The Blue Jackets expect rookie forwards Nikita Filatov, Jakub Voracek and Derick Brassard to make their team this season, and head coach Ken Hitchcock appears comfortable with that notion.
"Ours is a league of talent," Hitchcock told the Columbus Dispatch. "When you have talent, age is irrelevant. If he's ready, he'll be here.
"Right now, I just want him to go enjoy himself. I want to see where he's at and turn him loose, get him skating with the guys. The big thing is, he's here."
Voracek plays the right wing, while Brassard is a centerman. Filatov, meanwhile, can play both the center position and left wing.
Hitchcock indicated that Filatov will see action in early exhibition games later this month.
