Del Bel Belluz

Columbus and Cleveland are separated by around 140 miles of Interstate 71, but it’s the goal of the Blue Jackets to make that distance seem as small as possible.

Every NHL team searches for synergy between itself and its American Hockey League affiliate, but given the fact the Blue Jackets have a roster full of young draft picks at both levels, it’s taken on a high level of importance for Columbus in recent years.

And it’s fair to say the results show that’s what the organization has achieved. The Blue Jackets’ impressive run into playoff contention this season has been fueled in part by players who have made an impact at both levels, with such names as Luca Del Bel Belluz, Denton Mateychuk, Jet Greaves and Owen Sillinger fitting seamlessly into the Columbus lineup as the Jackets had the best points percentage in the NHL from Dec. 19-Jan. 19.

SEA@CBJ: Del Bel Belluz scores goal against Philipp Grubauer

Off the ice, the family-style cultures are similar, and the CBJ players have welcomed the new charges with open arms. On the ice, a big part of the success is that the two teams play the same systems and speak the same language, allowing players to move between the levels without having to learn a new way to play.

“I think that’s a lot of credit to the coaching staffs here and there,” Del Bel Belluz said. “They’re on the same page. They want the same things. They teach the same things, obviously, so with them harping on the little things down there and the detail and the structure in Cleveland, it makes us come up here and just be comfortable and play.

“It’s kind of engraved in our minds what the structure is and what the system is, so it’s kind of easy. You don’t have to think about little things in your head. Just go out there and play and do your thing.”

It’s not exactly rocket science that the Blue Jackets and Monsters do the same things schematically, as the setup was similar the past few years under previous CBJ regimes. First-year head coach Dean Evason has made it an emphasis, though, opening the door to third-year Monsters head coach Trent Vogelhuber to make sure it’s an easy transition from Lake Erie to the banks of the Scioto River.

“The way that we play, the way that Cleveland plays sets us up to play the same way, and Trent does a fabulous job down there and his crew of playing the same way,” Evason said. “It’s the same mentality, the same thought process, the same team-first (mentality), and so when guys come up, they just fit seamlessly into our team.”

It also helps that Cleveland – with the help of the CBJ front office, including director of player personnel and Monsters general manager Chris Clark – has put together a winning culture the past few seasons. The Monsters went all the way to Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Final a season ago and have gotten off to a strong start this season while battling for a second straight AHL North Division title.

Much of the credit has to go to a Monsters staff led by Vogelhuber, the one-time CBJ draft pick and Dublin native who has proved to be a coach on the rise with the way he’s handled the squad and focused on winning details in Cleveland.

“That’s massive,” Sillinger said. “The coaching staff in Cleveland does a great job of preparing us. I’ve played there for three years now, and each year, we continue to get better. They continue to harp on those details.”

Some of it also goes to the Blue Jackets leadership, which has shown it’s not afraid to put its trust in a recently recalled player. From Evason and general manager Don Waddell, there is a feeling that when a player is recalled from Cleveland, he should be put in a position to succeed.

“They have swagger, they have confidence,” Evason said of the Cleveland players who have come up and done their part. “They play the right way, so it sets them up to have success when they get here. They don’t have to change their game.

“I know that Don and the guys upstairs, we call a guy up, it’s not to play three minutes, or just because he’s coming up from the minors, he has to play on the so-called fourth line. The mind-set is, this is who they are, this is where we want them to play, so we put them in those loftier spots to have success.”

So far, Del Bel Belluz and Mateychuk – the AHL’s top point scorer and the league’s top-scoring defenseman, respectively, at the time of their recalls – have earned spots with the Blue Jackets and performed admirably, even being trusted to play in overtime of recent CBJ contests. Greaves earned a recent win in St. Louis amid a string of solid performances at the top level, while Sillinger made his NHL debut at age 27 and did his part in a recent CBJ victory.

SEA@CBJ: Mateychuk scores goal against Philipp Grubauer

Sillinger and Greaves have since returned to Cleveland, while Del Bel Belluz may go back as well at some point, as the Jackets should see a spate of injured forwards return to health. But it’s all about doing your part when called upon, and those Monsters turned Blue Jackets have done just that.

Often in sports, that can make a huge difference, and perhaps the most notable example of that in CBJ lore came in 2009 when the team made its first playoff appearance. Goaltender Dan LaCosta was called up by the Blue Jackets in February and memorably posted two wins in two starts, including a shutout in Nationwide Arena.

It’s all about synergy, and the Blue Jackets have found that just up the road.

“They do a great job there, the staff and the players, and it’s an awesome environment,” Mateychuk said of Cleveland. “You get excited to go into the rink every day and work with the guys. They prepare you for this. I’m very thankful for that.”

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