The Stanley Cup has been awarded, which means the NHL season is now fully finished. We shift our attention immediately to the offseason, with the league's buyout period starting this weekend; and the draft just over a week away. With the event rapidly approaching, we decided to run a draft simulator and make picks for the Blue Jackets.
FC Hockey has a really neat tool that you can find here, which will allow you to make selections for as many teams as you want. We ran the simulation while making picks for only the Blue Jackets.
As a self-proclaimed amateur draft guru, I found this tool to be pretty accurate against my own thoughts and rankings. I expect the first 50 or so players in this mock to be fairly close to what we see happen in the actual draft next weekend. After that, it's going to be a big crap shoot, but it was fun to see what was available to the Jackets in each of their slots. Here are the picks I made for them.
1st round (#14 overall): D Jackson Smith (WHL)
This was a relatively easy choice, because I think Jackson Smith is the second best defenseman in the draft. It doesn't matter to me that he's a left shot, because by the time he's ready to play in the NHL; there's probably an opening for him on the third pairing at the very least. He's a very good skater who can make plays with the puck, and I think in time; he'll be a good defender also. Stop me if you've heard this before: I can't believe he was still available. He was by far the best player available, in my opinion.
At his peak, I think Smith is probably a second pairing (#3/4) defenseman in the NHL. He'll be able to quarterback a power-play and be a capable two-way defender in this league. At this point in the draft, it was about taking the best player on the board for me, regardless of team need.
Others in consideration: F Roger McQueen, D Radim Mrtka, F Malcolm Spence
1st round (#20 overall): LW Malcolm Spence (OHL)
Another easy choice for me. I considered Spence on my short list 6 picks prior. I don't see him as an offensive play driver. He's probably more of a supporting cast guy in the NHL. But, he'll be a darn good one: a capable middle-six winger who can play in any kind of game. He has good size, a great release, and a high motor. What's not to love?
While he doesn't have the ceiling of some of the more highly touted prospects in this draft, I think he's a somewhat safe pick in the middle of the first round. He's going to be an effective player at the pro level, if not a spectacular one.
Others in consideration: D Blake Fiddler, D Sascha Boumedienne, G Joshua Ravensbergen
The fan favorite choice with this second first round pick might have been Joshua Ravensbergen. But, I think this is too high in the draft for him - regardless of need. If the Jackets can trade back 7-10 spots and get some extra draft picks, then by all means he might be worth taking a chance on. But, at #20, Spence is a far superior prospect. They can find a goalie later in the draft.
In fact, in this running of the mock draft, they found a couple. Let's dive into the rest of this thing on the next page.