Kuraly got the job done in first year with Blue Jackets

Sean Kuraly set career highs in goals, assists, points and games played in his first season with the Blue Jackets.
But if there was one regret, it's that even skating in 77 contests, he fell just short of one of his career goals.

Kuraly played in each of the Jackets' first 72 games, putting him on pace to achieve the incredibly difficult but highly respected goal of playing in all 82 games. Unfortunately, he then tested positive for COVID, knocking him out for two games.
"The COVID is just uncontrollable," he said, expressing some frustration at the close of the season. "That's kind of what got me. I wanted to play 82 games. That was kind of a goal. I got close. End of the season, I'm thinking about it. I'm like, 'I want to make this thing happen.' I'd never played 80 games. It always seems to be high 70s.
If there was a silver lining, it was that those missed games ended up making it not matter that Kuraly suffered a broken toe in the team's 79th game of the season vs. Edmonton, causing him to miss the final three games of the campaign as well.

The frustration level might have been even higher had he been forced out of the lineup by injury so close to the end of the regular season, but in the end, those were minor inconveniences given his return to his hometown was one of the top stories of the CBJ season.
After five seasons in Boston, the Dublin native had what was likely the best season of his NHL career, posting 14 goals and 30 points to set new career standards after signing a four-year deal as a free agent to join the Blue Jackets.
More than that, he was a crucial piece of the CBJ lineup no matter where he was slotted by head coach Brad Larsen, whether it was leading an energy line that always seemed to get the team going, helping bring along some of the team's young prospects, or taking key draws throughout the season as one of the Jackets' top centermen.
To do it all wearing the union blue sweater he cheered for growing up was the icing on the cake.
"Personally, it's probably one of the most fun years I've had on a daily basis," he said. "It doesn't end with the championship, it doesn't end with a playoff exit or playoff series win -- and that's where you want to be -- but I think as a group we like where we're headed.
"Personally, I got to enjoy a lot of fun hockey this year. When you're enjoying it and having fun, you're playing well and you're performing, and that's the name of the game here."
From the perspective of his head coach, Brad Larsen, Kuraly was a nice addition to the lineup for a variety of reasons. Known for his speed and how hard he was to play against in a bottom-six role in Boston, Kuraly came to Columbus as a veteran player who knew how to play his game and lean into what he brings to the table.
To Larsen, that means being physical and hard on the puck, playing reliable defense, bringing effort and winning key faceoffs.
"I don't think there (has been) many surprises, but I say that in a good way," Larsen said late in the season. "I think we had a pretty good read on what he was. We watched him play quite a bit, coached against him and did some video work on him and all those things. As far as expectations, I think he's exceeded a little bit, but no surprises.
"He's so consistent in his effort. As long as he keeps it within the lines for him as far as not trying to do too much with the puck, he's a real important player. You see how I use him. I use him all the time in some real important situations. He has handled it very well."

Perhaps the biggest hallmark of Kuraly's game on the season was his ability to make those around him better, something that started from the very beginning when he centered a line with Eric Robinson and Alexandre Texier that was a consistent producer of both energy and offense for the team.
Throughout the year, Kuraly seemed to be the kind of player who could be put with anyone on the ice and bring the most out of that linemate's game.
"As guys in the bottom six of the lineup, we want to win games," he said. "You have to bring something. You have to move the game in your direction somehow. ... That's where I come from. My thought process is maybe the 5 percent (extra) is the difference tonight. And a lot of times it's not, but you got to do it every single night for it to come to fruition if you want to end on the good side of it. So I think all of us that played together this year had that sense of pride. And I think that's why it worked."
One never knows how heading home to play for one's childhood team will go, but Kuraly seemed to not only be able to handle the pressure and expectations but thrive under them. And now that he's worn the union blue, he says the experience was everything he had hoped it could be.
"I've grown up here, I've lived here -- this is my hometown," he said. "But you don't know what goes on inside these walls until you get in. I came as a fan for many years, obviously, and felt like this was my team. But as someone who's from here, it made me even more proud to be a part of this now that I know what's going on inside these walls. The people that are in place and everything that's going on behind the closed doors is something that being from here, I can take a lot of pride in.
"And it's exceeded my expectations. I love this city. I love this team."