Summer is finally in full swing. With that, most people around the hockey world are off on their vacations while enjoying the downtime that comes with the offseason.
At the Hockey Writers, we write about hockey 12 months a year. In the spirit of that, we now begin our new series that will last until training camps begin in September. We will look at prospects around the league that are facing the most pressure in 2022-23.
In other words, if these prospects continue to struggle or put up an underwhelming season, their teams might have no choice but to move on from them despite the promise they once had.
In the first part, we are going to look at a Columbus Blue Jackets’ prospect that started his career off with a bang on the big stage. But since then, it’s been nothing but injury and inconsistency.
Setting the Scene – 2018 Draft
The Blue Jackets found themselves in a somewhat unfamiliar spot entering the 2018 draft. They held the 18th overall pick. That’s because they made the playoffs after a 97-point season.
After a hard fought loss in six games to the Washington Capitals, the Blue Jackets were looking to build off the momentum of making the playoffs. With the draft that year held in Dallas, it was no wonder that former Blue Jacket Seth Jones got to announce the pick. With the 18th overall pick, GM Jarmo Kekalainen and staff took their chances on speedster Liam Foudy.
This was an interesting and significant pick at the time. Foudy’s play in London helped him shoot up the final draft rankings from the 90s to 19th. This indicated some disagreement amongst the scouting world. Those that loved him saw the speed and skill he brought. Those with questions wondered what his true upside was.
In the beginning, the pick looked really good.
The Toronto Bubble
The Blue Jackets were just minutes away from knocking the Toronto Maple Leafs out of the bubble playoffs on their home ice. Up 3-0 with just four minutes left, the Maple Leafs looked dead.
However, the Maple Leafs stormed back in historic fashion by scoring three goals to force overtime before winning it in overtime to force Game 5. That’s when Foudy introduced himself to the hockey world.
With the score 1-0 late in the game, Foudy’s speed allowed him to surprise goalie Frederik Andersen to score a huge insurance goal. The Blue Jackets added an empty netter and won Game 5 going away 3-0. That goal was Foudy’s first NHL goal.
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