What we've learned so far in Blue Jackets training camp

Welcome to hockey season. Isn't it good to be back?
For the first time since last May, the Blue Jackets will take to the ice for an NHL game, albeit one of the
preseason variety tonight in Pittsburgh
. But still, it will be a welcome opportunity to enjoy some hockey, and even more is coming with the Blue Jackets hosting preseason games in Nationwide Arena on Tuesday (Buffalo) and Wednesday (St. Louis) nights.

After a few days of scrimmages and practices against one another, head coach Brad Larsen is ready to see how some of his players -- to be specific, 20 of the more than 60 players in camp -- handle facing another foe.
"Now we start to see in games," Larsen said. "It's hard to scrimmage agaisnt your teammates. It's always nice to run into someone else rather than the guys you're playing with and practicing with. Like I said, there's a lot of opportunities out there, and we'll see (how it goes)."
So now that we've seen a few days of practices (and gone through a few days of interviews, plus Wednesday's media day), what have we learned?

Here's Jackets Insider Jeff Svoboda's early thoughts on camp.
• It's not hard to feel the excitement building about Cole Sillinger -- and it is starting to look like it's going to be more and more difficult to keep Sillinger off the opening night roster.
It's high praise for the 18-year-old who was taken No. 12 overall in the NHL draft, but it's been deserved. Sillinger has impressed thus far as so much of his game is already that of a pro. He's certainly skilled -- anyone who scores goals like he did in juniors has talent, and Sillinger is known for his shot -- but it's also his approach to the game. At close to 200 pounds, he has an NHL body already and is good away from the puck for someone of his age, perhaps not surprising given his NHL lineage.
"He has what seems to me like a nice, quiet confidence to him," Larsen said. "I haven't talked to him much. I've made a point, I just want to watch him here first."
• Sillinger's first test of camp? After a dominant showing at the Traverse City Prospects Tournament -- Sillinger had five points in three games centering the team's top line before being rested in the finale -- he arrived in Columbus and was put on a line between Patrik Laine and Jake Voracek.
Some youngsters might be a bit intimidated by that -- Laine, after all, is one of the top snipers in the game and Voracek has been one of the most consistent and productive forwards in the game for more than a decade -- but Sillinger has looked the part. That line was probably the best of the early days CBJ camp, constantly setting up shop in opposing defensive zones and creating scoring chance after scoring chance.
"He's been good," Larsen said. "He's a smart hockey player. You can tell the way he thinks the game out there and his instincts. He's not overwhelmed playing with two pros, two really good pros. He's not going to stay there all camp -- we're going to switch things around -- but we want to see what he looks like between those guys."
• For his part, Sillinger didn't seem too nervous being put with the pair of NHL veterans, and his play all around the ice was one of the reasons the line looked so good in the early going.
"The're both super nice guys, super approachable, so it was nice to get to now them a litte bit and build a little bit of chemistry with them," he said after the first day of camp.
As for whether he thought being placed so high in the lineup to start was an indication he could make the team, Sillinger -- who also could return to juniors with Medicine Hat of the WHL or play in Cleveland as well -- said he did think about it.
"For sure," he said. "I'm here to make the team. I have a lot to prove, and for sure I am going to have to earn my spot on that team."
• Speaking of lines, here's how the Blue Jackets lined up through three practices, with the team split up into three groups in the opening days. (Pay little attention to the order -- after all, with the roster split, you can't really figure out a pecking order across groups.)
Gregory Hofmann - Jack Roslovic - Oliver Bjorkstrand
Patrik Laine - Cole Sillinger - Jakub Voracek
Gustav Nyquist - Boone Jenner - Yegor Chinakhov
Eric Robinson - Alexandre Texier - Emil Bemstrom
Liam Foudy - Sean Kuraly - Justin Danforth
Martin Rysavy - Kevin Stenlund - Carson Meyer
Tyler Angle - Josh Dunne - Tristan Mullin
Zach Werenski - Adam Boqvist
Vladislav Gavrikov - Jake Bean
Dean Kukan - Andrew Peeke
Gabriel Carlsson - Scott Harrington
Gavin Bayreuther - Mikko Lehtonen
• So, any thoughts about those lines? First off, again, don't put too much stock into either the order or pairings, simply because with the team split into three, people have to go somewhere. And Larsen has said things will change throughout camp and especially in the eight preseason games, starting with tonight's opener at Pittsburgh.
But you do have to think coaches specifically put a few lines or pairings together to see how players would react. One of those we've already touched on, but it is interesting to see Hofmann with two top-six players in Bjorkstrand and Roslovic -- it's an early way to see how the Swiss import stacks up. Chinakhov, meanwhile, is also getting a chance with NHL veterans and has shown some good signs, including a great setup for Nyquist on Saturday that forced an excellent save out of goalie Elvis Merzlikins.
Again, don't write anything down in pen, but you're at least seeing a little look into the mind-set of the coaching staff in the early going.
• Look again at that list -- the Blue Jackets have plenty of options. That's 19 forwards and 10 defensemen who seem to have at least a chance to make the roster, and only 12 and six, respectively, can suit up for opening night.
Some players, obviously, are locks, but it will be really interesting to see how the final three or four forward spots and two or three defensive spots shake out. There's no lack of combatants for spots, and a key theme of this year will be to see how so many of the new and young faces handle increased roles.
• One player who has caught my eye early is Danforth, whom the Blue Jackets signed after three impressive seasons in Europe -- two in Finland, where he was league MVP in 2019-20, and another excellent year in the KHL. Danforth also won a gold medal on Team Canada's World Championships team this summer, and he's come in trying to earn a spot at the NHL level.
Time will tell if he'll make it, but so far the thing that has stood out about Danforth is he's not afraid to try to make a play. He's had poise with the puck on his stick, and he's whipped out a couple of fancy moves to try to create offense.
"I wanted to come here and make plays and play my game," he said. "I'm not going to dump the puck in. Obviously there's a time and place to dump the puck in, but I want to come here and make plays and create chances. I have to play solid defense and play a two-way game obviously, but I want to add a little bit of offense and a little bit of depth.
"Chances in this league, they don't come too often. You have to create a lot. You have to work hard for chances so when the chances I there, you have to capitalize and you have to make a play. That's what they pay you for."
Larsen, meanwhile, has prasied Danforth for the energy he's brought to the table so far. Fun fact -- tonight's game will be the first NHL contest (preseason or regular season) the 28-year-old forward has ever skated in. A product of Sacred Heart University who last played in the ECHL in North America, Danforth has taken the long road to get to this opportunity.
• I also
wrote about Hofmann this weekend
, but he added another scrimmage goal on Saturday, giving him three in two days. He can certainly scoot, and his skill is pretty clear given his goal-scoring track record overseas. He's one to watch.
• Speaking of players to watch, 2021 fifth-round pick James Malatesta keeps popping. He scored in Friday's scrimmages with an absolute laser, and he added a goal into an open net on Saturday after a goaltending mishap. He's not the biggest guy, but he's a weight-room maniac, and he clearly has a pretty good shot. He's an intriguing package to follow going forward, and it wouldn't be a surprise if he has a huge year with Quebec of the QMJHL.
• As we look at the defensive lineup, I wrote this the other day, but the difference between being on the team's third pair and starting the season in Cleveland might be quite small. That's what happens when there's 10 true contenders for a roster spot, eight of whom are on one-way contracts (the other two are Adam Boqvist, who is going to make the team, and Gavin Bayreuther).
It seems the top four at the start are Boqvist, who has been given a first look at skating with Zach Werenski, as well as Vladislav Gavrikov and Jake Bean. That would certainly be an offensive-minded first pair, as Werenski led the NHL in goal scoring by a defenseman two years ago and Boqvist has a lot of skill, one reason why he was the eighth overall pick in the 2018 draft.
Considering he's a right-hand shot -- one of just two in camp, along with Peeke -- it might make a lot of sense to start Boqvist with Werenski, and Larsen said he's not too concerned the two are known for their offense at a spot with defense in the name.
"I think whoever he plays with, whether it's a skill guy, maybe a more stay-at-home guy, he is our leader back there," Larsen said of Werenski. "He's a guy that has made a commitment to us. I think he's grown into that role. I think he's going to gauge time and score, situational play, but we don't want to take away from what he's good at."
• Given he's the only other right-shot defenseman on the team, Peeke is someone the Blue Jackets would love to see have a bounce-back season after a rough 2021. The 2016 second-round pick impressed as a rookie two seasons ago but had a hard time finding his footing last year, playing in only 11 games. He looks the part right now and has been pretty good at the start of camp, and there's no doubting his potential.
• On the goaltending front, Joonas Korpisalo's lower-body injury kept him out of the start of camp (he was back on the ice Monday), but he's still expected to be a big part of the team's plans this year. Just because Merzlikins signed a five-year extension this past week doesn't mean he's immediately slotted to get starter's minutes, something general manager Jarmo Kekalainen made clear last week.
Speaking Saturday, Larsen concurred.
"We all understand our goalie situation," Larsen said. "We have two really good goalies. There's a business side of it, and Elvis gets signed, but for me, if Korpi is playing excellent, he's going to play. I'm not going to coach the money. That doesn't make sense, especially at that position."
Larsen said play will determine everything, but there's also the variables of the schedule. With 82 games crammed into just over six months and most of February off for the Olympic break, there will be a lot of hockey to be played. Columbus also has 16 back-to-backs, and Larsen said he doesn't often plan to start the same goalie on consecutive nights.
• Also on the goalie front, count us glad to hear that goaltending coach Manny Legace is working his way back after a scary bout with Covid-19. Both Legace and his wife, Giana, contracted the virus in mid-August, but by Labor Day, with Legace's cough not going away, his wife and doctor said he needed to go to the hospital.
When he got to Henry Ford Macomb Hospital, his blood oxygenation levels were down in the 70s, a scary number that portended bad things ahead had he not arrived at the hospital when he did. A subsequent scan also showed bilateral blood clots, and Legace was admitted to intensive care and spent nearly a week in the hospital.
"The scale could have tipped at any moment while he was struggling sitting up breathing," said Dr. Anthony Colucci, a friend of Legace's and Medical Director at Henry Ford Macomb Hospital's emergency department. "He could have been tipped over into a pretty catastrophic cardiac event because of the low oxygenation. He dodged a bullet."
Legace said at first he felt like he didn't need to go the hospital because he figured his cough was just allergies. He called himself "stubborn" and acknowledged that not going to the hospital earlier was "the stupidest thing I've done in my whole entire life. If my wife didn't do what she did and got a hold of the people she got a hold of, I wouldn't be here talking to you."
Legace participated in a half-hour long media session last week with doctors at Henry Ford to thank them for their treatment, including Dr. Colucci and Dr. Nasir Husain, Chief of Infectious Disease at Henry Ford Macomb.
"I couldn't figure out a better way … to thank these people who saved my life," he said. "If it wasn't for my wife, Dr. Colucci, Dr. Husain and the ICU team, I know for a fact I wouldn't be sitting here right now."
Legace has been on the ice for the first few days of camp but has had to take breaks when necessary, but he's happy to at least be on the road to a full recovery and cautions the virus is no joke.
"Every day it's getting better," he said. "Still zero energy, and Doc said it's going to take a while, but it's coming back. I'm very, very lucky."
• Lastly, one neat gesture by the Blue Jackets was to invite to training camp the entire roster from the team's 4-0 squad at the Traverse City tournament. Obviously those with CBJ or Cleveland ties were already expected to attend, but the free agent invites on the roster also were welcomed to camp after putting together a tremendous performance in Michigan.
"I think they played well," Larsen said. "From the game I watched and the reports I got, they worked their tails off. They competed hard for each other. They all deserved to be here. It wasn't just because they won, it's how they really prepared and worked out there, which was great to see."