Blue Jackets to Pick 4th in 2024 NHL Entry Draft – Hockey Writers – Columbus Blue Jackets

The ping pong balls spoke. The roster for the first half of the 2024 NHL Entry Draft is officially set. For the first time since the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, the draft lottery did not cause a change in the selection process. With the San Jose Sharks winning first and the Chicago Blackhawks winning second in the 2024 NHL Draft Lottery, the Columbus Blue Jackets will be holding their own with the fourth overall pick.

This is the fourth time the Blue Jackets have taken fourth place in this tournament. The last time they did that was in 2010 when they signed Ryan Johansen. Johansen became the team's All-Star center before being traded in a one-time deal to the Nashville Predators, beating defenseman Seth Jones to the Ohio team. Before that it was the talented, but troubled player Nikolai Zherdev in 2003 and longtime defenseman Rostislav Klesla and the franchise's first draft pick in 2000.

There isn't much left about the upcoming selection process, except for Boston University's Macklin Celebrini who is likely to be the first pick. Celebrini's 2023-24 season was among the best in NCAA history. He became the fourth player to win the Hobey Baker Award as the best player in American college hockey. Other recent newcomers were Paul Kariya – who was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2017 – and Vegas Golden Knights senior center Jack Eichel and the Blue Jackets' 2023 third-round pick, Adam Fantilli. Celebrini is the youngest, he finished this season at 17 years old.

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The 2024 NHL Entry Draft will be held June 28-29 in Las Vegas at the Vegas Sphere. It may be the last draft held in a central location with representatives from all 32 teams in one place. From 2025, the event will be held virtually so that team managers can reach all employees in real time and each market can host their own events.