Another brick in the foundation for the Blue Jackets.
On Tuesday, the club officially announced the signing of impressive Swedish forward Emil Bemstrom. The 19-year-old Bemstrom was the Blue Jackets' fourth-round pick (No. 117 overall) in the 2017 NHL Draft.
It's been a fast rise up the organizational depth chart for Bemstrom, who has enjoyed success in the Swedish Hockey League at a young age. He scored 23 goals and 35 points in 47 games with Djurgarden in 2018-19, average just under 14 minutes of ice time per game (13:47).
Per a Blue Jackets statement, Bemstrom led the SHL in goals and power play goals and captured the SHL's Rookie of the Year and Swedish Junior Hockey Player of the Year awards after leading all rookies in goals, points and power play goals.
His 23 goals were tied with Tomas Sandstrom (1982-83), Peter Forsberg (1992-93) and Patric Hornqvist (2006-07) for the third-most by a teenager in a season in league history, trailing only Kent Nilsson (28, 1975-76) and Elias Pettersson (24, 2017-18). He added 5-5-10 in 19 playoff games to help the club advance to the SHL final.
The Blue Jackets have high hopes for Bemstrom, who is expected to make the jump to North America in 2019-20 and potentially compete for a roster spot this fall.
Video highlights courtesy of YouTube user SpecmenceCBJ. Check out his channel.
