Blue Jackets' final roster decisions framed by opportunity, uncertainty
Most teams are fine-tuning their lineups for the start of the regular season. Columbus is still in evaluation mode with a number of players and lineup roles.
Brian Hedger
Two main themes have governed over the Blue Jackets’ training camp and slate of preseason games.
Opportunity is one. Uncertainty is the other, and the latter is a byproduct of the former. Camp opened with a number of NHL roles and roster spots undetermined, providing multiple opportunities for players to improve their standing. And as things wind down there are still competitions for ice time that will roll right into the Jackets’ season-opener Thursday at Nationwide Arena.
Even goalies Elvis Merzlikins and Joonas Korpisalo are battling for the top job in net.
“Eight’s a lot (of preseason games), but we’re in that unique position where guys are still fighting for spots,” coach Brad Larsen said Friday, going into the final two exhibition games Friday in St. Louis and Saturday against Pittsburgh at Nationwide Arena. “I don’t think it’s a bad thing at this point.”
Friday's preseason featured many AHL players for the Blue Jackets
The roster Larsen and his coaching staff put together for the game in St. Louis was heavy on players who will start out with the Cleveland Monsters in the American Hockey League. There were several whose immediate futures were still undecided, including Korpisalo in net and defensemen vying to earn regular NHL roles playing on the Jackets’ third pairing.
Saturday’s lineup more closely resembled what the Arizona Coyotes will likely face on opening night, but Larsen said nothing is finalized yet.
“I’m not going to say that, because it could change, too, by opening night,” he said. “We’re in that position where there’s only so many spots and there’s a lot of guys fighting to get those spots.”
Those who appear to be riding the bubble include forwards Justin Danforth, Kevin Stenlund, Emil Bemstrom, Gregory Hoffman, Cole Sillinger and Yegor Chinakhov, along with defensemen Gabriel Carlsson, Andrew Peeke, Scott Harrington, Dean Kukan and Mikko Lehtonen.
Sillinger, 18, and Chinakhov, 20, are rookie wild cards. Should one or both survive the final cut, the Blue Jackets’ brain trust will have some tough calls to make on others, including some who’d require the league’s 24-hour waivers process to be assigned to Cleveland.
Domi talks Eichel
Coming off shoulder surgery, Max Domi is empathetic toward the plight of Buffalo Sabres star center Jack Eichel, who has a neck injury that requires surgery and is at odds with his team about how to repair it.
Eichel prefers a relatively new procedure involving an artificial cervical disc. The Sabres prefer a standard surgical repair of fusing vertebrae together.
Domi was asked about the situation because of his rehab to repair a torn labrum. The Blue Jackets allowed him to use a rehab center in Canada this summer rather than forcing him to do it in Ohio.
“I think players deserve to get treated with the best possible care, especially someone of that magnitude and an injury of that magnitude as well,” Domi said of Eichel. “That’s pretty serious stuff, and at the end of the day I think everyone in the league wants to see Jack Eichel back on the ice. He’s a big part of our game. I think our game misses him, and when he comes back, he’ll be ready to go. But I think it’s a tough situation for everybody involved.”
Prior to being asked specifically about Eichel, Domi spoke about his own rehab process and how much he appreciated the Blue Jackets’ approach. He didn’t specifically mention Eichel’s plight in those comments, but it seemed to apply.
“I have so much respect for the organization, because they really let me do my own thing and they trusted that,” Domi said. “Obviously, I kept them in the loop with everything going on, and I don’t think that happens enough in pro sports. I think sometimes it gets mismanaged and you see people trying to micromanage things. And I don’t think that’s always the right answer. … and that’s the positive about here is these guys were full-on in (saying): ‘Whatever you’ve got to do, you’ve got to do. We trust you’re going to put in the work.’ ”
Voracek boosting power play
Going into their final two exhibition games, the Blue Jackets had the second-highest success rate in the NHL on power plays. They were 7 of 20 (35%) through six games, including 6 of 10 (60%) with Jakub Voracek’s power play unit.
That’s almost certain to be the Jackets’ top group to start the season, featuring Voracek at right wing, Patrik Laine at left wing, Zach Werenski quarterbacking from the point, Boone Jenner in front of the net and Oliver Bjorkstrand right between the faceoff circles.
After Laine scored with a highlight-reel move for the unit’s third power-play goal Wednesday against Detroit, all five players had scored at least once with the man advantage. Intensity and skill of opposing penalty-killers will increase in the regular season, but it’s been impressive to watch them work in the preseason.
Voracek, 32, is a big reason why. The veteran is an elite passing winger who can scoref, and is helping assistant coach Pascal Vincent by implementing tweaks he’s learned over the duration of his NHL career.
“He’s vocal,” Vincent said. “He knows what he wants and he knows what works. So, we work together. But him as a flank and a lefty (shot) … he can feed (Laine), he can feed (Werenski) at the blue line. We have a goal-line play (for Jenner) and now (Bjorkstrand’s) in the middle. That’s another weapon. So, choose what you’re going to cover.”
Roslovic quicker on draws
Winning faceoffs was an issue for Jack Roslovic for about half of last season. He showed improvement during the second half of the 56-game campaign, pouring work into it after practices, and his effort continued into the summer.
The regular season will match him up against better centers more consistently, but Roslovic has taken care of business at the dots during this preseason. Going into the final two games, his win rate was 53.3% on 33 of 62 faceoffs.
“You get a feel of it,” said Roslovic, who’s going into his fifth full NHL season. “Some days, you’ll have good nights. Some days, you’ll have bad nights. But you obviously want to have more good than bad. It’s just something that you get better with repetition. The more you do it, the more successful you’ll be.”