Coming into Blue Jackets training camp, presented by OhioHealth, we knew that we already knew a lot about the team.
The proof was in the numbers, with the Blue Jackets returning more than 85 percent of their scoring production and more than 75 percent of the games played among skaters from a season ago.
The big names haven’t changed, from dependable veterans Zach Werenski, Boone Jenner and Sean Monahan to breakthrough youngsters Kirill Marchenko, Adam Fantilli and Kent Johnson. No matter what happened in training camp, those players were always going to highlight a team that views last season’s jump forward as a big step on the way to playoff qualification.
So, what have we learned through one week of hard work leading into today’s off day, a span that also included four of the team’s seven preseason contests?
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We learned the Blue Jackets absolutely consider themselves a playoff team coming into the year. We learned the line combinations we bandied about during the offseason are likely close to the ones head coach Dean Evason and his staff have on their magnets on the coaching room whiteboard. And we learned the competition to fill out the roster aligns with what was expected coming into training camp.
With all that in mind, we asked Evason after Wednesday night’s victory over Pittsburgh where he feels the team is at with seven days of camp in the books.
“We’re still concerned about some of the things that we’re doing,” Evason said. “But a lot of the guys that played tonight, it’s the first game, right? So you kind of have to give some leeway, but yet, you have to ask the questions. You can’t do some of the things we’re doing as far as turning pucks over. It’s like, OK, but we still have to correct it, we still have to teach it, but we’re obviously aware that it’s the first game.
“You can scrimmage all you want, you can practice all you want, but when it’s playing against somebody else, they really want the puck, and you’re going to turn it over a little bit. We’ve got some nice teaching stuff that we’re able to pull and talk about and show moving forward.
“But to answer your question, yeah, I think we’re OK with where we’re at. But could we be better? Sure.”
To sum it up, Evason sounds like, well, every NHL coach at this time of year. Every team remains a work in progress as they knock the rust off and shift from offseason workouts and captains' skates to playing the team-oriented, structured hockey the 82-game season will require.
But some storylines have emerged as the Blue Jackets have worked toward the Oct. 9 season opener at Nashville. Tackling the topics above:
- A familiar theme has emerged from the team’s key players throughout interviews, and it’s that expectations have been raised. Falling just two points short of the postseason ago gnawed at CBJ players throughout the offseason, and certainly inspired summer workouts. This is now a team that believes it deserves to be in the mix. “This year I genuinely feel like if we’re not a playoff team, it’s a failure for this group,” Werenski said on media day, and he’s not the only player to endorse that message.
- When it comes to the lineup, there have been tweaks in practices and preseason games. The top two lines could be set, though, as the Blue Jackets opened camp and played last night vs. Pittsburgh with Dmitri Voronkov, Sean Monahan and Kirill Marchenko grouped together as well as Boone Jenner, Adam Fantilli and Kent Johnson. That top line outscored foes 29-13 a season ago at 5-on-5, while the latter outscored teams 8-3 in limited action after Jenner’s return. And there’s no mystery as far as the top defensive pair – Werenski and Dante Fabbro are back together.
- The Blue Jackets retain some questions at the bottom end of the lineup. A bevy of players with NHL experience were brought in to push, and we’ve seen such names as forward Hudson Fasching and defenseman Brendan Smith work with returning players. At the same time, there isn’t much room at the inn. The forward group includes newcomers Charlie Coyle, Miles Wood and Isac Lundestrom mixing in with returnees Cole Sillinger, Yegor Chinakhov, Mathieu Olivier, Zach Aston-Reese and Mikael Pyyhtia, not to mention talented youngster Luca Del Bel Belluz. The top seven defensemen also return from a season ago, so there aren’t many openings on the 23-man roster.
With all that in mind, the next week and a half will go a long way to firming up any of the questions the Blue Jackets face. What follows are some observations and anecdotes that have stood out from the opening week.
Christiansen Earns Praise
It’s common during the regular season to play three games in four nights, but it’s a bit of a tougher ask in the opening days of training camp when the legs and lungs are still working their way back into midseason form.
Jake Christiansen doesn’t seem to mind, though, as the defenseman was on the CBJ roster for three of the opening four preseason contests.
“I love it,” he said with his usual smile. “I’m a hockey player, so I like to play hockey. I always joke, we had a lot worse in the Western league (in juniors).”
And the best news for Christiansen is he’s made the most of that opportunity. A CBJ regular a season ago, playing the team’s first 65 games and 68 overall before suffering a season-ending injury, Christiansen entered camp in a competition for playing time considering the depth on the back end for the Blue Jackets.
Through the opening three games, the 26-year-old has impressed, scoring a power-play goal last night vs. the Penguins, adding an assist in the preseason opener, unleashing a team-high 17 shot attempts and averaging more than 23 minutes per game.
“We just had a lengthy conversation about how well he played yesterday and today, how hard he played, how detailed he played, how gritty he played,” Evason said last night. “Is he battling, like, doing all the things that we’ve asked him to do? Yeah. I think he sees that there’s some competition, and he’s stepped up.”
He remains a young, intriguing player who could be capable of more offensive production than we’ve seen through his NHL career to this point. Christiansen posted a 1-7-8 line a season ago and has a total of two goals and 15 points in 112 NHL games, but he was a goal scorer from the blue line in juniors and notched double digits in goals three straight seasons with Cleveland of the AHL.
That hasn’t been his role, though, at the NHL level, as he’s been tasked with holding a third-pair, defensive-minded job while such players as Werenski drive offense from the back end. Christiansen’s commitment to improving his defensive game is what has gotten him to the NHL, but as his comfort grows, the offensive production could too.
Having the chance to spend an entire season in the NHL for the first time a year ago also has aided his game, Christiansen said.
“I think I learned a lot throughout the season,” he said. “Obviously you get a lot of opportunities to learn through different plays and situations. You just learn a lot about the game and get more comfortable in the situations that you’re put in. I think that’s really important for me. I’ve always felt like my first full year in a league, I’ve learned a lot and gone from there, so I think it was good.”
Goalies Working Together
Elvis Merzlikins has been here before.
When he first arrived in Columbus, the goaltender shared the net with Joonas Korpisalo for almost four seasons. The past couple years, he’s been part of a tandem with Daniil Tarasov. And now, with Jet Greaves on a one-way contract and seemingly ready to be a full-time NHLer after his strong performances a season ago, Merzlikins has a new netminder to share a crease with.
That’s just how it goes in today’s NHL, as the days of the mail-carrying starter have seemingly gone by the wayside. In 2002-03, Marc Denis set an NHL record for minutes played while starting 77 games for the Blue Jackets, and he was just one of 14 goalies to start at least 60 games that season. In 2014-15, two netminders topped 70 starts, and 12 had at least 60.
A season ago, only five goalies started at least 60 games, and Andrei Vasilevskiy’s 63 were the most in the NHL. As the demands of the position have grown, spurred on by players who can score from anywhere at any time, goalie tandems have become more common and starts have become increasingly spread out.
“I think it’s great,” Merzlikins said of having a capable duo. “I remember myself with Korpi together, we were No. 1s, both of us, and that helped us a lot. We were helping each other. There were nights I was taking off and Korpi was doing great and we were winning, and then Korpi was taking off and I was doing good and we were winning the games. That’s really good on a hockey team to have two solid goalies because the season is long.”
On the outside, the CBJ goaltending situation may be one of the most intriguing things to talk about on the team. But inside the respective creases, there’s a feeling that Merzlikins and Greaves – and perhaps the newly acquired Ivan Fedotov – can aid each other on their journey.
There is only one net at a time, of course, but it’s also fair to say there may be no winner or loser of the netminding competition in camp. The schedule, hot and cold streaks, injuries and the million other factors that go into determining a starting goalie each night will play an important part of the story as the season goes along.
With that in mind, both Merzlikins and Greaves have said they’re not focused on anything other than what they can control. Right now, that means putting in the work each day to get ready for the season.
“I think that’s important,” Greaves said of his trademark day-by-day approach. “At the end of the day, who knows what’s going to happen tomorrow. That’s something I’ve been fortunate to learn through the past year and through my hockey career and my life, is the importance of controlling what I can control. That’s going to hopefully continue to be my focus going forward, just taking it one day at a time.”
Evason has said he views the goaltending spot like any other position – a place where those on the roster must push each other to get better on a daily basis. For Merzlikins, who in the past has occasionally spoken of big dreams before a season, the competition is all about the journey right now and not the end point.
“Just focus day by day,” the veteran said. “I won’t set any goals of myself anymore. I don’t want to put my focus anywhere else. Just day by day, enjoy, have fun. This is the best league in the world, a great group of guys out there. Just enjoy every single day.”
Lundy’s Looking For More
A few years ago, Lundestrom looked to be on his way to a big career with the Anaheim Ducks.
The 2018 first-round draft pick played more than half a season for the Ducks for the first time in 2021-22 and looked like a bona fide offensive threat. At age 22, the Swedish center posted 16 goals – including four shorthanded tallies – and 29 points in 80 games, solid numbers for a young player who figured to only get better with age.
The offensive production waned from there, though, as Lundestrom totaled 13 goals and 40 points in 186 games over the course of the last three seasons. After seven years in Anaheim, he hit the free agent market this summer, and the Blue Jackets snapped him up with a two-year contract that carries an AAV of $1.3 million.
General manager Don Waddell said Lundestrom was added to be a dependable pivot who can help out defensively more than anything else, but looking back at 2021-22, you can’t help but wonder if there might be more offense in Lundestrom’s game.
In fact, Lundestrom is one of those people doing the wondering.
“I think I have some offense, so I think I could do a little bit different roles,” Lundestrom said. “I know I have the ability to do the offense, too, and not just be the lower guy in the D-zone, but obviously I’m always working hard and keep the details going.”
Again, Waddell isn’t counting on anything like 20 goals, but it is always nice when you can get secondary scoring, and Lundestrom has shown at times in the past he can add that to the equation.
Lundestrom also has a fair amount of NHL experience, as he doesn’t turn 26 until November and has played in 337 games over the course of seven seasons. He said he had several suitors on the open market, but impressed with the way the Blue Jackets have developed a reputation as hard to play against, Columbus seemed like a good landing spot.
“Obviously getting a new, fresh start for me, for sure,” he said when asked what he’s looking forward to. “Maybe I was a little bit stuck there (in Anaheim) the last couple years, but I feel excited to be here and it’s a great group of guys here.”
Evason has had only a few days with one of his new centers, but he sees someone who looks like he can make an impact.
“He certainly looks excited,” Evason said. “Just watching him interact with his teammates, he’s very in with the guys already, so that’s a positive as well. I think he has a certain confidence level. As you’ve been in the league for a while, regardless of what camp you’re in and what have you, you have a confidence level that you can play in the National Hockey League. He knows he can, and so do we.”
Hunting For A Spot
There doesn’t seem to be a lot of room on the CBJ blue line for a rookie trying to make an impact, but don’t count out Daemon Hunt.
The Blue Jackets return five defensemen who played at least 60 games with the team a season ago – Werenski, Christiansen, Ivan Provorov, Damon Severson and Dante Fabbro – plus standout youngster Denton Mateychuk and veteran Erik Gudbranson, who is coming back from an injury-marred 2024-25 season.
There are also players with NHL experience like Smith, Christian Jaros and Dysin Mayo battling for a spot, but it might just be Hunt’s time. Waddell has consistently mentioned the 23-year-old as in the mix, and you can’t help but wonder if Hunt played in three of the first four preseason games so the Jackets could get a deeper look at his game.
For his part, Hunt – who has played 13 games with the Wild the past two seasons – arrived with the mind-set that he can start in Columbus rather than Cleveland.
“I’m not here to not make the team,” he said. “I’m here to make the team, and that’s my only goal right now. I’m just going out there trying to compete, show what I can do, trying not to do too much out there but enjoy the process too.”
It’s also instructive for the coaching staff to see Hunt up close considering the 2020 third-round pick joined the organization last November in the trade with Minnesota that sent David Jiricek to the Wild. Hunt has been a Blue Jacket for almost a calendar year, but this is his initial training camp – and first extensive time – in Columbus.
Hunt quickly became a dependable blueliner in Cleveland after the trade, playing in 48 games with two goals and 14 points before suffering a wrist injury that ended his season. A high scorer as his career developed in junior hockey with Moose Jaw of the WHL, Hunt said he’s learned a lot while spending the bulk of the past three seasons in the AHL.
“I think offensively, I’m still trying to get that part of my game back,” Hunt said. “I remember when I was younger, my first year pro, it was a little more panic (out there), but right now, I’ve had some time. I can make my plays.
“I’m a smooth skater. I’m hard to play against. I find I move pucks really well. I love getting up in the rush. That’s what I look for, being part of that fourth man attack. I have a really good stick, good gap, good details, being a guy that you can put out there in key minutes of the game.”
The numbers might be stacked against him, as few teams begin the season with eight defensemen, but the Blue Jackets are also working Mateychuk back in with a groin injury that has kept him from the team skates so far. Time will tell how the math works out, but Hunt is a name to keep an eye on.
