Prospect Report: Rysavy brings size to the CBJ pipeline

The Blue Jackets have long collected talented players from all around the world.
There's a contingent of young Russian players making their mark in Columbus. The Blue Jackets have been among the few NHL teams to have standouts from Norway and Latvia. And in recent years, Columbus has looked to Czechia for young talent as well.

Columbus spent a first-round pick this past summer on Czech standout David Jiricek, who is one of just five picks in the 2022 draft to make his debut this season. Two drafts ago, the team also tabbed a pair of Czechs from the same city of Prerov in defenseman Stanislav Svozil and wing Martin Rysavy.
All three of those players were key pieces of the Czechia World Juniors squad that finished fourth in the world in 2021 and second this winter, and all three have bright futures at the professional level.
Rysavy was chosen in the seventh round of that 2021 draft, but he presents an intriguing combination of size and skill. Columbus lists him at 6-2, 225 pounds, and Rysavy has had a solid season with Moose Jaw of the Western Hockey League, posting an 11-22-33 line in 47 games while playing alongside fellow CBJ draft pick Denton Mateychuk. Rysavy is also off to a strong start in the playoffs, scoring two goals and adding three assists in the Warriors' opening round playoff sweep.

"I'm trying to be a two-way power forward," Rysavy told Dylan Tyrer in the latest episode of the Pipeline Podcast presented by Ruoff Mortgage. "Get the puck to the net, keep my legs moving and everything. It's pretty much the biggest thing I have to do is stick with that and make myself better at that. If you want to be a power forward, you have to be strong on the puck, go to the net a lot. It's a tough spot but you have to do that."
Rysavy has also been a dependable bottom-six wing in his two stints at the World Juniors, contributing three goals, five assists and solid defensive play in the 14 games for Czechia. The fact that he's been able to do it with friends he's grown up playing with has just added to the experience, even if losing this year's gold medal game in overtime to Canada is still tough to get over.
"We were so close," he said. "If it had ended up 2-0, I'd have been sad but probably not as sad as after the overtime winner they scored. It was sad, but after the game, we just realized you made a medal for your country, and we didn't have a medal for 18 years (before that), so it as a huge thing for everybody.
"Even now, I'm not really happy with the results. I think we deserved a gold, but it is what it is. It's hockey. If you want to win, you have to lose sometimes."
To hear more about Rysavy both on and off the ice, including his love of Formula 1, listen to the full edition of the Pipeline Podcast.
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The Pipeline Podcast: Martin Rysavy

Monsters Continue To Battle

It seems likely that things will come down to the final day for the Cleveland Monsters in their bid for a spot in the American Hockey League playoffs.
After last night's 2-1 win over Grand Rapids in Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, Cleveland sits one point behind Laval for the fifth and final spot in the AHL North Division, but the Monsters retain a game in hand with three contests to go.
Cleveland will play at Utica on Friday then visit Rochester on Saturday before hosting the Amerks at home Sunday in what could end up being a must-win for the Monsters.
Of course, it's hardly been an easy hand dealt to Cleveland, as injuries at the NHL level have forced the Blue Jackets to recall some of the Monsters' top players for recent games. It's been a travel scramble at the very least, with players traveling back and forth between the two squads.
The good news is today is an off day for both squads, so everyone involved gets a bit of a breather. But with the Blue Jackets playing Thursday and Friday and the Monsters skating all three weekend dates, there might not be any rest for the weary over the weekend.
Monday night's victory was huge one, as Cleveland scored twice in the second period to overturn a 1-0 deficit and then held on for the victory. Trey Fix-Wolansky got Cleveland on the board with his 29th goal (tied for eighth in the AHL) before Mikael Pyyhtia's power-play tally, his third goal in North America, went down as the winner. Jet Greaves stopped 26 of 27 shots in net.
If Cleveland can make the postseason, the Monsters also might point to Friday night's win at Laval as the turning point. The Monsters were down 4-2 going to the third period but Fix-Wolansky scored twice and Cole Sillinger's second tally of the game with 9:13 left was the difference maker in a 5-4 win.

Voronkov, Makarov Head To KHL Final

Two years ago, the Blue Jackets saw prospect Yegor Chinakhov end his KHL career with a bang, winning the Gagarin Cup as his Avangard Omsk team claimed the championship of the KHL.
Dmitri Voronkov could be on a similar path. The 2019 fourth-round pick and his Ak Bars Kazan team have moved on to the Gagarin Cup final, winning the Eastern Conference by posting a 4-1 series win over Avangard in the conference final.
Voronkov has been a major piece of the puzzle for Ak Bars in the playoffs, skating in all 17 games and posting a 5-4-9 line and plus-6 rating. The big centerman with some snarl is coming off a career-best regular season in which he posted 18 goals and 31 points in 54 games despite battling injuries.
He will face another CBJ prospect in the KHL final, as CSKA Moscow and defenseman Nikolai Makarov downed SKA St. Petersburg in the Western Conference final Wednesday. Makarov, a 2021 fifth-round draft pick, has played 11:01 per game on the CSKA blue line this postseason and chipped in three points in 20 games.
The seven-game Gagarin Cup series will begin Monday.

Prospects (Mostly) Move On In CHL

Seven players with Blue Jackets ties qualified for the playoffs across the Canadian Hockey League, and five of those have advanced on to the next round.
Rysavy and Mateychuk are the only CBJ teammates on the Moose Jaw squad, and they're the only two CBJ prospects left in the Western Hockey League after Regina lost a Game 7 to Saskatoon on Monday. That means Svozil and the Pats are done for the year, though Svozil did his part, posting a 4-9-13 line in the seven-game series. He ends up with 91 points across 63 combined regular-season and postseason games, and Svozil is his division's winner of the WHL Defenceman Of the Year honor.
Over in the QMJHL, both Jordan Dumais (Halifax) and Jordan Malatesta (Quebec) seem on a collision course to meet in the Eastern Conference finals as well after their teams swept their way to first-round victories. Dumais, the Q's leading point scorer, had a 2-6-8 line in Halifax's four victories against Cape Breton, while Malatesta had two goals and four points in the sweep of Charlottetown. Dumais is a 2022 third-round pick while Malatesta was tabbed in the fifth round of the 2021 draft.
In the OHL, only one player remains alive as 2022 second-round pick Luca Del Bel Belluz and Sarnia took a 4-2 series victory over Guelph in a Western Conference first-round matchup. Del Bel Belluz, who had 40 goals in the regular season, had a 3-4-7 line in the series. The Sting now matches up with Saginaw in the second round.
Recent signee Cameron Butler and Oshawa did not survive the first round, dropping a 4-1 series final against Ottawa. Butler had two goals and an assist in the series, and he has recently signed an amateur tryout agreement with Cleveland.