Sillinger has spent summer working toward a bounce-back campaign

When Cole Sillinger was a rookie, just about everything went right for him, as he scored 16 goals as the youngest player in the NHL during the 2021-22 season.

A year ago, just about everything went wrong during his sophomore campaign, with a 45-game stretch without a goal marking a season in which he scored just three times and finished the year in the AHL.

By the end of last season, the 20-year-old forward admitted he was relieved a season in which he just couldn't get any traction was over.

But at the same time, that doesn't mean he's spent the offseason forgetting about what he went through. Sillinger is mature beyond his years enough to know that learning from a slump at such a young age can be beneficial in the long term, and there's certainly motivation from such a frustrating campaign as well.

"I don't necessarily think it's moving on from it," Sillinger said Tuesday after taking part in his initial Cap City Summer Elite League game at OhioHealth Chiller North. "I think there's a learning aspect of it. You can't just be like, 'It happened, and it's going to change right back.' You have to do the work to make the change, but that's when you make the best strides is when you're at that point.

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"Individually, it's a little more motivation this summer to get to where I want to be, and I'm very confident I can get to the point and be the player that I want to be for our organization come day one."

It might be foolish to bet against Sillinger, who seems made for the game as the son of 17-year NHL veteran and former CBJ forward Mike Sillinger. Cole's rookie season was one for the books, as the Columbus-born center placed second in team history and 13th since the 2000-01 season in goals among players who were 18 on Jan. 31 of their rookie season, per Hockey Reference.

That's likely a more accurate indicator of the talent and poise inside of Sillinger than last year's tough season, as he suffered an upper-body injury in the first training camp practice of the season, had a brilliant goal wiped off the board in the season opener vs. Washington and then never had an ounce of luck from there.

In the end, he had a 3-8-11 line in 64 games in Columbus before being sent to AHL Cleveland at the end of the campaign to try to regain some mojo and help the Monsters make the playoffs. And when asked in which of his two NHL seasons he felt like he learned more about himself, Sillinger had a quick answer.

"Probably this past year," he said. "It's super easy to walk around with a smile on your face and do the right things when everything is going your way or you're feeling good and you're getting the bounces. It's not so easy to do that when things aren't going your way."

Outside of a few bucket-list experiences -- like taking part in a PGA Tour Canada event in his Saskatchewan home back in June on a sponsor's exemption -- this summer has been dedicated to getting to where he wants to be on the ice.

In the weight room, the goal has been to get stronger but not necessarily bigger, with an aim on being able to maintain his strength for the entirety of the grueling 82-game season. He said he also feels quicker than he did a year ago as he's gotten into skating and skill work. Sillinger also has a new number, switching from No. 34 to No. 4, which he wore growing up as a bit of an homage to Taylor Hall, who worked with his father in the Edmonton system.

The time off and chance to hit the reset button has been good for him, Sillinger said.

"My last game there (in Cleveland) was a relieving feeling of it's over and it's time to reflect and go through the what and the why it went that way and how I can maybe if I ever find myself going that direction to stop it before it's too late or before it got to the amount it did," Sillinger said. "It's good to turn the page. It's good to relax and decompress a bit and spend some time with family and friends and do the things I like to do and then focus on hockey and get to those goals."

If there was a big benefit of playing in Cleveland, it was that Sillinger had the chance to skate with his brother, Owen, who spent last season with the Monsters. There's a nearly six-year age difference between the oldest and youngest Sillinger brothers, and Video: CBJ@ANA: Sillinger scores tip-in PPG in the 2nd, the two had never been able to play on a team together.

"It was super cool," Sillinger said. "That doesn't happen too often. He was fortunate enough to play with (middle brother) Lukas and be on that side of things with him and go through junior and college together, and I was on the outside. So to have the chance to make Lukas jealous was fun. It was a lot of memories together."

Sillinger has split much of the summer thus far between Regina and Columbus, but the plan now is to remain in the capital city to continue getting ready for the season. He was born in Columbus while his father skated for the Blue Jackets but left at a young age before truly getting a feel for the city, but now Sillinger said he truly feels like a Central Ohioan after two seasons with the Blue Jackets.

"It was weird -- I'm in Regina and everyone was like, 'When are you going back?'" Sillinger said. "And I am like, 'Well, I'm going home...' and I'd catch myself saying (Columbus is) home. So it's like, I don't really know what is home yet. But yeah, obviously this is an amazing place to spend summer. I like everything about it."