Prospect Report: Aidan Hreschuk joins the ranks
By
Jeff Svoboda
BlueJackets.com
Aidan Hreschuk is not quite there yet, having just finished his freshman season at Boston College. He was a third-round pick of the Carolina Hurricanes in the 2021 draft, but he didn't think much of the deadline when he decided to take a nap last Monday.
Little did he know the deadline would end up having a pretty big impact on his life. He began his nap a Hurricane and ended it a Blue Jacket, as he was the piece from Carolina that headed back to Columbus in the deal that sent forward Max Domi to Raleigh.
"I wasn't expecting anything to happen on deadline day, so I had my regular day," Hreschuk told Dylan Tyrer on the latest edition of the Pipeline Podcast. "I was taking a nap and missed out on a lot of this stuff. I was sleeping and my phone started blowing up with calls, mostly my teammates and stuff. I was like, 'What's going on?' I woke up, looked at my texts and started seeing I missed a lot of pretty important stuff."
So now that he's a Blue Jacket, what does Hreschuk bring to the table? He's a defenseman who is thought to be pretty good at both ends of the ice, someone who doesn't bring the most size (5-11, 178) to the table but who can move a puck and defend well with his skating and competitive level.
Those are the skills he honed growing up in the Los Angeles area on a talent-filled youth squad that has sent its fair share of players to D-I colleges. That was always his dream, as well, after growing up watching the Anaheim Ducks, and he thought the best pathway to the higher levels was to qualify to join the United States National Team Development Program, the junior program in Ann Arbor that produces some of the top players in the country.
And it happened, as Hreschuk joined the U.S. squad for the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons.
"For me, it was always national team or bust," Hreschuk said. "That was my goal. I think especially watching the '01 group and seeing all these guys, guys like Cam York, a California defenseman, for me it was an easy track to try to follow. It was a blueprint that had been mapped out by guys before me being successful.
"For me growing up I'd say from 12 years old, that was all I wanted to do was play at the NTDP. When I was lucky enough to get that opportunity at BC, I think when you're at the NTDP, you have pretty good options and BC was my dream school. I jumped on that, too. Both of my dreams came true like that."
Boston College was a goal because he has family in the area and grew up watching the Eagles dominate -- BC made it to the Frozen Four seven times between 2006-16 and won national titles in 2008, '10 and '12 -- and Hreschuk just finished his freshman season. So far, it's lived up to expectations.
"Every game is so much more important," Hreschuk said. "Every game is a playoff game, especially here in Boston. The rivalry games you're playing -- BU, Harvard, Northeastern, UMass, all these teams want to beat you. We have so many rivals, so every game is intense. Every game, you are preparing all week for these games. It's on another level. I would say that would be my argument and the thing I like most about college and probably why I leaned this way."
In his freshman season, Hreschuk spent much of the campaign playing behind veteran blueliners Drew Helleson (Colorado draft pick), Marshall Warren (Minnesota) and Eamon Powell (Tampa Bay), but he still posted a 1-7-8 line and plus-9 rating in 37 games.
"I think the first thing I wanted to do was obviously just get a role on the team, establish myself, prove myself and get the trust of the coaches," he said. "I think I got an opportunity right away and I did a pretty good job with that. We had some incredible defensemen and I got to learn behind older guys. Just personally, the minutes I got were good, and I think I really stepped up my defensive game.
"We did a ton of video. We have Brendan Buckley and Brooks Orpik who worked with the D who are both BC guys. Both had long pro careers, and just being able to work with them on little details on the ice, video review, it's something that is just so valuable for me. ... I just think my overall game has taken a step and obviously set up for next season to come back and have an even better year."
Johnson Goes For Natty
For those hoping to see Kent Johnson in union blue, that potential will have to wait another two weeks.
The team's top pick in the 2021 draft at No. 5 overall, Johnson and his University of Michigan teammates have qualified for college hockey's Frozen Four, starting the NCAA tournament this past weekend with a 5-3 win over American International followed by a 7-4 quarterfinal victory against Quinnipiac.
The top-seeded Wolverines will now take on Denver in a national semifinal April 7 when the Frozen Four kicks off in Boston.
Johnson had two assists and was plus-2 in the win over AIC but was kept off the scoreboard in the regional final against the Bobcats. On the year, the British Columbia native and sophomore winger at U-M has an 8-29-37 line in 31 games and is now 13th in NCAA hockey in points per game.
The 2022 Olympian is eligible to sign an entry-level contract as soon as his season at U-M finishes, and it remains possible he could play for the Jackets by the end of the campaign should he and the team go that route.
Monsters Add Sillinger
A (somewhat) familiar face has joined the Cleveland Monsters.
The top farm team of the Blue Jackets has signed Owen Sillinger, and yes, you do know that name for a reason. Owen is the brother of current CBJ center Cole Sillinger and the son of former Blue Jackets forward Mike Sillinger, and he's now inked with the Monsters for the rest of this season as well as the 2022-23 campaign.
Sillinger, 24, recently completed a four-year career at Bemidji State, where he not only served as team captain this year, he places fifth in scoring in NCAA hockey with 47 points (17 goals, 30 assists) on the season.
Also a former captain of the Penticton Vees of the BCHL, Sillinger has played in three games without a point thus far since signing with the Monsters.
Cleveland split a pair of games over the weekend with Charlotte, posting a 1-0 shutout victory Friday before a 6-3 loss to the Checkers on Sunday afternoon. Jake Christiansen and Jet Greaves were the stars of the victory, with Christiansen scoring his 10th goal of the year from the blue line for the only goal of the game and Greaves posting his first-ever AHL shutout.
The luck didn't continue in the Sunday game, as Greaves gave up five goals and was replaced by Cam Johnson after two periods. Still, Cleveland got goals from Christiansen -- who has 5-10-15 in his last 13 AHL games and is second in goals (11) and fourth in points (41) among AHL defensemen -- as well as Dillon Simpson and Carson Meyer.
The team also played Tuesday night against Chicago, dropping a 4-2 final when the Wolves scored three times in the third. Jake Gaudet and Justin Scott tallied goals while Greaves made 32 saves.
The Monsters play Friday and Saturday home games now against Rochester at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.
