Well folks, my two day version of Christmas has ended with the Jackets adding seven new prospects to the organization. So without further adieu let’s meet the newest Blue Jackets:
1ST ROUND-16TH OVERALL
NAME: Frank “Sonny” Milano
TEAM: USNTDP (USHL-Committed to Boston College)
HEIGHT: 5’11” WEIGHT: 183
POSITION: Left Wing
HOMETOWN: Massapequa, NY
RANKING: 16TH North American Skater
TWITTER ACCOUNT: @27SMilano
Ok let’s get the fun stuff out of the way… watch this. Everyone back? Ok. For only the second time in team history the Jackets selected a player from the prestigious US National Team Development Program by selecting Milano with the first pick. Milano starred for the Development program that plays in the USHL, in international tournaments and against NCAA teams. In 58 games overall, Milano scored 29 goals and led the team in assists with 58 for 87 points, scoring 39 points in 25 games against USHL teams.
Milano’s season is among the best all time tying with 2015 top draft prospect Jack Eichel and behind some guys you may have heard of Patrick Kane, Phil Kessel and Andy Hilbert. For his career in Ann Arbor, Milano’s 85 career assists is third all time. Milano has some Ohio ties – he spent the 2011-12 season with the Cleveland Barons U16 team and led the league in scoring with 87 points in 40 games.
Milano loves to have the puck on his stick and be in control and he is known to be a very intelligent player. Milano also excels on the other side of the puck as an aggressive defender who desperately wants the puck back so you can’t have it. Sonny engages physically by finishing checks and is a bit of an antagonist getting under his opponents skin as somewhat of a pest.
Here’s a quote from the Hockeyprospect black book from site founder Mark Edwards: “He has some flaws and I think he might drive coaches crazy once in awhile but at the end of the day he’s one of the most skilled players in the draft.”
After CBJ Development Camp Sonny will be off to Lake Placid to take part in the USA Hockey National Junior Evaluation Camp for a shot at playing for Team USA in the 2015 World Junior Championships that will take place in Montreal and Toronto. Sonny is committed to Boston College and, despite some thinking the CBJ might steer him towards the Plymouth Whalers, Sonny has stated he wants to go BC and be an impact player.
2ND ROUND-47TH OVERALL
NAME: Ryan Collins
TEAM: USNTDP (USHL-Committed to Minnesota)
HEIGHT: 6’5″ WEIGHT: 202
POSITION: Defenseman
HOMETOWN: Bloomington, Minnesota
RANKING: 57TH North American Skater
TWITTER ACCOUNT: @ryan_Collins_6
Yep folks that picture should look familiar – you saw it in my mock draft and that means the prospect geek got another one right (I’m money in the second round…ok two for three). Collins was one of the biggest players selected in the draft and the Jackets biggest pick since Thomas Larkin in 2009. According to an unnamed scout, not one player in the draft improved from the beginning to the end of last season more than Collins.
Collins is very mobile for his size and impressed scouts with how well he moves and the quickness of his feet. Much like last year’s second round pick Dillon Heatherington, Collins is a stay at home type/steady Eddie and when he is at his best you don’t notice him. He plays a strong game on the offensive blueline making smart passes and dump ins and he will take shots when they’re there. The Redline report compared getting around Collins to circumnavigating the globe.
Here’s a quote from Mark Edwards “Got better late in the season, huge kid who can really skate, he’s tough to get around and became harder to play against.”
Collins was a teammate of Sonny Milano and will join him at the US Evaluation Camp as one of the biggest players on the roster. After that camp its off to the University of Minnesota to join fellow Jacket prospects senior Seth Ambroz and junior (and possible d partner, maybe) Mike Reilly. Mike and Ryan will be part of the Gophers D corps that features all drafted players.
3RD ROUND-76TH OVERALL
NAME: Elvis Merzlikins
TEAM: HC Lugano(Swiss)
HEIGHT: 6’2″ WEIGHT: 183
POSITION: Goaltender
HOMETOWN: Latvia
RANKING: 6TH European Goaltender
TWITTER ACCOUNT: @Merzly30
The CBJ traded its early third round pick to Detroit and acquired the 66th pick this year along with one next year. I didn’t think the CBJ would take a goalie this year with so many in the pipeline but Jarmo proved me wrong by selecting the second Latvian ever for the CBJ. Yes folks – Elvis with Sonny, Kerby and Marko. I think the CBJ win the NHL name game for awhile.
As for Elvis he’s been playing with HC Lugano in Switzerland for the last five years. He started with the U17 team and is now currently with the big club. According to a profile on Elvis from The Hockey Writers, Elvis can thank Lightning farmhand Kristers Gudlevskis’ performance at the Olympics for showing that Latvian goalies are more than an after thought with the report even guessing correctly that he’d be selected in the third round.
Elvis was the National League A’s rookie of the year with a 2.13GAA and .924 save percentage. Elvis has played for Latvia in various international tournaments and was named Top Goaltender of the 2011 World Championships Division A with a .50 GAA and .958 save percentage (ok they played against Hungary, Great Britain, Kazakhstan and Italy but that’s still impressive). In postgame silliness here’s Elvis’ superman impression.
3RD ROUND-77TH OVERALL
NAME: Blake Siebenaler
TEAM: Niagara (OHL)
HEIGHT: 6’0″ WEIGHT: 192
POSITION: Defenseman
HOMETOWN: Fort Wayne, Indiana
RANKING: 55TH North American Skater
TWITTER ACCOUNT: @BlakeSiebenaler
With their next pick, the CBJ went back to the OHL and selected a Niagara IceDog for the first time ever. Siebenaler is a native of Fort Wayne Indiana and was a teammate of Sonny Milano with the Cleveland Barons in 2011. Blake was a rookie on the IceDogs – a team with solid depth on defense. So Blake earned every second he got and became a regular on five on five and on the power play.
Siebenaler’s strongest ability is his speed and he is capable of rushing up the ice but will try and do too much in regards to skating in his own zone. Blake has a big shot from the point that he’s been able to use intelligently in all situations. Siebenaler was second among OHL defenseman in scoring – just three points behind teammate Vince Dunn.
McKeen’s draft guide called Blake “a human breakout possessing break neck speed and easily logging the puck up ice and out of trouble, beating the first two forecheckers coming out of the zone.”
4TH ROUND-107TH OVERALL
NAME: Julien Pelletier
TEAM: Cape Breton(QMJHL)
HEIGHT: 5’11” WEIGHT: 177
POSITION: Left Wing
HOMETOWN: Gatineau, Quebec
RANKING 62ND North American Skater
TWITTER ACCOUNT: @Pelletier_71
After a year away from the QMJHL I’m back with the Jacket’s fourth round pick Julien Pelletier. Pelletier put together a relatively quiet rookie season when he set a new team record for rookie points with 25 goals and 25 assists in 67 games. Julien is a shoot first player with good wrist shot and a quick release.
Julien was pretty consistent – he never went longer than three games without a point. Julien knows how to escape coverage and get open to score goals. A decent skater, with good top speed, he likes to beat defenseman on the outside. Julien is inconsistent with his physical play but can play physical and has good puck protection on the wall. He even dropped the gloves twice (<-a George Matthews cameo you’re darn right I did it) but he really should keep the gloves on.
5TH ROUND-137TH OVERALL
NAME: Tyler Bird
TEAM: Kimball Union (United States High School-Committed to Brown University)
HEIGHT: 6’2″ WEIGHT: 202
POSITION: Right Wing
HOMETOWN: Andover, Massachusetts
RANKING: 117TH North American Skater
TWITTER ACCOUNT: @Tyler_bird14
In the 5th round the Jackets went back to Kimball Union – the same high school they selected Martin Ouellette from in 2010. In fact, the Wildcats are coached by Ouellette’s old coach at Maine, Tim Whitehead. Tyler is a strong winger that Coach Whitehead states “really doesn’t have any major weaknesses, he does everything well.” Tyler is almost impossible to move from in front of the net because he uses his size and strength to create rebounds and finish.
He wins a lot of battle in the corners due to his great strength but he could stand to develop more of a mean streak. Tyler is a very good shot blocker. Next season, Tyler is off to the Ivy League playing for the Brown University Bears. According to Mark Divver who covers the Bears for the Providence Journal he’ll be one of the youngest players in college hockey.
7TH ROUND-197TH OVERALL
NAME: Olivier LeBlanc
TEAM: Saint John (QMJHL)
HEIGHT: 5’11” WEIGHT: 157
POSITION: Defenseman
HOMETOWN: Quebec, Canada
RANKING: 126TH North American Skater
TWITTER ACCOUNT: @3LeBlanc
To close out the draft the CBJ went back to the Q against selecting Olivier LeBlanc from the Saint John Sea Dogs – the first player selected from the Dogs. LeBlanc was the rebuilding Sea Dogs’ top defenseman and contributed on both ends of the rink.
Olivier has a good hockey IQ that he showcases by rushing the puck on some occasions and by the quality of his breakouts. His feet are always moving which helps him when he faces explosive skaters one on one and isn’t caught off guard very often. Despite being undersize, LeBlanc is tough as nails and possesses a mean streak distributing some open ice hits.
LeBlanc plays a solid all around game. On the power play he’s bright enough to use either his slapshot or a wrist shot depending on the situation and he can set up teammates nicely. His one timer does need some work. He likes to talk after the whistle – in fact its a big part of his game. The writers of Hockeyprospect blackbook like the consistency of his compete level, saying he’s a hard worker and rarely takes a shift off.
Last year with the Sea Dogs, Olivier wore an assistant captain’s A and friend of our blog Jamie Tozer of Station Nation believing he’ll be a candidate for captain or at least wearing an A again.
There you have it folks – the newest Jackets. We’ll get our first look at them at Development Camp next week including a three on three scrimmage on Thursday.
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