Columbus Blue Jackets: Top 8 prospects worth getting excited about
4. Daniil Tarasov
The first and only goaltender on this list is Daniil Tarasov. The Columbus Blue Jackets were able to grab the young Russian netminder with the 86th overall selection at the 2017 NHL Entry Draft. He spent the season after being drafted in the MHL, which is Russia’s top junior league, and posted a sparkling 1.85 Goals Against Average along with a .921 save percentage in 40 games.
As a result of the great season, he was promoted to the VHL for the 2018-19 season where he continued his dominance with a 1.71 GAA and a .928 SV% in 25 contests.
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The now 21-year-old Tarasov wanted a chance to play at an elite professional level for the 2019-20 season, and decided to play for Assat in the SM-liiga. The league proved to be much more difficult for him than others in seasons past, as he put up a fairly uninspiring 2.80 GAA and a .899 SV% on the year.
Despite the down year, however, he was able to land a spot in the KHL for Salavat Yulaev Ufa, and has been lights out, albeit in a small sample size. In eight games played, he has put up a 2.01 GAA along with a .929 SV%. Whether or not those numbers will decrease as the season goes on remains to be seen, but it is a great start for what looks to be an extremely promising prospect.
3. Yegor Chinakhov
When Columbus Blue Jackets General Manager Jarmo Kekalainen announced that he was selecting Yegor Chinakhov with the 21st overall pick at the 2020 NHL Entry Draft, everybody who had done their research on the draft prospects was in shock.
Many had not even heard of the Russian forward, and the ones who did had him projected to go in the mid-to-late rounds of the Draft. Given that the 2020 Draft was talked about as being one of the deepest in quite some time, it seemed like a huge gamble to go way off the board like they did.
Despite the many critics however, it looks as though Kekalainen may have made a great decision. Although it is still extremely early, Chinakhov is off to a fantastic rookie KHL season. In 27 games for Omsk Avangard, the 19-year-old forward has eight goals and 15 points. Hockey fans around the world who questioned this pick will be able to get a first-hand glimpse of Chinakhov at the upcoming World Juniors, where he will look to prove many wrong.