Columbus Blue Jackets conclude 2023 draft

The Columbus Blue jackets have concluded their 2023 NHL Entry Draft.

Headlining the group is #3 overall pick Adam Fantilli, followed by #34 pick, and his teammate at Michigan Gavin Brindley. Fantilli is rumored to be turning pro, while Brindley, who is 18 years old will probably return for his sophomore season.

Overall, the CBJ picked eight players in this draft. Four of them being centers, one goalie Melvin Strahl, one defenseman Andrew Strathmann, one right wing WIlliam Whitelaw, and a left wing Tyler Peddle. Some expected the Jackets to grab at least one more goalie, but instead went with just one. And having an obvious glut of defensemen, they weren’t going to waste too many draft picks on that position.

Center depth is always a discussion with the Jackets, so they went out and got four of them. Adam Fantilli (3), Gavin Brindley (34), Luca Pinelli (114) and Oiva Keskinen (194). Fantilli and Keskinen are both over six feet tall, while the other two are around 5-foot-9.

The average height of all the CBJ draft picks is right around 5-feet-11, while the average weight is 176.6 pounds. Some point out that Brindley, William Whitelaw (66) and Pinell being all 5-feet-8 and 5-feet-9 could be an issue in the future, but as others have said, the Jackets will cross that bridge when they get there. Let’s not forget Johnny Gaudreau, Alex DeBrincat and Patrick Kane all turned out to be pretty good hockey players who were under six feet tall. They drafted four prospects from the U.S., three Canadians, one Finn and one Swede.

The consensus is that the CBJ had a good draft, obviously drafting Fantilli was the highlight, but other than him, I wouldn’t expect to see any of these kids anytime soon. But such is life in the NHL draft, and to be drafted is a dream come true, even if they never make it to the NHL. This year’s Mr. Irrelevant was Tyler Peddle. Peddle was drafted last overall, after the Jackets traded with Vegas to grab this last pick. Peddle stuck it out and stayed until the end and was finally taken by Columbus. He and his family were emotional after his name was called, and rightfully so.

So that concludes the 2023 NHL Draft. All the speculation, all the rumors, and all the analysis about the draftees will come to an end. Next up is the NHL Free Agency Frenzy which starts this Saturday, and I’m sure it will as equally speculated, filled with rumors and analyzed, but that’s what we live for.