I very nearly titled this "How the Blue Jackets Screwed Up the 2016 Draft", but after having done these reviews for their three previous drafts (which you can read here: 2015, 2014 and 2013) I figured I'd stick to the formula.

The Blue Jackets headed into this year's entry draft both in a good spot and a terrible one. For the first time in franchise history they actually improved in the draft lottery, moving up from the fourth spot to the third in a draft class thought by basically all observers to have a clear top three, but at the same time they were staring at a draft class heavy on wingers (which they already had an abundance of in the organization) and light on potential No. 1 centers (which they need after dealing away Ryan Johansen last year) after Auston Matthews who was locked in as the first overall pick.

In the three-plus years I've been covering GM Jarmo Kekalainen's tenure as Columbus' GM, some patterns had become clear in his drafting. He likes size (the shortest player he selected last year stood six-foot-one) and he likes players who show some maturity (his picks are littered with players who captained their squads or represented their countries internationally.) All that, combined with their shared Finnish nationality, seemed to point towards the Blue Jackets sprinting to the podium to take six-foot-three World Junior Championships MVP Jesse Puljujarvi with their top pick, right?

1 (4) - Pierre-Luc Dubois, C/LW, Cape Breton (QMJHL): Sigh.

First, let's talk about the player Kekalainen hitched his future to. DuBois was a late riser on draft boards, mainly due to a mid-season shift from the wing to center which he handled with aplomb. He's a solid six-foot-two and 200 lbs., by all accounts is a total rink rat (befitting the son of a coach and former player) who's always busting his ass to try and get better, and his 42 goals and 99 points last year in 62 games (plus 112 PIM) is impressive even in a high-scoring league like the Q. He's an easy player to like and even, as apparently happened with the Jackets' front office, fall in love with. Kekalainen reportedly explored trade-down scenarios but wasn't confident DuBois would get past the Oilers with the fourth overall pick, so just stood pat and trusted his board.

The big question is, though, can DuBois be a No. 1 center in the NHL? Because that's what he'll need to be to justify this pick. DuBois is a strong, physical two-way player who skates well, forechecks well, has a good shot, can handle the puck... he's good to very good in basically every facet of the game. In the admittedly limited looks I've had at him as an extremely amateur scout though, what I've haven't seen him be is great in any of them, at least on a consistent basis. His will to succeed has allowed his skills to play up so far in his career, but when he gets to the NHL he'll suddenly be just one of many guys on the ice who has that same kind of drive. He's also got less projection than most 18-year-olds, having already been in an NHL-caliber training program this past offseason that allowed him to pack on 20 pounds of muscle heading into his draft year. If his drive truly is elite even compared to NHL competition, maybe he hits those Anze Kopitar or Jamie Benn comps I've seen tossed around, but if not his floor still seems very secure as a second line player who contributes offensively and defensively.

The problem for me is that Puljujarvi's ceiling not only seems higher, he seems much more likely to hit that ceiling too. I get that the Jackets need center depth more than wing depth. I get that it's very easy to look at DuBois play against teenagers and dream on him becoming a dominant, physical top line center. But it seems far more likely to me that he ends up a player in the mold of Boone Jenner or Brandon Dubinsky, a top-six forward who bounces between center and wing, leaves everything on the ice, contributes offensively and becomes a fan favorite. That's a great player to have, sure, but the Jackets already have two of them, and it's certainly not the kind of player worth the third overall pick.

Puljujarvi, on the other hand, may not be the pure scorer Patrick Laine (the second overall pick) is, but he's otherwise got clearly elite offensive skills without sacrificing anything at the other end of the rink. DuBois, to me, is probably a second line glue guy. Puljujarvi is the kind of player who can elevate the play of a second line glue guy and allow them to play like a first line asset, turn a 60-point player into a 75-point player. (Pair him with a Connor McDavid and, well, the sky's the limit.) He's exactly the kind of talent who makes for a great consolation prize when you can't land a true No. 1 center in a draft.

Let me put it this way. DuBois, as a late bloomer, didn't even play for Canada at the World Juniors last year. On the other hand Puljujarvi, who'd actually played significant minutes for silver medal-winning Finland in 2015 as a 16-year-old (which is it itself extremely rare), was the tourney's leading scorer and MVP as a 17-year-old, leading his country to gold in Jaunary. Here's the list of players who had as many points as Puljujarvi does at the World Juniors before their 18th birthday: Wayne Gretzky, Jaromir Jagr, and Eric Lindros.

That's it. That's the whole list.

I'm not saying Puljujarvi is a sure-fire Hall of Famer, of course. But he seems to have a much better shot at becoming one than DuBois does.

2 (34) - Andrew Peeke, D, Green Bay (USHL): Every year it seems like Kekalainen takes a big, physical blueliner, and 2016 was no exception. Peeke is a few years away from trying to break into the NHL as he's set to go to college with Notre Dame, but at six-foot-three, 205 lbs., he's got the size and wingspan the Jackets look for in a defenseman. He's also not one dimensional, showing flashes of good passing vision and a hard shot off the point. His skating and puck handling will need to improve, but he's got plenty of time in which to do exactly that.

3 (65) - Vitaly Abramov, LW, Gatineau (QMJHL): The Q's Rookie of the Year last year, Abramov scored 38 goals and 93 points in 63 games but got shut out of a chance to represent Russia internationally due to politics. At five-foot-nine and 170 lbs. he's not the prototypical Kekalainen pick, but the success of Oliver Bjorkstrand certainly shows that the organization can develop a waterbug-type scorer. Abramov is lightning-fast and strong on the puck, can stick-handle out of a phone booth and isn't afraid to dig the puck out of the corners. He doesn't shirk in his own end either, although his size prevents his from being anything more than an effort player defensively. Like Bjorkstrand in 2013, this is a pick that could look like a real steal a few years from now.

6 (155) - Peter Thome, G, North Dakota (NAHL): A true project, Thome has the ideal size and frame for an NHL goalie at six-foot-three and 194 lbs., but he has many years of technique work ahead of him before he'll even sniff Columbus. He'll head to the USHL next year to take the next step in that journey. The Jackets have has a good eye for goaltending talent lately though, adding Joonas Korpisalo and Elvis Merzlikins (both now legit prospects) to their depth chart over the past few years, so don't be too surprised if Thome makes it.

7 (185) - Calvin Thurkauf, C/LW, Kelowna (WHL): The Swiss forward is a solid six-foot-one, 203 lbs. and plays the kind of responsible two-way game people have come to expect from European imports. He's got a physical edge but lacks upper-tier skating or offensive skills, which means if he improves enough to ever crack an NHL roster it'll likely be in a fourth line grinder role.