{"id":33916,"date":"2018-08-06T08:00:05","date_gmt":"2018-08-06T12:00:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/?p=33916"},"modified":"2018-08-05T21:28:12","modified_gmt":"2018-08-06T01:28:12","slug":"columbus-blue-jackets-prospects","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2018\/08\/06\/columbus-blue-jackets-prospects\/","title":{"rendered":"TSP: Top Columbus Blue Jackets Prospects"},"content":{"rendered":"

Welcome to the 2018 Top Shelf Prospects series.\u00a0 As we go through the Summer of 2018 LWOH will be featuring a team-by-team look at the top prospects in the NHL. We will be following the order of the first round of the NHL draft (as if there were no traded draft picks) and\u00a0you can find all the articles here<\/a>.\u00a0 Since we had an\u00a0extensive NHL Draft preview<\/a>, we will not be reviewing the players who were drafted in the 2018 draft, as there have been no games since then, and our reports on them will not have changed.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"What we will be doing is linking you to those articles, as well as taking a look at prospects that were acquired before this year\u2019s draft; their progress, and their chances of making the 2018-19 roster of the NHL team in question. We will also bring you one sleeper pick \u2013 a player who was either drafted in the 4th-round or later, or was an undrafted free agent signing who we pick as our dark horse to make the NHL. For those wondering, the cut-off for what is or isn\u2019t a prospect is typically about 50 NHL games played (including playoff games) or is 25 years old. These are not hard or fast rules though, and we may make some exceptions depending on the circumstances.
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

Columbus Blue Jackets Prospects<\/h1>\n

The Columbus Blue Jackets<\/a>\u00a0were not quite as good in 2017-18 as they were in 2016-17 but were still a solid team. Newly acquired winger\u00a0Artemi\u00a0Panarin\u00a0<\/strong>was a scoring superstar, rookie Pierre-Luc Dubois<\/strong> showed flashes that give many\u00a0fans hope that he will develop into a number one centre, and Seth Jones<\/strong> finished fourth in Norris Trophy voting. The Jackets made the playoffs and even took a 2-0 lead in their first-round series with the Washington Capitals<\/a>. However, they lost the next four games as the Capitals went on to win the Stanley Cup.<\/p>\n

The Jackets big off-season addition was centre Riley Nash<\/strong> who signed a three-year deal<\/a>. They also added depth pieces in Adam Clendening<\/strong> and Anthony Duclair<\/strong>. There have been other complications though. Trade rumours have swirled around Panarin and the team lost free agents Ian Cole<\/strong>, Jack Johnson<\/strong>, and Matt Calvert<\/strong>. In a minor move, the Jackets added Ryan MacInnis<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

2018 NHL Draft Picks:\u00a0Liam Foudy<\/strong><\/a>,\u00a0Kirill Marchenko<\/strong><\/a>,\u00a0Marcus Karlberg<\/strong>,\u00a0Tim Berni<\/strong>,\u00a0Veini Vehvilainen<\/strong>,\u00a0Trey Fix-Wolansky
\n<\/strong>Graduations: Pierre-Luc Dubois<\/strong>, Oliver Bjorkstrand<\/strong>, Sonny Milano<\/strong>, Scott Harrington<\/strong>,\u00a0Markus Hannikainen<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Top Prospect: Vitali Abramov<\/h2>\n

Right Wing — shoots Left
\nBorn May 8th, 1998 —\u00a0Chelyabinsk, Russia
\nHeight 5’9″ — Weight 170 lbs [175 cm \/ 77 kg]
\nDrafted by the Columbus Blue Jackets in the 3rd round, #65\u00a0overall, at the 2016 NHL Draft<\/p>\n