Columbus has chosen at the spot just once in previous NHL drafts, but a look back shows plenty of notable names
The last time the Columbus Blue Jackets picked 14th overall in the NHL draft, the year was 2013. Future Hart Trophy recipient and Stanley Cup champion Nathan MacKinnon went first overall to Colorado before the Jackets selected Alexander Wennberg with the 14th pick.
Things look a little bit different 12 years later, but at the 2025 NHL Draft, the Blue Jackets will once again enter with the 14th overall selection among their two first-round choices.
Though the Blue Jackets have made picks much earlier in the draft in recent years – including the selection of Cayden Lindstrom fourth overall last year and Adam Fantilli at third overall in 2023 – history shows there’s still a good chance Columbus will leave with a solid NHL player at the spot.
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From dynamic offensive defensemen to Hockey Hall of Famers, an intriguing crop of NHL players have been selected at 14th overall.
Charlie McAvoy (Boston Bruins, 2016): A mainstay on defense for the Bruins, McAvoy has found success at each level of hockey he’s played. At Boston University, he helped his Terriers to a Hockey East regular season title in 2016-17, he earned medals for Team USA at the Under-18, Under-20 and men’s World Championships, and he represented his country at the Four Nations Faceoff this year. McAvoy has 300 points in 504 NHL games and has twice finished in the top five in the Norris Trophy voting.
Jaden Schwartz (St. Louis Blues, 2010): Schwartz is a reliable winger that posted his sixth 20-goal season this past year, scoring 26 times for Seattle at age 32. The 14-year NHL veteran has worn a letter for much of his time in pro hockey and before, including four years as an alternate captain for the Kraken, three as an alternate for the Blues, and a stint as captain of the Team Canada Under-20 national team in 2012. Schwartz won the Stanley Cup with the Blues in 2019.
Jake DeBrusk (Boston Bruins, 2015): Another Bruins pick at 14th overall, DeBrusk spent the first seven years of his NHL career in Boston before signing with the Vancouver Canucks last summer. DeBrusk reached a career-high 28 goals this past season and has notched 40 or more points in six out of his eight NHL seasons.
Ken Dryden (Boston Bruins, 1964): A national championship winner at Cornell and six-time Stanley Cup champion with Montreal, Dryden was enshrined in the Hockey Hall of Fame after a career that saw him amass 258 wins and just 57 losses in eight NHL seasons with the Canadiens. Dryden won the Vezina Trophy five times and added a Conn Smythe and the Calder Trophy. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1983 and was tabbed as one of the 100 Greatest NHL Players of All Time.
Brian Propp (Philadelphia Flyers, 1979): The only 14th overall pick to register more than 1,000 points in the NHL, Propp spent 15 seasons in the NHL – 11 of them with the Flyers – and notched 425 goals. He medaled twice with Team Canada at the World Championships and played in five Stanley Cup finals with three different NHL teams.
Sergei Gonchar (Washington Capitals, 1992): Gonchar played 20 seasons in the NHL with six teams and became the first Russian defenseman to reach the 200-goal mark. He helped the Pittsburgh Penguins to a Stanley Cup in 2009 and ranks 18th all-time in both career points and goals by a defenseman (811 and 220, respectively). Gonchar finished in the top 10 of the Norris Trophy voting seven times in his career and was a five-time NHL All-Star.
2024: Konsta Helenius (Buffalo Sabres): Inking an entry-level contract with the Sabres shortly after being drafted, the Finnish center spent the 2024-25 season in the American Hockey League with the Rochester Americans. He posted 14 goals and 35 points in 65 games this year with the Amerks and has also skated twice for Finland at the World Juniors.
2023: Brayden Yager (Pittsburgh Penguins): Traded by the Penguins for another 14th overall pick (see below), Yager is under contract with the Winnipeg Jets and has spent each of the last five seasons in the WHL, totaling 129 goals and 332 points in 265 games with Moose Jaw and Lethbridge. The sharp-shooting forward captained Team Canada’s Under-20 national team at the World Junior Championship in January.
2022: Rutger McGroarty (Winnipeg Jets): The other piece in the one-for-one prospect swap between Winnipeg and Pittsburgh in 2024, McGroarty has eight NHL games under his belt with the Pens and captained Team USA to a gold medal at the 2024 World Junior Championship. After two high-scoring seasons at the University of Michigan, McGroarty had 14 goals and 39 points in 60 games in the AHL this season.
2021: Isak Rosen (Buffalo Sabres): Another forward prospect, Rosen has played in 15 NHL games over the past two years and has spent much of his time with the Rochester Americans. The Stockholm native has eclipsed the 50-point mark in each of his last two seasons in the AHL.
2020: Dylan Holloway (Edmonton Oilers): After the Oilers failed to match St. Louis’ offer sheet last summer, the center had a breakout season with the Blues. After posting 18 points across his first two NHL seasons, Holloway exploded for 26 goals and 63 points in 77 games in 2024-25, helping the Blues into the Stanley Cup playoffs.
