The Cannon’s Top 25 Under 25 countdown here continues with Alexandre Texier, who checks in at No. 21. How did he do in his first year after the Columbus Blue Jackets drafted him, and how far does he still have to go?
#21 Alexandre Texier
Voting
21st out of 55 eligible players (523 points)
Highest placement: #8 (1 ballot)
Most common placement: #17 (8 ballots)
Biography
Birthdate: September 13, 1999
Birthplace: Grenoble, France
Height: 6’0”
Weight: 187 lbs
Position: Center
Acquired: Drafted by Columbus in Round 2 of the 2017 draft (#45 overall)
2017-18 Season
Alexandre Texier (whose name I will forever associate with this scene) played last season in Finland for Kalevan Pallo (KalPa). Texier tallied 13 goals and nine assists in 53 regular season games as the youngest member of the team (ranking ninth in points), impressing the Blue Jackets enough to sign him to his three-year entry level contract in May. He managed a +5 with 13:23 of ice time, including second unit power play duties. He added two points in six Liiga playoff games and played for France in May’s IIHF World Championships, notching three assists in a game against Austria.
2018-19 Forecast
CBJ general manager Jarmo Kekäläinen said Texier will play another season for KalPa while he develops his game and body. He’s only 18 (five months older than 2018 draftee Liam Foudy, actually) and has spent the last year playing against grown men in Liiga and the world championships, so one more year overseas should keep him on the right track. He’s not ready for the show yet, but received some encouraging words from NHL veteran and fellow countryman Pierre-Edouard Bellemare by way of NHL.com:
”I’m not worried. He’s a young guy and he’s going to have to build a little bit, but I think Columbus is the right organization for him. If he is not here fast, he will be here a little bit later. I have no doubt in my mind that this kid is going the next French big thing.”