The Blue Jackets annual development camp 3-on-3 tournament is tomorrow, with players from all around the world here in Columbus to participate.
36 players will be at #CBJ Development Camp beginning tomorrow morning at 10am in the OhioHealth Ice Haus.https://t.co/mLXRGnr1Dv
— CBJ Public Relations (@BlueJacketsPR) June 24, 2019
Here's a quick primer on each of the 36 players:
Forwards
Tyler Angle | #39, 2019 7th Round Pick, Windsor, OHL
Angle is a smallish center who just finished his third season with the Spitfires of the OHL. His production (20-24-44 in 58 games) was just enough to get him drafted, but he's considered a long-term project at this point.
Liam Foudy | #16, 2018 1st Round Pick, London, OHL; Cleveland, AHL
Foudy is in the short list of top prospects in the organization. Taken 18th overall a year ago, the left-handed forward is an absolute missile on the ice, and the club is hoping his skill catches up to his feet. In eight playoff games for the AHL Cleveland Monsters, Foudy had two goals.
Marcus Karlberg | #62, 2018 3rd Round Pick, Leksands, Allsvenskan
Karlberg is an offensively-gifted forward who successfully helped his Leksands IF club move from the Tier-2 Allsvenskan to the SHL, Sweden's top professional league, by winning their relegation matches.
Trey Fix-Wolansky | #64, 2018 7th Round Pick, Edmonton, WHL; Cleveland, AHL
The 5'7 winger has seen his stock improve since being drafted, captaining his Oil Kings team and finishing tied for fourth in the WHL with 102 points (37-65-102). Fix-Wolansky joined Cleveland for three playoff games and did not look out place, tallying 1-1-2.
Alexandre Texier | #42, 2017 3rd Round Pick, KalPa, Liiga; Cleveland, AHL; Columbus, NHL
Blue Jackets fans need no introduction to Texier, who came out of seemingly nowhere to light the AHL on fire before being promoted to the big club on the second to last game of the season. He looked incredibly comfortable against the Tampa Bay Lightning and incredibly uncomfortable against the rugged Boston Bruins. Expectations are high for the French-born winger.
Emil Bemstrom | #52, 2017 4th Round Pick, Djurgardens, SHL
Bemstrom is a name to remember. At just 19 years of age (he's 20 now), the forward led the defensively-strong SHL in goals with 23, tying Tomas Sandstrom, Peter Forsberg, and Patric Hornqvist, for the third-most goals by a teenager in a season in league history, trailing only Kent Nilsson and Elias Pettersson. He added 5-5-10 in 19 playoff games to help the club advance to the SHL final. Keep an eye out for this Swedish weapon.
Kale Howarth | #47, 2017 5th Round Pick, UConn, NCAA
Howarth had two productive seasons in the BCHL before a so-so Freshman season at the University of Connecticut, where he posted 5-6-11 in 32 games. The 22-year old, who has elite size at 6'4", 205 lbs., projects to be an AHL player at this point.
Carson Meyer | #86, 2017 6th Round Pick, Ohio State, NCAA
Meyer is infamously known for his tapeworm but proved in 2018-19 that he's still a prospect to monitor. In a top-six capacity, the Powell native tallied 9-13-22 in 36 games for the Buckeyes, who advanced to the NCAA Tournament before falling to Denver.
Derek Barach | #81, Free Agent Invite, Mercyhurst, NCAA; Cleveland, AHL
Barach joined the Monsters after a successful four years in the AHA, and produced immediately, scoring 7-4-11 in 15 regular season games in Cleveland.
Johnny Walker | #89, Free Agent Invite, Arizona State, NCAA
Walker, who was at the club's dev. camp last season, led the NCAA in goals per game with 23 goals in 32 games. The 22-year old led ASU in goals in both seasons he's played there and looks to be a target for this organization going forward.
Jake Gaudet | #76, Free Agent Invite, UMass, NCAA
Gaudet centered the Minutemen's top line as they advanced to the NCAA Finals, posting 7-15-22 in 41 games.
Devin Brosseau | #82, Free Agent Invite, Clarkson, NCAA
Brosseau has had three productive years with the Clarkson Golden Knights, Jarmo Kekalainen's alma mater.
Joshua Dunne | #69, Free Agent Invite, Clarkson, NCAA
Dunne, who's sister Jincy plays on the OSU women's team, is a 6'4" center who had 14-9-23 in his freshman year at Clarkson.
Bryaden Guy | #43, Free Agent Invite, Sarnia, OHL
Guy went undrafted in 2019 but posted 19-13-32 in 60 games for the Sting, who were swept by the Saginaw Spirit in the first round of the OHL playoffs.
Patrick Khodorenko | #98, Free agent Invite, Michigan St., NCAA
Khodorenko is a former USNTDP player who has had a stellar three years at the collegiate level in East Lansing, most recently posing 18-19-37 in 36 regular season games for the Spartans.
Kyle Maksimovich | #87, Free Agent Invite, Erie/Ottawa, OHL
Maksimovich just finished his overage year in the OHL, where he was traded from the Erie Otters to the Ottawa 67's, who lost in the OHL championship. He posted 8-14-22 in 16 playoff games and could be an AHL target.
Ryan McGregor | #73, Free Agent Invite, Sarnia, OHL; Toronto, AHL
After three so-so seasons with the Sting, McGregor exploded for 25-52-77 in 61 games and added two goals in four playoff games. He joined the Marlies for four games after his OHL season ended.
Austin Rueschloff | #97, Free Agent Invite, Western Michigan, NCAA
Rueschhoff's size jumps off the page. At 6'7", the Broncos right winger is a handful, and with 23 goals in two collegiate seasons, there's some scoring touch there, too.
Jake Veri | #84, Free Agent Invite, Compuware U18, HPHL U18; Lone Star, NAHL
The diminutive Veri played U18 Midget hockey this past season before playing in two games for the Brahmas of the NAHL. He's going to Chilliwack of the BCHL next season.
Defensemen
Eric Hjorth | #45, 2019 4th Round Pick, Linköping HC J18
The Blue Jackets took Hjorth earlier than many expected, but it's fair to say that injuries have held back the Swedish defensemen the past two years. Healthy now, he has some catching up to do.
Tim Berni | #75, 2018 6th Round Pick, ZSC Lions, NLA; GCK Lions, NLB
The 19-year old Swiss defenseman is a smooth puck-mover who debuted at last year's dev. camp. Jarmo Kekalainen called him a sleeper at the 2018 draft, and he's already played in two U20 World Junior Championships.
Robbie Stucker | #78, 2017 7th Round Pick, Minnesota, NCAA
Stucker had a tough freshman year as a Gopher, posting 0-3-3 in just 21 games. He had a hard time staying in the lineup and needs a bounce-back year in a bad way.
Andrew Peeke | #2, 2016 2nd Round Pick, Notre Dame, NCAA
The 6'3" Parkland, FL, native had a fantastic career in South Bend, making it to the Frozen Four in 2017, finishing as NCAA runners up in 2018, and losing in the elite eight while captaining the team in 2019. Peeke signed his entry-level contract with the club in April and would push for a spot on most NHL bluelines in 2019-20. Look for him to start the year in Cleveland, and keep an eye out going forward.
Justin Bergeron | #94, Free Agent Invite, Rouyn-Noranda, QMJHL
A 2019 QMJHL and Memorial Cup Champion, Bergeron had a huge offensive season, posting 16-41-57 in 65 regular season games, before adding 8-12-20 in 19 playoff games in the Huskies dominant postseason.
Matt Brassard | #55, Free Agent Invite, Oshawa, OHL; Niagara, OHL
Brassard, who was drafted in 2017 by the Vancouver Canucks, is an OHL over-ager who looks like a minor league prospect at this juncture.
Derek Daschke | #92, Free Agent Invite, Miami, NCAA
Daschke finished third on the team - and first among defensemen - in his freshman season at Miami with 6-16-22 in 38 games.
Louka Henault | #66, Free Agent Invite, Windsor, OHL
The 18-year old defenseman was a teammate of prospect Tyler Angle. He took a nice step in his second year with the Spitfires and will need to build on that this season.
Connor McCarthy | #96, Free Agent Invite, Clarkson, NCAA
McCarthy, the third of five Clarkson free agents, is a 6'7", 230 lb. monster on the back end.
Greg Moro | #83, Free Agent Invite, Clarkson, NCAA
A Humboldt Bronco alumni and another Clarkson Golden Knight, Moro is a sturdy, veteran defenseman, who led his team in scoring from the blue line (5-15-20).
Jacob Paquette | #51, Free Agent Invite, Kingston, OHL; Niagara, OHL
Paquette was drafted in the 7th round of the 2017 NHL Draft by the Nashville Predators, but never stuck. He's got good size at 6'3", 216 lbs., but provides limited offense.
Mike Underwood | #93, Free Agent Invite, Clarkson, NCAA
The third Clarkson blueliner (and fifth overall) of the group, Underwood will need to develop more offense to reach the next level.
Goalies
Veini Vehvilainen | #31, 2018 6th Round Pick, Karpat, Liiga
The 22-year old Finn has simply done all he needed to have done in Liiga, Finland's top professional league, winning the Urpo Ylönen Award as the league's top goalie the past two seasons, leading juggernaut Karpat to one league championship before falling in Game 7 of this year's finals. He's not participating in camp, but it's worth remembering his name.
Danilil Tarasov | #30, 2017 3rd Round Pick, Salavat Yulaev Ufa, KHL
The 20-year old is a 6'5" with a high ceiling. The Blue Jackets have loaned him to Assat, who finished last in Finland's Liiga in 2018-19, where he'll have a chance to play big minutes in a better league than the VHL (Russia's AHL).
Peter Thome | #41, 2016 6th Round Pick, North Dakota, NCAA
Thome is entering his junior season as the backup at NoDak, and isn't considered anything more than a minor league prospect at this point.
Jet Greaves | #60, Free Agent Invite, Barrie, OHL
The 18-year old went undrafted this year but put up solid numbers on a bad Colts team.
Henry Graham | #35, Free Agent Invite, Honeybaked U18, HPHL U18; Springfield, NAHL
Graham, another 18-year old, is looking to take the step from U18 AAA to junior hockey, where he'll backstop the Jr. Blues in 2019-20.
