NHL Prospect Watch: Columbus Blue Jackets
Ahead of the 2024-25 hockey season, we’re diving into the WHL prospect pool for each of the NHL’s 32 teams. Throughout the series, we’ll highlight WHLers who have been signed to an NHL contract, were recently drafted, or are included in the NHL’s definition of a rookie.
The up-and-coming Columbus Blue Jackets’ prospect pool features recent WHL Champions and a slew of 2024 NHL Entry Draft selections.
Cole Clayton
Former Medicine Hat Tigers alternate captain Cole Clayton stepped up and forced the Columbus Blue Jackets to take notice in 2023-24. After a career-best professional season with the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters, the 6-foot-2, 199-pound defenceman earned a one-year, entry-level contract with the Jackets. The 24-year-old lit the lamp five times and tacked on 15 helpers for 20 points and a +4 rating through 59 matches. Clayton added another goal and a +4 rating in eight playoff games during Cleveland’s run to the AHL Eastern Conference Finals. Clayton played parts of five seasons with the Medicine Hat Tigers from 2017-21, amassing 88 points (17 goals, 71 assists) and a +27 plus/minus rating in 214 career WHL games, notably leading all defencemen in goals (nine) and points (30) in the pandemic-shortened 2020-21 season.
Then, only 21 seconds later, Cole Clayton wrangles the puck off an Owen Sillinger pass for the long shot and jaw-dropping goal!
The Cleveland Monsters are up 2-0 over the Lehigh Valley Phantoms 8:54 into the first.#CLEvsLV https://t.co/eMlVfZgZLj pic.twitter.com/tFcl3D2K69
— Deana Weinheimer (@DeanaWeinheimer) April 6, 2024
Charlie Elick
With an imposing 6-foot-4, 202-pound frame and a coveted right-hand shot, Columbus snapped up defenceman Charlie Elick with the 36th overall pick early in the second round of the 2024 NHL Entry Draft. The 18-year-old hit new highs in his second full WHL season, putting up four goals (including two game-winners) and 23 assists for 27 points in 65 regular season games. Elick, who often takes on a shutdown role, also netted his first major junior postseason points with three assists in four games against the eventual champion Moose Jaw Warriors. The Calgary, Alta. product also added a pair of gold medals to his trophy case, finishing in first place at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup and the 2024 IIHF World U18 Championship, adding five assists between the two events.
Hey #cbj fans, wondering what your new D-man is all about? Let’s just say the cannon won’t be the only thing booming when Charlie Elick is on the ice! pic.twitter.com/WXyfwunByW
— Brandon Wheat Kings (@bdnwheatkings) June 29, 2024
Evan Gardner
WHL Rookie and Humanitarian of the Year nominee Evan Gardner is coming off a season for the record books. The Saskatoon Blades netminder put the league on notice with a staggering 25-5-0-2 record to lead all qualified WHL goalies and help the Blades seal a 50-win season and the Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy as regular season champions. He set a single-season franchise record with a 1.91 goals-against average and .927 save percentage while tying for second in shutouts with four clean sheets. The Fort St. John, B.C. product made 30 or more stops on seven occasions, including a career-high 39 saves in a 5-4 overtime win against Moose Jaw in the 2024 WHL Playoffs. Gardner started 15 of Saskatoon’s 21 postseason matches, going 10-1-3 with a 2.13 goals-against average (ranking second in the WHL) a .910 save percentage and one shutout, coming within one win of reaching the WHL Championship Series. Columbus called his name 60th overall in the second round of this year’s draft, making Gardner the fourth-highest drafted goalie in 2024.
Evan Gardner see puck, Evan Gardner stop puck 🔥#NHLDraft pic.twitter.com/DLLEpJIygS
— Saskatoon Blades (@BladesHockey) April 27, 2024
Samuel Knazko
Former Seattle Thunderbirds defenceman Samuel Knazko spent his second professional season with the Monsters, scoring twice and adding 10 assists for 12 points in 44 regular-season matches. He made his AHL playoff debut in the spring with one assist in two games. The Slovakian blueliner spent half a season in Seattle in 2021-22, putting up 20 points in 27 games before helping the squad reach the WHL Championship Series. He was drafted by Columbus 78th overall in the third round of the 2020 NHL Entry Draft. The 21-year-old also had an assist at the 2022 Winter Olympics, where he helped Slovakia to a bronze medal.
#ICYMI: Samuel Knazko lets one rip from the left circle. @monstershockey | #LAVvsCLE pic.twitter.com/ykiUQHtI2N
— American Hockey League (@TheAHL) April 12, 2024
Cayden Lindstrom
The top WHL pick in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft at fourth overall, Cayden Lindstrom is a power forward teams dream about. The 6-foot-3, 213-pound centre improved on his point totals from his rookie season with the Medicine Hat Tigers despite playing half as many games due to an injury. Lindstrom lit the lamp 27 times (including nine powerplay goals and two game-winners) and notched 19 assists for 46 points and a +12 rating in 32 regular season games, plus a goal and assist in four playoff matches. He earned eight multi-goal games and hit a career high with a two-goal, three-assist tilt against the Edmonton Oil Kings on October 27. Lindstrom was named the winner of the 2024 CHL Top Draft Prospect Award, becoming the second-straight WHL player to snag the recognition after Connor Bedard in 2023. Lindstrom was previously nominated for the WHL Rookie of the Year Award in 2023 after a 42-point (19 goals, 23 assists) campaign. Tigers Head Coach Willie Desjardins says Lindstrom’s skill, shot and explosiveness translate to the NHL level, while Lindstrom has also set his sights on representing Team Canada at the 2024 IIHF World Junior Championship. The 18-year-old also grew up in Chetwynd, B.C.- about a 40-minute drive from fellow Blue Jackets prospect Evan Gardner’s hometown.
🎥CAYDEN LINDSTROM – HIGHLIGHT REEL🎥
The CHL’s Top Prospect Award-winner is checking in!@tigershockey | #NHLDraft pic.twitter.com/kJe5luTSoa
— The WHL (@TheWHL) June 7, 2024
Denton Mateychuk
One of Columbus’s most hotly anticipated prospects, Moose Jaw Warriors Captain and WHL Defenceman of the Year Denton Mateychuk is coming off a dominant performance in a championship season. The blueliner was named 2024 WHL Playoffs Most Valuable Player after racking up 11 goals and 19 assists for 20 points and a +19 rating in 20 games, leading all WHL defencemen in scoring and finishing second in points while claiming Moose Jaw’s first WHL Championship. The 2022 12th overall pick came up big in key moments- like scoring a pair of powerplay goals to force overtime against Portland in Game 3 of the final round and a mind-boggling one-goal, five-assist performance against the Swift Current Broncos to tie their second-round series and come within a point of tying the WHL record for points in a single playoff game by a blueliner. The 20-year-old registered seven points (three goals, four assists) in four games at the 2024 Memorial Cup and was named to the tournament’s All-Star Team. The Dominion City, Man. product also went on a 23-game point early in the season and set a new franchise record for points by a defenceman with his 215th point on March 17. Postseason, Mateychuk made his pro debut in the Calder Cup Playoffs with Cleveland, adding three assists in four outings.
Denton Mateychuk AGAIN!
The #WHLPlayoffs MVP has his third goal of the #MemorialCup!@MJWARRIORS | @BlueJacketsNHL pic.twitter.com/1J8pbXEWYT
— The WHL (@TheWHL) May 29, 2024
Martin Rysavy
Call it a breakout year for Czech winger Martin Rysavy. The veteran WHLer closed out his junior career with 25 goals, 19 assists, 44 points and a +17 rating in 63 regular season games with Mateychuk and the Moose Jaw Warriors. The 6-foot-3, 209-pound forward menaced the opposition in playoffs, adding six goals (two game-winners) and 10 assists for 16 points in 20 contests en route to a WHL Championship. Rysavy’s finest moment came in Game 4 of the WHL Championship Series against Portland, where he potted the game-opening goal and an empty-netter to seal Moose Jaw’s first-ever Ed Chynoweth Cup. The 21-year-old graduates from the WHL with 44 goals, 59 assists, 103 points and a +24 rating in 155 matches. Selected by the Blue Jackets in the seventh round of the 2021 NHL Entry Draft, Rysavy will begin his pro career overseas with HC Bílí Tygři Liberec of the Czech Extraliga.
Trust us, nobody is out-muscling Martin Rysavy out front!💪
The @MJWARRIORS strike first!@BlueJacketsNHL | #WHLChampionship | #FeedingtheFuture pic.twitter.com/gh4ms1jqru
— The WHL (@TheWHL) May 16, 2024
Stanislav Svozil
Former Regina Pats blueliner Stanislav Svozil made a splash in his first full season in the professional ranks. The 21-year-old scored five goals and 18 assists for 23 points in 57 games with the Monsters, finishing second in assists and third in points among all rookie skaters in Cleveland. Svozil tallied his first professional goal and multi-point game on November 10 with a goal and an assist in a 4-2 win over the Belleville Senators. The 6-foot, 192-pound defenceman was chosen with the 69th overall pick in the third round of the 2021 NHL Entry Draft. Svozil made his NHL debut at the end of the 2022-23 regular season campaign, netting one assist in two games with Columbus. The Prerov, Czechia product had 11 goals and 67 assists for 78 points as the alternate captain of the Pats in 2022-23, earning WHL East Division First All-Star Team and Canadian Hockey League Third All-Star Team honours.
believe us – you're gonna want to watch this 30 seconds of OT😲
(spoiler alert… it ends with a game-winning goal from Stan 🎉) pic.twitter.com/Cu8tjDYzny
— Cleveland Monsters (@monstershockey) April 20, 2024
Loading ...