Columbus Blue Jackets Recall Top Prospect Very Quickly

On Friday, the Columbus Blue Jackets assigned top prospect Yegor Chinakhov to the Cleveland Monsters. Now, they have quickly changed their mind, as they have already called up the 20-year-old winger.

Chinakhov played one game for the Monsters and scored a goal. Clearly it was enough for him to gain a call-up. Now, one can assume he will be making his NHL debut very shortly.

Chinakhov was surprisingly selected 20th overall in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft by the Columbus Blue Jackets. No scouts envisioned him getting picked in the first round, but it seems that the Blue Jackets could have a real steal on their hands. In the KHL last season with Avangard Omsk, he scored 10 goals and had 17 points in 32 games as a rookie. He also led all players 20 years or younger in points-per-game at 0.53. He topped that off with five goals and seven points in 21 playoff games before winning the Gagarin Cup.

It will be fun to see what he's capable of doing at the NHL level this season. He's a player all hockey fans should be paying close attention to.