Not all draft picks are created equal.
Each draft has blind spots and each team can't come out with the very best player in every round. It is important to develop and patch up where the player has faults.
Columbus Blue Jackets draft picks are no different. Without a first round pick this year, the team had picked some off the board players.
These are the scouting reports for the players the Blue Jackets selected.
Center Alexandre Texier (2nd Round, 45th Selection)
“Texier has excellent skating fundamentals. He is able to generate speed through cross-overs effectively and is consistently moving his feet, which allows him to generate separation from defenders. When he receives the puck on either wall, he has a great habit of opening up to the play, which gives his defenseman an easy target to pass to, and allows him to use his quick cross-overs to generate speed and get a head start up ice.”
“Attracting a lot of attention from NHL scouts despite playing in France for Grenoble Les Bruleurs de Loup. Displays good size and strength. Skates well, with a good stride and nice edge control. A guy with great upside and lots of development potential. It will be interesting to see where he will continue his career.”
Goaltender Daniil Tarasov (3rd round, 86th selection)
Wonderful performance at the U18s (5 GP – 2.11 GAA, .921 SV%) has made him all the rage in some scouting circles.
Center/Right Wing Emil Bemström (4th round, 117th selection)
"First and foremost, Bemstrom is a shooter. He averaged over three shots on goal per game, and two posts. His release and power are top-notch, and he constantly changes the shooting angle with quick lateral moves. A compact, deceptively explosive stride enables him to dart into open spaces, particularly around the net, which how he scores most of his goals."
"Bemstrom loves to score goals. His shot is decent, and he can beat goalies from distance (usually with the help of a screen or a change in angles), but he typically scores from in tight. He doesn’t drive the puck to the net (he doesn’t really have the size to do so), but he darts in and out of danger areas, gets his stick on rebounds and quickly deposits them into openings."
Center Kale Howarth (5th round, 148th selection)
"Howarth’s improved quite a bit over the past few seasons, particularly from a first draft eligible season that saw him put up just 11 points in AAA Midget. The fact that he’s put himself on the radar is impressive. His size and collegiate aspirations may get his foot in the door with NHL clubs, as a team selecting him would keep his rights until he leaves college. He’s committed to the University of Connecticut Huskies for 2017-18, so he’ll have time to continue to develop. Right now he’s a very raw player with a lot of question marks, but his big frame gives him a good base to build upon."
Right Wing Jonathan Davidsson (6th round, 170th selection)
Right Wing Carson Meyer (6th round, 179th selection)
"Played in 32 games … tallied 26 points on 10 goals and 16 assists with at least one point in 21 contests … went +1 or better 10 times … notched five multi-point games … scored first-collegiate goal in a victory at Providence (10/8) … dished out a season-high three assists in a 5-0 win against Maine (10/22) … also scored a goal and assisted on the overtime winner against Bowling Green (10/28) … netted a goal and an assist in a comeback win at Ohio State (12/31) … also had a goal and an assist at Omaha (1/20) … after missing four games due to an illness, came back to post a six-game point streak from Dec. 2-Jan. 6."
Defenseman Robbie Stucker (7th round, 210th selection
"Stucker graduated from St. Thomas Academy this past spring, collecting a career-high 40 points, including 32 assists, in 25 games during his senior season. The 6-foot-3 defenseman is expected to join the Tigers in the fall of 2018."
