SvoNotes: Bjork's underdog story leads him to the highest level

Marcus Bjork has always been a good hockey player.
A native of Umea, Sweden, he grew up playing in the Under-18 and U-20 leagues in his native country. He made it to the top level of Sweden hockey at age 21, then spent the next four seasons with some of the top teams in the league.

Yet it's also fair to say not many people expected him to become an NHL player. He was never on any junior national teams for his home country -- in fact, he's yet to wear the Tre Kronor jersey at any level -- and never had more than 16 points in any of his four seasons at the SHL level.
His resume didn't scream that he'd be a breakout player in the NHL, yet here we are. After a spate of injuries wiped out four defensemen from the Blue Jackets roster, Bjork was called up and immediately settled in as a top pair blueliner -- and shown he's not out of place at the highest level.
He's a true underdog story who has made it thanks to hard work, dedication and a strong support system.
"I had a longer path," Bjork acknowledges. "I played Division I (in Sweden) a couple of years ago. To make it to the NHL, I don't think there's a lot of guys that do that. But I always had a lot of people around me that believed in me. They're still believing in me. That's huge for me, and I always believed in myself. I'm a hard worker outside of the hockey rink, and I get mad if someone is better than me, so I think that is a huge part of me to make it this far."

As it turns out, his 6-foot-4 frame, long reach and simple game are suited for the NHL -- just as he suspected. Bjork arrived on Nov. 12, immediately scored in his first game at the New York Islanders and has been on the top pair with Vladislav Gavrikov since, posting a 3-6-9 line in 20 games. The pairing with Gavrikov is the CBJ defensive duo that has played the most minutes this season, often going up against some of the best players in the league.
In other words, it didn't take long for Bjork to earn the trust of head coach Brad Larsen amid a spate of adversity.
"Everything he's done has been consistent," Larsen said. "You look at his plus-minus, you look at his games, he's taken on the hard assignments pretty much from day one when he got here, and I thought he's handled it very well. He's hit a little bit of a lull here of late like some other guys, but he's a very consistent, competitive kid.
"He's quiet, but he goes about his business. He blocks shots. He defends hard. He's hard in front of our net. He moves the puck. He's a very simple player, but he's very consistent in what he does, and I think he's done a real good job in a tough position."
Bjork is the 10th different CBJ defenseman that Gavrikov has played more than 100 minutes with in a season over the past five years, and the veteran said Bjork has been an easy player to skate with.
"He's confident, very calm, and he understands the game," Gavrikov said. "He can make the reads and he can make the first pass. That's exactly what you're probably looking for in a defenseman, right? It makes it so easy to play with him."
The two also make for an interesting duo as Gavrikov isn't exactly a wallflower. Now in his fourth full season with the Blue Jackets, Gavrikov said he's made a point of chatting with Bjork during a game to find out what he sees and help him get used to the NHL level.
"He has to chat with me," the famously loquacious Gavrikov said. "It's probably annoying to him, but he plays with me. He probably would rather be quiet, but not with me."
That low maintenance attitude, though, is what has made Bjork such a good addition to the squad. With the long-term absences of Zach Werenski, Jake Bean, Nick Blankenburg and the now-returned Adam Boqvist, the Blue Jackets needed someone who could step in and take up minutes, and that's exactly what Bjork has brought to the table while skating 19:33 per night and earning power-play time.
"We need someone to stay there and be consistent in that role because it's a lot of minutes, and he's done a tremendous job," Larsen said. "He just jumped in with both feet, and he quickly moved up the ladder."
It's also been a vindicating experience for Bjork, who came to North America with no guarantees of how it would go. The Blue Jackets were familiar with his game, as director of pro scouting Josef Boumedienne coached Bjork two seasons ago with Byrnas IF of the SHL, but even Columbus only signed Bjork to a one-year, two-way contract coming into this season.

It was Bjork's dream, though, to try his hand at the NHL, so he came over with no illusions on how quickly he'd get used to the North American game. He was fine with beginning the season with Cleveland of the AHL, where he played 11 games, before the injuries at the top level led to his recall and debut.
Now that he's settled in, Bjork thinks even bigger things can be on the horizon.
"I'm growing every game," he said. "I keep staying humble. There's a lot of stuff I want to be better on. (D coach Steve McCarthy) is helping me with video. I try to learn every day. I'm growing every time I step out on the ice, and I try to play simple and try to play when the plays are there. I want to be a guy with the puck a lot and use my body, too, in the defensive zone. Defense first and then move the puck and be confident.
"I think I was ready to move here form Sweden and try something over here. It's always been my dream to come over and play in the NHL. With my body and my size and my poise with the puck, I think it's perfect here. There's some small stuff I need to work on to be really good on this level, but … this is a dream."
Larsen said there are pitfalls still to come, as the real test of an NHL player comes when the adrenaline wears off and the difficulty of having to play every other night against the best in the world sinks in. But Bjork also made clear that he's not taking anything for granted.
This underdog story appears to still have more to be written.
"I think you make your own luck if you believe in yourself and do all the right stuff and take your time," he said. "Some guys, it's faster than others. I'm still only 25, so I'm a little bit of an underdog but I always believed in myself."

In Praise of the World Juniors

Larsen has plenty on his plate right now, so he hasn't had a chance to watch Czechia players David Jiricek, Stanislav Svozil and Martin Rysavy yet at the IIHF World Junior Championship.
The three CBJ draft picks are on a squad that is off to an impressive 2-0 start, including a 5-2 victory Monday on the opening night of the event against Canada.
That would be Larsen's home country, so the CBJ coach joked he wasn't too thrilled by what transpired out in the Maritimes the other night.
"Now he's made it personal," Larsen joked when asked about Jiricek's performance. "We're not on talking terms right now."
He's kidding, of course, as Larsen is happy to see the three having some success. Svozil, Czechia's captain and a third-round pick of the CBJ in 2021, led the tournament through two days of action with five points (one goal, four assists), while 2022 first-round pick Jiricek and 2021 seventh-round Rysavy have been key pieces of the puzzle so far for the Czechs.
In fact, some research done by my friend

found that 20 players on the Blue Jackets roster participated in the World Juniors in their careers. Being part of the cream of the crop at this age is a pretty good indicator someone might have success down the road, plus it makes the underdog stories like Bjork's stand out even more.
Not only is the tournament a great incubator for future NHL talent, it's also just a heck of a lot of fun, with twists and turns throughout the two-week event. We're not afraid to admit we enjoy just about every part of it, and Czechia's victory over Canada the other night is one of the reasons why.
At the end of the day, there are usually only so many teams that can win the 10-team tournament - if you look at the last 10 years, the gold medal count reads four for Canada, three for the United States, three for Finland and zero for everyone else (though Sweden did win 11 years ago).
But it's fun to see how the talent from countries all across the world stacks up, and it gives you a sense of how the sport is developing across the world. In recent years, you've seen Germany perform well thanks to such names as Tim Stutzle and JJ Peterka; Slovakia have some success with help from the top two picks in last summer's draft in Juraj Slafkovsky and Simon Nemec; and now Czechia use some impressive CBJ prospects to earn a big victory.
Add in the obvious drama of the tournament, and I find myself watching every year. It's also particularly interesting to see just how much the host nation of Canada puts into the event, and the corresponding national freakout when something like Czechia's upset happens. It's great theater no matter how you slice it.
We'll be watching until the end and rooting for not just our home Team USA, but the CBJ players on the Czechia roster. It should be a fun finish.