1 day until CBJ opening night: The new Jackets core

This summer, both Zach Werenski and Boone Jenner pledged their futures to the Blue Jackets, with Werenski signing a six-year extension and Jenner adding four more years to what already has been a lengthy CBJ career.
Last winter, Oliver Bjorkstrand did the same, inking a five-year deal to stay in Columbus, and two summers ago, Gustav Nyquist came in from the free agent market, signing a four-year deal when everyone else seemed to be going the other direction.
Money can't buy happiness -- or leadership positions for that matter. But commitment can, and it seems fitting that four players who have planted a flag and said they want to be in Columbus were
named team captains Tuesday
, part of one new core the Jackets hope will lead to big things to come.

"I want to put my stamp and leave my mark in this organization, and I think all of us have the same goal in mind from management right down to the players and staff," Werenski said Tuesday after the announcement. "We all want to win here. For me, being a part of this leadership group now, it's doing all we can in order to win hockey games and win a Stanley Cup. It's just the beginning of it."
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For years, general manager Jarmo Kekalainen talked about the core the Blue Jackets had build while making franchise history with four straight Stanley Cup Playoff appearances from 2016-20.
Captain Nick Foligno and alternate captains Seth Jones and Cam Atkinson were a huge part of that, but the three are in different jerseys now. All were traded by Columbus over the last few months, while other veterans like David Savard, Alexander Wennberg, Brandon Dubinsky and Ryan Murray also are in the top 20 in games played in franchise history but have departed over the past year.
But in their place, it hasn't taken long for a new core to build. Jenner will lead the way, having been
named the seventh captain in team history
, and his hard-nosed style of play and commitment to the team have already earned him high marks over his first eight seasons in union blue.
Werenski and Bjorkstrand, meanwhile, have come up through the ranks as team draft picks who earned their stripes to join the leadership group. Both were drafted by the team and have matured from players just hoping to make an impact at the NHL level to trusted veterans with a combined 11 years of NHL experience.
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Nyquist and Sean Kuraly are the only NHL free agents on the roster who joined the team from elsewhere in the league, but each signed four-year deals as veterans to come in and help the process along. Add in Jakub Voracek -- who had coach Brad Larsen said could easily have received a letter as well -- and the Blue Jackets don't seem to be lacking in players who will lead the way.
"Since I came to the team, it's been the same core group, which has been great because I've learned a lot, but it comes a time where things just happen and there's been a change now," Bjorkstrand said. "I like the group. Boone has been here. Zach has been here with me. They've taken steps over the years of being more of a leader and obviously this year they're really going to have to step up. You have Jake coming in, and it's obvious he wants to be a leader. I'm super excited about it."
But while that kind of veteran presence is important for any team, what might be most exciting for the Blue Jackets is the youth in the organization. Columbus will go into the season as the NHL's youngest team with an average age of 25.71 years old, and at least nine players age 23 or younger -- Patrik Laine, Alexandre Texier, Emil Bemstrom, Liam Foudy, Andrew Peeke, Adam Boqvist, Jake Bean, Cole Sillinger and Yegor Chinakhov -- could see major time this season.
That list doesn't include Russian prospects Kirill Marchenko and Dmitri Voronkov, age 21, who have carved out big roles in the KHL and are able arrive in 2022-23 and '23-24, respectively. Or 2021 first-round picks Kent Johnson (Michigan) and Corson Ceulemans (Wisconsin), who project to be impact players not too far down the road. Or even 22-year-old goalie Daniil Tarasov, who will play this year with AHL Cleveland and doesn't appear to be too far from being an NHL-caliber goalie.
"This is a good situation," said president of hockey operations John Davidson, who chose to return to the Blue Jackets this summer. "There's a lot of promise here. For me, being around it as long as I have, this is an extremely exciting situation. … There is sincere optimism. You can't sit here and predict where you're going to go, but as I've said in many years past, we're going to go north."
If there's one theme that will be constant for the Blue Jackets this year, it will be change. Columbus has a new head coach in Larsen, the opening night lineup will feature 10 new faces from last year's season opener, and heck, there's even a newly renovated locker room.
It's an exciting time, but what has stayed the same are the men who have said they wanted to be here, the new core of the Blue Jackets.
"It's really exciting for us," Jenner said. "It all started shaking out this summer. We had some contracts and changes that were made. We started talking right away, honestly, and we could see what was happening. We wanted to grab the reins and be prepared to come in and take more of that role. … We're looking forward to doing it as a group."