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Pivot Time For Forwards - June. 1, 2006
In the past four seasons, the Blue Jackets finished 29th, 28th, 27th and, this season, 26th overall. At that rate, they’ll make the playoffs in 2014, when left winger Rick Nash is 30.
OK, enough sarcasm. The Blue Jackets will have another high draft pick this summer. They’ve done well on their previous No. 1s – especially Nash, winger Nikolai Zherdev and goalie Pascal Leclaire – and they need to keep it up.
The Jackets haven’t hit home runs after the first round and would love to land a late-round wizard, like Detroit did with Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg.
SCOUTS HONOR The Blue Jackets place major emphasis on the draft, so GM Doug MacLean still plays a heavy role in the scouting and drafting of talent, making at least one trip to Europe every season and many more to junior and college games.
But Don Boyd is the guru – the go-to guy on draft day. Boyd joined the Jackets as director of amateur scouting before the team existed. Last fall, he was promoted to director of player personnel. The top scouts – Sam McMaster, Wayne Smith and John Williams – have all been with the team from the start.
IMMEDIATE NEED The Jackets need more firepower to compete in the new NHL, meaning one or two top-six free agent forwards need to be signed. (And that’s assuming they re-sign David Vyborny, an under-appreciated two-way player.)
Relying too heavily on Nash’s offense was a mistake. When he was out of the lineup with injuries, Columbus couldn’t score.
The Jackets could also use help on the blueline, especially if steady Radoslav Suchy walks away as a free agent. An insurance policy for Bryan Berard would be well advised, too. Berard’s season ended after 44 games when he had surgery to repair a herniated disc.
LONG-TERM NEED Center Gilbert Brule is on the way, but the Jackets need to to get stronger down the middle to compete with the powerhouses in the West.
Sergei Fedorov has two years left on his contract, but is 36 and his days as the No. 1 center on a contender are done. Other than Brule, the Jackets have drafted only one center who has sniffed the NHL – Dan Fritsche, who’s projected to be an energy grinder.
READY TO STEP IN Brule will be counted on to center the No. 2 line next season. But he could get the No. 1 job next to Nash, while Fedorov centers the second unit.
Brule started in the NHL this season, but he sustained two serious injuries, including a broken leg, and was shipped back to junior.
2005 TOP PICK Gilbert Brule, C, Vancouver, sixth overall. 27-23-15-38-40. Injuries wiped out what would have been his rookie season in the NHL, but Brule thrived once back in junior.
RESTRICTED FREE AGENTS Jaroslav Balastik, LW, 26; Jason Chimera, LW, 26; Marc Denis, G, 28; Dan Fritsche, C, 20; Ron Hainsey, D, 25; Rostislav Klesla, D, 24; Pascal Leclaire, G, 23; Mike Rupp, C, 26; Jody Shelley, LW, 30; Nikolai Zherdev, RW, 21.
UNRESTRICTED FREE AGENTS Jan Hrdina, C, 30; Trevor Letowski, RW, 29; Manny Malhotra, C, 25; Martin Prusek, G, 30; Radoslav Suchy, D, 29; David Vyborny, RW, 31.
FUTURE WATCH 2006
The Hockey News’ Future Watch ranking of the top five prospects in Columbus’s system:
1. Gilbert Brule, C, Vancouver (WHL)
2. Alexandre Picard, LW, Syracuse (AHL)
3. O-K Tollefsen, D, Syracuse (AHL)
4. Kris Russel, D, Medicine Hat (AHL)
5. Adam McQuaid, D, Sudbury (OHL)
EYE ON EUROPE
Columbus has chosen 65 players since 2000. Europeans account for 25 (38%) of them.
TOP 5 EUROPEAN PICKS
1. Nikolai Zherdev
Sublime skill, sometimes a pill
2. Rostislav Klesla
Dealt with injuries, inconsistency
3. Jaroslav Balastik
Streaky, older rookie scorer
4. Lasse Pirjeta
Veteran skated for Pittsburgh
5. Andrej Nedorost
Played in Europe this season
TO MAXIMIZE SERVICE, START YOUR ROOKIES AT 20
With NHLers set to hit unrestricted free agency (in 2008) at 27 or after seven years of service, drafting prospects who can enter the league by age 20 will be crucial in order to maximize years of service before he becomes an UFA.
The average rookie age from 1992 to ’96 was 22.6. First-rounders played their rookie year at 20.8 on average; second-rounders at 22.9.
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