During the 2016 National Hockey League (NHL) Entry Draft, the Columbus Blue Jackets shocked most pundits who were assured that when the Blue Jackets finished third in the draft lottery, it was a virtual certainty that they would draft Finnish speedster Jesse Puljujarvi. After all, Puljujarvi, along with fellow Finnish players Patrick Laine and Sebastian Aho, dominated the World Under-18 (U-18) tournament, months earlier. It also seemed imminent with Blue Jackets General Manager Jarmo Kekalainen being a fellow Fin and adding Puljujarvi would quickly improve the skill level so desperately needed, particularly after a disappointing 2015-16 regular season, one which showed a glaring need with speed and scoring, primarily with their forward lines.
Instead, the Blue Jackets drafted forward Pierre-Luc Dubois, a physical, versatile two-way forward who can play either center or winger who also brings elite skill and agility to a team whose identity is being forged in being tough to play against.
Immediately, the pundits thought that the Blue Jackets had blown it, that perhaps Kekalainen and his draft and development folks attempted to fill a need and could have possibly over-thought what was wrong with Puljujarvi instead of what was right with him, this from one of the greatest talent evaluators and miners of unknown talent in the NHL in Kekalainen, with a legacy of a veritable ‘who’s who’ of star NHL players. There were even incredulous rumors floating around that Kekalainen and Puljujarvi’s family had personal issues between them. However, a deeper look into what went into the decision to draft Dubois reveals that Dubois was the better fit for the organization, all along.
In knowing the types of qualities that Kekalainen seeks in his draftees and prospects, while elite skill, particularly the ability to play a high rate of speed, both physically and the mental processing necessary to play in the world’s premier professional league, is important, Kekalainen values at a premium level the character of a prospect, a trait similar to what the elite teams in the National Football League (NFL) assess with their draft picks in utilizing the Wonderlic test, a test to assess the aptitude and learning ability of athletes, particularly in a team environment.
Dubois, after thorough scouting and research, was found to have demonstrated exceptional aptitude and mental processing abilities, but it was his leadership qualities that blew the Blue Jackets personnel brass away. Dubois’ coach in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL), Marc-Andre Dumont, was also the same coach of current NHL star and captain of the Philadelphia Flyers, Claude Giroux and informed the Blue Jackets that, while Giroux was a great leader of their squad, that Dubois was, in Dumont’s opinion, the greatest exhibited leadership qualities he had seen in all of his years of coaching.
What also sold the Kekalainen and his amateur scouting department, led by Ville Siren, was Dubois’ physical frame and his penchant for being a ferocious hitter and a player who garnered the reputation of being not only versatile – the intimidating power forward, the ability to play at wing or at center, a dynamic scorer, a set-up player or a defensive-minded shutdown guy – but the type of player no one wants or likes to play against.
Of course, the pundits, in trying to downplay Puljujarvi’s struggles when he was immediately called up to the Edmonton Oilers, the team that immediately had taken him 4th in that 2016 NHL entry draft, eventually having Puljujarvi sent down to Bakersfield, CA thus losing a year on his entry level contract, and blaming it on a language barrier which doesn’t hold any weight as fellow Finnish teammates Aho and Laine flourished with their respective teams, drew attention to Dubois being sent back to the QMJHL and struggling with the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles squad, adding to their belief that Kekalainen and his assistants may have errored in bypassing Puljujarvi and drafting Dubois. However, Dubois’ Cape Breton team lost a significant amount of their top players to the NHL entry draft and Dubois was trying to lead a playoff team the previous year to one that languished at the bottom of the QMJHL standings.
Fortunately, Dubois was traded to the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada in the middle of the 2016-17 season and Dubois flourished with a much better level of talent around him.
And while both players didn’t make contributions to their parent squad during the 2016-17 regular season, in Dubois’ case, due to staying in the QMJHL thus not burning a year off of his entry-level deal, both players have reached the NHL this season.
And while Puljujarvi, after being sent back to Bakersfield in the early part of the regular season, has begun to become an integral part of the Oilers squad, Dubois has equally been an integral part of the Blue Jackets team, and particularly so after being moved up to the top forward line during the period from late November through the month of December after a slow start. Dubois registered seven goals and ten assists for a total of 17 points in 21 games during that span before being dropped to the second forward line in January after Alexander Wennberg returned from injury.
Dubois is projected to register 37 points during his rookie campaign while Puljujarvi is projected to register 30 points over fewer games, Dubois has already exhibited the type of physicality that the Blue Jackets value in their players with 27 penalty minutes (PIM) compared to Puljujarvi with 4 PIM.
So, while both players should contribute equally to their respective team’s fortunes, it appears that the Blue Jackets made the right decision in drafting Dubois, a player who easily aligns with Blue Jackets’ head coach John Tortorella’s mantra of “safe is death” philosophy of north-south, ‘all in’, physical and hard-edged style of play.
In hindsight, it was foreboding when Blue Jackets President of Hockey Operations, John Davidson said that the 2016 NHL Entry draft was a 2-player draft with consensus numbers 1 and 2 picks Auston Matthews and Patrick Laine, respectively. Kekalainen may have also tipped his hand by stating that “it depends on who is selected second as to who we select at third” meaning that had the Winnipeg Jets selected Puljujarvi, Laine would have been selected third by the Blue Jackets. However, the Jets did select Laine and the rest, subject to future events, is history.
