Columbus Blue Jackets prospect Jordan Dumais is playing like a man possessed for the Halifax Mooseheads of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL).
Last week, Dumais hit the 100-point mark for the second consecutive season, a remarkable feat considering he's still only 18 years old. Dumais, who was drafted in the third-round 96th overall in 2022, was leading the entire Canadian Junior Hockey (CHL) circuit in scoring until Connor Bedard posted a casual six-point night on Wednesday. Still, second place is no slouch. Among active QMJHL players, Dumais has the second (last season) and third (this season) most prolific seasons.
After a five-assist night last night, Jordan Dumais leapt past Connor Bedard for the CHL scoring lead. #CBJ
— Scott Wheeler (@scottcwheeler) January 22, 2023
On pace for the best U19 QMJHL season since Sidney Crosbys 18 years ago.
So, what's the catch? Dumais is listed at 5'9", 174, and isn't known as a high-end skater. He gets around fine, and he's a competitive player, but there just isn't a long list of 5'9" wingers that don't count skating as their best asset floating around the NHL. While he's definitely a player on the rise, The Athletic's Corey Pronman has said on draft-related podcasts that Dumais would likely be a late-first or second-round pick in a redraft. The Athletic's Scott Wheeler recently ranked him as the 24th best-drafted prospect in hockey. Both say essentially the same thing: he's definitely improved his stock but is not a 'can't-miss-prospect'. In a perfect world, Dumais would head to the AHL next season, as he clearly has nothing more to prove in the QMJHL.
But that's an issue. Thanks to the CHL-NHL Transfer Agreement, for an NHL draft prospect to leave the QMJHL, WHL, or OHL to play minor-league hockey, he must be 20 years old (by Dec. 31 of that season) or have played four seasons in that league. Dumais, who has an April birthday, will still be 19 next season, and he won't have played in four junior seasons. In other words, it's NHL or bust (yes, the QMJHL is bust) for Dumais.
Jordan. Dumais.
— CBJ Center (@CBJcenter) February 19, 2023
He has a career high 7 points against Moncton with 4 goals! All 4 goals
He now has 105 points on the season and 28 points on a 10 game point streak pic.twitter.com/ZkbKCiVfX7
Can Dumais make the Blue Jackets roster out of camp? That will be among the most intriguing training camp storylines this fall.
If he doesn't make the opening night roster, I wonder if the Blue Jackets will explore the possibility of finding a place for Dumais to play in Europe. The organization is well-connected abroad, and it would allow the young winger a chance to play professional hockey against men while still optimizing for development.
To some, Dumais may harken back to memories of another talented, smallish Blue Jackets third-round pick prospect who torched the QMJHL - Vitaly Abramov. Abramov, who was seen by some in the scouting community as the next great point-producer, never could quite make the leap from junior to pro and was dealt in 2019 as part of the Matt Duchene trade. He's in the KHL after playing five NHL games with the Ottawa Senators over three seasons.
And while I'm in no way suggesting that Dumais will follow Abramov's unfortunate career trajectory, it is important to remember that even the most promising young prospects are, well, prospects.
No forwards from the 2022 draft have seen a bigger jump in production than Jimmy Snuggerud and Jordan Dumais. pic.twitter.com/6OFmGuU7YF
— Byron Bader (@ByronMBader) November 28, 2022
With that said, I do wonder if Dumais may be an enticing trade chip for the Blue Jackets. Drafting a winger in the third round and watching his stock skyrocket overnight is pretty astute asset management, and if the club could use him as part of a package to acquire, say, Jakob Chychrun, that would be palatable.
Suffice it to say that Dumais is not concerned with any of this. He continues his nightly crusade through the QMJHL, and only time will tell if he's in the same barns torturing the same junior hockey league in 2023-24.
