Looking to build from a 2021-22 season that left them sixth place in the Metropolitan Division with a 37-38-7 record, with a porous defense that allowed 300 goals and a goal differential of -38, the Columbus Blue Jackets selected Moose Jaw defenseman Denton Mateychuk with the 12th overall selection in the first round of the 2022 NHL draft.
During the second day, they added some defense and went for scoring by selecting four forwards, another defenseman and one goaltender.
Mateychuk (pronounced mah-TAY-chuk), who turns 18 this week, is a 5-10, 194-pound defenseman who recorded 13 goals and 51 assists for 64 points with 15 penalty minutes, four power-play goals and a +20 plus/minus rating in 65 games with the Moose Jaw Warriors of the Western Hockey League in 2021-22. He was named to the WHL (East) First All-Star Team after finishing tied for fifth among league defensemen in points and sixth in assists. He also ranked second on the Warriors in assists and third in points. The Winnipeg, Manitoba, native helped Canada capture gold at the 2021 IIHF U18 World Championships.
On Day 2, the Jackets selected 6-0, 179-pound forward Luca Del Bel Bellus, 18, from Mississauga of the Ontario Hockey League in the second round, 44th overall. The Woodbridge, Ontario, native led the Mississauga Steelheads (OHL) in assists and finished second in goals, points and plus/minus rating with 30-46-76 points and a +23 in 68 games in 2021-22.
In the third round, Columbus selected 5-8, 165-pound right winger Jordan Dumais with the 96th overall pick. The 18-year-old has collected 49-89-138 with 26 penalty minutes in 108 career appearances with the Halifax Mooseheads of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League from 2020-22. Dumais was named the 2022 Canadian Hockey League Sportsman of the Year, the QMJHL Most Sportsmanlike Player and to the QMJHL Second All-Star Team.
Columbus used its fourth-round pick, 109th overall, 6-6, 234-pound right wing Kirill Dolzhenkov from Krasnaya Armiya of Russia’s Junior League (MHL). The 18-year-old native of Moskva, Russia, recorded 14-14-28 with 35 penalty minutes, a +13 plus/minus rating and five power-play goals in 33 appearances with Krasnaya Armiya in 2021-22.
The Blue Jackets acquired a fifth-round pick, 138th overall, from San Jose for a 2023 fifth-round pick. Columbus selected 5-11, 165-pound goaltender Sergei Ivanov from SKA St. Petersburg of Russia’s Junior League (MHL). The Chernushka, Russia, native has posted a 19-24-9 record with a 2.86 goals-against average, .920 save percentage and four shutouts in 54 career games with SKA St. Petersburg and SKA Varyagi (MHL) from 2020-22. Ivanov represented Russia at several international tournaments, earning a gold medal at the 2022 Hlinka Gretzky Cup and a silver medal at the 2021 U18 World Championships.
In the seventh round with the 203rd overall pick, the Blue Jackets selected 6-2, 170-pound right wing James Fisher, 18, from Belmont Hill School. The native of Burlington, Mass., has tallied 21-21-42 in 56 career games with Belmont Hill from 2019-22
