The Jackets are the defending champs of the Traverse City prospect tournament, and today they’ve released their roster:
FORWARD
| Kerby Rychel | T.J. Tynan | Oliver Bjorkstrand |
| Nick Moutrey | Peter Quenneville | Sonny Milano |
| Paul Bittner | Dante Salituro | Josh Anderson |
| Julien Pelletier | Christian Isackson | Daniel Zaar |
| Keegan Kolesar | Kole Sherwood |
DEFENSE
| Dillon Heatherington | Michael Paliotta |
| Olivier LeBlanc | Blake Siebenaler |
| Dean Kukan | Sam Ruopp |
| Veeti Vainio | Oleg Yevenko |
| Brandon Crawley |
GOALTENDER
| Anton Forsberg |
| Joonas Korpisalo |
Among the players listed were three non-roster invites. Here’s some background on these players:
Christian Isackson
A former Buffalo Sabres draft pick (7th Round, 2010), Isackson just finished his career at the University of Minnesota, where he was a fourth-line player for the Gophers. He was unable to put up any kind of offensive numbers, though he is known for his playmaking ability. The Jackets would have seen him play while keeping tabs on Mike Reilly and Ryan Collins at Minnesota.
Dante Salituro
Salituro was eligible for this year’s draft, but was passed over, mostly likely due to his 5’8″, 185lb frame. The center led the Ottawa 67’s in scoring this past season, with 37-41-78 in 68 games. He’s a player worth tracking at this tournament, and is a candidate to earn an entry-level contract from the Jackets with a successful showing in Traverse City, and with luck, main camp.
Brandon Crawley
A rookie last season with the London Knights, Crawley was another player passed over in the 2015 NHL Draft. He’s a defense-first blueliner that plays with an edge. For a smaller guy, he plays a big game.
Salituro and Isackson help fill a gap up the middle for this year’s squad, highlighting the need for the Jackets to bulk up the center position in the 2016 Draft.
We’ll have a more detailed preview on September 11, the day the tournament starts.