Elick split his WHL season between the Brandon Wheat Kings and Tri-City Americans, potting two goals and adding 13 assists across 66 games. Elick is a decent enough puck-mover, but isn’t looking to set up offensive efforts, nor is he leaned on for this. Elick is a prototypical defensive defenseman who has a long reach and a knack for breaking up plays. He is able to throw the body, block shots and move the puck out of the zone and kick off the offense. As such, he won’t be in a position to provide much offensive category coverage, but hits, shots, blocks and a decent complement of penalty minutes.

The Columbus Blue Jackets signed Elick to a three-year, entry-level contract beginning in the 2025-26 season.

Elick is known for his ability to force play outside the dots and be a solid physical presence in a shutdown role. His puck handling and decision-making need improvement to transition to the pro level, but his NHL upside remains promising.

Elick should earn himslef a job on an AHL blueline this season, and can fight for a spot in the bottom pair for the Blue Jackets in the next year or two.

June 2024Elick was selected in the second round, 36th overall, by the Columbus Blue Jackets in the 2024 NHL Draft. Hadi Kalakeche

April 2024Charlie Elick is the type of defenseman who seems easy to project into a future NHL lineup. While Elick has been relatively productive, his interest stems more from his dependable transition game and effective (and physical) defensive game. Elick has an excellent first pass out of the defensive zone and—complimented by strong four-way mobility—makes him one of the best defensive zone transition defensemen in the WHL. Elick’s skating and strong 6’3 frame also lend themselves well to his robust defensive game. Elick closes gaps, defends the line well, wins pucks and net-front battles, and easily transitions retrievals into offense. He is also very physical and can level punishing body checks without chasing hits. Elick shows much promise as a second-pair, matchup defenseman at the next level. Luke Sweeney (April Rankings: 36th)

February 2024 Charlie Elick, our second WHL defender off the board, is a much more poised, meat-and-potatoes player than our first, Carter Yakemchuk. However, like Yakemchuk, Elick is a physically developed right-shot defenceman (6-3, 200 pounds). Elick’s skating forward, backward, and laterally is all very strong, though he uses this more for defensive purposes than as a transition leader. Besides his physical attributes, Elick is a much more developed, mature defender than his fellow WHLers in this draft. He uses his skating ability to close gaps, deny the defensive blueline, and use his strength and athleticism to box out the front, win battles below the goal line, and crush the opposition with body checks. Though his offensive game is coming along and might not translate to higher levels even if refined, it would not be surprising to see a player of this profile come off the board even earlier. Luke Sweeney