Much has occured within the Blue Jackets organization since the last blog post. The dispersal draft has came and went, free agents were claimed, trades were made, and the entry draft is currently underway.
Going into the dispersal draft every team is allowed to protect 13 players, Columbus opted to protect (in no particular order): Taylor Hall, Mikko Koivu, Josh Bailey, Kyle Okposo, Alex Burmistrov, Derek Dorsett, Ryan O'Reilly, Alex Pietrangelo, Zach Bogosian, Ladislav Smid, Luca Sbisa, Jeff Petry and Marc-Andre Fleury. The Jackets were happy with most of their protected players, and were pleased that they didn't have to make too many tough decisions.
Finishing in last place in AHL9 afforded the Jackets the first pick in the dispersal draft, and with that pick they selected winger Clarke MacArthur. The plan going in to the season was to add some depth on the wing and the Jackets GM did that by taking MacArthur. MacArthur has buried 20 goals multiple times and gives Columbus a little bit more scoring depth, plus he can play left or right wing. In the second round of the dispersal draft the Jackets selected David Steckel. There was no particular type of player targeted at this pick, but Columbus was impressed with Steckel's defensive ability and strength on faceoffs. In the third round the Jackets picked up bruising blueliner Mark Fistric.
Columbus gained three players in the dispersal draft, but they also lost three players to other teams in the AHL. The players that were selected from the Jackets were Luke Adam, Zenon Konopka, and Mark Stuart. The Columbus GM was quite fond of all of these players, especially Konopka and Stuart. It's sad to see them go, but Columbus had to make the moves that they believed were right for the organization.
Next, a fortunate set of circumstances allowed the Jackets to acquire veteran winger Petr Sykora for free. Sykora was a free agent, and when the free agents hit the waiver wire, guess who had first dibs? Yep, yet again the Jackets benefitted from finishing last by having top waiver priority. Just like MacArthur, Sykora is a valuable piece to the puzzle this year. Both of these guys add solid depth on the wing, along with some decent scoring ability.
Then came the AHL entry draft, and the Jackets retained the first overall pick by winning the draft lottery. There were many solid rookies available, but it was really a no-brainer for the Columbus GM. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins was the obvious choice as the Jackets already had a franchise winger, and a franchise defenceman. The 19 year old Nugent-Hopkins has already produced big time at the professional level, and is still young enough that he may be playing in the WJHC this year in Russia. The Jackets are very excited to be able to pair him up with Taylor Hall to hopefully lead this team to the promise land.
The Jackets were also owners of Tampa Bay's first round pick, which ended up being tenth overall. They decided to select college developed d-man Jake Gardiner. Gardiner provides some added mobility on the blueline, and will make a great addition to the top four of the Columbus backend. The acquisition of Gardiner facilitated the trade of another d-man, but we'll touch on that later. After the Gardiner pick, the Jackets were on the clock again at pick #31. With the first pick in the second round the Jackets felt comfortable taking a chance on a goalie, namely Jacob Markstrom. The big swede is widely regarded as the top goalie prospect in the world. He does have a roadblock in Marc-Andre Fleury in front of him, but it's never a bad thing to have goalie depth.
At that point the Jackets did not own any more pics in the rookie draft, but that would soon change. The Columbus GM saw a player he liked and jumped at the chance to acquire him. Columbus dealt newly acquired Mark Fistric to Calgary, in exchange for one of their many second round picks. With that pick Columbus selected d-man Tyson Barrie. Barrie has a lot to prove at the pro level but the Jackets are excited about his potential.
Next, in a surprise move, the Jackets dealt Swiss defenceman Luca Sbisa. The Jackets GM was very fond of Sbisa, trying multiple times to acquire Sbisa. Luca was traded along with Cody McLeod to the Anaheim Ducks for Artem Anisimov. The skillset of Anisimov was just too good to pass up. The Jackets like that Anisimov has a well rounded game, as he can put the puck in the net but play very strong defensive hockey as well. Anisimov, like MacArthur and Sykora will add significant value to the Jackets on the wing. Filling this hole did open up another, as the Jackets will have to search for a third-pairing defenceman.
After all the offseason movement, let's take a quick look at how the roster is going to shape up for the coming year. Most likely there will not be a top line "per-se" on this team, but rather two lines that get equal ice time. The first of those two lines will have Artem Anisimov and Petr Sykora flanking Jackets captain Mikko Koivu. This line will do a lot of the heavy lifting, while hopefully providing some offence as well. The next line is loaded with young talent, as Ryan Nugent-Hopkins will most likely centre Taylor Hall and Clark MacArthur. This line will be relied upon to score a lot of goals. The third line on this team (for the first time in many years) is also very strong. Young but established centreman Ryan O'Reilly will centre the duo of Josh Bailey and Kyle Okposo. Each of these three lines have scoring threats on them, something the Jackets have been lacking in recent seasons. The fourth line will most likely consist of Alex Burmistrov, David Steckel, and Derek Dorsett. It's quite the different look as Columbus used to quite regularly dress 5 or 6 enforcers, but now with the added depth up front it's just too tough to get any goons into the lineup unless there are deals made. Depending on player performance Jared Boll and Matt Martin will hopefully see some action though.
The Jackets are also extremely pleased with their defence this year, everything they have been building towards seems to be coming together. The first d-pairing consists of one of the AHL's best all-around d-men in Alex Pietrangelo, alongside defensive specialist Ladislav Smid (both of which were recently named assistant captains). The second d-pairing will be Zach Bogosian with rookie Jake Gardiner, this is a very mobile pairing that can hold their own in the defensive zone. The third pairing has yet to be decided, but we do know that smooth skating Jeff Petry will be on it. The Jackets will be looking to add a solid defender to pair up with Petry. Jason Demers and Tyson Barrie may see spot time.
In net, the solid Marc-Andre Fleury will backstop the Jackets for most of the year, and rookie Jacob Markstrom may get some spot starts.
Columbus is very ecstatic with the look of their roster this year, and firmly believe they will compete for the AHL championship, as they are very sick and tired of being in the basement.
Stay tuned for Jackets updates!
