I listened to the Breakfeast with the Blue Jackets on 1460 this morning. They had director of amateur scouting Don Boyd on to discuss the draft as well a replay of Howson's draft interview and an interview with 2006 6th overall pick Derick Brassard.
Don Boyd had some interesting things including that nugget that Nikita Filatov is actually a natural center but played wing in Russia last season. Now like many young players if Nikita were to make the Jackets he would probably do so as a wing but down the road it sounded like the long term plans for this kid are to use him at center.
Boyd also reassured everyone that they put in the necessary leg work to make sure this kid was air tight in terms of his commitment to playing in this league. In fact Howson even saw the paper work that this kid has terminated his contract in Russia.
The organization is really excited about this kid. They aren't sure where he will play yet but they hope to have him over to North America permanently starting in August. Howson said that they will work through the Visa issues to try to get him to prospect camp by July 7th. I wouldn't count on him being here for that though unfortunately.
A friend of mine really had a great a line about this kid when comparing him to another young high profile Russian on our team. She said that Zherdev is a PC and Filatov is a Mac. In other words, there is far less baggage with a kid like Filatov.
As a reader pointed out in the comments on another post here that there is a great interview with Filatov over on the piplelineshow.com -- just follow this link -- its show #19.
Derick Brassard sounds ready to really make a push this summer. He said that he and the other 6 guys in town work out starting at 9 a.m. for two hours every day. It sounded like in the afternoon they have some other training like Yoga that they participate in. He said he really wants to make the team next year and make an impact and a big part of that is the work you have to put in over the summer.
He also talked about last year and that he really didn't get to show the Columbus fans what he was capable of coming of jaw surgery. When asked about Voracek he said they want to be like Kane and Toews last year make and make a difference. Like I said this kid sounds ready and motivated.
Also if you haven't checked out Blue Jackets TV you need to. They have some great interviews with some of our picks including Filatov, 2nd round pick d-man Goloubef whom I've been told could be a real stud for us on the blueline and Steven Delisle who is a huge 6'6" defensemen we took in the 4th round.
I was very impressed with Goloubef's interview and Delisle sounds genuinely excited to get picked by the Jackets.
I'll have a post later today about what's next for the Jackets now that the draft has concluded.
-LTL
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3 comments:
Good haul at the draft this weekend. Filatov is looking better & better as the #6 pick.
I read in the Dispatch this morning that Hossa is going to test free agency. What's your take on him?
Hey Rick!
Hossa is a great player but I don't see the Jackets going hard after him.. he's going to want upwards of 7 to 8 mil a year.. we are the deepest at wing and need to spend our money and assets to fill multiple holes at center, defense and a top 6 wing..
If we only had one major hole and it was at wing then I'm sure Hossa would be a target..
We'll add a winger though.. I still think they have their sights set on Malone who could also be used at center.
LTL - That's kind of what I was thinking. I'd love to see Howson go hard after Malone. I think if we could get him (along with Umberger, Nash, etc.), other players might start looking at C-Bus with more interest as a destination.
I'm really starting to think we're seeing the beginnings of a playoff (fingers crossed!) core of players. Anyway you slice it, this next season should be a good one!
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