Tuesday afternoon the Jackets pulled off a blockbuster trade on the eve of free agency by acquiring restricted free agent Brandon Saad along with two prospects. When we were still in the “refreshing twitter to see if it was real/what we got” phase, I personally hear “prospects” and my brain automatically goes to CHL or European prospects but AHL – or perhaps NHL guys, as we got in this case, count just as much. So let’s take a look at the newest Jackets.
The two prospects acquired were forward Alex Broadhurst and rookie defenseman Michael Paliotta. Paliotta is a 6’4″ 205 pound defensive defensive who’s appeared to find his offense in his final two years at Vermont putting up 63 points in 79 games as a junior and senior after scoring only 20 his freshman and sophomore years(65 games). Paliotta was a 3rd round pick in the 2011 draft and was selected 70th overall (same draft as Saad). Paliotta was drafted out of the US National Development program where he played with the Under-18 team before heading to Vermont to play four years with the Catamounts. He was the team’s captain last season as well. In his final year at Vermont, Paliotta was a 2nd Team All-American, the team MVP and was named a second team Hockey East All Star as well as the league’s best defensive defenseman. After completing his career in Vermont, Mike signed a entry level contract with the Blackhawks and made his NHL debut on April 11 against Colorado where he picked up an assist on a goal from fellow Vermont alumni Patrick Sharp. Another item of note, Paliotta was previously a client of now Blue Jackets assistant general manager, Bill Zito during his agent days – so the Jackets front office had some understanding of the kind of player / individual that he is.
For a more in-depth look at what Paliotta brings, with the help of my Twitter follows, I got in touch with Ted Ryan who’s covered the Cats for the Burlington Free Press. Here’s what he had to say:
“Mike still has plenty of upside. His development over the past two years might have been as great as any UVM player I’ve covered and I go back to the D-2 days of the 1970s. His first two years, he took too many bad penalties trying to be too physical. He learned discipline while retaining an edge to his game. He can make the big hit and he’s strong on his skates. He obviously has good size and he’s strong. His offensive game improved significantly after he began playing smarter (fewer penalties).
“He led UVM in scoring this past season, only the second defenseman to do so in school history. He has a very good one-time shot off the point and a very good sense of when to shoot, when to hold and when to pass. This past season, he began jumping up in the play quite a bit more and did so smartly and effectively. Defensively, he’s solid and physically able to hold his own. He’ll get even stronger as a pro. He should adapt quickly.
“He’s also developed excellent leadership qualities, serving as the sole captain for Vermont this season. In addition, from my interaction with him, he’s a good person. Hope that gives a bit of insight. Personally, I would say he developed into UVM’s best defenseman since Aaron Miller, who had a very nice career in the NHL. Aaron I would say was stronger defensively but Mike probably has more offensive potential.”
As for the other player involved in the trade, Alex Broadhurst, he was a teammate of Jackets’ prospect Josh Anderson on the 2012-13 London Knights squad. That year Broadhurst put up 65 point in 64 games and helped the Knights to a Memorial Cup berth, collecting 28 points in 21 playoff games. The next season Broadhurst turned pro and played with the Rockford IceHogs finishing just behind fellow trade piece Jeremy Morin in total points – Morin earned just two more with 47 as compared to Broadhurst’s 45. Last year, after a rough start that included five healthy scratches and minutes on the fourth line, Broadhurst broke the bone just above his left elbow and ended up playing in just 29 games. He missed all of December, January and most of February and finished with six goals and eight assists for the regular season. He also played in seven playoff games and registered one assist.
Broadhurst appears to be more of a set up man and he’s had back-to-back 40 assist seasons: one in the USHL (47) and in the OHL (40). Alex appears to play a strong two-way game even scoring a shorthanded hat trick against the Youngstown Phantoms in the USHL.
So there you have it folks – a look at the two newest Jackets. It wouldn’t surprise me to see Paliotta in Traverse City later this summer, Alex I’m not so sure about.
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