Great Focus; Training Camp Opens

Todd Richards was large and in-charge

This afternoon the Columbus Blue Jackets  opened their 2012-13 training camp to a packed  Ice Haus.  To me, the biggest thing I took away from the day's activity is that the players were very focused.  Yes, they were happy to be back on the ice, but they recognize that the puck drops for real in less than a week.  They were very intent, and the pace to practice was good.

Dang its good to have NHL hockey back.

Nick Foligno - Number 71

Lot's of drills today to get thing going.  They did battle drills in the corners, to get people used to the hitting.  One of the drills I enjoyed watching the most was a 1 on 2 drill where the puck holder had to go one on one with a defender, and a forward skated across the ice to join in to try to strip the puck carrier.  In one of the drills, Nick Foligno was going against Derek Dorsett and the two of them got the puck pinned on the boards.  This situation demonstrated that Foligno has just about as much 'no quit' in him as Dorsett, which bodes well for the teams future.

The other thing that I noticed was that goal tender Sergei Bobrovsky plays every puck in practice like its a game.  He worked very, very hard.  Likewise, Steve Mason looked very sharp today too.  I'd like to see nothing better in the CBJ goal than a 'one goal game' being the currency for keeping the net.  Improbable, of course, but I'd like it.

All in all, myself and a lot of other people in Columbus were darn happy that the NHL was back in business.  The schedule looks crazy, but well talk about that more later.  For now, the CBJ opens on the road in Nashville, and opens at home Monday night, January 21 against Detroit.  THAT ought to be interesting!

GO JACKETS!!

The Upcoming Slug Fest

The 900 lb Gorilla has left the room!

No, I am not talking about gastropods at the spring garden show!  I am talking about the upcoming bout with the Central Division of the Western Conference.  Although the schedule won't be finalized until tomorrow, details leaking out of Twitter seem to be indicating that each team will play its Divisional opponents 4 times in the shortened 48 game season of 2013.  This part of the schedule is driven by the rivalry geeks.

Our Columbus Blue Jackets have typically not fared well in the brutal Central Division.  Lot's of heavy hitters and weighty teams.  Our Divisional brethren know if they lean hard on the CBJ, that there are definitely times when you can push them out of the game.  So they always give it a try.  And its worked for them.  If the CBJ are going to have any success, it has to start in the Central Division.

I got into it a bit with @zekebud in my last post, kind of through being confused and not really realizing who I was ragging on, part of because I disagreed pretty strongly with his rationale.  Again, I reiterate, his prediction may be all too good, but I wasn't fully behind the logic.  He elaborated in this post, saying that he felt it was the same core of the team, and to expect something different is just wishful thinking (I am paraphrasing, read his post to check me on it; also he has another really good post about Columbus hockey).  And I guess I see his argument.

On the other hand, the 900 pound gorilla in the locker room, Rick Nash, is now gone.  Also gone is the fundamental strategy of other teams, which was to start with shutting Rick Nash down and then see if the other guys can beat you.  So how do you plan your game against the 2012-13 CBJ?  And realistically, for Nash, the move to the Blue Shirts is a good one for him, and I wish him well.  The relentless 3 on 1 pressure from other defenses had slowly pushed him away from the net, where he won a Rocket Richard trophy, to the half wall and the top of the circles, where he would launch runs at the net against overwhelming odds.  I don't think we'll have anyone on this team going 1 on 3 with the other team.  So while @zekebud is somewhat correct that much of the core of the team is still intact, the fact is that the 2011-12 team was Rick Nash's team.

#DD #becausehesawesome

But you see, something serious has been at work in the CBJ upper offices.  It has to do with Craig Patrick.
In this post, I described Patrick's clear method of evaluating talent.  Character counts for a lot with Craig Patrick.  And if you look at the players brought in as part of the reformation, they all have one common characteristic.  They are known as players of better than average to great character.  All of a sudden, Derek Dorsett isn't the only one on the team who's motor is always set to full speed  Both Nick Foligno (our new number 71) and Brandon Dubinsky (our new number 17) have been described as high intensity players with very good character.  And of course Wiz brings his own brand of truculence to the table as well (Since the Leafs aren't going to be truculent anymore I figure we can borrow it).  Artem Anisimov may not have the same 'motor' level, but he is described as a player who plays very hard both ways.  Segei Bobrovsky has been described as a goal tender who refuses to get out-worked.  These are big time, high character additions to the 2011-12 CBJ core, that I believe will make a difference in what is essentially a 16 round slugging match (to the glee of the rivalry geeks).

So the hope (I know Jeff Little, hope is not a strategy) is that the strategy of bringing in players of known high character will make this team more difficult to play against.  And while the defensive strategy may not be as clear for the other teams, I trust that coaches Babcock, Hitchcock, Trotz and Quenville will figure out what they want to do.  But if you want to execute a strategy of pushing the CBJ out of the game, it won't be as easy this year.  And Detroit is another year older, and that Hall of Fame Defenseman and the guy with the butt in the goal tender's face are gone.  Nashville has a new and expensive Weber, but they lost one of that pair.  Plus they lost Tootoo to Detroit (ha, ha, ha, I still can't believe that).  Chicago still needs a goal tender (sound familiar?).  St. Louis is looking pretty good, so I'm not gonna mention them.

So it will be a slug fest.  It will be a wade in, stick your chin out and take it, donnybrook to see who can emerge from the Central Division of the West.  And the one thing we know for sure, that ought to be entertaining!!

GO JACKETS!!

Excuse Me?!?!?

I put the old logo here so I wouldn't surprise
and national pundits.

OK, I get it.  We finished last.  It may come as a shock to the national pundits that we are keenly aware of that fact.  But this is the kind of 'matter' that drives me insane.

In this post, In Words and Phrases picks us 15th in the West, with this insightful comment:  Why I’ll Be Right: This team is essentially the same one that clunked into last place last year,

Really?  I guess that assumes that Rick Nash is still playing for us, and that we won't have 3 picks in the 2013 draft because we didn't trade Jeff Carter to the Kings.  Now this doesn't mean that the prediction is necessarily that far off.  You have to score more than the other guy to win, and that's not at all certain.  But to read this, it's like the Nash trade never happened.  Lame.  Must be fresh out of college football to follow, or checked out during the lockout.  Its okay to troll us.  That's the lot of the last place team.  It's not okay to be ignorant while you are doing it.  I'm sure Dubinsky, Anisimov, and Foligno are proud to be dismissed in this fashion.

At least do something like the post from Battle of California, that looked at the last 48 games of last year, a relevant number given the season we are looking at.  In that time period, the CBJ finished 13th in the West, still not a playoff team, but not last.  This is probably a little bit more realistic for us.  There are still of lot of unfinished pieces.

But like every other team in the NHL, the CBJ are a hot goal tender away from a run to the playoffs.  That's a crap shoot for us, I understand, but Bobrovsky has been playing very well in the KHL with an 18-6 record and a sub 2 Goals Against Average.  All you need is a little luck, and the CBJ sure used up a truck load of the bad variety last year.

Its a new year, and this team finished the season on a 5-1 run last year.  Anything is possible.

GO JACKETS!!!!

Brand new day

(Just enjoy the music.  The "Sting as Jesus" thing is a bit odd.)

It's been roughly 24 hours since the NHL lockout ended with a tentative collective bargaining agreement between the league's owners and players.

It's a brand new day.

I started this blog in the afterglow of the team's 2009 NHL playoffs appearance - it's only one thus far (and something that we haven't forgotten) - and, despite everything the fates have thrown at us, it has survived to see yet another season with a lot of help from some terrific people.  If you've read it for any period of time, you know that this blog has been one of the most unflinchingly honest about our hometown team, the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Honesty is hard sometimes.  Looking in the mirror and seeing what you don't want to see is hard.  Looking at numbers that don't add up is hard.  But we've been honest.  We've challenged ourselves to stay honest, and to keep our hometown team honest - at least as a small handful of committed fans can.  Sometimes, that means saying the hard truths.  We've done that.

I say that to say this: With the lockout now over, I firmly believe that this IS a brand new day for the Columbus Blue Jackets.

The team finally hired a hockey operations professional with an honest-to-God track record of improving lousy teams.  The team has a head coach that I maintain is pretty darned good.  The defense appears to be better.  The 900 lb. gorilla has been moved to New York.  The goaltending?  Who knows, but the new guy has been doing OK in Russia.

I'm not saying that the team's going to win the Cup this year.  I'm not saying that they'll even get to the playoffs, regardless of whether the rumored move to the Eastern Conference for 2013 happens.  What I am saying is that I am increasingly confident that the elevator ride to respectability for this franchise has started.  When one considers the long-term health of the franchise - financially and otherwise - perhaps that elevator ride is the most important.

In that spirit, I made a small but significant cosmetic change to the site.  Gone is the banner graphic that reminds us of how general manager Scott Howson is so interested in raising expectations across the board (implicit in that is that, in my opinion, expectations never actually went up...pretty much from any corner of CBJ Nation [Update: I suppose there is a notable exception.]).  I think, with the Davidson hiring, that those expectations are rising.  So let's switch to the team's new majordomo, Davidson, who tells us that the Blue Jackets will never be outworked.  Fair enough.  I'll go for a tough team that won't be outworked.  That's a good start, and a welcome change from parts of last season (which we won't forget, either).

It will be a wild and bumpy ride...not just this season but the seasons to come.  The team will deserve cheers at times and talking to's on others.  And through it all, this blog will be here - offering our oft-differing opinions, sharing our stories and enjoying the world of NHL hockey in Central Ohio with you.  And we will be honest.

It's a brand new day.

Some Final Lockout Thoughts

I remember last September when, after a series of direct messages and some wings at BWs, Tom asked me to be a contributor to Dark Blue Jacket.  I was both excited and sad to be doing so.  Excited because the folks who stop by and check out what's on DBJ both love the team and are able to have an honest conversation about the struggling Blue Jackets.  I was also a little sad because I feared it might be some time before I actually had the opportunity to write about the Columbus Blue Jackets on DBJ with the pending lockout.  This lockout has been rough on me with little NHL/CBJ inspiration and not much to write about.  With the recent announcement of a verbal agreement between the NHL and NHLPA, it looks like a truncated season, full of pulled groins and separated shoulders, will be upon us soon.



"The NHL has the best fans!" Wait, can you see me, I'm down here...

First, a two paragraph rant...

There is something I have to get off my chest.  I am surprised at the attitude of fans on social media, or perhaps Americans in general.  There is a sense of entitlement that the fans are somehow owed something now that the NHL lockout of 2012 is over.  Somehow, the fans were wronged by the tyranny of evil men.  For all of my compassion, I have zero empathy.  Professional Sports is 1000% fueled by disposable income - participation as a spectator of the NHL is NOT mandatory household spending.  No one forced fans to live through anything else than what they imagined.  The poor arena workers who were championed during the lockout as the 'victims' derive their living from $9 beers, $85 tickets, and $15 dollar parking.  Now you want those same people to give you something for free because you're a fan?  Get over yourselves fans, and do it quickly.  No one owes you anything.

After a few days of "Hockey is Back" talk, social media can get back to its normal self in hockey circles.  I admit, as sensitive as some Blue Jackets fans are to ridicule about their favorite player or team, I'm sensitive to referring to the NHL simply as "Hockey."  Hey, the lockout is over, "Hockey is back!"  To me, that's a kick in the junk to any minor league or amateur hockey player that's been busting their butt on the ice since September.  By referring to the end of the NHL lockout as "Hockey is back" is in essence like saying any other form of hockey is irrelevant and meaningless.  Rant Transmission Complete.

Now for happy thoughts

I've been a Blue Jackets fan since day one.  I was so desperate for a "hometown" NHL team that once it happened, I abandoned the team I grew up rooting for and abandoned the teams who employ family and friends.  I had a team in my state, in the town I lived in.  The charm of that ownership wore out for me after the first lockout.   Since their only playoff appearance, the Blue Jackets have done just about everything wrong that they could as a professional sports franchise.  However, this year fans got two shining gems of hope and change in a new arena deal (where the former owner is the only one exposed to any risk) and a new President of Hockey Ops who has a track record of righting listing ships.  But little else has changed with the team.

My joy of a returned NHL has already started to subdue.  My thoughts have turned to gaping hole in offensive production, as the Blue Jackets are missing the only person who could regularly score on most opposing team's back up goal tenders.  I am encouraged by having at least 4 competent NHL defensemen on the Blue Line following a draft year that feels like the best choices were made for what this team needs.  Then I look at the goal tenders, gnash my teeth and fight back the tears.  But one thing is for certain, Blue Jackets hockey will look and feel different this year, not only because of the lockout but of the new faces on the roster.  It's easy to call me a negative Nancy, but I expect excellence and aspirations of championships out of the professional sports franchise who voluntarily gets a portion of my disposable income.  I will not sit idly by and be the Martin Niemoller of the Blue Jackets and say nothing when something should be said, only to regret it all my life.

The lockout is now over and the NHL is back.  Attendance records will show how big of a mistake this lockout really was.  I don't think this will be the last lockout, but it will be the last labor dispute that doesn't involve retraction.  I don't know if this season's outcome will be much different that last year for the Blue Jackets, but for reasons I can't fully articulate, I feel a shortened season will be an advantage for a team like the Jackets. The team brought in hard working forwards who seem to have an upside along with John Davidson who's playing experience as much as his front office experience will be a welcome addition to day-to-day ops across the entire organization.  Yet, even for someone with expectations as high as mine, I must admit that I am a little excited about the start of this CBJ season.  I don't feel this season will be a fair valuation of the team and it's abilities, but I am excited for it nonetheless.  Even if they don't move up in the standings, this season will look and feel different than the last 3 or 4 seasons of Blue Jackets hockey.  For that reason, I am happy I have the privilege of sharing that excitement or disappointment with you on this blog.



Fourscore....

Fourscore and seven minutes ago,
Our mediator brought forth onto this continent,
A new Collective Bargaining Agreement,
Conceived in Negotiation, 
And Dedicated to the Proposition that all HRR is equal..

A tentative agreement has been reached between the NHL and the NHLPA on a collective bargaining agreement.  Pending approval by the players, we get to see some NHL hockey.

Here is the announcement from the NHLPA

BOOM!

GO JACKETS!!

Oh, BTW, USA! USA! USA!

Part VII: The Dark Blue Jacket's Definitive History of the CBJ, Turning the Page

James Wisniewski - Moving the CBJ into the Future?

As we sit, the 2012-13 NHL Season hangs in the balance.  Negotiations between the league and the NHLPA continue in an effort to save a shortened season.  This is a good time to pause and reflect on our beloved Columbus Blue Jackets, where they are, and where they may be going.  In looking back through this series, I last discussed the history of this NHL franchise in the context of recently departed coach Ken Hitchcock.  Since then, Hitch has gone on and won the Jack Adams Coach of the Year award he so richly deserves.

On the home front, so much has happened that it seems an eternity since Hitch left.  And thus it seems appropriate to start 2013 with an update to  this series and the multitude of things that have happened since the end of the 2010-11 season.

2011-12 A New Hope

The off-season between 2010-11 and 2011-12 was seemingly a stunning success for the CBJ.  For a period of 24 hours in the period prior to the 2011 NHL Entry Draft it looked as if Scott Howson had pulled off the trade of the decade when he sent Jake Voracek and a number 1 pick to Philadelphia for former All-Star center Jeff Carter.  During this euphoric day, it seemed as if the CBJ had upgraded it's number 1 center position immensely, and had given Captain Rick Nash the skilled running mate that would unleash his amazing potential.  Then in a shocking 'Wait.....What????' moment, the Flyers traded Carter's compadre Mike Richards to the LA Kings, and Carter reacted to news of the trade by going into hiding, leaving fans wondering how well Howson had kicked the tires on this sports car.  Ultimately, a hastily assembled diplomatic mission by Howson and Nash got Carter to come out of his hole for a bit, but the cynics who saw this as foreshadowing of bad things were dead on right with their reasoning.

In rapid succession, immediately prior to the deadline for the beginning of Free Agency, the CBJ traded for the rights to James Wisniewski, by far the best puck moving defenseman (and right shot!!) on the market.  This trade gave the CBJ a period of time to attempt to reach a contract agreement with Wiz.  That effort was successful, and James became a Blue Jacket, thus hugely upgrading the offensive potential of our defensive corps.

Booooonnneee!!

Boone Jenner in a common location, in front of the net

By all accounts, Columbus Blue Jackets prospect Boone Jenner turned in a whale of a game today in the 2013 World Juniors competition, when Canada defeated Russia 4-1.   Jenner, coming off of a 3 game suspension for lighting up a guy who was skating with his head down (a late hit, no doubt) played very well.  He was dominant in the face off circle, and according to the Twitter feed, at one point killed off ~20 seconds of a penalty simply because the Russians were unable to take the puck back from him.

Jenner's future in Columbus is looking very bright, as he has character stamped all over his playing resume.  Somewhat unexpectedly, he is leading the Ontario Hockey League with 27 goals playing for the Oshawa Generals.    If he can translate even a part of that goal scoring to the NHL level, it will be a huge addition to the team.  I'll bet John Davidson is thrilled to be watching Jenner's performance, as he looks like the type of brick Davidson is planning on building with.  I'll be looking forward to seeing him play in Columbus at some point in the future!

GO JACKETS!!

Significance

John Davidson addresses Season Ticket Holders

I'm still kind of musing about the whole John Davidson thing.  It was good seeing him and the other CBJ folks at the Season Ticket Holder Open House.  There have been good write ups of this event in the Cannon and on Union Blue, so no need for me to try to recap.  But there was one thing that was hugely evident, that John Davidson has the skill set to fill a void that was left in the organization when Doug MacLean was fired.  The role of the front man.  And he's good at it, no ifs, ands, or buts.

And that's a huge thing, no doubt.  But the thing that struck me the most, was his confidence that we would get better.  And when he says 'we won't get out worked', you have to believe him.  I guess the vibe that I got from this is that he has the 'weight' to carry that off.  He is the unquestioned leader of hockey operations.  And he sets the tone.  I don't mean to disparage Scott Howson when I say that I just don't think that sounds the same coming from him.  He could have said 'we won't get outworked', but in the wheeling, dealing, weighing of value life of a General Manager, I'm not sure it makes sense.  I think the dynamics of the last few years would make it very difficult for Howson to make that kind of pronouncement.  It just seems to carry more weight with Davidson, which perhaps it should.  He's the President of Hockey Operations, and that title should have some oomph.  He can tell Howson 'that dude doesn't seem to want to work as hard as we need him to, see what you can get'.  Then Howson has to go make a deal.  So yeah, I think we are gonna have a team that 'won't get outworked'.  And that will sell in Columbus.  It always has.

Frustrated fans at the protest last year had a common refrain that 'real change starts at the top'.  The top has now been changed in a very emphatic way.  John Davidson has great 'hockey' credentials.  He is respected around the league.  And he has been willing to tie his name to the notion that success is going to come in Columbus. And when you hear him talk, you know that is his expectation.  Not his hope, his expectation.  There will be 'curve balls' along the way.  There always are.  

It's easy to tell, whilst prowling the internet, when you see someone who simply has no clue what is happening in Columbus.  They will glibly say that the organization is a candidate for contraction; close Columbus and the southern teams and move them to Canada where they will undoubtedly thrive, because they have looked at the won-loss record.    It kind of makes me chuckle to myself.  They just don't have a clue.  But over the last year the front office has been strengthened like no other organization in the league, with the addition of Craig Patrick and John Davidson.  Those types of moves don't have immediate paybacks, but as time goes on they will build momentum.

In addition, Mike Priest made significant moves to support the arena locally and keep the team from bleeding cash in the lockout.  Clever work, identifying a new revenue stream, then getting the local and state movers and shakers to lend a hand to make the deal work.  Keep in mind that the revenue to support the arena is not dependent upon events, that is just icing on the cake.  So Columbus came into this year shrewdly prepared for the insanity of a lockout (SIGH! Expletive deleted!)

So when John Davidson says to me (and my STH sisters and brethren) 'We will win', I gotta believe him.  It may take time, but for the first time in this franchise's life, we have someone who expects to win at the helm, and who knows how he wants to get there.  And that, my friends, is something of significance.

GO JACKETS!!

Merry Christmas to All

Just wanted to take a moment to wish everyone a Merry Christmas from our band of bloggers.  We really appreciate your continued attention to the expression of our collective hockey problem, and we enjoy the times when you share your thoughts with us.

2012 has indeed been a strange year.  Hold your loved ones close and appreciate them all that you can.  It's hard to tell when the strange twists and turns of life will take the things we enjoy away.  On the joyous side, my compadres have welcomed new additions to their families, so we know that they will have a busy year ahead!

Take care everyone, and here is a Christmas wish for some NHL hockey to grace our lives in 2013!

GO JACKETS!!