The Columbus Blue Jackets will make the 14th and 20th selections in June's NHL Draft.
The two picks became official Monday evening following the league's first-ever live draft lottery.
The New York Islanders won the lottery and will make the first pick in June's draft, which is widely assumed to be defenseman Matthew Schaefer. The Utah Hockey Club won the second draw to move up 10 spots to the 4th pick, pushing the Blue Jackets back one to 14th.
Only once before have the Blue Jackets drafted No. 14 overall. In 2013, #CBJ selected Swedish center Alexander Wennberg of Djurgardens.
— Aaron Portzline (@Aportzline) May 6, 2025
He's played 789 games with Columbus, Florida, Seattle, New York Rangers and San Jose, totaling 101-269-370.
The Blue Jackets entered the lottery with a 90.7% chance of making the 13th selection in the draft, a 5.1% chance of dropping one spot to number 14, and a 4.2% of "winning" the lottery and moving up to number three.
A team can only move up ten spots, hence the third overall pick having been the best-case scenario for Columbus.
This is the first time in franchise history that the Blue Jackets will own the 20th pick.
But owning the pick and making the pick are two very different things. President of Hockey Operations and General Manager Don Waddell has been open about his desire to move one and potentially both picks for immediate roster help.
The Blue Jackets have one of the best pipelines in the league and finished just two points out of the final playoff spot this season, both driving Waddell's interest in moving at least one of the picks.
If they hang on to either pick, both spots have had relative success over the last quarter-century.
In 2003, 2004, and 2007, the #14 pick was Brent Seabrook, Devan Dubnyk, and Kevin Shattenkirk respectively. All three players had decorated careers, with Seabrook winning three Stanley Cups with the Chicago Blackhawks, Shattenkirk winning one with the Tampa Bay Lightning, and Dubnyk winning 253 career games and the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy in 2014-15 with the Minnesota Wild.
In 2015 and 2016, Jake DeBrusk and Charlie McAvoy were each taken with the 14th pick by the Boston Bruins. DeBrusk has 314 points (166 goals, 148 assists) in 547 games. McAvoy has 300 points 60 goals, 240 assists) in 504 games.
Names selected at number 20 since 2010 include Scott Laughton (2012), Anthony Mantha (2013), Nick Schmaltz (2014), Joel Eriksson Ek (2015), and Robert Thomas (2017).
The draft will take place June 27 and 28 at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles.
