The Columbus Blue Jackets came to the 2023 NHL Draft hoping to land a franchise-changing player. Not only did they do that, they became one of the biggest winners of the draft.
After landing Adam Fantilli on Wednesday night, the Blue Jackets added seven more players to their prospect pool. At least in the early going, most scouting outlets have rated the Blue Jackets’ draft class as an A or A+.
Today we’re going to focus on our five overall takeaways for the Blue Jackets from the NHL Draft. We talked about the emotions of Fantilli becoming a Blue Jacket. But now we’re going to discuss his immediate future.
Fantilli Could Be NHL Bound
When we talked with both Fantilli and GM Jarmo Kekalainen on Wednesday, they each indicated in some way that the sides would discuss what the plan is for the next step, either making the NHL or going back to school. It seems Kekalainen and the Blue Jackets strongly believe Fantilli can be ready for the NHL now.
Kekalainen and Fantilli are expected to talk next week once Development Camp starts. The GM reiterated on Thursday the belief that Fantilli is ready now.
If that happens, that could have a domino effect on the NHL roster. Fantilli making it would mean one less spot for someone else already trying to fight for a roster spot. That’s the nature of the beast when a high-upside player comes in.
It will be a story to watch as free agency opens up. Perhaps there is no longer a need to chase down a trade for a top center with Fantilli in the fold. The center depth could go something like Fantilli, Jenner, Roslovic, Sillinger, Voronkov, Kuraly. Jenner or Roslovic could even move to the wing if Sillinger can find top-six form.
But perhaps there will be a need to trade another player to make room. With Fantilli here and possibly making this roster, the Blue Jackets will explore all possible options to determine how to best proceed.
Fantilli’s Teammate Joins Him
The Blue Jackets entered Day 2 of the NHL Draft with the second pick of the day and 34th overall. They opted to draft Fantilli’s teammate from Michigan Gavin Brindley.
“I mean, it’s pretty surreal. It’s tough to put into words being drafted to a place like Columbus,” Brindley said. “I have a ton of family in Ohio and I can’t wait to get there. And especially with Adam there, it’s going to be pretty cool.”
Brindley and his family including mother Rochelle celebrated the moment. Fantilli was there as well. When the pick was announced from the Blue Jackets’ draft table by head amateur scout Ville Siren, it was Fantilli who raced over to celebrate the moment.
“He was staring across from me when they were picking,” Brindley recalled. “He was like, fingers crossed like this. And then he got there before I did. It was a pretty cool moment for us.”
While Fantilli got all of the attention at Michigan, it was Brindley who was making a name for himself with his tenacity. Brindley has a lot of the attributes of Fantilli, but is 5-foot-9. However he uses the rest of his game to show why he was considered a top prospect for this draft.
According to our Logan Horn, “What Brindley lacks in size, he makes up for with every other possible facet of his game, from puck battles to physical play, from his incredible compete level to an excellent skating package. He is incredibly agile with and without the puck, and has the speed to really take advantage of his opponents’ weaknesses both off the rush and while forechecking. “
Brindley takes a lot of pride in the way he plays the game.
“I feel like it’s tough to play the game if you don’t have that kind of grit to your game,” Brindley said. “I don’t know if it’s the Thunder Bay in me. I love playing like that. I feel like it’s tough to play if you don’t play like that so I’m never going to get rid of that.”
The Blue Jackets watched a lot of Fantilli’s games both at Yost and on the road. So it was naturally easy for them to watch Brindley as well. He recalls a meeting with the Blue Jackets and getting the feeling there was a chance.
“They came to Yost. We met upstairs in our dinner room and they were great,” Brindley said. “Everything they asked you, a lot of teams asked the same questions. But I felt with Columbus, there’s a chance I could go there and yeah, it’s an unbelievable feeling. I’m really excited I get to play in Columbus in Ohio and in front of my family and a lot of friends are there too. It’ll be fun.”
The Youngstown Phantoms Collection
The Youngstown Phantoms just finished off a season that saw them win the Clark Cup. The Blue Jackets being only a couple of hours away would have an easy drive to the Covelli Center or where ever the Phantoms had a game.
The Blue Jackets used their next two picks on a pair of Phantoms players in William Whitelaw and Andrew Strathmann. Whitelaw scored the winning goal that sent the Phantoms to the Clark Cup Final. Like Brindley, Whitelaw is undersized at 5-foot-9. But he let’s his game do the talking.
“We were a group of guys who were resilient,” Whitelaw said of the season. “We stuck together everyday. We came to the rink and at the end of the year, we were still having fun going to the rink. We never wanted the season to end. In my suit, we have a quote that says ‘live forever.’ That’s something huge for me and my team. It was just an unbelievable experience to go from 2-7 to winning the Clark Cup.”
The former first-overall pick in the USHL Futures Draft is committed to Wisconsin for the 2023-24 season. As our Matthew Zator put it, he could be the next Yanne Gourde. “Blessed with speed, creativity, and a motor that never quits, the 5-foot-9 dynamo could be another Yanni Gourde – undersized, but bursting with skill and an unwavering compete level.”
Whitelaw’s coach Ryan Ward agrees.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen a hockey player work that hard. He was backchecking. He was tracking, he was heavy, he was hard. He’s made for those moments. Let’s be honest, Will Whitelaw is a future NHL player and he’s an unbelievable kid.”
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Strathmann meanwhile joins Whitelaw as a Blue Jackets’ prospect. He is a mobile, offensive minded defenseman who has no trouble playing and competing against bigger competition. He stands at 5-foot-11. Here’s Horn on Strathmann.
“Strathmann doesn’t get frazzled by oncoming forecheckers, confidently skating or passing the puck out of his defensive zone with good puck protection instincts and stretch passes. His physical play is more advanced than you would typically expect from a sub-6-foot defender, as he bangs around a bit and is hard to play against in board battles. Strathmann’s offensive game is at its best when he’s posted at the point, with the freedom to walk the blueline to open up passing lanes that he hits consistently.”
Strathmann will play another USHL season in 2023-24 and then is committed to the University of North Dakota for 2024-25. He will have plenty of opportunity to develop and is an option down the road for the NHL.
The Other Picks
Here is a quick run down of the other picks the Blue Jackets made on Thursday.
- Luca Pinelli: Another skilled, undersized player but says he has a lot of Brad Marchand in him and told us he models his game after Mitch Marner. He’s fearless and is not afraid to play in the hard areas against bigger competition.
- Melvin Strahl: A 6-foot-3 goalie who played with MoDo in Sweden. He was unranked by NHL Central Scouting.
- Oiva Keskinen: A late-developing overager who was part of Tappara who won a championship.
Then the best moment of the day came right at the end. The Blue Jackets thought they made their last pick. The Vegas Golden Knights had the very last pick but then made a trade with the Blue Jackets. The Blue Jackets acquired the 224th pick and selected Tyler Peddle. Peddle was at Bridgestone Arena and got to enjoy a surreal moment with his family.
“I had a feeling,” Peddle said. “I’m not really sure how to put it. We weren’t sure where I was going to go. I felt like I was one of those guys. who could have went anywhere. So that’s one reason I was staying. But I had a feeling and I guess sometimes that gut feeling is right…All I know is I’m going to go into camp and do everything I can and prove myself as a player. I think that’s a pretty important thing to me. And then we’ll see from there.”
Coaching Announcement & Free Agency
As has been widely expected, the Blue Jackets will announce Mike Babcock as their next head coach on Saturday. He is expected to meet with the media that same day on the morning of free agency opening. According to Pierre LeBrun, it’s a two-year deal at $4 million per season.
As for free agency, we’ll see how the Blue Jackets go into it now that they drafted Fantilli. With the belief he could make the team out of camp, the need to address center may not be as drastic as it once was.
But the Blue Jackets could still make a move or two for depth or if they feel there’s a logjam somewhere. They have time to let the market unfold and let things come to them.
With the salary cap playing a major factor in everything, it will be interesting to see how things develop in both signings and trades. Free agency officially opens at noon eastern on Saturday July 1.
For now though, the Blue Jackets used the week in Nashville to improve their future outlook dramatically. Most of the experts agree. Now we’ll see how it all shakes out.