Cassels' return to Ohio is a family affair

With two separate homecomings happening last night, Andrew Cassels had to pick one.
The former NHL star and Blue Jackets forward could have stayed in Columbus as his son, Birk, was attending his high school homecoming for the first time.
But there is a bigger homecoming in the works that pulled Cassels instead to Little Caesars Arena in Detroit. There, his eldest son Cole was suiting up for the Blue Jackets against the Red Wings, a big step on Cole's hopeful path to making it to the NHL with a team for which his father starred years ago.

So that meant Andrew got in the car and made the drive up state route 23 and Interstate 75 to the Motor City. Sorry, Birk, but Cole won this one. There will be more homecomings down the road.
"It was a proud moment obviously for myself, and I'm just excited for Cole to get an opportunity to play," Andrew said. "It's always fun watching him play at any level, but it's really special when he's out there for the Blue Jackets. It's such a big part of my life. The Blue Jacket family has been great to me, and to see him be a part of it, it was super exciting."
The Cassels are an extraordinarily tight family -- it's no surprise to see Andrew, who now leads the Blue Jackets' Learn to Play efforts introducing Columbus-area kids to hockey, or his wife Heather watching their kids at five or six games over a weekend -- and that's one of the reasons Cole has ended up back in Ohio.
A product of the Ohio AAA Blue Jackets program -- he's one of four in CBJ camp along with Jack Roslovic, Sean Kuraly and Carson Meyer -- Cassels has carved out a strong career for himself as a pro. After starring with Oshawa of the OHL and becoming a third-round pick in the 2013 draft by Vancouver, Cole has played five seasons in the AHL in the Canucks, Penguins and Senators organizations.
A year ago was his most productive campaign, as Cassels finished with five goals and 17 points in 31 games with the Belleville Senators. Given the chance to sign with the Blue Jackets' affiliate in Cleveland, then, this offseason, Cassels jumped at the chance.
"It means everything," he said. "It's home, right? An hour and 45 minutes, two hours from my family here, and I have family up in Toronto so it's not too far for them either. More so closer to Columbus, but mom and also the rest of my family can get down when the borders hopefully open up.
"It's literally the best thing that could have happened, I think. I'm very fortunate I have signed with Cleveland and the Blue Jackets organization. My goal is to earn a contract with the Blue Jackets in the long run and hopefully my play tonight can get that steamrolling for the rest of the season."
Getting into his first preseason game of the campaign -- and, he said, his first in a number of years -- last night can only help in that quest. Cassels ended up with some good moments and some bad, as he had the primary assist on Carson Meyer's goal in the 5-1 loss to Detroit, but Cassels also took two penalties that led to Red Wings power-play goals.
But that's part of his game, as Cassels sees himself as a two-way center who separates himself through his effort.
"I think I've definitely gotten more mature," he said of his growth over the years. "I think I've done everything that I've been told that I need to work on from previous coaches and skills coaches, skating coaches, all that. I think I've put in a lot of work, and I think I've worked my but off and I hope it comes to an opportunity and hopefully here."
It's a bit of a different path than the elder Cassels followed, as Andrew put together a 16-year NHL career that spanned 1,015 games as well as 204 goals and 732 points. Two of those years came with Columbus in the twilight of Cassels' career, as he spent the 2002-03 and 2003-04 seasons with the Blue Jackets, notching a total of 26 goals and 94 points in 137 games.
Now an accomplished coach -- Andrew not only is one of the leaders of the Learn to Play program, he's worked as a coach with the AAA Blue Jackets and Ohio State's women's hockey team, among other roles -- he brings a unique perspective to the game, one that he tries to deliver to Cole on a regular basis as the two talk nearly every day.
"Everybody has their own path, and I try to remind him of that all the time, where my path was totally different from his path," Andrew said. "He's played in the American League, he's played in the East Coast League, he's played in Germany, and his ultimate goal is to be an NHL player.
"He works extremely hard at that in the summer and the offseason. I'm proud of him that he hasn't gotten discouraged and given up. It shows a lot about his character that he's willing to do anything to get to that level, and good for him to keep pushing through a lot of adversity."
Not that you'll hear Cole complain, though.
"I think we have one of the best jobs in the world, in my opinion," Cole said. "You get to go to a rink for three hours a day and work hard and get to hang out with the boys, talk about life, talk about any problems you have. It's good to have a dressing room, and it's therapeutic. It's fun. It's everything you'd want. I think a bad day at the rink beats some good days for other people.
"I'm very fortunate, and I hope to do it for another 10 years, you know? I know that's maybe unrealistic, but hopefully realistic. My goal is to still play in the NHL. No matter how old I am, I still think I am relatively young at 26, and you see people making it at 28, 29. My goal is to play in the NHL."