T-20) D Nikolai Makarov 6’1″, 195 pounds. 5th round (#132 overall), 2021 NHL Draft. Projection: physical bottom-three defenseman. Stats: 0g-2a-2pts, 28gp for CSKA Moscow (KHL). Will return to CSKA next season.

(19) G Melvin Strahl 6’3″, 170 pounds. 5th round (#156 overall), 2023 NHL Draft. Projection: backup goaltender. Stats: .903% save percentage, 2.91GAA, 13-15-0 record for MoDo J20 (Sweden). Will play for Youngstown (USHL) next season.

(17) LW Kirill Dolzhenkov 6’6″, 225 pounds. 4th round (#109 overall), 2022 NHL Draft. Projection: middle six scoring winger. Stats: 4g-5a-9pts, 39gp for CSKA Moscow (KHL). Will return to CSKA next season.

(16) D Guillaume Richard 6’2″, 185 pounds. 4th round (#101 overall), 2021 NHL Draft. Projection: bottom-three two-way defenseman. Stats: 3g-15a-18pts, 35gp for Providence College (NCAA). Will return to Providence next season.

This year, we ranked 34 prospects from the organization. That's the most I can ever recall seeing. With that in mind, there are some guys on this list of honorable mentions, that I do think could play in the NHL at some point. The Blue Jackets really do have a deep prospect pool.

Tomorrow, we'll begin diving into the top-20 prospect list in reverse order. Stay tuned!

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