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2017 NHL Draft: Blue Jackets trade Kolesar; select Alexandre Texier at #45

In the second round of the 2017 NHL Draft, the Columbus Blue Jackets traded prospect Keegan Kolesar to the Vegas Golden Knights in exchange for the #45 pick, and used that pick to select Alexandre Texier, a center from France.

I’m not a huge fan of this trade, to be honest. Kolesar was a prospect that I had high hopes for, coming off of 31 points in 19 playoff games to lead Seattle to the WHL championship. I was excited to see what he would accomplish in Cleveland this season. Now he’ll be with the Chicago Wolves instead (with a chance to get some playing time in Vegas, depending how their roster shakes out). Perhaps the Jackets saw his skill-set as redundant now that Josh Anderson will remain in Columbus.

Anyway, back to Texier:

Bio and stats from NHL.com

Scouting report:

A lightning quick French teen who plays significant minutes in the French senior league, Texier is a dynamic offensive talent who is mature and can handle playing against older competition. You have to go back to the late 1980’s and former St. Louis Blues prospect Philippe Bozon to find a teenager from the French league with this kind of NHL potential. Texier is an excellent skater who can handle the puck and make plays off the rush. Rarely does he look overmatched despite being the youngest player in the circuit, and he recently finished as one of the top scorers (1g, 7a) at the recent Division IA under-20 WJC. – The Draft Analyst

I will be curious to see whether he stays in France or whether the Jackets bring him over to North America, to play in the CHL or with the Monsters. He sounds like a skilled center, which you can never have too of.

Bienvenue a Columbus, Alexandre!

UPDATE:

Video from the Blue Jackets, which indicates Texier will play in Sweden or Finland next season