Texier ready to carry banner for France
CHICAGO — Ask Americans to name popular French sports images and many conjure tennis players sliding across the red clay of Roland Garros and cyclists pedaling through the Alps on their way to the Champs-Elysees in Paris.
Few probably picture hockey in the land of baguettes and sidewalk cafes. Alexandre Texier wants to change that image, and the Blue Jackets have offered him the platform.
The Blue Jackets made the 17-year-old center the highest NHL draft pick from France, selecting him No. 45 overall Saturday at the United Center. The club, which began the day without a secondround selection, traded prospect Keegan Kolesar to the Vegas Golden Knights for the right to choose the 6-foot, 185-pound kid nicknamed “Tex.”
Texier becomes just the ninth player drafted into the NHL from France and among the few who received all his training in his homeland.
“It’s cool,” he told reporters in French. “I am proud for myself, for France and for my (club) team in Grenoble. I am proud to represent my country. I hope that French hockey will evolve in relation to that.”
Texier was accompanied to Chicago by his parents, who stoked his interest in the game. His father, Fabrice, was a defenseman who played one season (1986-87) in Canada. Last season, Texier was named the best young player in the French senior league, scoring 10 goals and adding nine assists in 40 games.
“It’s unbelievable for me and my family,” Texier said in his limited English.
He would have represented France in the world championships if not for a shoulder injury that will keep him off the ice at this week’s development camp in Columbus. Texier is deciding whether to play next season in Sweden, Finland or a Canadian junior hockey league.
“We drafted a guy we would have taken in the first round if we had a late first-round pick,” Jackets general manager Jarmo Kekelainen said of a selection that was dealt to Vegas as part of an expansion-draft side deal. “We feel like we have a very good prospect with him.”
Jackets connection
Goaltender Daniil Tarasov was projected a year ago to be a first-round pick, but he missed the 2016-17 season after having a benign growth removed from one of his shins. The Jackets selected him in the third round, No. 86 overall.
He has been skating and practicing for the past two months in Spain, said his Russiabased agent, Aljosa Bilko. Blue Jackets goaltending coach Ian Clark traveled to Spain to visit Tarasov in recent weeks and check on his recovery.
There are two connections between Tarasov and the Blue Jackets. Clark has worked closely with Tarasov’s father, Vadim Tarasov, who had a 20-year career as a goaltender in Russia’s pro leagues. One of Vadim Tarasov’s biggest fans during his career was a young goaltender in Novokuznetsk, Russia, by the name of Sergei Bobrovsky.
Slap shots
Fifth-round selection Kale Howarth, of the Trail Smoke Eaters in the British Columbia Hockey League, is a nephew of former NHL player Scott Mellanby. … Sixth-round pick Carson Meyer, a Powell native and Miami University sophomore, was one of only nine players taken from the NCAA college ranks.