Thanks to everyone who voted for this year’s Top 25 Under 25 ranking. We had almost 100 submissions from Columbus Blue Jackets fans. Stay tuned as we count down the 25 highest voted players for the next month. Now, Emil Bemstrom.
Emil Bemstrom
Voting
15th out of 40 eligible players
Writer Rank: 14
Reader Rank: 15
Highest placement: 4 (1 vote)
Most common placement: 18 (8 votes)
2021 Rank: 11
Biography
Birthdate: June 1, 1999
Birthplace: Nykoping, Sweden
Height: 6’0”
Weight: 193 lbs
Position: Right Wing
Shoots: Right
Acquired: Drafted in the 4th round, 117th overall, in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft
2021-22 Season
Last season was a weird one for Bemstrom. He started off with a great camp where he impressed in exhibition games. Unfortunately, he was injured before the season started and wasn’t on the opening night roster. After returning from injury, he jumped around between being in the lineup, on the taxi squad, and a healthy scratch. He ended up playing 41 games, but only managed 6 goals and 5 assists.
2022-23 Outlook
There is a logjam at forward and skilled players like Chinakhov, Johnson, and Marchenko are rivaling Emil for a spot. Bemstrom’s saving grace may be the fact that he is no longer waiver exempt. If he proves he is deserving of a roster spot, requiring waivers may be the tiebreaker that goes in his favor. There is a chance he ends up on waivers, but the number of teams that will have cap space to claim players before opening night will be small.
The Swede does have the skill to be an NHL player. He has a hat trick under his belt and is one of the better defensive forwards in the organization. He has struggled to put together stretches of solid offensive play, but one could wonder how much quality of line mates and inconsistent playing time has factored into that. It will be interesting to see how Bemstrom shows up to camp and if he can force a waiver exempt player to Cleveland.