The 5 worst draft picks in Columbus Blue Jackets history

2008 NHL Entry Draft, Round One
2008 NHL Entry Draft, Round One | Bruce Bennett/GettyImages
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2. Gilbert Brule (1st round, #6 overall, 2005).

This is the one pick that seems to irk Blue Jackets fan the most. Today, I'm here to defend it. To a certain extent.

The 2005 NHL Draft is one of the strangest events I've ever seen. The league was coming off of a season that was completely wiped out due to a labor disagreement that led to a lockout. So, instead of working in reverse order of the standings, they gave every team weighted balls based on how many times they had made the playoffs over the last several seasons; and how many times they'd selected first overall.

As a result, the Jackets had really good odds. They had never made the playoffs. Nor had they picked first overall (if you don't count trading for the pick). But, they were not the team needing saved. It was no surprise to anyone when the Pittsburgh Penguins landed the first overall pick and the right to draft the best prospect entering the league since Eric Lindros. It's worked out pretty well for them.

Naturally, the Jackets were "awarded" pick #6, which fell right outside of the consensus top-5 of the draft. In that range: Bobby Ryan, Jack Johnson (yes, our beloved Jack Johnson), Derrick Pouliot and Gilbert Brule had seemingly separated themselves from the rest of the pack. We were in line to just miss out on them all, which had nearly everyone in the fanbase who was following prospects looking at a big Slovenian center. More on him later.

The Jackets needed a center, desperately. This was the one piece that was missing within the system. The one position that, to that point, had never been taken high in the first round. Imagine our shock and excitement when the Montreal Canadiens went "off the board" and selected a goaltender with the fifth overall pick. (He turned out pretty good for them)

Admittedly, I was really happy to see the Blue Jackets pick Gilbert Brule from the WHL. I saw him play in his draft year - a year where he scored 39 goals and 87 points in 70 games. A year where he also put up 169 penalty minutes. I knew how good this guy was, and how good he could be if someone could reel him in a little bit.

He was dynamic with the puck on his stick. Despite his size, he was able to fend off checkers and find teammates with crazy passes. I saw him throw a backhand saucer pass 40' across the ice, landing right on the tape of a wide open teammate. On the same shift, he joined a scrum and would not back down from anyone. To me, he looked like a young Jeremy Roenick.

The thing about watching guys play hockey from above is, you don't get to see how they carry themselves off the ice. This is something that needs to be vetted by the guys who work for NHL teams, and now, 20 years later; it sure sounds like the scouts for the Blue Jackets knew something that I did not.

Unfortunately, Doug MacLean did not listen to his scouts. When his guy was available, he ran to the stage and picked Brule sixth overall, sporting a huge grin on his face. Needing a player to center his top line, he threw Gilbert right into the mix that very fall.

But, Gilbert was not ready for NHL action. Even seeing him from above, I knew that. He was very small, and his overall game needed some maturing. A 5'10", 170-or-so pound guy who tried to out-muscle everyone, was not a recipe for rookie success. Another year in junior was the obvious move here. But, he didn't get that time in junior until after he suffered a fractured sternum in his second NHL game - then a broken leg upon returning in December.

Of course, leave it to the Blue Jackets to completely fumble the bag on a player so talented. I think a year back in junior would have given him more confidence and perhaps allowed him to mature enough to legitimately compete for a job down the road. Believe me when I say, he had the talent.

Instead, Brule became one of the most talked about busts in franchise history. A lot of that is because the guy Doug's scouts told him to take went on to play 1454 NHL games, scoring 440 goals and 1278 points (and counting). He also won two Stanley Cups as the #1 center for his team. In a redraft, he goes second overall. We could have had him at pick #6.

Indeed, this one hurts. But, I will argue to my grave that Brule wasn't the worst player the Jackets ever took inside the top-10, he was just horribly mismanaged. From that perspective, we can wonder if Kopitar would have been the same player here, that he became in LA. I would argue: probably not. You're welcome LA Kings fans.

Let's see who the worst top-10 pick in CBJ history was. He's #1 on this list.