SvoNotes: Danforth finishing debut season strong for Blue Jackets

As the 2021-22 season winds down and the Blue Jackets are evaluating what went right and what went wrong, one player that will be looked at as nothing but a positive is Justin Danforth.
And the Blue Jackets aren't the only ones to take notice.

The Ontario native made his NHL debut with the team this year at the age of 28, and he's been an excellent find, as he combines a little offensive creativity - nine goals in 36 games, including four in the last six games - with the kind of hard-working effort that other teams hate to play against.

Take it from none other than one of the greatest players in the game's history.
"I'll tell you a little story," CBJ associate head coach Pascal Vincent said recently when he was leading the team. "We play Pittsburgh, and after the game I see Sidney Crosby. I coached Sidney with Team Canada, so I've known him for a long time. He stops by and we have a little chat -- 'How are you doing? How's the family?' A regular chat. And then he says, 'That Danforth guy, who is he?' That's coming from Sidney Crosby.
"He said, 'He's a young guy, Danforth?' I said, 'He's not so young, but he's a good player for us. He's on the puck, he works hard, he can shoot the puck.' He said, 'Yeah, I was looking at him, and he's hard to play against.' To me, it tells you everything about Danforth."
We've previously written about Danforth
making the most of his NHL opportunity, as he's not only the first Sacred Heart University product to make it to the NHL, he had to go the long way -- from the Double-A ECHL to Finland to the KHL -- to make it to the world's best league.
But it truly remains one of those underdog stories that makes sports so fun, as Danforth never gave up on his dream and now not only is a regular for the Jackets, he's earned a two-year contract to stay with the team.
"He's such a great story, I'm telling you," Blue Jackets head coach Brad Larsen said. "You're never too old to learn something new, and he's done it the right way. He's done everything he can to get himself relevant and in the lineup. Now I see him every day. I told him I need to see him every day, and he's earning my trust. He's on a checking line role, but now he's starting to score. Now he's starting to see some of the polish that he has.
"It's such a great story because so many guys either are stubborn and don't want to change or don't think they can change. He's done it. Good for him. He earned himself a contract. I'm thrilled to see how this guy has played for us. Every night he competes, he comes. I notice him every night, and I love that."
Danforth's latest goal Saturday night was another example of his skill set, as he got to the front of the net and was able to contort his body to turn Jack Roslovic's pass in his skates into the top corner of the net to give the Jackets a 4-2 lead against Detroit in the third period.
Many of his goals have come from the net front -- Danforth has shown not to be shy about getting to the hard areas -- but there's clearly some skill to his game, as he has good hands, might be the fastest player on the team (or at least the quickest burst) and isn't afraid to mix it up a little.
One reason he feels like he's starting to fill up the net? The comfort he's gained, as Danforth said it traditionally takes him a while to get used to a league before he is able to take off. And with a strong finish to the year, he could find himself a big part of the CBJ plans going forward.
"I think for me that's huge," he said of settling in at the NHL level. "When you go to any different league, it takes a while to transition. I think this league has taken me the longest. I've played in a lot of different leagues, and it took me 10-15 games in Finland. This has been an interesting season. I've already learned a lot these 35 games I've played."

Meyer Makes It

Right around the time this story posts -- Sunday, early afternoon -- marks about exactly a week since Carson Meyer got the call he'd be promoted to the NHL level for the second time this year.
The first time Meyer got that call, he rang his mother, Holly, who told him she'd get back to him. This time around, she answered the FaceTime on the first ring.
And it didn't take Holly long to figure out something was amiss.
"He FaceTimed us in the afternoon, and I just thought he was saying hi because we didn't really get to talk to him a whole lot when we were in Cleveland on Saturday night," Holly said. "And then he asked, 'Is Dad around?' Then I knew something was going on."
Meyer was told last Sunday he was recalled, then found out Monday morning he'd be in the lineup to make his NHL debut that night in Nationwide Arena against Boston (he didn't play in his first go-round with the team). It was a huge moment for the Powell native, AAA Blue Jackets alum and Ohio State product, not to mention the entire community that helped support the 24-year-old and his family on his journey.
That's partly why there were so many people excited to make it to Nationwide Arena on Monday, a list that included family, friends, youth teammates, Ohio State teammates, and probably neighbors and others as well.
"I think the mailman might be here," Holly joked.
Meyer spoke before making his debut about all the games he attended with his father, Todd, as a kid in Nationwide Arena to root on the Blue Jackets. They were partial season ticket holders who made it to just about every playoff game, diehard fans who saw the sport go from something they enjoyed to Carson's profession.
"I've been to a lot of hockey games, and this one hasn't even started yet and it's the best one I've been to," Todd said pregame. "It's surreal. His dedication and hard work, I'm jealous of it, really. He's nothing like me, which is fantastic."
Meyer would go on to play in all four games this week, and the highlight came Tuesday in Philadelphia when he notched his first goal and assist in a 4-2 win against the Flyers.

"It's still sinking in," Meyer said postgame. "Obviously that is something that I'll remember the rest of my life. It's something you dream of forever. Just seeing the puck cross the line, it's a pretty awesome feeling.
"Scoring gave me quite a bit of confidence. I always say if you could play every game like you have a goal in the first period, you'd be the best player ever because it's like the puck always finds you, and you start to play better knowing you have a goal under your belt. So yeah, really special getting that first one tonight."
Meyer said the first-goal puck would likely go in his dad's man cave in Powell, and it wasn't hard to see just how much his debut means to so many in the Columbus community. It's a family that has started to regularly produce NHL players, including his teammates Sean Kuraly and Jack Roslovic as well as the first Columbus-area native to play for the Jackets in Kole Sherwood.
It's always special, something Meyer acknowledged earlier this week as he started to take it all in.
"It's so special to see," he said of the support. "You don't really think about it when you get caught up in the season. You get focused on games and grinding through road trips. You forget how many people are pulling for you and rooting for you along the way.
"For the first time to be a home game, it was really nice to be able to see all that support at the arena and be able to shake everybody's hands after the game and thank them for coming out. There are so many people that have helped me get here, friends and family, that you forget how many supporters you really have pulling for you."

Another Debut Coming

Meyer was the eighth player to make his NHL debut this year with the Blue Jackets, joining young first-round picks Cole Sillinger and Yegor Chinakhov who made the opening roster, well-traveled veterans Gregory Hofmann and Justin Danforth, highly touted goalie Daniil Tarasov, and intriguing prospects Jacob Christiansen and Trey Fix-Wolansky.
A ninth and 10th could very well come Wednesday as the Blue Jackets signed 2021 first-round pick Kent Johnson and his University of Michigan teammate Nick Blankenburg to deals.
Johnson's debut has been heavily anticipated, as it's been quite a year for the fifth overall pick in the 2021 draft. Johnson not only starred for the University of Michigan as one of the top scorers in college hockey (8-29-37 in 32 games), he was on Canada's World Juniors squad and also was one of the top scorers in the round robin at the 2022 Olympic Games in Beijing at just 19.
Johnson and Blankenburg -- an undersized defenseman who set career highs in goals (14) and points (29) this year while serving as the U-M captain -- joined the team Saturday in Detroit, taking in the game and meeting their teammates before heading home on the CBJ team plane.
We'll hear more from them this week, but it's fair to say they have one teammate they can quickly bond with. CBJ alternate captain Zach Werenski is a fellow U-M alum who has watched a lot of their games this year and is ready to get started with each.
"Obviously he stands out just based on what he can do with the puck," Werenski said of Johnson, who is known for his elite skills. "I'm excited to see that in our lineup. I think he's gonna be a great player for us. Everything I've heard and seen about Nick is he's a really competitive player, a guy that competes, a guy that battled hard. You always like having a guy like that on the team."

Jack Trick

Roslovic twice had an opportunity to earn a hat trick this season, scoring twice in games Nov. 22 at Buffalo and March 16 at Ottawa.
Finally, though, he finished one off Saturday night in Detroit, and Roslovic did it in grand fashion, scoring off a sweet Gus Nyquist feed in overtime to give the Jackets a contentious 5-4 victory.
It was Roslovic's second career hat trick (the first was Feb. 2, 2019, vs. Anaheim when he played for Winnipeg) but his first as a Blue Jacket.

"It's great," said Roslovic, who added an assist for his second career four-point night as well. "Whenever I can help the team by scoring goals, it's important and it feels good. So I just gotta score more often and try to help the team like I said."
Not only did it allow Roslovic to reach a career-high 15 goals, it was the third CBJ hat trick of the season. Patrik Laine had the first Feb. 17 at Chicago and then Cole Sillinger sent a barrage of hats to the Nationwide Arena ice March 13 with a hatty against Vegas.
Columbus had 40 hat tricks in 20 seasons before this season, so the team is above its average of two per year.