Tony Ferrari looks in-depth at the Columbus Blue Jackets' promising prospect pool after an NHL draft to remember, including a possible future top-10 center.

Another week begins in the NHL off-season, giving us the perfect opportunity to continue looking through each team’s prospect pool. What better way to kick it off than with the up-and-coming Columbus Blue Jackets?

In this series, Tony digs into each team’s strengths and weaknesses, their latest draft class, where their positional depth chart stands, and who could be next in line for a shot at the NHL. Note that a player who no longer holds rookie eligibility in the NHL is considered graduated and no longer considered a prospect for the purposes of these exercises unless mentioned otherwise.

Introduction

Over the last couple of years, the Columbus Blue Jackets have built up a sneaky good prospect pool with high-end talent and a plethora of depth. By adding Fantilli at the 2023 draft, they may have solved the franchise's biggest issue since their inception by finding a legitimate No. 1 center. The Jackets are beginning to see the fruits of their labor as players such as Kent Johnson and Cole Sillinger become fixtures in their lineup.

David Jiricek was their sixth overall pick in 2022, and a year later, he looks like a player who should have gone higher. The physical Czech defenseman played in the AHL last season and put up 38 points in 55 games while continuing to showcase his defensive game and well-rounded play with the puck in his own end. Jiricek got a taste of NHL action with four games, but he should conceivably push for more.

Denton Mateychuk is one of the most interesting prospects in hockey as he could be pretty special in the way he moves the puck, uses creative solutions to obstacles on the ice, and attacks play with an instinctual brashness that is often only seen in pond hockey. The problem is that his game – although fun, entertaining, and productive at the junior level – may not be all that translatable to the pro game. The Blue Jackets hope to see a big step up from him this year away from the puck as he caps off his junior career.

Stanislav Svozil would be the top blueline prospect in many systems, but he sits in the second tier of defenders in Columbus’ pipeline. He is set to play for the Cleveland Monsters this upcoming season as he got a taste of the NHL and AHL at the end of 2022-23. He is a good skater who defends with intelligence and will throw the body while being a more than capable puck-mover. His offensive dynamism is lacking, but he flashes brilliance at times. Svozil could be a sneaky candidate to play more than a handful of NHL games next season.

Corson Ceulemans is an incredibly toolsy defender who stagnated developmentally at the University of Wisconsin before joining the AHL Monsters to finish his season. He showed small glimpses of what his tools can do, and another year in the AHL will do him wonders. Samuel Knazko is another defender who played in the AHL last season with a brief NHL stint. Knazko is extremely mobile and uses his biggest strength at both ends of the ice. His passing is refined and precise on the breakout.

The forward group is even better with Fantilli now. Gavin Brindley, William Whitelaw, Luca Pinelli and Tyler Peddle all add to the group as well from this year’s draft class, but we will cover all of them in the draft section below.

Incumbents Jordan Dumais and James Malatesta each had their stars shine bright during the QMJHL season. Dumais put up 140 points in the 'Q,' the second-most points in the CHL behind only Connor Bedard. The diminutive forward plays with intelligence and skill, playing from the outside-in when in the offensive zone. He lacks speed, but his in-zone attacking ability is lethal. Malatesta is a highly skilled, high-motor forward who plays at top speed all of the time. He helped lead the Quebec Remparts to the QMJHL title and a Memorial Cup. Dumais was the regular season MVP, and Malatesta took the honors home in the playoffs.

Luca Del Bel Belluz is a skilled scorer who will join the Monsters after a successful OHL career. He has a great shot and has begun to showcase solid distribution ability as well. He will look to continue overcoming slightly below-average skating at the pro level. Tyler Angle hasn’t captured the magic he had in his first AHL season but showed well in two NHL games and looked solid overall in both leagues. The Monsters will be one of the AHL’s must-watch teams with all the talent Columbus will have in the developmental league.

2023 NHL Draft Class

Round 1, 3rd overall - Adam Fantilli, C, Univ. of Michigan (NCAA)

Round 2, 34th overall - Gavin Brindley, RW, Univ. of Michigan (NCAA)

Round 3, 66th overall - William Whitelaw, RW, Youngstown (USHL)

Round 4, 98th overall - Andrew Strathmann, LD, Youngstown (USHL)

Round 4, 114th overall - Luca Pinelli, RW, Ottawa (OHL)

Round 5, 156th overall - Melvin Strahl, G, MoDo J20 (Sweden Jr.)

Round 7, 194th overall - Oiva Keskinen, C, Tappara U-20 (Finland Jr.)

Round 7, 224th overall - Tyler Peddle, LW, Drummondville (QMJHL)

Columbus went to Nashville and came home as happy as their wildest dreams. They landed arguably the best non-Bedard prospect in half a decade, added his best friend and teammate from the University of Michigan, took three big swings on high-end talent in the mid-rounds, and then went and grabbed a few players they loved in the late rounds. The Blue Jackets had one of the best drafts of any team, simply put.

Fantilli is a blend of speed, power, and skill we haven’t seen since Auston Matthews. While the third overall pick doesn’t have the raw shooting talent that Matthews has, he is a step below him and has a more refined defensive game at this stage of their development. Fantilli is a skilled passer as well and understands how to transition the puck up the ice as well as anyone in this draft class. The Blue Jackets have found a true No. 1 center after never finding one in the two-plus decades of their existence. Fantilli joined Game Tape just before the start of the season to break down video in this interview with The Hockey News.

They opened Day 2 of the draft by adding one of Fantilli’s best friends, Gavin Brindley. The intelligent forward is a relentless attacker who plays the game six inches taller than he is at 5-foot-9. Brindley understands how to leverage his body despite being undersized, establishing body position and wreaking havoc on the forecheck. The 18-year-old was one of the hottest scorers in all of college hockey after he returned from the World Junior Championship and developed some amazing chemistry with Fantilli toward the end of the season. Being selected by the Jackets after Fantilli was a match made in heaven. Brindley joined Game Tape in one of the best episodes of the season here.

William Whitelaw is a highly talented, high-octane forward who may need to refine some things in his game, but he has some of the most exciting highlights in the draft class. He acts as a wide receiver, catching passes up ice over his shoulder and in stride to attack downhill at the defensive players. He could be an excellent complementary scorer in the NHL if he can work on a few off-puck things.

One round later, Columbus selected Whitelaw’s Youngstown teammate, Andrew Strathmann. The defenseman is a bit of a chameleon. On one shift, he's a high-speed puck-mover, and on another, he showcases some excellent defensive tendencies. He can do just about anything but oftentimes fails to put it all together at once. If he does figure it out, watch out.

Luca Pinelli was their second pick in the fourth round. The Ottawa 67's forward is tenacious with lots of energy. He has the shooting talent and passing ability to create offensively and the drive to do it while being undersized at 5-foot-9. He is an intelligent and active forechecker who will steal the puck from a defender, score, and then let them know about it. Overall, Pinelli is a fun player to watch. He sat down for a Game Tape interview with The Hockey News here.

The Jackets added netminder Melvin Strahl in the fifth round. He has good size at 6-foot-3 and has room to fill out his frame. As he gets stronger, he should be able to generate more power laterally and develop a bit more core strength. Oiva Keskinen was an intriguing pick near the end of the draft as he hit his stride as an 18-year-old in the U-20 SM-sarja.

Tyler Peddle was the final pick of the draft, making him 2023’s Mr. Irrelevant, but he is so much more than that. In a heartwarming moment, Peddle was in attendance at the draft, and although he had to wait until the very last second, he was elated to be selected. He may not have had the year in the QMJHL that he expected, but he is a hard worker with a great shot. He may be a long shot, but he’s certainly one of the better seventh-round picks despite being the final player selected.

Strengths

The Blue Jackets are strong just about everywhere in their prospect pool, but the defense corps they brought together could be special. They have the future do-it-all stud in Jiricek leading the way and the controlled chaos of Mateychuk using his creativity to generate offense from the blueline. Svozil is a defensive stalwart with an underrated offensive game when his confidence is running high, and he’s willing to run roughshod. Ceulemans has all of the tools, and he just needs to round it all out. Deeper in the pipeline, players like Aidan Hreschuk and Strathmann could be very intriguing defenders lower in the lineup. They have a realistic shot at a full top-six developing from the players in their pipeline.

Weaknesses

There aren’t really any weaknesses in the pipeline. Center may be the perceived weakness as soon as Fantilli is no longer eligible for this exercise, but between him and 20-year-old Cole Sillinger, the Jackets might be set down the middle in the top six for years to come. Del Bel Belluz may wind up on the wing at the next level, which helps cover any weaknesses there, while a player like Tyler Angle could be a fan-favorite in the bottom six as a pivot. This doesn’t happen often, but the Blue Jackets’ pipeline has no glaring weakness.

Next Man Up: Adam Fantilli, C

What hasn’t been said? In almost any other draft over the last decade, aside from the Connor McDavid and Auston Matthews years, Adam Fantilli would have a realistic shot at the No. 1 spot. The fact he was taken third in this year's class was a blessing for Columbus. The Jackets have never had a player in the history of their franchise – with all due respect to Rick Nash – that had a bigger impact than Fantilli could. Fantilli is the No. 1 center they have never had and could be one of the top 10 centers in the world in his prime.

Enjoy, Columbus fans. You got your man.

Prospect Depth Chart Notables

LW: James Malatesta, Mikael Pyyhtia, Tyler Peddle

C: Adam Fantilli, Luca Del Bel Belluz, Tyler Angle, Hunter McKown, Oiva Keskinen

RW: Gavin Brindley, William Whitelaw, Jordan Dumais, Luca Pinelli, Martin Rysavy

LD: Denton Mateychuk, Stanislav Svozil, Andrew Strathmann, Aidan Hreschuk, Samuel Knazko

RD: David Jiricek, Corson Ceulemans

G: Daniil Tarasov, Sergei Ivanov, Melvin Strahl

For a deeper dive into the prospect pool with player rankings, check out the Yearbook, Prospects Unlimited and Future Watch print editions of The Hockey News.