The 2025 third-round draft pick has a competitive streak that makes him stand out on the ice
When you meet Malte Vass, your first thought isn’t necessarily that the last place you’d want to be with him is in the corner battling for the puck.
Sure, he’s a big guy, but imposing isn’t the word that comes to mind. The easygoing Swedish defenseman generally has a smile on his face; in fact, he’s a joy to talk to.
But when the CBJ third-round pick in the 2025 draft is on the ice, one thing is clear about him – he hates to lose.
“I like to maybe get my hands dirty sometimes,” Vass said with a smile. “I always get in the corners. I want to win the puck and play it to my forwards. I’m best at that job, and that’s the job I want to do.”
That attitude and style of play is what attracted the Blue Jackets to the 6-2, 194-pound blueliner who excels at the less glamorous aspects of the game. While some players might cheat the game or want to see themselves on the score sheet, Vass doesn’t just know what he is, he’s good at it.
“We have seen him throughout the year in different tournaments, and I have liked the way he has defended,” said Ville Siren, the Blue Jackets director of amateur scouting. “He knows his identity and he plays with it every game. He doesn’t try to be something else that he’s not.”
There’s something to be said for that, and it has landed the native of Karlstad, Sweden, in Columbus. The Blue Jackets liked Vass enough to trade up to select him, sending a pair of fourth-round selections to Detroit to choose the Boston University-bound defender at 76th overall.
And if the draft had unfolded differently, Vass could have been a Blue Jacket much earlier. As general manager Don Waddell noted, Vass was one of three prospects the team drafted this year that it had in the top 14 of its rankings; had the other players on their board been selected, he would have been a Blue Jacket when the team selected 14th or 20th overall.
The Blue Jackets instead used those first-round picks on defenseman Jackson Smith and goaltender Pyotr Andreyanov, but they still liked Vass enough to keep tabs on him as the draft unfolded. A trade the opening day of the draft sent the team’s original third-round pick to Colorado, but as Vass remained on the board, the Blue Jackets made the decision to move back into the third round and add him to the prospect pool.
“It’s an honor,” Vass said of the Blue Jackets’ faith in him. “I’m very happy to be on a club that thinks big of me and wants me here.”
Of course, Vass couldn’t have known that at the time, though he had an inkling he’d be drafted considering several scouts and analysts had pegged him as a top-75 prospect. With Sweden six hours ahead of the Eastern time zone, Vass spent draft day training on the ice and was following the proceedings on the way back to Karlstad.
“In Sweden, we don’t have ice everywhere,” he said. “In my hometown, we don’t have it, so me and my dad were on the way home. So I got picked in the car on the way home!”
Moments after he saw his name appear on the screen – three minutes, in Vass’ estimation – his phone rang with a 614 area code.
“It was Rick Nash,” he said, referencing the Blue Jackets’ all-time leading scorer and current director of hockey operations. “It was really cool. He’s a legend. It was amazing. I didn’t know what to say. I think I was like, ‘Yeah, yeah, yeah.’
“It’s a little hard to believe, but of course (being drafted) has always been a dream. I was very happy.”
Vass and fellow Swedish draft pick Victor Hedin Raftheim flew to Columbus shortly after the draft and were on the ice for the team’s development camp, presented by Bread Financial, last week. It’s hard for a player like Vass to shine in such a setting considering his style of game, but it’s fair to say he did his job in Saturday’s Stinger Cup game in which his team won 6-0.
Vass showed a little bit of offense, as well, when he scored in the post-scrimmage shootout, and he did have two goals and 11 points in 40 games last year while playing with Farjestad BK’s U-20 team in his native country. But his game is all about shutting down other teams, and it’s a role that fits his competitive nature perfectly.
“I hate to lose and love to win,” he said. “You always want to win the competition on the ice, not only the game, but (against) your guy always. I want to win.”
Hockey News