Blue Jackets 2024 Draft Recap

The first action of the draft began for the Blue Jackets early, on Friday when the team traded its 1 round pick, 15 overall to the wheeling and dealing Canadiens. Moving back to 25 overall in exchange for a 4th round pick in the current draft as well as a 2nd round pick next year. 25 overall had been previously aquired from the Islanders earlier in the day and was quickly dealt a few hours later by the Habs. Anonymous sources reported the Blue Jackets were willing to trade back under the assumption that target Cole Eiserman would be gone by the 15th pick, in actuality Eiserman was selected 16th overall.
During the 5th round the Jackets made a second deal, this time with the Senators sending pick 153 in exchange for depth forward Nic Aube-Kubel along with $3 million. The team could not pass up such a generous cash offer, especially with it being amoung the league's poorest teams and with free agency fast approaching.

Sacha Boisvert, C - 25 overall
With Adam Jiricek still on the board waiting to be united with his older broker David, the Blue Jackets instead drafted center Sacha Boisvert out of the USHL. Word out of the draft floor is that there was some division amongst the team's scounting staff about the pick but ultimately the GM won the argument and selected the player with the higher upside in Boisvert. Considered to be a bit of a risky pick, the power forward has good hands, a good shot and good vision but his skating and consistency will need to improve if he's going to have an impact at the NHL level. Boisvert's next stop will be at the NCAA level with the University of North Dakota where the team hopes to see his game continue to flourish.

Ben Danford, D - 47 overall
The Jackets were ecstatic to have Danford land in their lap midway through the second round, a player they had a first round grade on. Danford saw great improvement during his draft season and became a top player for a strong Oshawa Generals team. The defence and skating are already good and improvement in puck handling and offensive instinct will help him become a top 4 defenceman at the NHL level.

Noel Fransen, D - 111 overall
Fransen was a near point per game player in the Swedish U20 league as a defenceman and jumped out to scouts as a strong skater and offensive mind from the back end. The team is eager to learn how Fransen will fair against larger and faster players at higher levels overseas, but he's shown enough already to make the team hope he could someday quaterback the Blue Jackets powerplay.

Carson Wetsch, RW - 114 overall
In the fourth round the team opted for a safer pick, selecting Wetsch out of the WHL. Wetsch projects as a bottom six type at the pro level, a strong skater and hard worker who isn't shy about throwing his body around. Having said that, you don't score 25 goals for the Hitmen on accident and Wetsch has a great shot and one-timer. He will need to become more creative in the offensive end in order to reach a higher ceiling, but the tools are there for him to be an offensive contributor as a pro.

Ruslan Khazheyev, G - 143 overall
For the first time in franchise history the Blue Jackets drafted a goaltender. Khazheyev is an overager after going undrafted in the 2023 EHE Entry Draft but put up another very strong season overseas in the Russian MHL.  At 6'4" Khazheyev is a big body but also has great mobility and speed in the net. With such a large frame he could improve by simply playing a more conservative style and the coaching staff hopes it can iron out those positioning troubles and ease his aggressione to help Ruslan reach another level. 

Ollie Josephson, C - 155 overall
Josephson was a shtudown defensive specialist for the Red Deer Rebels of the WHL last season. He skates well and he battles hard and combines that with an advanced thinking about how to defend both on and off the puck. The other end of the ice is where the player has struggles, he's not flashy or creative in the offensive zone but he does forecheck ferociously. Josephson may never have the offensive touch or creativity to play above a 3rd or 4th line level in the NHL, but there is plenty of room for a player like him on NHL rosters.