The Columbus Blue Jackets have selected Tri-City Americans defenseman Jackson Smith with the 14th overall selection in the first round of the 2025 NHL Draft, club President of Hockey Operations and General Manager Don Waddell announced tonight. The Blue Jackets also selected Krasnaya Armiya Moskva goaltender Pyotr Andreyanov with the 20th overall selection.
Smith, 18, set single-season career highs after registering 11 goals and 43 assists for 54 points with 48 penalty minutes in 68 games played with Tri-City during the 2024-25 Western Hockey League campaign. He led club blueliners in goals, assists, points, and power play goals (4), while ranking third on the team in assists and fourth in points. He led WHL draft eligible blueliners in assists and points.
The 6-4, 199-pound defenseman has collected 19-66-85 with 89 PIM in 136 career games over three seasons with the American since making his league debut in 2022-23. He added 1-2-3 in seven career postseason appearances with the club.
A native of Calgary, Alberta, he helped Canada win a gold medal at the 2025 IIHF U18 World Championships after leading tournament blueliners in goals with 4-1-5 in seven appearances. He also won a gold medal with the country at the 2024 Hlinka Gretzky Cup. Smith is committed to play at Penn State University for the 2025-26 season.
**FULL JACKSON SMITH STATISTICS**
Andreyanov, 18, posted a 23-6-6 record with a 1.75 goals-against average (GAA), .942 save percentage (SV%) and three shutouts in 37 games played for Krasnaya in Russia’s Junior Hockey League (MHL) during the 2024-25 season. The 6-0, 207-pound netminder ranked second in the league in save percentage (min. 20 GP) as well as fourth in wins and goals-against average. The MHL Goaltender of the Month for October and December also made his All-Star debut, participating for the Western Conference. He registered a 2.36 GAA and .929 SV% in six playoff appearances.
The Volsk, Russia native has compiled a 22-14-6 career record with a 2.40 GAA, .929 SV% and four shutouts in 57 career MHL games over two seasons with Krasnaya Armiya.
**FULL PYOTR ANDREYANOV STATISTICS**
Rounds 2-7 of the 2024 NHL Draft will be held on Saturday, June 28 beginning at 12 p.m. ET. The Blue Jackets hold the following picks on Saturday – fourth round (109th), fifth round (160th), sixth round (173rd), seventh round (205th, 218th). More information on this event can be obtained by visiting https://www.nhl.com/draft.
