SvoNotes: Meet Lady, the dog that takes the edge off for the Blue Jackets

Vladislav Gavrikov had never seen anything like it.
Last week, the Blue Jackets defenseman was in the team's locker room watching film with the rest of the squad when head coach Brad Larsen's dog, Lady, plodded into the room and started sniffing around.

"We just had a meeting, the whole team, watching video, and the dog walked around," Gavrikov said, eyes somewhat wide. "I said, 'Holy (crap), what's going on right now?' Lars just keeps going, like, 'Yeah, uh huh, OK.' I'm like, 'There's a dog walking around the locker room. Nobody cares?'
"How crazy is that? I've never seen that before, actually, but I'm good with dogs."
He better be -- Gavrikov and his family have a Cavalier King Charles spaniel named Willy. And he's far from alone. Of the 23 players on the CBJ opening night roster, a full 15 are dog owners, including, notably, Zach Werenski and Scott Harrington, who
adopted canines early in the pandemic
; Merzlikins,
who brought his dog Koby
to Nationwide Arena to sign his five-year contract extension in September; and even general manager Jarmo Kekalainen, who has been a longtime dog owner.
Then there's Larsen, who is a lover of both dogs and horses, one reason he is continuing the weekly "Hockey and Hounds" radio spot with flagship station 97.1 The Fan each Wednesday afternoon started by his predecessor, John Tortorella.
His wife, Hannah, is also into animals, and it's rubbed off on the CBJ head coach over the years.
"She's an unbelievable animal lover, and she pulled me into this years ago," Larsen said of his wife on the first edition of Hockey and Hounds two weeks ago. "She's just got this passion for them and helping them. … They seem to find her, too. If there's a wounded animal around, they find her and we wind up helping it or rescuing it, taking it somewhere almost daily or weekly it seems like."
This isn't the first time Larsen has had his dog around a team, as when he was the head coach of the Blue Jackets' AHL affiliate in Springfield back in the early 2010s, he did the same. This year, he waited until the team cut down its roster after training camp, and he brings Lady to the rink whenever it seems like a good idea.
"Lady and I have a special bond," he said on Hockey and Hounds. "She's a rescue that we rescued out of Georgia, and actually when I was coaching in Springfield, I used to bring my dogs to the rink. I had a dog bed right in my office. They got to be part of the team. I didn't want to do it (this year) until we got down to our numbers.
"She seems to be a big hit with everybody. It's funny what an animal can do, how it diffuses things. I wouldn't say everybody, but most people enjoy dogs or cats or some form of animal. Lady is friendly. She's a lover, so having her around has been great. I think everybody has enjoyed it."
So far, the returns are pretty good.
"I love having his dog around," Werenski said. "Obviously having (my goldendoodle) Beau, I have a new love for dogs. Until you have one of your own, you don't really understand the unconditional love that they give. So whenever I see a dog, it's kind of a sweet spot in my heart.
"But I wish we could bring our dogs. We were talking with some of the guys, we should have a dog day here, let them just run around and have someone just watch them during practice."
That might not happen -- does Nationwide Arena have room for a puppy pen? -- but Werenski is happy one doggo is around on a regular basis.
"Dogs are always happy," Werenski said. "No matter what happens in your life, they're happy. It always makes you happy."

A Strong Start

I used this quote from Elvis Merzlikins in yesterday's
game recap version of SvoNotes
, but I think it is worth revisiting a bit right now as well.
When asked about what it's like to play behind this specific CBJ team, Merzlikins didn't hold back when talking about how much he's enjoying coming to work each day for a team that has won four of its first six games.
"Right now, we are a really strong family, and this is awesome," he said. "It's different than last year. We have different leaders, we have different new players, and we created a completely new locker room.

, but I mean, like the players. It is a different feeling coming in the morning to the rink. It really is nice and you come in and you walk in with a smile."
I don't want to revisit last year too much, but I think everyone who watched knew it wasn't a very fun time. As hard as it was to say goodbye to a number of people who gave a lot to the franchise, you could also argue it was time to turn the page in some ways, and the Blue Jackets as an organization fully embraced some big changes over the offseason.
And what I'm about to say is no slam on anyone who's not here anymore, but I do think Merzlikins' comments are spot on. There is clearly a good vibe about this team at the moment. It's a group that really enjoys being around each other, and that does, I think, make a difference when you come to work each day.
We're only six games into the season, and adversity is sure to hit at some point. It will be interesting to see how the team handles it, and we'll probably revisit quotes like this as the season goes on. But I also think the Jackets are in a good place right now.

Military Honorees

I know there are many fans who have one certain part of Blue Jackets games that they hold near and dear to their hearts.
That would be the Elk & Elk Military Salute that happens both pregame, when the honoree stands with Leo Welsh for the singing of the Star-Spangled Banner, and in the first TV timeout when the details of the honoree's military career are read aloud.
It really is a cool moment at each game, and we have a new feature here on BlueJackets.com we can let you know about. Previously, we wrote a number of articles each year about our honorees, and we are going to continue doing that. But we are also now going to post every honoree's accomplishments, as well as the video of their appearance at Nationwide, online here on the website.
Here is the link to our Military Salutes page
where you can read about each honoree, and if you have someone you'd like to submit, you can do that too. It's all part of our commitment to honoring the heroes that live here in the central Ohio community and beyond.

This Day in CBJ History

Oct. 27, 2000: Marc Denis made 32 saves to lead the Blue Jackets to a 3-1 win over the Washington Capitals, giving the team its first victory in club history at Nationwide Arena. Assisted by Petteri Nummelin and Tyler Wright, Jamie Heward got the game-winning goal in the first period.
Oct. 27, 2002: Wright notched his second hat trick in a CBJ uniform and just the fifth in franchise history when he scored three goals on Los Angeles goalie Jamie Storr in a 5-1 win for the Jackets. The win would kick off a five-game winning streak for Columbus.
Oct. 27, 2006: CBJ goalie Pascal Leclaire notched his first career shutout when he made 38 saves in a 2-0 home victory against the Kings.
Oct. 27, 2017: Josh Anderson's unassisted goal in overtime against goalie Steve Mason pushed Columbus to a 2-1 home victory against Winnipeg.
Oct. 27, 2018: History repeated itself a year later, as the Jackets again won a home game in overtime. Artemi Panarin's tally 31 seconds into OT against Linus Ullmark gave the Jackets a 5-4 win over Buffalo at Nationwide Arena.