Traverse City notebook: Sillinger dons the union blue for the first time

Cole Sillinger is officially a Blue Jacket.
OK, a prospects tournament in Traverse City, Mich., isn't exactly a time for great proclamations. There will be plenty of milestones along the way for the 2021 first-round draft pick, so pulling the union blue sweater over his head for the first time against a bunch of other youngsters likely won't rank that high on the list down the road.

Yet it is still pretty notable that on Thursday, the Columbus-born center took to the ice at the NHL Prospects Tournament wearing the uniform his dad Mike put on during two seasons in the early 2000s.
"It was super cool," a smiling Sillinger said after the Jackets' 4-3 win over Toronto to begin the tourney Thursday. "You're getting ready in the locker room and everyone is throwing on the Columbus Blue Jackets jersey, so for me that was a really great experience."
Sillinger finished with an assist in the game and came close to a couple of other points on a first line with Tyler Angle and fellow first-rounder Yegor Chinakhov that produced a ton of chances. Notably, Sillinger used his shot that notched 24 goals in 31 games last year in USHL play to ring the post early in the third.
Yet it wasn't his skill as much as his effort that stood out, as Sillinger wasn't afraid to be in the mix of just about every play. A handful of times the 18-year-old found himself involved in extracurricular activities after the whistle, partly because he doesn't seem to mind getting under the opponent's skin and partly because he isn't afraid to get to the dirty areas on the ice where conflict simply just happens.
"I play with a chip on my shoulder for sure," the No. 12 overall pick in the 2021 draft said. "It's part of the game. You're battling in front of the net, I'm expecting something to happen. Just have to be ready for that. That's where the goals are scored, so I'm going to get to the greasy areas."

Chinakhov scores

One game in and one goal is on the board for Chinakhov, the Russian sniper the Blue Jackets took in 21st overall in the 2020 draft.
Though the puck surprised many at the time it looked downright smart by the end of last season, though, as Chinakhov won the Alexei Cherepanov Award as the top rookie in the KHL for a season in which he had 10 goals and 17 points in 32 games with KHL champion Avangard Omsk.
The goal Thursday was a big one, as with the Jackets trailing 3-2 early in the third, the Russian right wing found himself with plenty of space in front of the net on a rush and picked his spot, blowing a laser of a wrist shot past the glove of Toronto goalie Ian Scott.

"Oh my God, that shot," said CBJ captain Josh Dunne of Chinakhov's shot, which was his calling card as a rookie in the KHL. "It was funny, on the bench guys were like, 'It's a goal.' He shot that and I was like, 'Yeah.' I don't care who is in net there. That was an absolute cannon. That guy has an incredible shot."
In all, Chinakhov had four shots on goal and was part of an effective line with Angle and Sillinger that created scoring chances throughout the game.
"He's obviously a phenomenal player," Sillinger said of Chinakhov. "He mixes his size, his speed, his strength and his compete. That's someone I like to play with. Obviously that was a huge goal for us."

Mullin fills up the sheet

The Blue Jackets have had a few Gordie Howe hat tricks over the past few years.
Zach Werenski famously had one in the 2019 playoffs in a Game 2 win over Tampa Bay on the way to the memorable first-round sweep. Oliver Bjorkstrand, of all people, dropped the mitts last year in Detroit after posting a goal and an assist, with his first career NHL fight giving him a Gordie in that win.
Tristan Mullin, meanwhile, joined the club on Thursday in Traverse City. He dropped the mitts in the first period, battling gargantuan Toronto forward Curtis Douglas, then scored the Jackets' first goal on a 2-on-1 with a blistering bar-down shot in the second period. Later in the frame, his cross-crease feed to Cole Fonstad resulted in a goal, giving him the goal, the assist and the fight.
"We joked about it when I scored," he said. "Said I needed an assist to get the Gordie Howe, and then (Fonstad) scored the next shift. Pretty cool."
Mullin has signed with the Jackets' AHL affiliate in Cleveland for this season after making his pro debut with the Monsters a year ago. The former Cornell and University of Vermont skater inked a deal with Cleveland at the end of the NCAA season a year ago, and the 24-year-old winger from Manitoba finished with a 3-1-4 line in 15 games with the Monsters.
While he said he was happy to get the goal an assist Thursday, he said the physical part of his game is truly his calling card.
"I try to play hard and play a 200-foot game, and sometimes that's part of the game," he said.
As for the fight, the fact that he dropped the gloves against the 6-foot-8, 249-pound Douglas was impressive.
"I hit him and then we slashed coming up the ice," said Mullin, who is listed at 6-2, 196. "There wasn't too much emotion to it, to be honest. He just asked me to go, and I was like, 'Let's get one over with and try to get the guys going.'"

News and Notes

• Columbus is being led behind the bench at the event by Monsters assistant coach Trent Vogelhuber as well as European development coach Jarkko Ruutu and development coach Mark Letestu.
• Tonight's game vs. Dallas will start at 7 p.m. and be livestreamed. The Blue Jackets held a morning skate ahead of the game, and signee Carson Meyer did not take part and is questionable for tonight.