2024 Draft Recap: Columbus Blue Jackets
Power center Cayden Lindstrom highlighted what became a defense-heavy group that addressed the pipeline's thin right side.
NASHVILLE (The Draft Analyst) — Those familiar with my work know how I feel about draft report cards, even if I’ve been guilty of feeding that beast throughout the last 10 years. But my thoughts on the latest 2024 results will be more than broad brush strokes, as pinning the rose on 12 uninterrupted months of in-depth analysis from both the team and prospect standpoints requires more than the standard letter-grade marking scheme acting as the rubric. Rather, draft hauls will be evaluated and labeled on the following criteria, which I think are both fair and reasonable:
Strong — Any four of potential franchise player(s) drafted; needs addressed; first-round caliber picks in the second or third round; multiple home-run swings in later rounds; point-producing sleepers; the majority of prospects were in top-line/top-pairing/starter roles (Ex. Buffalo’s 2022 draft)
Above-average - Any three of needs addressed; multiple home-run swings; acknowledged consensus favorites; the majority of prospects were in top-line/top-pairing/starter roles; making more with less; first-round quality in the second or third round. (Ex. Carolina’s 2023 draft)
Average — A solid first- or second-round pick but mostly unspectacular thereafter (Ex. Colorado’s 2020 draft)
Below-average — Quantity over quality; over-drafting of higher-round picks/reaching; four picks or less with no first-round selection; obsession with overagers (Ex. New York Rangers’ 2018 draft or Ottawa’s drafts from 2021-2023)
Poor — Any three of unpopular reach in the first round, no picks in the first or second round; needs not addressed, obsession with overagers, leaving upside on the board for projects, or bucking popular consensus choices (Ex. Arizona’s 2020 draft)
Outlook
Regime change in Columbus was bound to happen after the Blue Jackets made little headway in avoiding a fourth straight year without the playoffs, a stretch which now includes three consecutive last-place finishes in the Metro Division and the surrendering of 300 or more goals in each of the last three seasons. Ominous signs that long-time general manager Jarmo Kekalainen was on borrowed time made his eventual ouster last February nothing more than a formality, but he stuck around long enough to influence the five w’s for Columbus scouts, who would still receive their guidance from scouting director Ville Siren even after Kekalainen was replaced.
In Kekalainen’s place is veteran GM Don Waddell, whose most recent assignment was helping transform the Carolina Hurricanes into a yearly contender without depleting his draft capital — a stark comparison to how Kekalainen operated at the trade deadline and offseason when his Jackets were among the better teams in the division. While most perennial draft lottery participants have made upwards of 40 combined picks since 2019, Columbus made only 32 between 2019 and 2023, although seven of those selections were first-rounders and most have already graduated to the NHL.
As such, talent gaps within the farm system have widened, specifically at left wing, right defense, and in goal, thereby making the 2024 draft the perfect opportunity for the Jackets to add depth to a system that was collectively brimming with talent but still required balance.
MORE: 2024 NHL Draft Report (PDF Download)
Traded picks
Waddell probably didn’t offer any input on how Siren and his scouts evaluated the 2024 crop, but he’s been known throughout his career as a general manager who wasn’t shy about being active on the trade front as long as he wasn’t gutting his system in the process.
The first order of business was to determine if the Blue Jackets would keep their own high second-rounder in 2024 (36th overall) or release it to Philadelphia per the conditions from last offseason’s Ivan Provorov trade. Although history says it’s generally smarter to keep the guaranteed high-round pick and leave the next season’s draft slot to chance, the fact that the 2025 draft is considered deeper when coupled with Columbus’ annual struggles in the standings could develop into a situation where the 2025 pick is higher up in the second round and produced a better prospect.
But doubting against hard-hitting defenseman Charlie Elick shouldn’t be advisable, as the powerful blueliner has ideal NHL size, smooth skating ability, and an improved adherence to slot defense. Besides, the Blue Jackets likely would have finished the 2024 draft with only five selections had they surrendered the pick. In securing Elick, Columbus was able to address a thin right side of the pipeline’s defense.
Waddell’s final draft-related move also bolstered an area of need, albeit one far more problematic than a limited number of right-shot blueliners. By moving his high third-rounder (69th overall) and high fifth (133rd) to Carolina for the 60th pick, Waddell was able to provide Siren with the chance to draft a solid goalie prospect in Saskatoon’s Evan Gardner, who as a 17-year-old took over as the Blades playoff starter for the older Austin Elliott and led his team to the WHL finals. Although Carolina used the picks to draft dangerous scoring threats Noel Fransen and Oskar Vuollett, the Jackets’ situation in goal at the NHL level is nothing short of putrid and should continue to be a focal point in upcoming drafts.
A minor note to add beyond the Flyers owning the Jackets 2025 pick was the Vegas selection of high-upside NTDP winger Lucas van Vliet at 197th overall. That pick originally belonged to Columbus but was shipped to the Golden Knights last draft so the Blue Jackets could take QMJHL winger Tyler Peddle at 224 — nearly a full round lower than where they would have been picking this year.
Draft picks
Assessment: Average
Siren said before the draft that the Jackets would not be drafting for need with the No. 4 pick, which Waddell not only confirmed afterward but added that Cayden Lindstrom, a center, was their second-rated prospect after Macklin Celebrini. Waddell would also add intrigue to the Lindstrom selection by admitting a deal was in place to move the No. 4 pick to an unnamed team had Lindstrom gone to Chicago at two or Anaheim at three. But claims like these are borderline cliche this time of year and should be taken at face value since neither will be verified unless the team posts a behind-the-scenes video where Columbus scouts admit Lindstrom was their No. 2 and Waddell’s deal that wasn’t (and the proposed return package) is confirmed by another party.
Nonetheless, the Jackets assumed risk by taking Lindstrom at four because of a serious back injury which halved his draft season. If they are going to promote the talented center as a physical power forward, then playing that style in the toughest league in the world could lead to deeper physical issues in later years. Furthermore, the decision to consider Lindstrom the best player available over Russian winger Ivan Demidov should be reevaluated throughout their respective development paths until one or both teams can claim their pick to be the winner. As for Lindstrom himself, the Jackets have several 22-and-under centers further along in their development, which should give their newest power center more time to strengthen his back, knock off the rust from a shortened season, and eventually play for Canada at the World Juniors before making his AHL debut sometime after next season.
And yet, despite all the glowing reports on Lindstrom’s play when healthy, all the tantalizing lineup scenarios that include him as the 2C behind franchise pivot Adam Fantilli, the Jackets still passed on the chance to draft any one of three elite right-shot defensemen who would have checked the need and best-player-available boxes at fourth overall. Even lefty tower-of-power Anton Silayev plays the right side without a hitch, but the mobile Russian blueliner wound up going to division-rival New Jersey.
It was after the first round when it became obvious the Blue Jackets were drafting for need. Elick is a good start to bolster the defense from the right side, but one has to wonder if dynamic Czech blueliner Dominik Badinka was their original target before he was gobbled up by Carolina at 34th overall. Still, the knocks on Elick related to puck management can be dwarfed by his positional play and physicality, not to mention the likelihood that his partner (fellow WHL’er Denton Mateychuk?) will do most of the breaking out.
Gardner at 60th overall made it three straight WHL’ers, which bucked the team-wide trend of mostly avoiding the circuit in the previous five drafts, with Mateychk from the Moose Jaw Warriors being the lone exception. As for Garder, the 6-foot goalie is another recent Columbus draftee on the smaller side, although it’s hard to argue against the league-wide confidence being shown toward goalie prospects who are no longer ideally sized. Waddell stated Gardner was the second goalie on the team list and three — Ilya Nabokov (38th), Mikhail Yegorov (49th), and Carter George (57th) — were already off the board, which is why the decision was made to trade up. My gut tells me Nabokov, who backstopped Magnitogorsk to the Gagarin Cup, was their primary target after seeing what their 2022 fifth-rounder Sergei Ivanov did as a KHL rookie.
The Blue Jackets closed the file on the Vladislav Gavrikov trade with Los Angeles at 86th overall, where offense-minded righty blueliner Luca Marelli was officially introduced to the organization. Marelli was part of a talented Oshawa Generals back end and should be among the leaders in OHL defense scoring. Fifteen picks later, Columbus took a third right-shot defenseman in USHL’er Tanner Henricks, a mobile 6-foot-4 Californian with quick hands who is committed to St. Cloud State but should see an expanded role with the Lincoln Stars. Last but certainly not least was punishing open-ice hitter Luke Ashton, a mammoth first-year overager from the BCHL who was one of the circuit’s most feared defensemen but also capable of pulling off a neat move or two to get himself into shooting position.
I only consider the Marrelli pick to be a potential steal since I had him ranked 58th, while every other selection was drafted anywhere from 10 to two full rounds higher than expected. I also don’t like how the Jackets completely ignored the left wing in the fourth round when exciting types like Kevin He, Clarke Caswell, Viktor Norringer, Fyodor Avramov, and Vasily Zelenov were still on the board. But in a perfect world, both Lindstrom, Elick, and Gardner could become tremendous additions to the NHL community and subsequently make the Jackets a heck of a lot tougher to play against.
MORE: 2024 Draft: Round 1 Pick-by-Pick Analysis and Grades