Prospect Report: Bjork settling in during first season in North America

Time will tell exactly how things end up for Marcus Bjork in his journey to North America.
After spending his entire pro career in Sweden before this season, the native of Umea decided to chase his dream of playing at the highest level this offseason when he signed a one-year deal with the Blue Jackets.

While the 24-year-old defenseman didn't make the team's NHL roster, Bjork has quickly found a home in Cleveland with the Monsters. Bjork promised to bring a puck-moving game to North America that seems suited to adding more points on the smaller ice, and so far that has been true as the 6-foot-3 blueliner has a 2-3-5 line in 10 games to this point in the season.
Bjork had become a steady defender in his native country, spend each of the past four seasons in the Swedish Hockey League with Orebro, Malmo and finally Byrnas. In his final spot, he once played under the tutelage of CBJ director of pro scouting Josef Boumedienne, and Bjork compiled a total mark of 17-47-64 in 207 games in the SHL.
Get to know the right-shot blueliner and hear all about his path to through hockey, plus get to know him away from the ice as well, in this interview with Dylan Tyrer that debuted today as part of the Blue Jackets' Pipeline Podcast.
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Monsters Update

Through 10 games of the season, the Cleveland Monsters are sitting at a perfect .500 mark at 5-5-0, good enough for a third-place standing in the seven-team North Division of the AHL.
Yet there's a few reasons to be excited about Cleveland, though two of them -- forwards Emil Bemstrom and Brendan Gaunce -- were just recalled. Bemstrom was tied for the AHL lead with 14 points on seven goals and seven assists when he was summoned to Columbus on Monday, while Gaunce had a 4-7-11 line in the first 10 games.
Meanwhile, 22-year-old North American rookie Kirill Marchenko is also off to a strong start. With a 6-6-12 line in 10 games, the former KHL standout places tied for 12th in the league in scoring. Trey Fix-Wolansky and Carson Meyer also are off to matching 3-5-8 lines for the Monsters.
Cleveland got a few reinforcements of its own, though, as 2022 first-round pick David Jiricek (defense) and top goaltending prospect Daniil Tarasov were sent the Monsters upon the Blue Jackets' return from Finland as well.
Cleveland hosts Grand Rapids tonight before hitting the road for the next two weekends, with a game Friday at Rochester.

Dumais Still Scoring

At this point, we might have to make a consistent section for Jordan Dumais.
The 2022 third-round pick's unbelievable scoring run continued last night as he posted a goal and five assists for a six-point night in an 8-3 win for Halifax over Moncton.

Add in his second hat trick of the season two days earlier against Saint John and Dumais has a 4-5-9 line in his last two games, not to mention a 16-22-38 line in 16 games to start the QMJHL season. That puts him at the top of the Canadian Hockey League -- the umbrella that covers the Q, OHL and WHL -- seven points clear of presumed 2023 No. 1 overall pick Connor Bedard of Regina.
Dumais' six-point game was his first of the season, topping his four-goal, five-point performance Oct. 23 against Acadie Bathurst. Coming off a 109-point campaign that placed third in the QMJHL, Dumais is now on pace for a 162-point season per Elite Prospects and has multiple points in 11 of 16 games.

Prospect Notes

• James Malatesta is somewhat playing in Dumais' shadow when it comes to CBJ draft picks in the Q, but the 2021 fifth-round pick is making the most of his fourth season with Quebec. Malatesta, 19, has 12 goals in his first 15 games for a Remparts team that is 15-1-0-1 to start the season and is ranked second in the CHL at the moment.
• Moving over to the OHL, the Blue Jackets are led by 2022 second-round pick Luca Del Bel Belluz, who turns 19 tomorrow. He's filling up the stat sheet, too, with Mississauga, as he's off to a 10-10-20 start in his first 13 games. That's good enough for a tie for eighth in points in the OHL to this point.
• Dmitri Voronkov, the CBJ's fourth-round pick in the 2019 draft, is starting to look like himself again. The 22-year-old center missed a month of KHL action earlier this season with Ak Bars Kazan and took some time to shake the dust off, but he has assists in two straight games and has won 56.9 percent of faceoffs in the last five contests. The big, physical pivot is signed through this year with Ak Bars.
• 2020 fourth-round pick Mikael Pyyhtia has been selected to join the national team of his native Finland for the upcoming Karelia tournament. It will be the first full national call-up for the wing, and he'll get to play in his home venue as the games will be played in Turku. Pyyhtia was one of the top scorers in the Liiga last tear with 21 goals and signed a CBJ contract in the summer.