Columbus Blue Jackets: Top 8 prospects worth getting excited about
6. Andrew Peeke
Defenseman Andrew Peeke nearly didn’t qualify for this list, as he appeared in 22 games with the Columbus Blue Jackets during the 2019-20 season and 29 with the Cleveland Monsters. Taken with the 34th pick of the 2016 NHL Entry Draft, the 22-year-old played three seasons for Notre Dame before making his professional debut this past season.
While his numbers at the college level didn’t jump off the page, he was able to produce at a solid rate for the Monsters in 2019-20, putting up 16 points in his 29 games. During his 22 NHL games, he was able to score his first NHL goal and add two assists. He will have a great chance at cracking the Blue Jackets lineup for the 2020-21 season.
5. Dmitry Voronkov
With their second of two Fourth Round picks at the 2019 NHL Entry Draft, the Blue Jackets selected Dmitry Voronkov at 114th overall. The extremely talented Russian forward spent the majority of his draft eligible season playing in the VHL, which is the second highest league in Russia, and posted 14 points in 50 games. He also appeared in three KHL games that same season for AK Bars Kazan, but was held pointless.
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Since being drafted, Voronkov has spent the past two seasons in the KHL with AK Bars. The 2019-20 season saw him post 12 points in 34 games, which are very solid numbers for an 18-year-old in what is widely considered the second best league in the entire world.
He was also able to represent Team Russia at the 2020 World Juniors and proved just how good he is when matched up against players his own age, as he scored three goals and added four assists in seven contests. He is now 32 games into his second KHL season, and has 14 points thus far. While he is no where near a finished product, he looks very promising at this point.