The NHL Draft Lottery was this past Monday and the Columbus Blue Jackets dream of landing the number one pick and selecting generational talent Connor Bedard fizzled like many of their power plays this past season. The CBJ can still add to their roster a piece that has been missing from the team’s inception into the NHL and that important piece is center.

The Columbus Blue Jackets roster has always had a glaring hole at the center spot. There was a few years of Pierre-Luc Dubois but he was not the long-term elite answer. The team tried with Ryan Johansen and even brought in Jeff Carter but that did not ignite the offense like the Penguins and other teams have with bonafide centers.

Missing out on Connor Bedard and most likely Adam Fantilli stings but Columbus has two options at center that can vastly improve the team for the forseeable future. The two most likely candidates to be taken by the Blue Jackets at number 3 are: Leo Carlsson and Will Smith. I prefer Carlsson for the record.

Leo Carlsson – The 6 foot 3 inch, 194 lbs. center would fit nicely between Johnny Gaudreau and Patrik Laine. He can take on the top lineman with his physicality. Carlsson plays in the SHL which is known to have rough play and Carlsson overcame that and dominated. He is ranked as the #1 ranked international skater by NHL central scouting.

Will Smith – not the gettin’ jiggy wit it Will Smith but he can break ankles on the ice with his moves. The 6 foot, 172 lbs. center creates great deception with elite head, eye and shoulder fakes. Smith has shown that he can make tough plays under pressure at high speeds.

The lottery was not kind to Columbus but drafting an elite player at a position that has eluded the Blue Jackets for decades should make fans watching the team at Nationwide Arena cheer. I can hear the boom of the cannon as it gets fired off when their center scores, Carlsson or Smith.

*Featured Photo Courtesy of 1st Ohio Battery*