Columbus Blue Jackets select Gavin Brindley with No. 34 pick in 2023 NHL Draft

The Columbus Blue Jackets have selected forward Gavin Brindley with the No. 34 pick in the 2023 NHL Draft.

Brindley emerged as a legitimate scoring threat as a young 18-year-old with the Michigan Wolverines during the 2022–23 season. He finished fifth on the team in scoring — right behind NHL first-round picks Mackie Samoskevich and Rutger McGroarty — and helped Michigan reach the Frozen Four.

The five-foot-nine right wing scored 12 goals and 38 points in 41 games with the Wolverines during the 2022–23 collegiate season. He also appeared in seven games with Team USA at the 2023 IIHF World Junior Championship, collecting four points (one goal, three assists).

Brindley is the latest addition to a Blue Jackets prospect pool that also includes Adam Fantilli. The Blue Jackets used their 2022 first-round selection(s) on David Jircek and Denton Mateychuk in the first round of the 2022 NHL Draft.

[City name] does not possess another pick in the first round/previously selected x in the first round of the 2023 NHL Draft. Barring any additional moves, the [team name] will be back on the clock with the No. x pick in the x round.

Daily Faceoff‘s Steven Ellis ranked Brindley as the No. 27 prospect available in this year’s draft. Here’s what he had to say about Brindley in his final 2023 NHL Draft Rankings:

“Small but feisty, Brindley went under the radar in Michigan, largely due to Fantilli’s heroics,” Ellis said. “He’s as competitive as it comes, and he’s a solid straight-line skater, but there’s still some room to improve from an overall puck skill and hockey sense standpoint. Another year of college will help.”