Written by Adam Burke

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The Columbus Blue Jackets took defenseman Ryan Murray with the second overall pick in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft. Murray was the highest-ranked defensemen in the draft and the #2 ranked North American skater by the NHL's Central Scouting Bureau. The consensus opinion on Murray is that he has good passing skills and is a phenomenal skater, but was ranked where he was because of his NHL-readiness and mature size. Murray has the potential to be a shutdown defensemen for the Blue Jackets and there's a decent chance that he starts the season in Columbus for the upcoming 2012-13 campaign.

There had been some speculation about the Blue Jackets trading out of the second spot if Murray was selected first by the Edmonton Oilers, but things fell as they were expected to. As far as other speculation, the Blue Jackets are not expected to trade Rick Nash until July, after the teams who lose out on free agent Zach Parise need to explore other possibilities.

In other news, the Jackets traded for goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky before the draft began. The Jackets gave up a second-round and fifth-round pick in the 2012 draft and a fourth rounder in the 2013 draft.