Jackets Build On Promising Future

[Virtual Jarmo]

REBUILD AND CONTEND STRATEGY ENTERING SECOND PHASE
Mueller, Fucale, Mantha Selected in First Round

For Columbus Blue Jackets General Manager Adam Burke, the 2012-13 season was both surprising and disappointing. The team made the postseason for the fourth consecutive season, but was bounced in the first round by the Phoenix Coyotes. "Lather. Rinse. Repeat." Those are the words of Burke, speaking to a pool of reporters at the Columbus Dispatch Ice Haus during the team's development camp last week at the Jackets' practice facility. Burke shook hands with season ticket holders and promised better things in 2014.

"We did something we weren't sure that we could do," Burke said, with a smile. "We didn't know if we could rebuild and contend. We traded Rick Nash. We traded David Backes. We traded Scott Niedermayer. Our playoff showing was a disappointment, but we got there and we like the core of our group to get us there again."

To his credit, Burke didn't shy away from critics last offseason when he completely shook up the roster. He accumulated a lot of young talent, including Maxim Kitsyn, Joel Armia, and Erik Gudbranson. Only Kitsyn remains, but the offseason addition of Milan Michalek and the near trade deadline acquisition of Mike Forney will be big keys to the season.

"The Michalek deal opened up a lot of things for us. We have more flexibility in our top six and now have a superstar player to put alongside Phil Danault. We're still looking for ways to get better, but the roster we have now looks like what we'll open the season with."

That roster won't include any of the members of the 2013 Draft Class, but Burke is confident that they'll help soon enough, especially with three first-round picks. Burke had some materials prepared for the reporters, highlighting the 2013 Draft Class and added some commentary of his own.

Mirco Mueller was the team's first selection, taken 16th overall. He's a big Swiss defenseman, standing 6'3" with room to grow. Burke was surprised that Mueller fell to him that late in the first round.

"We loved Mueller, but thought we had to move up to get him. Nothing was materializing on the trade front, so we opted to take our chances. He's a very consistent player and he should rise rapidly through our system. We expect him to be ready to take Tomas Kaberle's spot beginning in 2014-15. There are no weaknesses in his game. There's still some negotiating left to do with his agent, but we should be able to get him signed and sent to Springfield to begin developing."

The team's second selection in the first round was Zachary Fucale, far and away the best goaltender available in the draft. The Jackets plucked him with the first of their consecutive picks at #19 and #20.

"Zach is a kid that we noticed because he excelled in an offensive-friendly league. The Q (Quebec Major Junior Hockey League) doesn't see a whole lot of defense. Zach was mature beyond his years in that environment. With Zach, Sam Brittain, Joonas Korpisalo, and Jordan Binnington, we have a ton of depth at the goaltending position. We'll be able to move Zach along slowly and maximize our control of him."

With #20, the Jackets stayed in the Q and took Anthony Mantha, a pure goal scorer with a lot of intangibles.

"We've lacked a true offensive threat in the past and Mantha's going to be that guy. He's got tremendous size at 6'4", but soft hands, a great shot, and fantastic offensive instincts. The defensive end needs work and he's going to have to work really hard to be a consistent force on the ice. I think our scouts were scared a bit by some of his lazier efforts, but his raw talent was entirely too much to pass up. I think we've got some guys who can keep him in line, especially some of our young leaders."

The Jackets traded their final firstround pick in the Milan Michalek deal, picking up a late second and getting what Burke described as "the steal of the draft" at 59th overall.

"We couldn't believe it when Jason Dickinson was still there that late. He's a strong two-way player and a kid that we think can fill a bottom six role and give us a lot of offensive punch. At that point, we felt he was far and away the best player on the board. Like Fucale, he'll be brought along slowly, especially because we have a lot of guys above him on the pecking order. But, that's fine. We don't need to rush him. He's a safe player who projects really well."

The Blue Jackets had no third round picks, but did make a couple of fourth round selections. With the first pick of the fourth round, the Jackets went overseas for the first time, selecting Filip Sandberg from Sweden.

"Once you get to the fourth round, you're either talking about lottery tickets or fringe players. We don't think that's the case with Filip Sandberg. He's a very solid two-way player and his faceoff winning ability is off the charts. I think teams were scared away by his size, but he's got a big heart and our scouts raved about his ability to compete."

With the 104th overall pick, the Jackets, again, focused on skill, taking sniper Fabio Hogger from Switzerland.

"In this instance, we were looking for the most skilled player available. Hogger fit that bill, plus, he's got one of the best names in the draft. But, we like his skill set a lot. He's not the most physical player, but the right linemates will help in that regard. He's a pure goal scorer if given the opportunity and our goal is to put him in a position to succeed. He was just 17 when we drafted him, so there will be a development curve, but we won't rush him either. We'll sit him down after camp and express what we want to see from him in Switzerland this year."

In the sixth round, the Jackets faced a bit of a dilemma. Burke was unreachable, on vacation because the draft took longer than expected, and the pick was left to the scouting staff. They selected another QMJHLer in Vincent Dunn.

"In retrospect, I should have pushed my vacation back, but I trust those guys in that room. They found us a decent player who needs a bit of a boost, but he could have an NHL future. Once you get 160-plus picks deep, it's hard to find anything that's a certainty. We'll see what happens with him."

In the seventh and final round, Burke was, again, unreachable, so the scouting staff took Kyle Platzer from London of the Ontario Hockey League.

"Kyle told me when he showed up at camp that he just wanted a chance to live out his dream. We'll give him every opportunity to do that, but we project him to wind up playing for Springfield or in somebody else's minor league system. He has some good intangibles and could wind up centering a fourth line in the NHL down the road, but I think we'll just have to wait and see. He's another '95 birthday, so there's plenty of development time left and I think we'll be able to get a better read on him in a couple of years."

One name generating a lot of buzz at development camp this week has been Cody Corbett. Corbett was an afterthought among most scouts, drafted very late in the sixth round of the 2012 draft, but he has opened some eyes this week.

"Cody's been unbelievable. I'm not sure what happened between last year and this year, but Cody's really on our radar now. He bulked up a little bit and appears to be playing with a lot of confidence right now. He'll turn 20 in December, so he won't count as an underager on our farm roster, which will be a big benefit to us and to him. It will quicken his path to the NHL and give us a viable depth option sometime during the season."

When asked if he had any final thoughts, Burke took a long look at the prospects on the ice and smiled.

"Look at Brendan Gaunce. Look at Stefan Matteau. Look at Cristoval Nieves. There's a very bright future on that ice right now. A lot of kids that are going to make us a better team. We'll see how these kids stack up against the adults once the preseason gets here, but I'm very excited. I've been telling my staff how proud I am that we've been a contender for a long time. I don't know if we'll ever get over that hump and win it all, but there's a lot of success in the future of Columbus Blue Jackets hockey."