Saturday capped a busy week for the Columbus Blue Jackets’ hockey staff during which they extended contracts of current players, made trades for experienced players, and picked six new players during the two days of the NHL Draft. The CBJ selected four prospects on Saturday using trades to get to the slots they wanted.

The Blue Jackets were without a third round pick, the opening round on Saturday, but traded for the Detroit Red Wings’ third-round selection (76th overall) in exchange for their fourth-round selection (109th overall) this year and a fourth-rounder in 2026. With the selection, the CBJ took left-handed defenseman Malte Vass.

The 6-2, 184-pound blueliner from Karlstad, Sweden played Farjestad BK in the Sweden last season. He won silver medals with Sweden at the 2025 IIHF U18 World Championships and 2024 World Junior A Challenge. He has commited to play at Boston University next season.

In the fifth round, Columbus selected center Owen Griffin. The Markham, Ontario native had 22 goals and 29 assists in 62 regular season games with the Oshawa Generals of the Ontario Hockey League. He won a gold medal with Canada at the 2024 U17 World Hockey Challenge.

With their sixth-round selection, the Blue Jackets took left-handed defenseman Victor Hedin Raftheim. Raftheim, from Stockholm, Sweden, is another big blueliner at 6-4 and 190 pounds. The 17-year-old played for Brynas IF in Sweden’s junior league last season. 

The Blue Jackets then traded their two seventh-round picks to the Seattle Kraken to acquire the 198th pick. They selected center Jeremy Loranger, 18, from the British Columbia Hockey League. Last season, he led the league in assists (tied), points, and points-per-game. The native of Trois-Rivières, Quebec City, Canada will play next season for the University of Nebraska-Omaha.

The team will conduct its annual prospects development camp, featuring many of the players selected in this year’s and previous drafts, at the OhioHealth Ice Haus from Wednesday, July 2 through Saturday, July 5. Players will also undergo medicals and off-ice testing on Wednesday, July 2.