Welcome to the 2015 edition of “Top Shelf Prospects”. As we go through the Summer of 2015 I will be featuring a team-by-team look at the top prospects in the NHL. I will go team by team through the NHL bringing you a look at each Teams Top Prospects. I will be following the order of the first round of the NHL draft (as if there were no traded draft picks) and you can find all the articles here. Since we had an extensive NHL Draft preview, I will not be reviewing the players who were drafted in the 2015 draft, as there have been no games since then, and my reports on them will not have changed. What I will be doing is linking you to those articles, as well as taking a look at prospects that were acquired before this year’s draft; their progress, and their chances of making the 2015-16 roster of the NHL team in question. I will also bring you one sleeper pick – a player who was either drafted in the 4th-round or later, or was an undrafted free agent signing who I pick as my darkhorse to make the NHL. For those wondering, the cut-off for what is or isn’t a prospect is typically about 50 NHL games played or being 25 years old. These are not hard or fast rules though, and I may make some exceptions depending on the circumstances.

Coming off a playoff appearance, and hard fought series with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2014, much was expected of the Columbus Blue Jackets last season. Unfortunately, a string of injuries (especially early in the season) doomed the club and they fell out of playoff contention early. The Jackets were one of the NHL’s hottest clubs down the stretch and while that still wasn’t enough to make the playoffs, it did show that when healthy, the club can do damage. This off-season they have added Brandon Saad from the Stanley Cup Champion Blackhawks, as well as signing Gregory Campbell who has plenty of playoff experience from his time with the Boston Bruins. Outside of that one big move, and one small move the Blue Jackets are relying on being a bit healthier next year to help them return to the playoffs.

2015 Players Drafted: Zach Werenski, Gabriel Carlsson, Paul Bittner, Kevin Stenlund, Keegan Kolesar, Sam Ruopp, Veeti Vainio, Vladislav Gavrikov, Markus Nutivaara

Graduates: Alexander Wennberg, Michael Chaput, Kevin Connauton, Cody Goloubef

Columbus Blue Jackets Prospects

Top Prospect: Oliver Bjorkstrand, Right Wing

Born Apr 10 1995 — Herning, Denmark

Height 6.00 — Weight 174 [183 cm/79 kg] — Shoots Right

Drafted by Columbus Blue Jackets in round 3 #89 overall 2013 NHL Entry Draft

Oliver Bjorkstrand had a monster year in the WHL, leading the league in goals, and in points, and being named the best player in the league. He was also a huge part of a Denmark team that not only survived relegation, but managed to get their first ever win at the World Junior Hockey Championships. He even played for Denmark’s senior men’s team at the World Championships. Overall it was enough to catapult him up to the number one spot on Columbus’ prospect rankings.

Bjorkstrand is a natural sniper who has very heavy wrist and snap shots, along with an excellent one-timer. His shooting arsenal features an excellent release which he uses to fool goaltenders when he is coming down the wing on a rush, or after setting up in the offensive zone. He has a real knack for getting open either by trailing slightly behind on rush, or by finding the soft spot in the defence to unleash his vast shooting arsenal. A tad undersized, has outstanding stickhandling and is tough to knock off the puck. He is very shifty and is able to avoid checks and buy time for his teammates to get open. He is an underrated playmaker with very good vision and passing skills. Bjorkstrand attempts to go to the key areas, and shows no lack of intensity in battling for pucks along the boards, but he must continue to add muscle and get stronger before he is able to really be successful in this aspect of his game.

Bjorkstrand is a quick skater, but is not overly fast in terms of straight line speed. His acceleration is good though, and his ability to change gears allows him to beat defenders off the rush. Bjorkstrand has great agility, and edgework. This makes him very shifty, and able to avoid hits from defenders both on the rush, and when he cyles the puck. His agility and quickness allow him to elude defenders and buy time to make plays for teammates. His lateral movement is very good and Bjorkstrand is able to weave his way in and out of traffic. Bjorkstand has good balance and is harder to knock off the puck than you would expect, but again still has some bulking up to do.

Bjorkstrand is a solid defender capable of playing a good two way game. He doesn’t quit on the back check and his quickness and hockey sense allow him to anticipate plays and cause turnovers. When he does so, he is able to quickly transition that turnover into instant offence. Responsible in his assignments and cutting off passing and shooting lanes, the Winterhawks have been known to use Bjorkstrand on the penalty kill.

Bjorkstrand will hope to carry his momentum into Blue Jackets camp and fight for a spot on the big club. With an outstanding camp he could claim that spot, but its more likely he will start in the AHL and be used as an injury call-up this season. That said, Bjorkstrand’s game is well rounded enough that he isn’t far away from the NHL.

#2 Prospect: Sonny Milano, Left Wing/Centre

Born May 12 1996 — Massapequa, NY

Height 6.00 — Weight 190 [183 cm/86 kg] — shoots Left

Drafted by Columbus Blue Jackets – round 1 #16 overall 2014 NHL Entry Draft

After being drafted by the Jackets, Sonny Milano decided to head the CHL route, playing for Plymouth instead of going to Boston College. It seems like the right decision, as the youngster had a good year in the OHL getting 68 points in 50 games on a weaker club. He also played for the US in the World Juniors, and made his pro debut scoring five points in ten AHL games. A left wing during his time with the US NTDP, Milano played some centre this year, and it remains to be seen if the Jackets seen him as a centre or wing going forward.

Sonny Milano has good top end speed, but his quickness is outstanding. By that I mean that he has a tremendous first step, great acceleration, and the ability to change direction on a dime. This really helps him to get by defencemen as the moment he sees an opening, he can fly through it. His ability to change speeds is deceptive and makes him very elusive. Milano also has very good agility and edgework. His balance and strength on the puck would be improved by adding more muscle to his frame.

Milano has great hands and the ability to make plays with the puck at top speed. He loves to shoot the puck, and has a great wrist shot and release. He also has a very dangerous backhand which he can get off in an instant. Milano is relentless on the puck, chasing down loose pucks in the offensive zone with reckless abandon. He wins puck battles via his determination, positioning and leverage, but can do even better if he added muscle. He is very dangerous working off the half-wall on the powerplay, as he can take advantage of smallest bit of extra time and space to create excellent scoring chances with a shot or a pass. He is a tremendous playmaker with great vision, and the ability to thread the needle and put the puck on a teammates tape.

Milano can improve his defensive game. He needs to work harder and more consistently defensively, as he can sometimes coast when his team doesn’t have the puck. He doesn’t use his skating, and his quick feet as effectively in the defensive zone as he does in the offensive zone. This can be taught going forward.

Expect Milano to play mover from the OHL to the AHL come the fall, but he’s not quite ready for the big time yet. He’s still eligible for the OHL but unlike players drafted out of that league (he was drafted out of the US NTDP), he doesn’t have to complete his OHL career before being allowed to go to the AHL. Milano is extremely talented, but still has some things to round out in his game. A realistic projection sees him getting some callups this year and fighting hard for a spot in the 2016 training camp.

#3 Prospect: Kerby Rychel, Left Wing

Born Oct 7 1994 — Torrance, CA

Height 6.01 — Weight 205 [185 cm/93 kg] — Shoots Left

Drafted by Columbus Blue Jackets – round 1 #19 overall 2013 NHL Entry Draft

Rychel had a solid first pro season, turning in 33 points in 51 games with Springfield in the AHL. He also got a callup to the big club, getting in five NHL games and picking up three assists in the process.

Rychel has a very heavy, very accurate wrist shot and an excellent release which can really fool goals and lead to him scoring a lot of goals in junior. Rychel also has a very good one timer and should be called a pure sniper. He will need to continue to use it in the AHL though, as we didn’t see him shoot as often with Springfield as he did in Windsor and Guelph. The pure goal scoring talent was apparent in the OHL, and it was a little strange to see Rychel pass up quality shots for passes in the AHL. A second year of pro hockey could see him become more confident in the tools that have brought him this far, and lead to a massive jump in his output. He also scores a ton of goals from the top of the circles. However, he can also absolutely lethal in close to the net, using his soft, quick hands to tip in shots and bury rebounds. Rychel also drives opposing goalies nuts by setting up right at the top of the opponents crease and creating traffic along with occasional contact and chaos in the goal mouth area. He also works hard in the corners and throws some big hits by getting in hard on the forecheck. He also has some decent vision, and can make plays for his linemates, especially off the cycle. Like his old man, Rychel is not afraid to play a tough game and has been known to drop the gloves from time to time.

Rychel’s skating has really improved over the last few years, but there are still some improvements necessary. He has very good top end speed, but his start up and acceleration are choppy, meaning it takes him an extra stride or two to reach that speed. He does have good agility and excellent balance and power though.

Defensively, Rychel has found some of the consistency we have criticized him for not having in the past. Over the years we’ve seen him play some really great defensive games, taking his man effectively, being involved physically, blocking shots, and really working hard on the back check. When he moves his feet, he’s a really good two way player. We also saw him be guilty of not moving his feet and puck watching at times. However, the frequency of this is way down this year, and it seems as though Rychel is maturing and developing defensively.

Like Milano and Bjorkstrand, Rychel will get involved in the camp battle for spots in Columbus. The depth and quality of forwards for the Blue Jackets is high now, and will continue to be going forward with these types of training camp battles for spots. He likely starts with Cleveland in the AHL, and wil be high on the list for call-ups.

Sleeper: Josh Anderson, Right Wing

Born May 7 1994 — Burlington, ONT

Height 6.03 — Weight 212 — Shoots Left

Drafted by Columbus Blue Jackets in the 4th round, 95th overall of the 2012 NHL Draft

Josh Anderson put up 17 points in 52 games as an AHL rookie, and even got in 6 NHL games, picking up an assist.

At 6’3, Anderson has ideal size, and he really uses it to his advantage. He is very tough to play against, getting in quickly and being very physical on the forecheck for the Knights. He also is extremely strong on the puck playing an effective cycle game and maintaining possession down low while waiting for an opportunity to take the puck to the net or pass to a teammate in a prime scoring area. Anderson scores the majority of his goals in close to the net, where he battles for position and can convert on tip ins and rebounds. His game is a very simple one, as he’s not going to wow you with fantastic puck skills but he plays a smart game.

Anderson plays well defensively, being chippy and gritty along the boards in his own end. He is willing to block shots, and do whatever it takes to help his team win. He has good anticipation and cuts down passing and shooting lanes well, helping him to be an effective penalty killer. Continuing to refine these aspects of his game is very important as I just don’t see the pure offensive skill for him to be a top line player in the NHL, and his future is likely as more of a big bodied, tough to play against, grinding forward.

Anderson should be headed to Lake Erie to continue his development. He has some potential to be a bottom six player at the NHL level, but will need to keep refining his game in the AHL.

Graduations, coupled with the Saad trade, have taken a bite out of the Columbus system that was considered one of the best in the league last summer. That said, there have also been a number of additions to mitigate those losses, while its not quite as strong as it was one year ago, it is a minor difference due to most of the additions coming in the form of 18 year old draftees and those being further away from the NHL then guys on the cusp of graduation.

In addition to the wingers listed above, there is newly drafted Paul Bittner. The centre spot is interest and if Milano ends up completing that transition it could be a real strength. The trade deadline acquisition of William Karlsson certainly added depth, while Michael Chaput is pushing for a spot in the bottom six. The blue line was strengthened this summer as six of the Blue Jackets nine draft picks in 2015 were used on defencemen, including stud puck mover Zachary Werenski (see pre-draft scouting report link in our intro) and Gabriel Carlsson. The Jackets also added Michael Paliotta in the Saad trade. They join a group with Dillon Heatherington and Ryan Collins that features good depth now. In goal, Anton Forsberg was excellent in the AHL last year, and even got some time in the NHL when Sergei Bobrovsky was hurt. He’s a couple years away from being ready for the NHL full-time though. Overall the system took some hits, but the overall quality depth remains in the upper portion of the league. Looking to those recent grads, the Jackets have a young stud in Ryan Johanssen at the NHL level. Add to that the fact that Ryan Murray is developing nicely on the blueline, Boone Jenner is a quality forward, and Alex Wennberg did not look out of place in his rookie season in the NHL, and this Jackets team should be on the rise.