Following a two-year pause due to COVID-19, the Columbus Blue Jackets will be hosting their annual development camp for prospects today, Monday, July 11 through Wednesday, July 13, at the OhioHealth Chiller North.
A tidy 29 prospects will be participating in the camp, an eclectic mix of players featuring three first-round picks, a number of recent draft picks, and nearly 10 lesser-known free agent camp invitees. Here's the skinny on each of the players:
Gone campin'
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Forwards (14)
Roman Ahcan
The 23-year-old forward spent last season with the AHL Cleveland Monsters, posting 3-4-7 in 24 games. He previously spent four seasons at the University of Wisconsin. He's likely an AHL player for the foreseeable future.
Ben Boyd
A sixth-round pick by the Blue Jackets in 2021, the 6'3" Boyd didn't have a significant statistical jump in his most recent season with the QMJHL's Charlottetown Islanders. He's known to drop the mitts.
Ben Bujold
The 2004-birthyear Bujold went undrafted in his first year of eligibility and is a camp invite. This past year was his first season of major junior hockey, posting a pedestrian 2-5-7 in 47 games for the OHL's London Knights.
Luca Del Bel Belluz
Time will tell, but it's possible the Blue Jackets found themselves a gem with their second-round pick, 44th overall, in last week's draft. The 17-year-old had an excellent statistical season with the Mississauga Steelheads of the OHL, tallying 30-46-76 in 68 games. He's definitely a player worth monitoring at camp.
Jordan Dumais
The 5'9", 165-pound Dumais was selected in the third round, 96th overall in last week's draft. There will always be questions about his size, but he's known to have some sandpaper in his game. He lit up the QMJHL, registering 39-70-109 in 68 games with the Halifax Mooseheads, finishing third in league scoring.
James Fisher
Fisher is the rare high-school prospect. The club's seventh-round pick in last week's draft hails from Belmont Hill School in Massachusetts. He's headed down the road to play for NCAA Northeastern.
Liam Hawel
If Fisher is the rare high-school prospect, Hawel is the ultra-rare Canadian USports (Canadian college hockey) player. The 23-year-old spent camp invitee spent last season playing with St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, Nova Scotia.
Kent Johnson
Johnson is arguably the organization's crown jewel prospect. He should be among the best players in camp, and it will be fascinating to watch him go up against the franchise's top defense prospects.
James Malatesta
The hard-nosed forward had a solid season with the QMJHL's Québec Remparts, posting 28-25-53 in 68 games. The 2021 fifth-round pick is known for not missing days at the gym and could be a late-round find.
Kirill Marchenko
All eyes will be on Marchenko, who is expected to compete for a roster spot after playing for St. Petersburg SKA in the KHL for years. The 49th overall pick in the 2018 draft is finally in Columbus and could be a big part of the organization for years to come.
Mikael Pyyhtiä
The 2020 fourth-rounder, 20, just capped off a monster season in Finland's Liiga, tallying 21-14-35 in 56 games. That tied him for fifth in the league in goals. He could be someone worth monitoring.
Owen Sillinger
If the name sounds familiar, it should. The older brother of Cole, the 24-year-old played in 17 games with the Monsters last season (3-6-9) after four seasons with NCAA Bemidji State.
Evan Vierling
The 20-year-old was drafted but never subsequently signed by the New York Rangers. Now a free agent, it makes sense that Columbus would offer the Barrie (OHL) forward a camp invite. He was the second overall pick in the 2018 OHL draft, so there's some pedigree there.
Jaxsen Wiebe
The Edmonton Oil Kings forward, 20, and his teammates won the Ed Chynoweth Cup for winning the WHL championship. The free agent is a development camp invitee.
Defensemen (11)
Ole Julian Bjørgvik-Holm
A teammate of Del Bel Belluz in Mississauga in 2021-22, Bjorgvik-Holm played 16 games with the Monsters in 2020-21 due to the OHL COVID-19 shutdown. He was a 2020 fifth-round pick by Columbus.
Marcus Bjork
The Blue Jackets signed the 24-year-old to a one-year, entry-level contract, in May. The Swede, who stands at 6'3", is likely an AHL defenseman in the coming season.
Nick Blankenburg
Blankenburg, a pending RFA, won't compete in the on-ice portion of the camp, per The Athletic's Aaron Portzline. The 24-year-old undrafted defenseman starred in a late-season cameo after captaining a loaded University of Michigan team to a Frozen Four appearance.
Corson Ceulemans
Ceulemans, who was the club's third first-round pick in 2021, went from being the surefire best defensive prospect in the organization to arguably third after last week's draft. But make no mistake, the 19-year-old Wisconsin Badger will be one of the top defenders in the Big Ten.
Cole Clayton
Clayton, 22, played 55 games with the Monsters last season after a long career with the WHL's Medicine Hat Tigers. He'll likely spend this season in the AHL, as well.
Eric Hjorth
The Blue Jackets took a swing on Hjorth with a fourth-round pick in 2019, after he missed almost his entire draft year due to injury. Per EliteProspects, he's slated to spend the upcoming year in Sweden's second tier-league, HockeyAllsvenskan.
Aiden Hreschuk
The 2021 third-round pick was the return in the Max Domi trade with the Carolina Hurricanes. In his freshman season at Boston College, the 19-year-old posted 1-7-8 in 37 games.
David Jiricek
If Johnson isn't the organization's crown jewel, that designation probably belongs to Jiricek. The sixth-overall pick in the 2022 draft has comparisons to NHL stalwarts like Alex Pietrangelo and Shea Weber. That'll work! It'll be worth monitoring where he plays next season - Czechia, the AHL, and the NHL are all options.
Denton Mateychuk
The 12th overall pick in this year's draft, Mateychuk starred in the WHL with Moose Jaw, a point-a-game player in the regular season and playoffs. Assuming he doesn't make the team out of camp, he'll be returned to the WHL, where he should be among the best defensemen in the entire CHL.
Guillaume Richard
A 4th-round pick in the 2021 draft, Richard eschewed the QMJHL for college hockey. He had a promising freshman campaign at Providence College and will look to build on that in 2022-23.
Cameron Supryka
The 20-year-old was never drafted and is a camp invitee. He played 63 games in the OHL this past season and tallied 1-16-17, so there isn't much there by way of offense.
Goalies (4)
Pavel Cajan
The 19-year-old is a free agent invitee to the camp. The Czech-born goalie made the move to North America in 2021-22, playing for the OHL's Kitchener Rangers.
Jet Greaves
Greaves is the only familiar face in this goaltending group, as he parlayed an appearance at the 2019 Columbus development camp into a spot on the Traverse City roster. Last year, the 21-year-old split time between the Monsters and ECHL Kalamazoo.
Nolan Maier
The 21-year-old just finished his junior hockey career while backstopping the Saskatoon Blades of the WHL. The undrafted Maier will use this camp as a showcase for his future.
Mathis Rousseau
In his first year in the QMJHL, the 5'11", 161 lb goalie put up strong numbers as the backup in Halifax. Still just 17, the undrafted netminder will be using the camp as a springboard into his next season in the 'Q'.
