Columbus Blue Jackets pre-draft notes: Uncertainty abounds with top pick
LAS VEGAS — Much has changed for the Blue Jackets since the NHL draft a year ago in Nashville.
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The new coach they’d yet to announce as being hired, Mike Babcock, lasted just 78 days before a scandal forced his resignation. The coach who replaced him, Pascal Vincent, was fired last week after just one season. So the Blue Jackets are again without a coach at the draft.
The guy who fired Vincent, new president of hockey operations/general manager Don Waddell, now fills roles that were occupied by John Davidson (president of hockey ops) and Jarmo Kekalaine (GM). And forward Patrik Laine wishes to be traded while still getting treatment in the NHL/NHL Players Association’s player assistance program.
Got all that?
Now, take a breath as this new version of the Blue Jackets heads into another key draft Friday with two familiar faces still in charge of the prospect rankings ― amateur scouting director Ville Siren and assistant amateur scouting director Trevor Timmins.
Things might be more unpredictable for them this year at the draft table, but certainty lies in the work they've done to prepare.
“It feels like that,” Siren said. “I think (center Macklin Celebrini) will go first, but after that it’s kind of wide open. We’ve done our homework as well as we could, and we feel confident that we can get a good player.”
Who are they targeting?
Time will tell, but draft analysts are starting to project the Blue Jackets taking either forward/center Cayden Lindstrom of the Medicine Hat Tigers (WHL) or forward Ivan Demidov of SKA St. Petersburg in Russia. Celebrini will almost certainly go first to the San Jose Sharks followed by Michigan State defenseman Artyom Levshunov going second to the Chicago Blackhawks. That’s when things will get interesting as the Anaheim Ducks head to the stage.
Will they take a defenseman to replace Jamie Drysdale, whom the Ducks dealt to the Philadelphia Flyers this past season for the signing rights to power forward Cutter Gauthier? Will they instead snag Demidov, a playmaking wing who can also put the puck in the net himself?
The Blue Jackets’ pick will depend on those answers as they consult their overall list to select the highest remaining name.
“It’s a difficult job, especially when players play at different levels throughout the world,” Timmins said. “To combine all that into one list is difficult, and we’ve got some difficult decisions to make. But that’s what we get paid to do.”
Here are more notes from the Blue Jackets’ pre-draft media availability Thursday in Las Vegas:
Columbus Blue Jackets GM Don Waddell opts to remain mum before NHL draft
Waddell didn't speak with reporters Thursday, allowing Siren and Timmins to do all the talking for the Blue Jackets a day before making another high pick.
It was a departure from Jarmo Kekalainen’s 11-year tenure in the Jackets’ GM chair. His background before ascending to the GM job in Columbus was deeply rooted in amateur scouting, so the draft was one of his favorite events. Kekalainen regularly spoke to reporters the day before and immediately after the first round to give a breakdown of the newest Blue Jackets prospect.
Waddell is working on a coaching search that sources indicate is narrowing on Todd McLellan, sifting through trade opportunities and letting his amateur scouting staff take center stage.
Two GMs, two different approaches to the draft. The operational changes Davidson hoped to instill by hiring Waddell appear to be happening already.
Columbus Blue Jackets have ‘done homework’ on NHL draft prospect Cayden Lindstrom’s back
At the scouting combine earlier this month, Lindstrom told evaluators that a back issue that limited him to 32 games this past season was healed. That was good to hear, but GMs tend to get anxious about back injuries in young hockey players.
Lindstrom is big (6 feet 3, 213 pounds) and plays with an aggressive style, so the concern is drafting a player who struggles to stay on the ice because of those desirable traits. A team's concern typically rises the higher up the pecking order you go, so the Blue Jackets need to be absolutely convinced it's not a chronic injury if they select Lindstrom. Timmins and Siren said they’ve gotten enough medical information and consulted with the team’s medical staff to get a handle on whether or not Lindstrom’s back is a potential deal breaker.
If he’s taken with the fourth pick, it will be a safe assumption they don’t feel it’s a big issue.
“Our job is to project, and we’re able to utilize our medical people — our athletic therapists, doctors and specialists in those fields — and have them give us a professional opinion on if it will affect that player reaching his potential,” Timmins said. “We’ve done all the homework and we’re ready to make our decisions.”
Columbus Blue Jackets impressed by NHL draft prospect Ivan Demidov
There’s a growing belief among analysts that Demidov, who some feel is the second-most skilled forward in the class, will fall to the Montreal Canadiens with the fifth overall pick. For that to happen, the dynamic Russian must slide past the Blackhawks with the second pick, Anaheim at three and the Blue Jackets in the four slot — three rebuilding teams who could all use an elite forward.
The Blue Jackets have similar forwards with Johnny Gaudreau, Kirill Marchenko and Kent Johnson, but Siren has shown in prior drafts that he’s taken by elite skill. The Blue Jackets sent three representatives to an event last week in Florida hosted by Demidov's agent, Dan Milstein, and they left impressed despite an injury that kept him off the ice.
“He’s still recovering from a high-ankle sprain, so he’s doing rehab,” Timmins said. “But to see him physically, have him measured ... he’s bigger than what we thought (at) 6-foot and one half (inch), 192 pounds. He's solid. He’s an athlete. But what came across most positively was his personality.”
Demidov is fluent in English, which helped him engage with evaluators. The biggest downside is how long a team will need to wait before he leaves Russia for the NHL.
“Great kid, always smiling,” Timmins said. “He has that personality that everyone is attracted to. He can tell a joke. He can interact. You can have a conversation with him ... and he seems like a good teammate. We got the chance to see him interact with the rest of the group that was there. He seems like a very good teammate and leader.”
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Blue Jackets' pre-draft notes: Uncertainty abounds with first pick
