COLUMBUS, Ohio  The mood is upbeat these days around the Columbus Blue Jackets front office. The NHL draft is a week away and the club has the No. 4 pick in the first round along with seven other selections. New coach Scott Arniel is settling into the job after being hired last week. And prized left wing Nikita Filatov is making plans to attend training camp this fall after spending most of last winter in his native Russia. General manager Scott Howson credited the prospect of getting new prospects for the bounce in his step. "The draft is an exciting time," he said on Thursday. "It's one of the only days in the season where you feel like you've gotten better without giving up anything. It's an exciting day and this is a really important draft for us." The Blue Jackets, who took a step back in missing the playoffs last season after making the postseason for the first time a year earlier, have taken some calls from teams wanting to acquire their first pick. The serious talk won't come until next week. Regardless, Howson has no plans to trade the selection. Taylor Hall, a quick and talented forward out of Windsor of the Ontario Hockey League, and OHL rival Tyler Seguin, a center for Plymouth, are considered the top two players available. Edmonton has first dibs, followed by Boston, then Florida. "The draft itself is deep in that there's many good players throughout," said Don Boyd, the Blue Jackets director of player personnel. "There's fewer dropoffs." Potential players the Blue Jackets might tab in the first round include defensemen Cam Fowler and Erik Gudbranson and forwards Brett Connolly, Brandon Gormley, Ryan Johansen, Jeff Skinner and Nino Niederreiter. Fowler, a 6-foot-2, 195-pound puck-mover who was a teammate of Hall's last winter, is the consensus choice to go to Columbus. The Blue Jackets took defensemen with four of their first five picks a year ago <emdash /> including John Moore at No. 21 of the first round <emdash /> but that should have no bearing on this year's draft. The Blue Jackets also have two picks in the second round (Nos. 34 and 55), two picks in the fourth (Nos. 94 and 102) and one in each of the fifth, sixth and seventh rounds. Like a lot of NHL teams, Columbus could use some depth at center and right wing on the big club and in its farm system. But that doesn't mean the Blue Jackets will try to fill those holes at the draft June 25-26 in Los Angeles. "You draft the skill and you trade (for) the position," Boyd said. In other words, teams take the best player available, regardless of position. Filatov was impressive with four goals in an eight-game trial during the 2008-09 season, putting up three goals in one game. He made the team out of camp last fall but foundered over the next month. His playing time was limited by coach Ken Hitchcock, and Filatov had difficulty finding his way. The sixth overall pick in the 2008 draft, he had just two goals in 13 games for the Blue Jackets. Only 19 years old, he was frustrated and homesick. Eventually, the Blue Jackets loaned Filatov to CSKA Moscow of the Continental Hockey League. Hitchcock was fired on Feb. 3 and the 47-year-old Arniel was hired a week ago after spending the last four seasons developing players at Manitoba of the American Hockey League. Now Columbus is certain that Filatov will be in preseason camp and might even arrive sooner for conditioning work. He would be a huge addition <emdash /> if he grows into his lofty expectations and becomes a two-way player <emdash /> for a team that was 28th of the 30 NHL teams in goals. The Blue Jackets should also be a bidder for free agents. Howson is around $10 million under the cap right now. "We'll kick some tires," he said of the search for reinforcements. "I don't think we'll be overly aggressive as we have been in the past, but we'll certainly be aware of what our needs are. And we'll be out there." Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Guidelines: You share in the USA TODAY community, so please keep your comments smart and civil. Don't attack other readers personally, and keep your language decent. Use the "Report Abuse" button to make a difference. You share in the USA TODAY community, so please keep your comments smart and civil. Don't attack other readers personally, and keep your language decent. Use the "Report Abuse" button to make a difference. Read more