6. W Trey Fix-Wolansky, seventh round (#204 overall)
The moment he was selected by the Blue Jackets, Trey Fix-Wolansky became one of the most unique prospects in the history of the franchise. In fact, I'll go as far as saying, one of the most unique prospects in recent NHL history.
Listed at 5'7" and over 180 pounds at the time of his selection, this was a guy who was coming off of a whopping 89-point, 81 penalty minute Western Hockey League season. He could score, and played the game like a scrappy bowling ball. What's not to love?
He was eligible for the draft for the second year, so his selection here was somewhat surprising. The Jackets saw potential in TFW, and in the end, it's hard to argue with the pick because he's the last player taken in the entire draft to play in any NHL games.
Unfortunately, he just hasn't been able to stick around with the big club. He's been lights out in the AHL, becoming a core piece of the Cleveland Monsters over the years. But, each time he gets called up to the NHL, he fails to earn enough ice time to stand out.
At this point in his career, it's hard to see Fix-Wolansky becoming a full-time NHL player. Not impossible, but he'll be 25 years old when the puck drops next season. So, I think we can call him a "4A player" at this point.
Our verdict: Partial win. Never hurts to have competitive, skilled guys in your system - even if he's not in the NHL.
In all, the Jackets came away with just one NHL player from their six picks at the draft. The good news is, Kirill Marchenko looks every bit the part of a top line winger; with size, plenty of skill to burn, and a personality that the fanbase absolutely swoons over.
This gives them a 16% hit rate - which is about half of what we should expect from a strong drafting franchise. For a team that needs to draft and develop to be successful, we can look back at the 2018 draft and point it out as part of the reason we're mired in such a long rebuild now.
Just imagine how much different this team would look with a player like K'Andre Miller around. That's how important it is to land on your draft picks - especially in the first round.
With that said, the 2018 draft as a whole looks to have produced a fairly weak crop. Just 39 players have played more than 100 games in the NHL - and two of them (Foudy and Marchenko) were Blue Jacket picks.
Only 12 players from that draft have exceeded 100 NHL points, and just four of them were taken outside of the top-15. In the end, the Jackets performed fine in a weak draft year. While we wish it was better, it wasn't a complete dumpster fire.
They get a barely passing grade here. This would bump up a little bit if more of their picks turned into AHL players. Or, better yet, if Liam Foudy turned into the middle-six two-way player we hoped we were getting.