Yesterday, we reached the conclusion of our Top 25 Under 25 countdown for the Columbus Blue Jackets as of summer 2022. Thanks to everyone who voted! Today, we’re going to share some more information about the voting, and we’d like to hear your reactions: Do you agree with the rankings? Any glaring omissions? Anyone ranked too high or too low?
By the numbers
Biggest riser: Jake Christiansen (33 in 2021, 21 in 2022)
Second place: Cole Sillinger (9 in 2021, 2 in 2022)
Christiansen was easy to forget about, since he was signed just before things shut down in March 2020. He finally made his NHL debut this season, and apparently readers liked what they saw.
Biggest faller: Jake Bean (7 in 2021, 14 in 2022)
Second place: Liam Foudy (13 in 2021, 18 in 2022)
Jake Bean was a shiny new toy last summer, but got passed by other, younger defensemen in the year since. There are six defensemen ranked above him this year, including two drafted in the first round back in July.
In four years, Liam Foudy went from a first round pick to a bit of an afterthought. He was #22 on the list after being drafted in 2018, then shot up to #5 in 2019.
Appearances by draft class (CBJ draftees):
2022: 5 (Jiricek, Mateychuk, Del Bel Belluz, Dumais, Dolzenkhov)
2021: 4 (Sillinger, Johnson, Ceulemans, Svozil)
2020: 3 (Chinakhov, Knazko, Pyyhtia)
2019: 1 (Voronkov)
2018: 3 (Foudy, Marchenko, Fix-Wolansky)
2017: 3 (Texier, Tarasov, Bemstrom)
2016: 1 (Peeke)
Undrafted: 2 (Blankenburg, Christiansen)
Acquired by trade: 3 (Laine, Boqvist, Bean)
Half the list was selected over the last three drafts, and four of the five players not drafted by the Jackets were signed or acquired via trade since the beginning of 2021.
Positions:
Forward: 14
Defensemen: 10
Goalies: 1
Big year for the blue line. Two made the top 5 (Boqvist and Jiricek). There was a run of five straight, from #14 Bean to #10 Matechuk. Also a run from #22 through #20 (Svozil-Christiansen-Knazko).
Nationality:
Canada: 10 (Sillinger, Johnson, Mateychuk, Ceulemans, Bean, Del Bel Belluz, Foudy, Fix-Wolansky, Christiansen, Dumais)
Russia: 5 (Marchenko, Chinahkov, Tarasov, Voronkov, Dolzhenkov)
Finland: 2 (Laine, Pyyhtia)
Sweden: 2 (Boqvist, Bemstrom)
Czechia: 2 (Jiricek, Svozil)
USA: 2 (Peeke, Blankenburg)
France: 1 (Texier)
Slovakia: 1 (Knazko)
The scouts in the CHL and KHL/MHL/VHL are putting in work.
Random observations
How much would Alexandre Texier’s position have changed if we knew he wouldn’t be playing this season before we voted? The player is who he is, but will he be here in the future?
There was a remarkable level of consensus for the top three; not just which players were ranked there but in what order. 84 voters chose Laine first, 60 chose Sillinger second, and 34 chose Johnson third. 100% had Laine in the top three; 82.5% for Sillinger and 50.5% for Johnson.
My prediction: 9 of the top 15 will be on the roster at the start of the regular season. This will again be a very young team.
Honorable Mentions
Three players who didn’t make the list, but maybe should have:
Aidan Hreschuk, LHD: This is the player better known as the return we were disappointed with in the Max Domi trade. His freshman season at Boston College wasn’t earth-shattering, but he impressed Athletic writer Max Bultman at a Team USA camp this summer:
Hreschuk scored twice in Sunday’s mixed scrimmage, making it past the Sunday cuts. We’ll see whether he makes the final roster for next week, but his smooth skating and defending should put him in a good position for a spot on the 2023 team regardless.
Martin Rysavy, W: This is another player who may have made the list if the vote was a few weeks later. During last month’s World Junior Championship, Rysavy scored two goals in seven games. Let’s see if his scoring can improve in his second season with the Moose Jaw Warriors of the WHL.
Guillaume Richard, LHD: A fourth round pick in 2021, Richard was a +18 in his freshman season at Providence College, and put up 14 points. He’s a few years away from turning pro but he’s on the right track.
Writer Votes
Writer Votes
| # | Burkus | Josh | PD | Seeds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sillinger | Laine | Laine | Sillinger |
| 2 | Laine | Sillinger | Sillinger | Laine |
| 3 | Boqvist | Johnson | Johnson | Marchenko |
| 4 | Jiricek | Marchenko | Jiricek | Boqvist |
| 5 | Texier | Texier | Boqvist | Johnson |
| 6 | Johnson | Jiricek | Marchenko | Tarasov |
| 7 | Marchenko | Bemstrom | Mateychuk | Jiricek |
| 8 | Peeke | Boqvist | Tarasov | Chinakhov |
| 9 | Chinakhov | Mateychuk | Chinakhov | Mateychuk |
| 10 | Blankenburg | TFW | Ceulemans | Bemstrom |
| 11 | Bean | Chinakhov | Dolzhekov | Blankenburg |
| 12 | Mateychuk | Blankenberg | Del Bel Belluz | Voronkov |
| 13 | Tarasov | Tarasov | Texier | Texier |
| 14 | Bemstrom | Voronkov | Blankenburg | Cuelemans |
| 15 | Ceulemans | Ceulemans | Peeke | Knazo |
| 16 | TFW | Peeke | Bean | Christiansen |
| 17 | LDBB | Foudy | Svozil | Peeke |
| 18 | Christansen | Knazko | Knazko | Bean |
| 19 | Foudy | Bean | Voronkov | LDDB |
| 20 | Angle | Christiansen | Pyyhtia | Malatesta |
| 21 | Knazko | LDBB | Ivanov | Foudy |
| 22 | Svozil | Malatesta | Dumais | Pyyhtia |
| 23 | Dunne | Pyyhtia | Richard | Svozil |
| 24 | Greaves | Svozil | Christiansen | Dunne |
| 25 | OJBH | Dumais | Hreshuk | Dumais |
Reader Votes
Reader Votes
| Player | 1 (25) | 2 (24) | 3 (23) | 4 (22) | 5 (21) | 6 (20) | 7 (19) | 8 (18) | 9 (17) | 10 (16) | 11 (15) | 12 (14) | 13 (13) | 14 (12) | 15 (11) | 16 (10) | 17 (9) | 18 (8) | 19 (7) | 20 (6) | 21 (5) | 22 (4) | 23 (3) | 24 (2) | 25 (1) | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Patrik Laine | 84 | 11 | 2 | 2410 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cole Sillinger | 6 | 60 | 14 | 6 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 2228 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Kent Johnson | 3 | 12 | 34 | 16 | 10 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2104 | ||||||||||||||
| Adam Boqvist | 2 | 11 | 19 | 13 | 17 | 12 | 3 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1840 | |||||||||||||
| David Jiricek | 1 | 2 | 11 | 23 | 8 | 12 | 5 | 7 | 3 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1746 | |||||||||||
| Alexandre Texier | 6 | 12 | 7 | 13 | 9 | 15 | 4 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1710 | ||||||||||||
| Yegor Chinakhov | 2 | 7 | 6 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 14 | 17 | 9 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1623 | |||||||||||||
| Kirill Marchenko | 1 | 2 | 3 | 11 | 14 | 12 | 10 | 11 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1548 | ||||||||
| Daniil Tarasov | 1 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 11 | 7 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 5 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1501 | ||||||
| Andrew Peeke | 2 | 11 | 5 | 4 | 8 | 11 | 8 | 3 | 9 | 3 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1415 | ||||||
| Jake Bean | 1 | 1 | 6 | 3 | 4 | 8 | 8 | 13 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 8 | 10 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1326 | ||||
| Denton Mateychuk | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 15 | 9 | 4 | 8 | 4 | 8 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1209 | |||||||||
| Corson Ceulemans | 5 | 3 | 7 | 5 | 11 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1121 | ||||||||
| Nick Blankenburg | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 12 | 5 | 8 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 955 | |||||||
| Emil Bemstrom | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 7 | 6 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 892 | |||||
| Liam Foudy | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 8 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 780 | ||||||
| Luca Del Bel Belluz | 2 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 9 | 7 | 1 | 8 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 741 | |||||||||
| Dmitri Voronkov | 2 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 9 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 514 | |||||||||
| Stanislav Svozil | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 7 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 6 | 2 | 438 | |||||||||
| Trey Fix-Wolansky | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 354 | |||||||||||
| Jake Christiansen | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 345 | |||||||||
| Jordan Dumais | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 268 | |||||||||||
| Samuel Knazko | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 258 | |||||||||||
| Tyler Angle | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 7 | 3 | 5 | 246 | |||||||||||
| Mikael Pyyhtia | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 172 | ||||||||||||
| James Malatesta | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 5 | 132 | |||||||||||||
| Jet Greaves | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 126 | |||||||||||||||
| Josh Dunne | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 117 | |||||||||||||
| Guillaume Richard | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 109 | |||||||||||||||
| Aidan Hreschuk | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 104 | |||||||||||||||||
| Kirill Dolzhenkov | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 99 | |||||||||||||||
| Sergei Ivanov | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 99 | ||||||||||||||||
| Nikolai Makarov | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 91 | |||||||||||||||
| Ole Julian Bjorgvik Holm | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 89 | ||||||||||||||||
| Tim Berni | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 75 | |||||||||||||||||
| Martin Rysavy | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 48 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Eric Hjorth | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 28 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Ben Boyd | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 22 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| James Fisher | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 21 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Samuel Johannesson | 1 | 1 | 3 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 97 |