Blue Jackets select four players on Day Two of 2020 NHL Draft

The Columbus Blue Jackets wrapped up the 2020 National Hockey League Draft by selecting four players during rounds two through seven on Wednesday. During the two-day draft, the Jackets used their five picks to select two forwards and three defensemen.
The Blue Jackets selected defenseman Samuel Knazko (pronounced kuh-NAZ-koh) from TPS Jr. in Finland's junior league (Jr. SM-Liiga) in the third round, 78th overall. The 18-year-old has recorded 11 goals and 39 assists for 50 points with 18 penalty minutes and a cumulative +17 plus/minus rating in 106 career Jr. SM-Liiga contests with TPS from 2018-21. He has registered 2-3-5, four penalty minutes and a +4 plus/minus rating in nine appearances with the club in 2020-21.
A native of Trencin, Slovakia, Knazko posted 7-21-28, six penalty minutes and was +10 in 2019-20 with TPS Jr., ranking second among club defensemen in goals, assists and points. The 6-0, 191-pound blueliner has represented Slovakia at several international tournaments, including the 2020 IIHF World Junior Championships and 2019 Ivan Hlinka Memorial tournament, as well as the 2018 and 2019 IIHF U18 World Championships.

In the fourth round, Columbus selected Knazko's teammate, Mikael Pyyhtia (pronounced PEW-tee-uh) with the 114th overall pick. The 18-year-old winger has collected 21-42-63, 33 penalty minutes and a cumulative +23 plus/minus rating in 77 career appearances with TPS Jr. from 2018-21. The Turku, Finland native has 3-3-6 and a +6 plus/minus rating in five games with TPS Jr. in 2020-21 and posted 11-30-41 in 42 outings with the club in 2019-20. The 6-0, 154-pound forward also made his debut with TPS in Finland's top professional league (Liiga) in 2019-20, collecting an assist in two games.
Columbus used its fifth round pick, 145th overall, to select defenseman Ole Julian Bjorgvik-Holm (pronounced Bee-YORK-vihk - HOLM). He has collected 0-1-1 and two penalty minutes in one game for Manglerud in Norway in 2020-21. A native of Oslo, Norway, the 18-year-old recorded 2-17-19 and 47 penalty minutes in 57 outings with the Ontario Hockey League's Mississauga Steelheads in 2019-20. The 6-2, 190yo-pound blueliner played for the Tri City Storm in the United States Hockey League and Colorado Thunderbirds in the Tier 1 Elite Hockey League in 2018-19.
With their sixth round selection, 176th overall, the Blue Jackets picked defenseman Samuel Johannesson (pronounced Yoh-HAN-eh-suhn) of Rogle BK in the Swedish Hockey League. The 19-year-old has recorded 2-11-13 and two penalty minutes in 55 career SHL outings with Rogle, including 1-1-2 and a +2 plus/minus rating in four appearances in 2020-21. The 5-11, 176-pound native of Sweden split the 2019-20 campaign between the men's and junior clubs where he recorded 1-10-11 in 44 outings in the SHL and adding 8-10-18 in 19 contests in the SuperElit league (junior).
The Blue Jackets traded their seventh round selection, 207th overall, to the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for a conditional seventh round pick in the 2021 or 2022 NHL Draft.
Blue Jackets Draft Recap: Rd 1 (21) - Yegor Chinakhov, RW (Avangard Omsk, KHL)… Rd 3 (78) - Samuel Knazko, D (TPS Jr /Junior SM-Liiga)… Rd 4 (114) - Mikael Pyyhtia, W (TPS Jr/Junior SM-Liiga)… Rd 5 (145) - Ole Julian Bjorgvik-Holm, D (Manglerud/Norway)… Rd 6 (176) - Samuel Johannesson, D (Rogle BK/SHL).