In scouting circles, the term was first used in the NFL. It essentially meant the guy was going to be a plug and play above average starter from Day 1. Obviously in the NHL draft you are dealing with younger prospects so there's less plug and play, but it essentially means the same thing: That the guy is going to be an above average player at his position and that he requires little projection to be that. This is why I don't consider Kotkaniemi as Blue Chip. For myself, the Blue Chip guys for sure are Dahlin, Svechnikov, and Zadina. All 3 are going to be above average players at their position and require little projection to get there. I think the debatable blue chip guys are Tkachuk, Dobson, Bouchard, and Hughes and they represent the next tier. Beyond that, every player in this draft requires at least moderate projection and that includes Kotkaniemi.