When you are born and raised in Columbus, Ohio, a few things are bound to happen. For starters, you call soda, "pop." Another thing is going to the Ohio State Fair every year. Between the exotic foods, ex. the Krispy Kreme Burger, to the famous ferris wheel, the fair is always on everyones summer bucket lists. One of the things you learn is to also appreciate all of our beloved sports teams. THE Ohio State Buckeyes are a completely different topic because let's be honest, they are the best College Football team ever. Then you have the Cincinnati Bengals and the Cleveland Browns argument with an occasional Pittsburgh Steelers fan thrown in there when it comes to NFL. You also have the "are you a Cincinatti Reds fan or Cleveland Indians fan" battle during baseball season. Don't even get me started with the Cavs. While these are all amazing, my mind is always going towards another subject which a lot of people overlook and that is, the Columbus Blue Jackets.
The Columbus Blue Jackets are an NHL team located in Columbus, Ohio. If you have never been to Columbus, or Ohio even, it's located right in the middle of the state. While it's technically Columbus, we have a different name for the area, the Arena District. With the Blue Jackets playing at Nationwide Arena, which also hosts other events like popular musicians, the name just caught on. The Arena District has several bars and restaurants as well as some very nice and goal worthy apartments and condos. Even during off season, the energy is always high. But once hockey season rolls around, things get crazy.
It's true the Blue Jackets have had some rough seasons and as fans, we know that and do not need to be reminded. Coming off of a great 2013-14 season qualifying for the Stanley Cup Playoffs for only the second time in franchise history, anticipation was high. Unfortunately, injuries got the best of our team in 2014-15 and our season ended way too soon. After time to rest and regain health, everyone felt like 2015-16 was our year to return to the playoffs. Again, things had to interfere with the big plans. Our start got off very rough as we lost our first eight games of the regular season. This prompted many changes including the head coach switch to Stanley Cup winning coach John Tortorella. The roster also made some changes as we acquired players like Brandon Saad from the defending Stanley Cup winning team the Chicago Blackhawks, Gregory Campbell of the Boston Bruins and Seth Jones from a trade with the Nashville Predators. As the season went on, we knew they would not return to the playoffs but that did not stop us from cheering them on and it certainly did not stop them from winning games. The Blue Jackets ended last season 34-40-8.
As the official start of hockey season grows closer, I am feeling confident in another playoff berth. Here are 6 reasons why the Blue Jackets should be feared in the 2015-16 NHL season:
1. The Cleveland *Lake Erie* Monsters won the Calder Cup
As a huge sports fan, I love seeing up and comers dominate. While the 2015-16 season was rough for the Jackets, our affiliates seemed to have a great season. The Cleveland Monsters, formally the Lake Erie Monsters, are an AHL team had a breakout season and won the Calder Cup. Players like Sonny Milano, Oliver Bjorkstrand and Lukas Sedlak led the team to a trophy at the end of the season. This is great because the Blue Jackets have quite a young roster to begin with and this just fuels the fire.
During training camp, the Blue Jackets coaches had a lot of tough decisions to make because there were so many prospects especially from this team. It has gotten to the point where Sonny Milano, 19, who has a great career ahead of him has been assigned back with the Monsters this season. I look to see Oliver Bjorkstrand, 20, clinching a spot because of an amazing season last year with both the Blue Jackets and the Monsters as well as a decent preseason.
It's clear the future of our team is with the Monsters and be prepared to see a lot of transactions this season.
2. Our Veterans
In addition to adding a lot of new, young prospects to our team, we have a great lineup of returning players. Coming off of a career-high season for players like Boone Jenner and Cam Atkinson, anticipation is once again high.
Boone Jenner, who is basically the best of both worlds for me since he is a returnee and is young at the age of 23, had 30 goals last season. His previous record was 16 goals in 2013-14, his rookie season. Last year, he also faced a serious injury yet he did not miss a game. Early into the game in late March against the Washington Capitals, Jenner took a puck to the mouth. He returned late in the second period. It was said that he lost two or three teeth and had over twenty stitches. I don't know about you, but having a player this tough on the team is definitely something I want especially as a new season is beginning.
Cam Atkinson, 27, is another fairly young player who may be our key to success this season. Last season he had a career-high 27 goals. He also recorded his third hat trick, the first of which at home, in January.
Players like Brandon Dubinsky, Scott Hartnell, William Karlsson, Cody Goloubef, Dalton Prout, David Clarkson, David Savard, Jack Johnson and Matt Calvert are some of the big names also returning this season.
Last but certainly not least, we have Captain Nick Foligno. Although he only had 12 goals last season, he is our almighty capitan. I think this year will definitely be a big season for him and he will deliver.
Between the new guys and the "old guys", our team ,that isn't officially a team yet as more cuts are to be made, is looking great
3. Brandon Saad is our secret weapon
In June 2015, the Blue Jackets received Brandon Saad as part of a trade with the Chicago Blackhawks. This was very important considering the Blackhawks were the defending Stanley Cup champions. A lot was said from their organization like how Saad was meant to stay around for a long time. While that was not the case, I sure hope we follow through and keep Saad because he is dangerous.
In 2015-16, Saad had a team-high and career-high 31 goals. He also was tied for a total of 53 points. He also scored his first career hat trick in the 5-1 win against the Carolina Hurricanes in April. So far in preseason, he has also shown awesome potential, as to be expected, and even got a goal in the preseason game against the Boston Bruins on October 6.
Saad is meant to be scoring goals and that is just what you will see of him not only this season but for the rest of his career. He is our little threat and I could not be more excited to see the energy he brings to the team as he enters his second full year with our organization.
4. Pierre-Luc Dubois
After the rough season last year, one thing we were looking forward to was the NHL Draft. It was clear we knew that building a team of younger players was what we were leaning towards, especially with the Monsters. Pierre-Luc Dubois is a Canadian hockey player who has played for the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. He was the third overall pick in the 2016 NHL draft and chosen by our very own Columbus Blue Jackets. This was significant because Pierre-Luc is only 18, adding to our growing young prospects and it happened to be his birthday when he was drafted. Best birthday present ever, right?
With the Screaming Eagles, he has over 52 goals during regular season and 9 more in playoffs. He also played for Team Canada in the 2016 World Junior Hockey Championships being one of the only two 17-year-olds selected. He
During training, Pierre-Luc has definitely proved he was a great pick. While all the prospects were fighting for their lives, Pierre-Luc in my eyes made the most impact. You could tell that he was ready to fight for a spot on the Blue Jackets roster from the beginning. A week after he was drafted, the prospects played a 4-on-4 game where Pierre-Luc had two goals in his first game, and another in the final game.
He is still in the mix to be added to the roster and I am feeling confident he will. He has a lot of potential to make this season epic as we try to return to the playoffs and hopefully a chance at winning the Stanley Cup.
5. Sergei "Bob" Bobrovsky
If you go to a Blue Jackets game, chances are you will see a ton of Bob jerseys. With that being said, Bobrovsky is our star player. He is the current goaltender for the Blue Jackets and he does an excellent job. He has faced some injuries that have created room for some of our other goaltender prospects to come through but he remains the best.
During off season, Bob played in the 2016 World Cup of Hockey as the goaltender for Team Russia. He made so many saves during the World Cup that he had everyone's attention. While Team Canada won the World Cup, Bob's performance definitely had us pumped for his return.
6. We want it, and we want it bad.
After the loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins in round 1 of the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs, we wanted to come back and win. While some misfortune did hold us back the past two years, we are ready to make our return this year. Mistakes have been made but we have learned from them and we are ready to make a "comeback."
We are the underdogs of the NHL and we want to take that title to Champions.
The Blue Jackets season kicks off at Nationwide Arena against the Boston Bruins on October 13 at 7pm against.
