Blue Jackets busy at 2009 HFNHL Entry Draft

[Ohio Jones]

CD - Montreal, QC

Columbus GM Doug Emerson was one of the busiest men at the draft this weekend, completing no less than 5 separate trades and drafting four players on day one.

By the time the smoke cleared, the Jackets had seen a whopping number of draft picks for 2009 and 2010 change hands, which eventually saw them adding a secon first-round pick this year along with multiple depth picks, along with two proven NHL players, at the expense of two early picks in next year's draft, prospect Cal O'Reilly and starting netminder Martin Gerber.

Coming to Columbus are Stanley Cup-winning goalie Nikolai Khabibulin and strong young two-way pivot John Mitchell. Khabibulin will take over the starting role and provide mentoring to Peter Budaj and young Russian star Simyon Varlamov. Mitchell will step into the third-line role vacated by the deadline trade of Eric Belanger to Florida.

In the Entry Draft, Columbus stuck to their list and added depth to every position, selecting two defencemen, a goalie and a forward on day one.

1st round - 20th overall: LD Dylan Olsen, Camrose, AJHL
The Jackets took this Alberta junior-circuit defenceman a bit ahead of most pundits' projections, but were very pleased with his performance at the World Junior U18 Championships this spring, where he formed an outstanding defensive pairing with Calvin de Haan. "Dylan is just the kind of defender we like", Emerson told reporters. "He's big, mobile, mean and plays great two-way hockey: he does everything - he'll even drop the gloves." It's thought the Jackets were hoping big high-school centerman Chris Kreider might fall to them at this position, but they were clearly pleased with Olsen. "Dylan may go later than this in the NHL draft next weekend, but the team that picks him will be getting a heck of a player." Although Olsen will be heading to the University of Minnesota-Duluth next year, the Jackets are expecting he will turn pro after a season or two of college hockey.

1st round - 30th overall: RD Charles-Olivier Roussel, Shawinigan, QMJHL
Columbus traded their first-round pick in 2010 to make this selection, picking up mobile two-way defenceman Roussel. "We'll worry about next year when we get there, this was about getting our hands on a quality young player who can start developing oin our system now", said Emerson. "C-O was the lynchpin of the Quebec league's best powerplay, and was lights-out in the playoffs, leading Shawinigan to the QMJHL finals. He has good size, terrific skating, and is committed to playing in both ends. He has some work to do to bring more polish to his defensive zone coverage, but we're convinced that will come with experience -- he has terrific hockey smarts and a strong work ethic. In this era of puck-moving defencemen we think he's a great prospect, and far more complete than many other ofensive blueliners in this draft. Add in his right-handed shot and it was a gimme for us." Roussel will return to Shawinigan for the 2009-10 season.

3rd round - 70th overall: G Mike Lee, Fargo, USHL
The Jackets made several attempts to trade up into the second round, but to no avail. They were very pleased, therefore, that Lee was still on the board at 70. "For our money, he was the best goalie in his draft class. The Jackets have a very strong and deep pipeline in net, but we are committed to drafting the player we believe to have the best pro career ahead of him, and we think Mike has all of the tools to be a starting goaltender in the pros. He needs to work on coming out to challenge shooters more, but his focus, agility and compete level are right up there." Lee will start his college career this fall with St. Cloud State, where he should see a ton of rubber. The Jackets will likely encourage him to stay in the NCAA for his full four seasons to continue to develop his game, and give them time to sort out their deep goaltending pool that includes Khabibulin and Budaj in Columbus, Varlamov, Leland Irving and John Curry in the AHL, and Memorial Cup All-Tournament netminder Marco Cousineau in Junior.

3rd round - 84th overall: C/RW Andrej Nestrasil, Victoriaville, QMJHL
The Jackets go back to the "Q" for their fourth pick of day one, taking big winger Nestrasil, who had been hyped as an import, but struggled somewhat in his first season in North America. "Coming to the Q was a big adjustment for Andrej," said Emerson, "and we know it took him a while to get adjusted to the different culture, language and style of game. But he started to come around late in the season, and we think his natural tools combined with a great attitude should lead to a vastly improved performance next season." At 6-2, 200 pounds, Mestrasil has a pro body already, but needs to drastically improve his skating, which was a real limitation in the fast-moving Quebec circuit. "His vision and hands are terrific, and as he learns to use his big frame more along the boards, he can be an excellent distributor we see fitting into a third-line role in the pros. We like that he plays both ends, but yeah, he'll be spending a lot of the summer with our skating coach to get his feet moving better."

With all that activity, it's possible that the Jackets aren't finished yet. "We feel there's a lot of talent still on the boards, and we're going to see if we can't position ourselves to add in a couple of other areas before the draft is done," Emerson explained. As it stands, the Jackets will pick twice in the fourth round, and once in each of the remaining three rounds. They'll be hoping to repeat their day-2 success from last season when they added forwards Derek Stepan, Andrei Loktionov and Jerome Flaake, among others.

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[Hossa]

I like your draft a lot Doug. Both Olsen and Roussel are guys I liked and hoped to land. Had Olsen been there at 28, he would likely have been my pick. I saw Roussel live twice in the playoffs and was impressed. He's got good all-round ability, an NHL frame and he's extremely young, so you have potential there. I expected him to stand out a bit more, but Shawinigan was toying with Gatineau so he did not need to impose himself. Olsen opened some eyes at the U18s I think, because he and de Haan were Canada's best defence pairing by a mile. He's another guy with a few questions about where he'll play next year though.

I know less about Lee and Nestrasil. I tried to catch Victoriaville this year but didn't get the chance. I like your approach though with Lee to draft another goaltender and be patient to see which one of several guys emerges. It's a benefit we have of being in the HFNHL, our prospects can not block the development path of our other guys. We can have five goalies in the same league because it is the responsibility of their real teams, not us, to find them playing time, a luxury NHL teams obviously do not have. Goalies being unpredictable as they are, it's an approach I try to take as well, such as with taking Jake Allen and Harri Sateri last year, even with Carey Price and Jeff Zatkoff on board already.

 

[Ohio Jones]

I know less about Lee and Nestrasil. I tried to catch Victoriaville this year but didn't get the chance. I like your approach though with Lee to draft another goaltender and be patient to see which one of several guys emerges. It's a benefit we have of being in the HFNHL, our prospects can not block the development path of our other guys. We can have five goalies in the same league because it is the responsibility of their real teams, not us, to find them playing time, a luxury NHL teams obviously do not have. Goalies being unpredictable as they are, it's an approach I try to take as well, such as with taking Jake Allen and Harri Sateri last year, even with Carey Price and Jeff Zatkoff on board already.

Thanks for the kind words. Your point is totally taken with regard to the advantage we have in the HFNHL in terms of player development and ice time, especially for goalies. As it happens, my only current logjam is in the AHL, where I have Varlamov, Irving and Curry all starting. It's a nifty little trick.

I took Lee as the next guy on my list, despite my goalie depth - I thought he was a solid second-rounder, so was hapy to take him in the third. Nestrasil was my next *forward*, but I confess I had a defenceman or two still ahead of him at that point. However with Olsen and Roussel in hand, and little really to choose between the prospects, I felt I should take a player who addressed an organizational need for a big body at right wing who could move the puck but also take care of his own end.

One could say that sounds like last year's second-round pick Patrice Cormier, and it does, but I like Cormier as a top-6 guy, and Nestrasil's ceiling seems more as a third-liner.

I'm not looking forward to having to rank my prospects coming out of this draft, I tell you what.

 

[HFNHL Canadiens]

Doug, I really like your first 3 picks. Olsen had a dominant U18 tournament and appears to be a homerun pick. Size, skill, skating and tenacity, I honestly haven't read a single weakness in his game, other than the level of competition he plays, which he proved was a nonfactor with his performance at the U18s.

COR is another great pick, I was actually hoping he would be there at my 42nd pick, wishful thinking I guess. He also appears to be a defender with no glaring weakness in his game. He is alot better than Despres IMO, and will go higher than Despres in the NHL draft.

Mike Lee was the 3rd ranked goalie on my list, but my top 3 were all side by side and really could go in any order. He seemed to be getting better and better as the year went on, and was dominant in the playoffs, getting an expansion team to the finals. He might have the best chance out of any goalie in sneaking into the first round of this years entry draft.

Not a fan of Nestrasil, but personally I only like euros in the CHL if they dominate, if not I steer clear from them, just personal preference. Who knows, he could pull a Stefanovich and dominate next season in the Q.

All in all, great draft so far Doug. I can't see Olsen or COR failing.

 

[Ohio Jones]

The Blue Jackets confirmed today that they completed another trade with the New Jersey Devils that sees Columbus receive the Devils' three 4th-round picks (102nd, 106th and 108th overall) come to Columbus. In return the Devils receive Columbus' 2nd and 4th round picks in the 2011 entry draft.

This is the second multi-pick exchange the two teams have undergone this draft, with 6 picks and 2 players (Cal O'Reilly and John Mitchell) changing hands on Saturday morning.

"If I had to guess, I'd say that New Jersey found themselves a little unprepared for this draft," said Jackets GM Doug Emerson. "Maybe the all-night parties are finally catching up with them! Either that, or they're just not seeing the quality we are."

After last weekend saw the Jackets trade away two early 2010 picks (CBJ 1st, PHX 2nd), some fans are left scratching their heads about the Jackets continuing to give up quality draft picks.

"A second round pick is a lot to give up, but at this stage we're not that thrilled with the 2011 crop. It's a long way off, though, so we'll have time to acquire other picks if we need them. For now we're just excited about being able to bring even more depth and quality to our organization."

That depth could prove to be a problem. With a whopping five picks in the fourth round, and a pick in each round thereafter, the Blue Jackets will have eight more names to announce in addition to the four already drafted this year.

That forces the team into a bit of a numbers crunch; HFNHL teams are only allowed a maximum of 80 players combined on their rosters and prospect lists. The Jackets, already 2 players over the maximum due to mid-season deals, will have to trim at least 14 names in order to make room for the new draftees.

Look for updates on the Jackets' release list following the conclusion of the draft.