Blue Jackets Primed to Improve Prospect Pool With Fourth Pick

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The Columbus Blue Jackets were hoping to get lucky once and for all at the 2024 NHL Draft Lottery. While they didn’t win the ultimate prize, they didn’t lose any ground either.

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The Blue Jackets held their ground and will pick fourth overall at the 2024 NHL Draft in Las Vegas. Given the early perception of what this draft class looks like at the top, the Blue Jackets are primed to vastly improve their already deep prospect pool. They can go in any number of directions.

Recap of Lottery

This Draft Lottery was the first since 2010 in which no teams moved up or down from their position in the standings. The San Jose Sharks won the right to pick first overall. After two redraws, the Chicago Blackhawks won the right to pick second overall.

This meant the Blue Jackets held on to the fourth pick. They could have dropped as many as two spots to sixth had teams behind them won the draws.

2024 NHL Draft Lottery
The Blue Jackets will pick fourth at the 2024 NHL Draft. (Photo by Mike Stobe/NHLI via Getty Images)

For the Blue Jackets, outside of winning the right to pick first or second, keeping the fourth pick was the best possible outcome they could have hoped for. There is high-end talent at the top of this draft that will give them an opportunity to add to an already stacked prospect pool. It’s possible the player they land with the fourth pick could be second on their draft board.

Possible Options With Fourth Pick

Assuming the Blue Jackets elect to keep the pick, they can choose to address several needs. While the 2024 NHL Draft is widely considered a defensemen-heavy draft at the top, there are still some really good options available up front including at center.

Sharks GM Mike Grier basically admitted on Tuesday that Macklin Celebrini would be taken by them first overall. The draft will really start with the second pick by the Blackhawks. Early indications see a path in which Ivan Demidov would be taken by them to play with Connor Bedard. But it is way too early to say how the top of the draft will play out.

The Anaheim Ducks own the third pick and will get their choice right in front of the Blue Jackets. No matter which direction the Blackhawks and Ducks go, the Blue Jackets will fill one of their biggest needs. If it’s a top center, they’ll have the option of choosing one. Whether it’s one of several top defensemen or even a high-end winger, being in fourth is a good place to be.

Who might be the Blue Jackets consider? Here’s a list of players expected to be in consideration for the fourth pick.

  • Centers: Cayden Lindstrom, Konsta Helenius, Berkly Catton, Tij Iginla.
  • Wingers: Ivan Demidov, Cole Eiserman, Trevor Connelly.
  • Defensemen: Anton Silayev, Adam Jiricek, Artyom Levshunov, Zeev Buium, Zayne Parekh, Sam Dickinson.

There might be 13 players listed here, but each could be considered as high as the top-three depending who you ask. The Blue Jackets will get a great group of players to choose from.

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An early take from me. Given the Blue Jackets have Denton Mateychuk and David Jiricek on the verge of breaking through to the NHL full time, it seems they would want to target a high-end forward especially at center. Imagine adding a player like Lindstrom or Helenius to Adam Fantilli and Cole Sillinger. Then you’d have a Blue Jackets’ team who’s never been stronger down the middle, something that’s eluded the franchise for basically their entire existence.

The Blue Jackets didn’t win the big prize but they didn’t lose any ground either. This season, that’s considered a win given the odds favored them to drop from fourth. It ensures they will land a high-impact player.

Up next on the calendar is the NHL Combine in Buffalo the week of June 2-8. Then the final preparations for the NHL Draft will take place. Meanwhile, we still await word on who the new general manager will be. We still might not get that answer for some time yet.