Going into the 2013 SBNation Mock Draft, we were excited to have three first round picks at our disposal. In most cases, the safe play would be to not choose all three players from the same position, instead choosing say, a pair of forwards and a defenseman; or maybe one forward, a lone defender and a goaltender.
Nah, we didn't go that route.
The Jackets have the NHL's top goaltender in Sergei Bobrovsky. Last year, they drafted two very good goaltenders in the second and third rounds in Oscar Dansk and Joonas Korpisalo. Not to mention prospect Anton Forsberg looks like a serious contender for a job with the Jackets down the line.
Thanks to trades and the draft the Jackets are well-stocked with great young defenders, led by last year's second-overall pick Ryan Murray. Dalton Prout had a breakout campaign in 2013, while Tim Erixon, David Savard, Mike Reilly, Will Weber and Cody Goloubef are the future on the back end.
Outside of Boone Jenner, who is the organization's top forward prospect, the future isn't as bright up front. Michael Chaput, Lukas Sedlak, Daniel Zaar, T.J. Tynan and Josh Anderson each offer different levels of promise, but none are elite prospects.
With this in mind, we decided to bring the talent and depth of the forward prospects at least up to par with the goalies and blueliners, using all three 2013 first round picks on forwards.
With the 14th overall pick, we drafted Max Domi, an offensive dynamo with NHL bloodlines. At 19, we went with Valentin Zykov, a Russian power forward who's already in North America playing junior. With the 27th overall pick, we wanted to add a player who could bring serious toughness, competitiveness, a winning attitude, and some offensive ability.
Ryan Hartman, ladies and gentlemen.
Check out his numbers:
For more info and scouting reports, check out his draft prospect profile.
The draft, thus far:
| PICK | TEAM | PLAYER |
| 1 | Colorado Avalanche | Nathan MacKinnon |
| 2 | Florida Panthers | Jonathan Drouin |
| 3 | Tampa Bay Lightning | Seth Jones |
| 4 | Nashville Predators | Aleksander Barkov |
| 5 | Carolina Hurricanes | Valeri Nichushkin |
| 6 | Calgary Flames | Sean Monahan |
| 7 | Edmonton Oilers | Elias Lindholm |
| 8 | Buffalo Sabres | Darnell Nurse |
| 9 | New Jersey Devils | Hunter Shinkaruk |
| 10 | Dallas Stars | Rasmus Ristolainen |
| 11 | Philadelphia Flyers | Mirco Mueller |
| 12 | Phoenix Coyotes | Bo Horvat |
| 13 | Winnipeg Jets | Kerby Rychel |
| 14 | Columbus Blue Jackets | Max Domi |
| 15 | New York Islanders | Alexander Wennberg |
| 16 | Buffalo Sabres | Frederik Gauthier |
| 17 | Ottawa Senators | Ryan Pulock |
| 18 | Detroit Red Wings | Anthony Mantha |
| 19 | Columbus Blue Jackets | Valentin Zykov |
| 20 | San Jose Sharks | Andre Burakowsky |
| 21 | Toronto Maple Leafs | Nikita Zadorov |
| 22 | Calgary Flames | Shea Theodore |
| 23 | Washington Capitals | J.T. Compher |
| 24 | Vancouver Canucks | Adam Erne |
| 25 | Montreal Canadiens | Josh Morrissey |
| 26 | Anaheim Ducks | Robert Hagg |
| 27 | Columbus Blue Jackets | Ryan Hartman |
That concludes the 2013 SBNation NHL Mock Draft for the Jackets. To add to the strong group of defense and goaltending prospects, we added Domi, Zykov and Hartman. Each player brings something different to the table, and the addition of this trio will do nothing but add to an already budding core of players on the verge of being contenders.