Blue Jackets, Bemstrom hope third time's the charm
Pressured by internal competition, the Swedish sharpshooter needs to stake his claim as an NHL contributor.
Brian Hedger
It’s not exactly “now or never," but Emil Bemstrom does need to start tapping into his scoring potential sooner than later for the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Bemstrom, 22, is heading into his third NHL season and hasn’t played up to the expectations heaped upon his arrival in 2019. After torching the Swedish Hockey League with 23 goals, 12 assists and 35 points in 47 games for Djurgardens, Bemstrom headed to Columbus as the youngest player in SHL history to lead the league in goals.
It was a big deal at the time, raising expectations for him with the Blue Jackets. The hope was that Bemstrom could help mitigate the loss of Artemi Panarin in free agency, but the Jackets are still waiting for that kind of impact.
Bemstrom is too.
'I want to be an impact player on this team'
“I want to be an impact player on this team,” he said at the outset of a Blue Jackets training camp brimming with opportunities. “I’ve just got to be better in all three zones … help the team not only to score goals, but also be a trustable player.”
Those are all things he’s struggled with since coming to Columbus.
Finding a spot in the Jackets’ everyday lineup has been a challenge, and it’s led to a couple of underwhelming seasons to start his NHL career. Bemstrom, a fourth-round pick in 2017, has scored only 13 goals in 76 games.
That's not terrible, but it's well below what most expected. There are multiple reasons for the sluggish scoring pace. Bemstrom has battled injuries, had two seasons shortened by the COVID-19 pandemic and he’s struggled to unleash the booming one-timer that tormented goalies in Sweden.
Will his third NHL spin be the charm?
“Yeah, but it’s gonna be hard,” said Bemstrom, who scored his first goal of the preseason on a breakaway Monday in Buffalo. “There’s some young guys coming up too and they’re doing great, so I’ve just got to be confident in myself and play my game.”
The “young guys” he referenced are rookie forwards Cole Sillinger and Yegor Chinakhov, who remain in camp more than halfway through the preseason. Each has sparked the attention of the Blue Jackets’ coaching staff, and they're also applying pressure to players like Bemstrom, who must fend off a challenge for their current ice time while also vying for a promotion.
It’s a tricky balance as the Jackets whittle to their opening roster, and Bemstrom is not immune to the squeeze. His first couple of preseason games didn’t do much to alleviate any pressure, but his breakaway goal against the Sabres was a step in the right direction.
'He’s got to calm his mind'
“He’s got to calm his mind,” head coach Brad Larsen said. “For me, that’s the No. 1 thing. He’s got a busy mind when he’s out there, and I think it’s sometimes due to lack of confidence. When he’s playing his best, it’s less thinking, more instinct.”
Last season provided a great example.
Bemstrom hadn’t scored a goal in his first 16 games and missed six weeks with an injury. In his second game back, on May 3 at Nationwide Arena, he scored three straight goals in the third period against the Nashville Predators for the first hat trick of his career. Nashville won the game in overtime, but the OT was forced by Bemstrom’s tallies.
That’s the kind of impact he can have, but he needs to show it more regularly.
“We’ve had good conversations, but he’s got to prove it in the games,” Larsen said. “We have a lot of competition up front right now. It’s a good problem to have, but there’s pressure on guys to play well every night. And I like that. I think that’s great for the internal push we’ve been talking about.”
Bemstrom is also learning to embrace it.
“I’ve been here for almost two years now, so I’m getting more comfortable … but I’m not ‘comfortable,’ if you know what I’m saying,” he said. “I can’t do more than just do my best every day and we’ll see how that goes, but I want to be here long-term and this is probably the year I have to show that.”