New faces down on the farm

With the looming NHL lockout, you Blue Jacket faithful have seen some familiar faces hop in a plane and travel out to Western Massachusetts to play for the AHL affiliate Springfield Falcons. Players such as right wing Cam Atkinson, center Ryan Johansen and defenseman John Moore and David Savard were all solid contributions on the ice for the Blue Jackets.

Cam Atkinson played in 27 games last season for the
Columbus Blue Jackets. Photo courtesy of Masslive.com

Last season, Johansen and Moore played the most games for Columbus out of the bunch. They both played in 67 games for the Blue Jackets. Johansen, a center, scored nine goals and had 12 helpers combining for a total of 21 points on the year. Moore, a physical defenseman, had just two goals and five assists totaling seven points in his season for Columbus. 

This season, Johansen has been playing well for Springfield. Through four games played, the center has two goals and an assist. As for Moore, he has contributed a goal and an assist to the Falcons offensive outpour this season (averaging over three goals a game this season).

Next comes Savard. The 6’1” 217 pounder from St. Hyacinthe, Quebec, played 31 games wearing the Columbus red white and blue, scoring two goals and adding eight helpers to total 10 points. This season for the Falcons, Savard has started the season strong handing out two assists in four games.

Lastly, the player in this group with the least experience in the NHL last year with the Blue Jackets is having the biggest impact with the Falcons this season. Boston College graduate Cam Atkinson has put together four points in as many games this year in Springfield. 

With one goal and three assists, this is a good chance for Atkinson to showcase his talents to the Blue Jacket front office. Last season with Columbus, the 5’7” right winger played in 27 games with the Jackets and tallied 14 points (7 goals, 7 assists).  

Atkinson was one of the more talked about players this off season. My roommate had a chance to check out the training camp evaluations as part of the Springfield College Exercise Science major. He will be interning with Falcons Head Strength Coach Dan Gregory next semester. According to him, “Cam showed off his speed and strength in training camp, with the fastest short sprint time, and even though being of smaller stature, was lifting with the big guys.”

The Falcons are off to a great start this season. Through four games the team is 3-1, losing only to the Providence Bruins this past Saturday. The Falcons will look to avenge this loss when they travel to Providence this Friday to take on the Bruins on the road.

Follow Jon Santer on Twitter: @JSanter5

Check out Jon's personal Hockey East Blog: collegehockeyeastpuck.wordpress.com
Twitter: @HockeyEastBlog

New Sheriff in Town

Todd Richards was an authoritative voice in his 1st practice

Todd Richards ran his first practice for the Columbus Blue Jackets today.  The difference was palpable.  Richards was firm and authoritative throughout the practice, and he clearly has some things he wants to change.  If a drill wasn't started the way he wanted it, he'd stop it and make them start over.  He worked the players hard.

It seems clear that he has changes in mind in defensive zone coverage, as well as on the offensive side.  A 5 on 5  D zone drill late in the practice got spirited, and he jumped in, insisting that the players on offense not concede anything.  The pace quickly picked up.

From my seat half way up the lower bowl, I could clearly hear him (and my hearing is nothing to write home about) telling the centers to 'get out there, no lazy circles' and telling them that the coverage he wanted was going to be hard work.  I don't know how the players felt about it, but it was music to this fan's ears.

The bubble defensemen

Because reviewing the preseason performance of the Columbus Blue Jackets bubble-perched forwards was so much fun, and my template was already set up, I figured it was easy to toss together the CBJ bubble blue-liners.

The training camp numbers are nowhere near as large
as on opening day of camp, and the competition is that much
more intense for the last few roster spots.

The same caveat applies to the defense as to the forwards: Statistics should be a significant factor, but not the only factor, in judging the preseason performance of a player. There are a host of other issues that come into play when building a roster beyond the boxscores.  (Never mind that the advanced statistics movement in hockey is widely acknowledged to have taken off with the development of the Corsi rating, something tailor-made to compensate for inadequate boxscore data on defensemen.)  Still, it's foolish to overlook the publicly available stats altogether, as they can tell us stories as well.

With no further ado, here are what I see as Blue Jackets defensemen on the bubble for the opening day roster (note that I've got an update at the bottom of this post, but humor me as I share my completed work in this fluid environment):



Again, the individual player statistics are available by clicking their names at the bottom of the spreadsheet.  Also, the disparity in games played make the per-game statistics useful.  With that out of the way, let's look inside the numbers, shall we?

Last chance workout

Max Mayorov's been hanging around the AHL since bringing
his game to America from Russia.  Is he a legitimate NHL prospect
for the Blue Jackets, or might he be better as trade bait?

The Columbus Blue Jackets appear resigned to their fate as a playoff also-ran and have called forward Maxsim Mayorov up from AHL Springfield.

Mayorov has had a remarkably consistent career in his three AHL seasons, scoring 31, 32 and 30 points in each of those campaigns.  More importantly, he has one year left on his entry-level contract before becoming a restricted free agent.

Mayorov is only 21, something that can't be overlooked, but the numbers suggest that he's treading water in the CBJ's minor league system.  He's not "bad" per se, but he's clearly not lighting up the minor leagues. This, of course, leaves the Blue Jackets in a pickle.  Is this youngster on a trajectory that will have him wind up in the NHL?  Is he an AHL lifer?  If he's neither, where might he fit in?

Game 58/Chicago: My Take

[Pardon the over 24-hour delay in getting this posted.  I've been struggling to get some schoolwork done on deadline (done), fighting yet another apparent sinus infection (sigh) and ended up hosting a friend's child while she ran down to the hospital to deliver a baby (wow).]

In a string of "must-win" games, none have been bigger than Friday night's Columbus Blue Jackets visit to the United Center to take on the Chicago Blackhawks, who were only one standings place and two standings points ahead of the CBJ.  While by no means dominating from wire to wire, the Blue Jackets fought it out and emerged victorious, 4-3, in regulation.

Start with this:




Everything else is gravy.

Observation from practice

For the first time in way too long, the Dark Blue Toddler and I ventured down this morning to Nationwide Arena to check in on the Columbus Blue Jackets' open practice in anticipation of tomorrow's tilt with the streaking (7-1-2 in their last 10 - Yow!) Los Angeles Kings.

When reached for comment about practice,
the Dark Blue Toddler stopped on the stairs to say,
"Up! Up! UP! Down! Down! DOWN! Hockey! Boom!"

The visit was punctuated by a pre-practice breakfast with DBT at the Arena District's Sunny Street Cafe on Nationwide Boulevard, where we redeemed a Groupon and he gnawed on perhaps the largest "dinosaur" pancake that I've ever seen.  (They apprently pour the batter into a 8-inch long dinosaur mold, kinda like a cookie cutter for pancakes.)  Of course, the DBT is the discriminating type, so he ate my home fries instead.  At least I got coffee.  And Sunny Street is a great way to kick off your CBJ practice morning.  Nice folks, fast service.

As for practice, I got pretty much what I've come to expect with the little man.  DBT runs the stairs and the rows nonstop (only stopping to tell me what row letter I've parked in to monitor him while he tears around sections 114 and 115), and I get about 15 minutes of actual observation during a one-hour practice.

Most notable from practice was who was NOT out there: Steve Mason.  We now know that Mase has bronchitis and a "minor" pulled groin (how such a muscle pull can be "minor" is beyond me).  With that, and no goalie callup from Springfield, we were treated to the CBJ equipment manager in net.  I think I got a taste of what the diminutive Darren Pang would have looked like between the pipes for the Blue Jackets.  Actually, the guy did OK considering they weren't pushing him too hard out there.

This is how you build an organization the right way

Readers of this blog know that I've spent a lot of time over the last week or so discussing the impressive amount of youth on the Columbus Blue Jackets roster and the challenges that presents (including Nikita Filatov).  I then went as far as to suggest that Steve Mason may need a little time to find his game again in Springfield.  Not the most popular of ideas, to be sure, but one where I think diminished short-term gain (How many times will he need to get pulled in the first period before the message sinks in?) is overwhelmed by Mase's long-term potential.

In light of all that, I was heartened to see in today's Dispatch that the CBJ management is intentionally taking the slow road with its next generation of stars:

...the Jackets brain trust appears to be committed to allowing its minor-league rookies such as [forward Matt] Calvert, [forward Tomas] Kubalik and defenseman John Moore to develop at their own pace with minor-league Springfield, without rushing them into the Jackets lineup. 

Post-Minnesota thoughts (Plus 2 more)

So the Columbus Blue Jackets squeegied the Xcel Energy Center ice with the Minnesota Wild last night in what appeared to be, more or less, a battle of NHL-caliber rosters.  Surely not as exciting as the scrubs pulling out the shootout win at Nationwide this past week, but one has to remember that this is a town that revels in the glory of a (mind-numbingly boring) 70-3 Ohio State football win over MAC cellar-dwellers East Nowhere State.  So a wire-to-wire dismantling is good for the fine folks of Columbus.  Kinda cleanses the pores, if you will.

As for the game performance, I was like everyone else and had to listen live on radio.  (And I have Insight for my cable now, meaning I didn't get to watch the replay on NHL Network because...Insight doesn't carry NHL Network.  Sigh.)  My impressions, like nearly all of those who have offered online commentary of the game, thus is filtered through the eyes and words of George Matthews and Bob McElligott.  Fortunately for CBJ fans, George and Bob are pretty good at calling a game - especially once one gets used to George's awesome play-by-play quirks.  (But Bob really doesn't need to do John Madden impressions.)  I've found that I more or less agree with a lot of what they're saying, so let's take their impressions as gospel.

Sounds to me like the Sammy Pahlsson-anchored third line will be shifting from a liability to a strength this season.  Pahlsson has his game on, perhaps spurred the addition of Ethan Moreau.  Moreau also appears  to be playing well (despite my lousy call from the other Minnesota game).  Both guys had goals and assists.  This bodes well going into the regular season, but coach Scott Arniel hopefully will take caution with whomever he pairs with those two as to augment - and not break up - the chemistry that is growing.

CBJ blogger offers live Traverse City coverage

I'm a game late in suggesting this, but I've been in school all day and couldn't blog, so let's quickly catch up.

Former CBJ guest blogger En4cer45 made the trek up to northern Michigan for the Traverse City NHL Prospects Tournament, which runs from today through Wednesday, September 15.  To the best of my knowledge, he's the only CBJ-related media type (mainstream or emerging) to actually be there, live, offering first-person information in real time on the on-ice exploits of Ryan Johansen, John Moore, Matt Calvert and the rest of the CBJ prospects.

Two must-links for you:

1. En4cer45's blog: He's been analyzing the prospects up to the tournament, providing tournament previews and also is promising additional blog posts from Traverse City as the tournament progresses.  Let's hope he offers some game recaps, maybe with a little local flavor!
2. En4cer45's Twitter account: If live coverage is your thing, you can catch up on the games as they're happening by following his Twitter.

The New York Rangers' prospects beat the "junior" Blue Jackets, 5-4, on a last second Rangers goal in the opener.  The Jackets play Minnesota Wild's prospects tomorrow at 2:00PM, so you have a little time to add those links to your bookmarks.  

Training camp is just around the corner...follow your Blue Jackets prospects to see the future -- today!

Anton Stralman matters...to a point

Betcha didn't know that Stralman had a nasty streak.

Tomorrow is the Big Day Thus Far in the Columbus Blue Jackets offseason - the steel cage match arbitration hearing between defenseman Anton Stralman and CBJ general manager Scott Howson (backed up by assistant general manager Chris MacFarland).

As best I hear it (and I'm just reading the news sources like everyone else), Stralman and the CBJ are about a million dollars apart.  Stralman appears to be pinning his hopes on the 4-year, $14 million Restricted Free Agent offer sheet that Niklas Hjalmarsson got from the San Jose Sharks (which was matched by the Chicago Blackhawks, sending the Hawks reeling into another round of Salary Cap Hell cutbacks - So sad! ).  That means that Stralman is pegging his value somewhere around Hjalphabet's $3.5 million cap hit.  Take a million off because Stralman isn't half the defenseman that Hjarliwicz is, and $2.5 million is still a lot for our friend Anton.

Luckily for the CBJ, Stralman appears to be a one-year inconvenience to management.  Scott Howson asked the arbitrator for a one-year contract decision, as is his right, and reserves the right to walk away if he doesn't like the decision - making Stralman an Unrestricted Free Agent.

Who would you have drafted? (incl. 2000 draft)

CBJ Tweeter En4cer45 threw out an interesting idea for a new series on the blog, one that I'm going to take him up on.  He suggests:

Most of the time people complain about teams' draft picks, so what I'm proposing is to take the 5-10 players selected after and, including who the Columbus Blue Jackets picked, offer up a reader poll to determine who should we have picked.

Great concept!  So get ready, DBJ readers (and CBJ fans), I'm going to throw out a series of polls for you to vote on - done on an annual basis.  To review the Blue Jackets past first round draft picks:

• 2000: Rusty Klesla (4th overall)
• 2001: Pascal Leclaire (8th)
• 2002: Rick Nash (1st)
• 2003: Nik Zherdev (4th)
• 2004: Alexander Picard (8th)
• 2005: Gilbert Brule (6th)
• 2006: Derick Brassard (6th)
• 2007: Jakub Voracek (7th)
• 2008: Nikita Filatov (6th)
• 2009: John Moore (21st)

We might pass on the 2009 draft as those classes largely are still percolating in juniors and the minors.  We should probably skip 2008, too, but I'm guessing that the discussion about who to pick other than Filatov could get interesting.  

Regardless, there's a lot of discussion to be had. Hindsight IS 20/20, and we in the CBJ fan base sure have a lot of hindsight to offer!

So let's start right now with the 2000 draft.  The premise is simple...you start with the CBJ pick and compare him against the following 10-ish picks.  Check the box next to the name of the person you would have drafted (including the CBJ pick - you're allowed to pick our own) and click "Vote Now!"

The first team abbreviation is the team that drafted the player; the second team abbreviation is the player's current team.  Lifetime statistics are posted as follows: 

• Skaters: Position | Games Played | Goals | Assists | Points | Penalty Minutes | +/-
• Goalies: Position | Games Played | Wins | Losses | Overtime Losses | Shutouts

If you have a thought that you'd like to add to the discussion, post it in the comments after you vote!  

More Moore, please!

The Dispatch's Michael Arace ably summarizes the John Moore quandry: Do you put an 18-year-old defenseman, albeit one who is talented and improving every day, out on the NHL firing line...throwing him to the wolves?  Or do you bite your lip and let him mature more naturally in junior hockey?

Moore's 4 points and +1 over 4 preseason games is persuasive, but this is a franchise that is gun-shy with young talent these days.  The Jackets' first-ever draft pick, defenseman Rusty Klesla, was forced into duty right out of the draft at age 19 and only now is starting to reach the potential everyone hoped he had (see: Holmstrom, Tomas - 2009 Stanley Cup playoffs).

Besides, a year of juniors will give Moore time to develop...and the Jackets will have a top six d-man in 2010 - one who could stick around for a LONG time.