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2021 NHL Draft: Blue Jackets add six more players on day two

Well, that sure was an eventful Friday, wasn’t it? To recap:

Shortly before the start of the first round, Seth Jones was traded to Chicago for Adam Boqvist, a first and second round pick in 2022, and a swap of #12 and #32 this year. The second round pick was then traded to Carolina for Jake Bean.

In that first round, the Columbus Blue Jackets picked centers Kent Johnson and Cole Sillinger and defenseman Corson Ceulemans.

Coverage of day two begins at 11 a.m. on NHL Network.

These are the six picks made by the Blue Jackets for Rounds 2-7:

Round 3: #69 (nice) – Stanislav Svozil
Hometown: Prerov, Czechia
Position: Defenseman
Shoots: L
Height/Weight: 6’0”/172 lbs
Last year: 1/2/3 in 30 games with HC Kometa Brno of the Czech league. Also played for the Czech Republic in both the WJC and the U18 WJC.

Round 4: #101 – Guillaume Richard
Hometown: Quebec, Quebec
Position: Defenseman
Shoots: L
Height/Weight: 6’2”/176 lbs
Last year: 2/14/16 in 46 games with the Tri-City Storm of the USHL. Played for Canada in the U18 Worlds. Big-bodied, suffocating, defensive defenseman. He is scheduled to play for Providence College in the upcoming season.

Round 5: #132 (from New Jersey) – Nikolai Makarov
Hometown: Perm, Russia
Position: Defenseman
Shoots: L
Height/Weight: 6’4”/234 lbs
Last year: Bounced around among the U18, MHL, VHL, and KHL but spent 40 of his 44 games at the MHL (i.e. Russian juniors) level. Registered five assists, and 43 PIM. Also competed in the U18 WJC. Worth picking for that size alone, holy crap.

Round 5: #133 – James Malatesta
Hometown: Pointe-Claire, Quebec
Position: Left Wing
Shoots: L
Height/Weight: 5’9”/179 lbs
Last year: 10/13/23 in 32 games with the Quebec Ramparts of the QMJHL. He scored 45 points in 59 games in 2019-20. Per his Elite Prospects page, he has a high motor. Breaks up a string of four straight picks on defensemen.

Round 6: #165 – Ben Boyd
Hometown: Dartmouth, Nova Scotia
Position: Left wing
Shoots: L
Height/Weight: 6’3”/205 lbs
Last year: 7/3/10 in 35 games with the Charlottetown Islanders of the QMHJHL, plus 45 PIM. Future bottom 6 grinder?

Round 7: #197 – Martin Rysavy
Hometown: Prerov, Czechia
Position: Right wing
Shoots: L
Height/Weight: 6’3”/209 lbs
Last year: 3/6/9 in 19 games in the second level Czech league, no points in the top league. 2/1/3 in 5 games in the U18 WJC. Scheduled to join the Moose Jaw Warriors of the WHL this fall, for some valuable North American experience and coaching. Like Boyd, another power forward.

UPDATE: In a shocker, Cam Atkinson was traded to Philadelphia in a one-to-one deal for former Blue Jacket Jake Voracek.

UPDATE 2: Final numbers from the draft:

Two centers, four defensemen, three wingers (in that order).

Six Canadians, two Czechs, one Russian.

One player under 6’ tall (Malatesta); Four listed at 6’2” or taller (Ceulemans, Richard, Boyd, Rysavy).

What do you think of this draft class?

What grade would you give the Blue Jackets for the 2021 draft (not including the trades)?

A 115
B 86
C 11
D 4
F 2