Ryan Johansen + Dark Blue Toddler = BFF

Quick practice story from today, and please pardon the fan-boy in me (but I am a Columbus Blue Jackets fan first and foremost, so I'm not apologizing that much...):

Surprisingly, the Dark Blue Toddler and I were the only two -- ummm -- civilians in the arena today to watch practice.  The squad playing tonight in Minnesota had the early shift and was supposed to be on the ice until 11AM.  They pretty much bailed out at 10:45, and DBT and I only caught about 5-10 minutes of them because we were running late.  The next practice, for the squad not going to Minneapolis, was supposed to start at 11:30.

So we hung out for a while, knowing that we were supposed to meet Mrs. Dark Blue Jacket for lunch and didn't want to show up at 10:45 and ruin her schedule.  We rode the escalators and cruised around the concourse a little - things a 16-month-old loves - and yakked it up with the very nice ushers (who have already started to know DBT by name).

And then one player came out early and just sat on the bench by himself for the longest time as the zamboni whizzed around the area (much to the delight of DBT, whose first Christmas present ever was "Z is for Zamboni").  It was Ryan Johansen, and it seemed as if "The Johan" was trying to get centered while waiting out the zamboni.  Never one to miss the opportunity to mess with a guy's concentration (Hi, Steve Mason!), DBT and I trotted down to the front row.

After spending a couple minutes being mesmerized by the zamboni, DBT saw Johansen on the opposite side bench.  We waved to him, and he nodded that he saw us.  The zamboni wrapped up, upon which Johansen grabbed his sticks for practice and headed out onto the Nationwide Arena ice.

Then, get this, Ryan Johansen came across the ice and handed one of his practice sticks over the glass for me to give to the Dark Blue Toddler.  I'm staring at it as I type - a Bauer Vapor X:60...perhaps the longest hockey stick that I've ever seen (Johansen's a tall guy at 6'3", and tall guys need long sticks).  He did not have to do that.  There was absolutely no one else in the arena who would notice or care.  But he did, and that was really, really cool.  So I offered profuse "thank you's" through the glass and showed DBT his new hockey prize.  And, pretty much like always, DBT said, "Hockey!"

Johansen started loosening up on the ice by himself while waiting for his teammates.  I briefly talked with him through the glass...he still had that "pinch me, I'm in the NHL" attitude, especially about playing with Rick Nash and R.J. Umberger on his opening preseason appearance.  He had no idea if he was going to stick on the NHL roster or go back to juniors.

He also suggested that the big difference between juniors and the NHL is speed.  That's a pretty stock answer, so I asked what he meant.  As a center, he said that the speed in the NHL means that nearly every pass is a no-look pass.  He flies down the middle, dumps the puck off to the left or right and presumes that a winger will be there because they are one or two steps behind.  Never sees his teammates until they receive the pass.  Faith-based puck movement, if you will.

By that point, John Moore and David LeNeveu were coming onto the ice and Johansen had to get to practice.  Fair enough - that's what he's here for!  And, with DBT melting down and a spouse waiting for us to grab lunch, it was time to get moving.

What a great guy, Johansen.  And, again, thank you to the Blue Jackets for opening up practices -- and for allowing for such moments to happen.

The bubble bursts

The Columbus Blue Jackets announced 10 more cuts from their training camp roster today.

Cody Goloubef is off to Springfield to build on what he
learned during training camp in Columbus

That Matt Calvert, Chad Kolarik, Steven Delisle, Cody Goloubef, Brent Regner, Theo Ruth, Daren Machesney, Trevor Frischmon, Jonathan Sigalet and Oliver Gabriel were all sent on their various professional paths is not necessarily upsetting or - crassly - meaningful at this point to CBJ fans. Head Coach Scott Arniel left the door open for all them for a long time, longer than most teams, before making these decisions in the hopes that the players would have ample opportunity to show that they deserved a slot on the NHL team roster more than the next guy in the overcrowded locker room.

Attending just one training camp practice, though, puts a different spin on the cuts, though. More than anything I learned while watching the players go through their drills was the pressure that many of these guys were under as they tried so very hard to do what it took to stay around for another day. Honest to God, you could see the strain on the faces of the bubble players. On a human level, it was heartbreaking as even I could sort through some of the more simple cuts over the course of that morning. The players most likely knew it, too, but it was their job - their dream, in most cases - that they were fighting for. How painful.

Our bubble boys can beat Minnesota's starters

Let's get the personal stuff out of the way - this was the first actual game to which I brought the Dark Blue Toddler.  Luckily, the tickets were dirt cheap and the section (209) was pretty much empty above us in row J, so he was able to munch on Cheerios, drink milk, crawl around the (widow-maker) stairs and run back and forth across the aisles.  Oh, and eat my fries.  He lasted almost two entire periods, not bad for a 16-month-old.

And, once we bailed out, the Columbus Blue Jackets started scoring.

A Jackets team made up of a small handful of starters and a whole bunch of players on the bubble won, 3-2 over a Minnesota Wild team that was comprised of their NHL-level lineup as they had made most all of their cuts already.  That's profound, something in which the CBJ can be pleased.  Or the Wild can be downright scared.  Take your pick.

Tom Sestito's closing argument as to why he should
make the Columbus Blue Jackets roster.

As I mentioned, I was chasing my son all over section 209, so my thoughts are admittedly incomplete and based largely upon quick glances as opposed to any detailed study of what I saw.  But here's my take:

• The Blue Jackets looked really ragged, which stands to reason as the roster was assembled with green-handled scissors and scotch tape in order to accommodate all of the players sitting on the roster bubble.  This was a night of forced chemistry, of proving to the coaches and management that you can perform in this new, Scott Arniel puck possession system.
• Alternatively, you can prove that you can offer other services to the team.  Mike Blunden and Tom Sestito ended up taking this route, getting in fights.  Blunden laid the beat down on his victim, and Sestito won in an impassioned decision.  By the way, Dark Blue Toddler enjoyed cheering with the fans over the fights...not that he understood what was going on.
• There's not a lot you can tell about a team on "last chance night," so I'll keep my profound statements about the team and their adaption to this new system to a minimum.
  

Time to step up: Mid-training camp update

It's the preseason for the National Hockey League and the Columbus Blue Jackets, and I don't think that anyone can draw any significant conclusions from a single practice or game where your team is icing only one-third to one-half of your squad.  But we now have four games and even more practices under our belt, and the scene is taking shape to the point where we can have a discussion.

So let's take a look at the team through the lens of the "Time to step up" preview series.

THE FORWARDS

If memory serves correct, I spent time suggesting that the forwards needed to (re?)develop a nose for the goal - to shoot the puck and, with enough shots, put a few more in the back of the net.  Let's review thus far:

• Game 1 - at Atlanta - 26 total shots, 5 goals (19.2%)
• Game 2 - Washington - 39 total shots, 2 goals (5.1%)
• Game 3 - Pittsburgh - 37 total shots, 4 goals (10.8%)
• Game 4- at Pittsburgh - 33 total shots, 1 goal (3.0%)

All told, that makes 12 goals on 135 shots, or an 8.8% conversion rate.  Now, let's do a comparison between the 10-11 preseason CBJ and the CBJ teams of the last couple years, as well as selection of three playoff teams from last season - the prolific Capitals, the highly-regarded Penguins and the surprising Coyotes:

TEAM	TOTAL SHOTS	TOTAL GOALS	CONVERSION %	SHOTS/GAME	GOALS/GAME
10-11 CBJ (Preseason - 4 games)	135	12	8.8%	33.8	3.0
09-10 CBJ	2,338	214	9.2%	28.5	2.6
08-09 CBJ	2,490	217	8.7%	30.4	2.6
09-10 Washington Capitals	2,693	313	11.6%	32.8	3.8
09-10 Pittsburgh Penguins	2,688	249	9.3%	32.8	3.0
09-10 Phoenix Coyotes	2,502	211	8.4%	30.5	2.6

This process of comparing an incomplete collection of preseason games - replete with tryout candidates, AHLers and the occasional starter - against normal, regular season rosters over 82 games cannot be perfect.  I hope to illustrate, however, some of the changes that the Blue Jackets are going through.

The newest Blue Jackets fan

OK, so I lied about photos from practice.  I just wasn't able to get any of the folks on the ice.  Here's the Dark Blue Toddler, though, hanging out in between the morning and afternoon practice sessions with his toy truck and Jonathan Sigalet-fired practice puck.  

A fun morning, indeed.

Post-9/24 AM practice thoughts

With the Dark Blue Toddler in tow, I headed down to Nationwide Arena to witness my first-ever Columbus Blue Jackets practice with the little guy...only my second practice ever, I believe.  I'm much more of a TV/internet fan of the club than an in-person fan, largely due to familial and work/family constraints, so it's interesting to see the machinations of the Columbus Blue Jackets system on full display with no filters applied beyond the glass that separates us from the ice.  I'd love to do it more often...hope to do so in the future.

Attending a practice in person only reemphasizes how much I have to learn about the game I enjoy so much.  With drills running almost constantly at both ends of the ice, and occasional specialty drills at center ice, there's so much going on that you really don't have a means to drink all the water coming out of the visual fire hydrant.  So you drink in what you can, pray you didn't miss anything big, and enjoy the experience.  Or at least I did, while not chasing my son up and down the stairs.

I only caught the on-ice practice for the last 45 minutes of the team that will play tonight, with barely enough of the balance of the squad to count as seeing them in-person.  Chasing the Toddler around the arena means that no photos will accompany this post.

Howson has assembled a tall roster, but I don't know as any are taller than Tommy Sestito.  Just saying...

The young v. old culture clash, hockey style

I stumbled across a very interesting piece on the youth movement taking place in the Edmonton Oilers locker room, and how former Oiler captain and now Columbus Blue Jacket third-liner Ethan Moreau fit into the mix last season.

Ethan Moreau's success in Columbus will largely be decided based upon the
attitude and resilience of the younger players.  Can he look past his frustration
with the Edmonton Oilers and help the Blue Jackets over the hump?

Here are the money lines, excerpted from an email sent to this blogger by a person who was in contact with Moreau back in early 2009:

Moreau’s quite fed up actually and has been for most of the year. Says the locker room is full of players that are extremely difficult to motivate and that basically just don’t give a [deleted]. 

... 

Moreau would have had no problem with a trade either. Says he’s sick and tired of trying to get this bunch going. I think you and I can agree that despite the guys foibles and propensity for inopportune penalties, he is a good leader type and a blood and guts sort that every team would love to have one of.

And it sounds like nothing really changed for Moreau for the duration of his time in Edmonton.

19 impressions while catching up

As my last post demonstrated, I'm back from Doug MacLean's undisclosed location and am ready to get blogging again.  I'm not going to be as manic in my frequency of posting this fall due to a rough quarter's workload in school, but don't delete those bookmarks because I'm certain to be around.

Having been out of internet contact since Saturday, here are my thoughts on the Columbus Blue Jackets and hockey related to news that occured in my absence:

1. The biggest CBJ news, by far, is that Kris Russell is out for 2-4 weeks with a sprained knee.  I tagged Russell as one of the players with the most to gain from the new Scott Arniel "puck-possession" defensive system, and his loss hurts not just his progress in picking up the system but also affects his chemistry with his goalie, defensive partner and forwards.

2. The second-biggest CBJ news, in my opinion, is that the CBJ's AHL affiliate, the Springfield Falcons, are not looking very viable from an economic perspective.  "Hundreds" less than 1,700 season ticket holders is downright scary.  It's sad to see a 75-year-old tradition in a great community like Springfield, Massachusetts be called into question, but the article suggests that the Falcons may have to consider non-local ownership with no restrictions on relocating the franchise.  If that's the case, let's put our "sad for Springfield" faces aside and have an Ohio buyer move the team to Toledo or Akron.  Then my dream of a Blue Jackets farm system that includes a northern Ohio AHL team, a southern Ohio ECHL team (Cincinnati Cyclones?) and the NHL team in Columbus that much closer to reality without having to screw around with the Lake Erie Monsters' deal with the Colorado Avalanche.

3. I have not seen young Oliver Gabriel yet, but it sure sounds like he's worth serious consideration for a contract.  Talk about making the most of your opportunity.

4. Jake Voracek is having a breakout training camp.  Go figure.

5. I'm getting a chuckle out of the many folks using variations on the phrase "time to step up" in relation to the Columbus Blue Jackets this year.  Perhaps it should be the team slogan, not "hardcore hockey"?

6. I'm not going to wet the bed over Steve Mason letting two goals past in his preseason opener, especially when one was apparently Jan Hejda's fault.  Regardless of last night's performance, I'm still not entirely sure I like his two-year contract extension.

DBJ's Top 10 possible "internal conversations" about Souray-Commodore

Seeing as the Dispatch is pushing a hypothetical Mike Commodore for Sheldon Souray trade that has no basis in reality (and has been rightfully excoriated for their journalistic - ummm - flight of fancy by The Cannon and Ten Minute Misconduct), I thought it would be worthwhile to mull over what would constitute an "internal conversation".

Aw, heck, let's do it Letterman-style:  The Top 10 possible Columbus Blue Jackets "internal conversations" about a Sheldon Souray for Mike Commodore trade, from the home office in Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta:

...or...

10. "Sheldon Souray's agent called.  Said that Sheldon would love to play for a team like Columbus."

9. "Souray for Commodore?  Who came up with that crazy idea?  Don Cherry or Pierre MacGuire?"

8. "It's Friday, so let's break out the table and play 'trade a vet roulette.'  Today's Blue Jacket is Mike Commodore.  Spin the wheel....and....Sheldon Souray?  Eww...that sucks.  Spin again!  Hey, Boyd landed on Duncan Keith!  Let's get Bowman on the line, you know, for giggles."

7. "No, MacFarland, I wanted a viable candidate for Commodore.  Not Sheldon Souray..."

Back in a few

I know, it's the opening of training camp and here I am signing off for a few days.  No excuse will satisfy a rabid Columbus Blue Jackets fan, so suffice to say that I have to go on trophy husband duty for a while.

And besides, you have the entire "Time to step up" series to digest while I'm away.  Not like I've left you in the lurch!

If all goes well, I hope to be mulling around Nationwide Arena at the end of next week.  Tell the team to stay healthy while I'm off the grid.