SvoNotes: Breaking down the Blue Jackets lineup

Welcome Blue Jackets fans to a new feature here at BlueJackets.com -- SvoNotes.
It's a simple concept -- a couple of times each week, I'll be compiling whatever interesting things I can about the Blue Jackets and be posting them in this column.
If this sounds familiar, it should. During last year's shortened season, I produced a similar piece posted each weekday called CBJ Today. I found out a few things while writing that every weekday for an entire season.

First off, The 5th Line really seemed to enjoy it. It was a less formal, more personal (and in my opinion, much more fun) piece that seemed to connect with the fans, as evidenced by the comments I got on social media and other feedback. After all, this is sports, and hockey should be fun, so let's try to reduce that barrier between our coverage and the fans and try to speak the same language.
Secondly, though, I realized that writing something in-depth each morning was incredibly taxing when added on top of all of the other responsibilities I have. Simply put, doing it every day was just too much.
DON'T MISS OUT: Be there Opening Night as the Blue Jackets take the ice
So let's go for a happy medium here. My plan is to post a SvoNotes after each game, plus on other CBJ off days during the season. On game days, I'll be producing two pieces each morning -- the preview that Jackets fans have become used to here on the website, as well as a new gameday piece that will go further into the lineups and the stories of the day.
So without further ado, let's start talking CBJ.

About the Lineup

The Blue Jackets
made their final cuts Sunday
to leave the roster at 23 healthy players, sending forwards Liam Foudy, Kevin Stenlund and Justin Danforth to Cleveland along with defensemen Gavin Bayreuther, Mikko Lehtonen and Gabriel Carlsson (plus goalie Daniil Tarasov in an expected move).
That means such bubble names as Emil Bemstrom and Gregory Hofmann made the
opening night roster
up front, along with rookies Cole Sillinger and Yegor Chinakhov. On the blue line, a six-way competition for the last two spots in the lineup appears to have gone to Dean Kukan and Andrew Peeke, with Scott Harrington to serve as the seventh defenseman.
So what to make of the moves? First off, don't write anything in pen quite yet. Head coach Brad Larsen has talked all camp about how things could change quite quickly in the early days of the season, and he echoed that today, noting that the margins between those who stayed and those who were sent to the AHL were quite small.
"You knew it was going to be tough when you got down to the final last few cuts, and I guess that's the good sign is it wasn't easy this year," Larsen said. "There were a lot of hard decisions we had to make right up to th elast second, right up to the last game. That's where we're at, and guys can't get too comfortable. That's what I keep saying. I even had conversations with guys today -- there's guys that are close, so if they don't compete and do the things that we're asking, it can be an easy switch, too. It's not a threat, it's just the reality of where we're at."
Here's a few other noteworthy things about the roster, plus what Larsen had to say today.
• To many fans, the news that Chinakhov and Sillinger survived the cut was the big news, and most CBJ fans have been clamoring to see the 20-year-old Russian winger Chinakhov (No. 21 overall pick in the 2020 draft) and the 18-year-old Sillinger (No. 12 overall pick in 2021) play.
Then today, as the Blue Jackets did line rushes in practice, it appeared Chinakhov will be a healthy scratch for the opener, as he was not in the top 12 forwards. The earlier-than-expected return of Max Domi from injury appears to have pushed Chinakhov out of the top nine, where he spent most of camp, and the fourth line appears as though it will start with Sean Kuraly centering Eric Robinson and Gregory Hofmann.
So where does that leave Chinakhov? In a bit of limbo for the moment, but don't expect it to last too long. The Blue Jackets know he needs to play to continue building his game, so if he's the odd man out for too long, expect him to end up with the Monsters until an opportunity arises to get him back in the lineup in Columbus.
"We will manage that," Larsen said. "He's not going to sit here and not play, I can tell you right now. If it goes longer than a game or two, we're two and a half hours up the road (from Cleveland). The luxury is he can go play, come back. He can sit there for a weekend, for a couple of weeks. We'll be real cognizant of that. He's a young guy who needs to play."
• As for Sillinger, he remains in the top nine and on Monday centered Boone Jenner and Domi, as he did in Saturday's exhibition game against Pittsburgh. Should he debut on Thursday as it appears he will, he'll be the fourth youngest CBJ player ever as well as the first CBJ first-rounder to go right into the lineup in his draft year since Nikita Filatov in 2008.
Simply put, it's not something that happens very often (and Filatov lasted only eight games that year), but the Blue Jackets think he's deserved it, in part because he's one of their top four centers at the moment.
"We are going to see where this goes," Larsen said. "He's a young man. He's 18. But I told him today, 'I keep looking at it, trying to get rid of you, and I can't.' Even in his games where I would say he didn't have the energy, he still thinks it really well. He still provides something for you as a team."
It remains to be seen if the first-ever CBJ legacy stays in Columbus all season, but he's going to get the chance to stick.
• Speaking of centers, 22-year-old Alexandre Texier remained in the middle between Patrik Laine and Jakub Voracek on the first line today, a spot he's been in for each of the last two exhibition games in which the trio has played.
It's an arrangement far from set in stone, but Larsen is hoping the talented Frenchman takes the job and runs with it.
"Still there's another gear for him and another game for him," the head coach said. "He gets a busy mind. I think we just have to get him a little bit more streamlined. There's a lot to like about his game when he's on. It's just making sure -- it's never a lack of work or competitiveness, it's more calming his hands and his mind. If he can do that, I think he can bring something to that line that can be really special."
• Where Bemstrom will fit in when all is said and done remains to be seen as well, as four goals in five preseason games appear to have earned the Swedish sniper a spot on the opening night roster. Today, he skated in place of Oliver Bjorkstrand, who was out for a maintenance day, on the second line with Jack Roslovic and Gustav Nyquist, but where he'll be when Bjorkstrand returns is up in the air.
Bemstrom certainly has talent, and his goals have come in streaks here so far. He has the work ethic, too. But in the end, he's had just 13 in 76 NHL games, and the hope is the work he's put in and the confidence gained this preseason will lead to more consistency on the ice.
"He got better as camp went along," Larsen said. "Early in camp, I needed to see more, and he started to show more. ... We had a talk today a little bit about how his game progressed, and that is the key. Now it has to stay at that level."
• Hofmann came over from Switzerland noted as a goal scorer, as he was a more than point-per-game player each of the last three years in his native country and also a top scorer at the World Championships this spring.
But if the 28-year-old winger starts on the fourth line, as it appears he will, it'll be more about bringing energy and consistency, something Larsen doesn't think will be a problem because of Hofmann's skating ability, professionalism and work ethic.
And if he sticks there, that trio with Kuraly and Robinson could be a fourth line that really causes problems for the opposition with its commitment to checking, its speed and its offensive abilities.
"There's a lot of speed, and I don't see them as just checkers," Larsen said. "They can be really hard to play against, and I think they can provide some offense. I think those guys can put the puck in the net if they get enough ice time."

This Date in CBJ History

Oct. 11, 2003: Marc Denis made 25 saves as the Blue Jackets posted their first shutout in a home opener with a 5-0 win against the New York Rangers.
(We'll be throwing these in at the end of each SvoNotes as well during the season, so stay tuned!)