Before the 2016 NHL Draft, I began the annual tradition of doing a few draft-related Q&A’s including one with Mark Seidel, who is the Chief Scout for North American Central Scouting. As someone who shares his educated thoughts on every team’s draft class, I thought I’d ask him some questions on the Blue Jackets' 2018 draft.
Q: In your Deep Thoughts draft grades, you gave the Blue Jackets’ draft a B. Could you elaborate on your thoughts of Columbus' draft class?
MS: I think in (first round pick, Liam) Foudy they got the fastest-rising player in the Draft. He can skate and might be the best athlete in the draft while playing for the best coach in junior hockey in Dale Hunter. History has shown us that players generally keep getting better under Hunter, and Foudy won't be the exception. (Second round pick, Kirill) Marchenko has phenomenal upside and is one of the top-8 offensive threats in the draft with his skills. Tim Berni was good value and scooping (goaltender, Veini) Vehvilainen away from teams hoping to sign him after the draft was a very crafty move.
Q: Some saw Foudy as a reach when he was drafted at 18th overall. Who do you think were the best value and biggest reach picks of the Draft?
MS: I thought the biggest reach was Jacob Bernard Docker by Ottawa at No. 26. A good player, but I think they could have gotten him later and there were far better players on the board and I thought the best value pick in the draft was by Dallas at No. 137 getting Riley Damiani.
Q: The McKeen’s draft guide rated Foudy as the eighth-best skater in the draft and second-fastest skater. Where would you rate him in these categories?
MS: We didn't do category rankings this year, but I'd think that he is better than the eighth-best skater and his speed is incredible, so No. 2 isn't far off.
Q: Most of the tweets I saw after the Jackets selected the Finnish goalie Vehvilainen had some variation of “finally.” What made him popular among scouts?
MS: Veini has been a favorite of ours for a long time because he is a bit of a throwback. His size and consistency has been an issue as to why teams have passed on him for a few years, but he has the ability to steal games. He makes saves as opposed to blocking pucks, and that is a skill that is very important for goalies under 6-foot-4.
Q: Jarmo has been praising Swedish prospect Jonathan Davidsson a lot. Do you think he’ll make the Jackets out of camp this season?
MS: I can't speak to Davidsson's status too much lately because once guys are drafted, we can lose track of them a bit. I can say that we liked Davidsson for both the 2016 and 2017 Draft, so we were encouraged when the Jackets stepped up to take him in 2017 despite being a '97 birthdate.
Q: The Jackets have made a habit out of drafting players passed over in previous Drafts, why do you think this is?
MS: This is the new trend in the NHL and I think the Blue Jackets are very much one of the teams that are going all-in on the concept. Teams are starting to realize that a lot of players have been slipping through the cracks due to injuries, playing situations or lack of exposure and whereas they used to be reticent to draft guys coming through for a second or third time, they have now decided it is better to draft them and own their rights. These “late” players are a year or two more mature and teams can get a better feel on the potential of the player down the road. This trend is the reason that there is discussion about moving the draft age back a year and I think it will happen sooner rather than later.
Q: Vitaly Abramov is widely believed to be team’s top prospect. Do you think we’ll see him in the NHL this season, and what type of impact do you think he can make in his career?
MS: I'd agree that Abramov is the team’s top prospect and although I think he has the ability to play in the NHL this season, it won't shock me if he starts the year in the AHL. Jarmo is very smart and patient, and that will give Vitaly the chance to get accustomed to pro hockey and keep getting stronger. However, he certainly has the talent whereby he could go into (training) camp, blow (the Jackets) away and force them to keep him because of his elite offensive abilities.
Q: How effective of an NHL defenseman do you think Vladislav Gavrikov can be, and is he as NHL-ready as Jarmo has been saying?
MS: Gavrikov was another guy that we really liked in his original draft year because of his international play with Russia. A hard-nosed competitive guy that has continued to keep getting better. He has shown the leadership that his coaches spoke of when he was younger. I don't think he will ever been an offensive threat but he can be a shutdown defender and I can certainly see him playing in the NHL.
Q: In his post-Draft press conference, Jarmo said, “We don't do our rankings based on anyone else's rankings.” What are some things Jarmo's staff does differently than others to find these late-round gems (e.g. Markus Nutivaara, Vehvilainen)?
MS: Every team follows that same philosophy and for anyone to suggest that teams change their lists significantly because of an Independent Scouting Service opinion (even ours) is silly. Jarmo has built a great staff that he has full confidence in and they work tremendously hard. As a result, Jarmo has been willing to "go off the conventional board" if his guys love a guy and I think they have been rewarded for that philosophy.
Editor's Note: Jas Chaffin (@CBJProspects) is the go-to source for information on the Blue Jackets prospects pipeline, and if you're not already following him on Twitter, fix that now.
