Hello, all. Sorry for the delay, but it’s time to finish off my prospect previews with profiles on the Jackets’ three prospects who are earning an education while also playing hockey.
Tyler Bird-Brown University (ECAC-SO)
The only prospect still waiting to play his first game this season (who is currently healthy) is Brown University sophomore Tyler Bird. Tyler, like another player we’ll be talking about later, was one of the younger players in the NCAA last season. For thoughts on Bird, I’ll turn things over to Mark Divver of the Providence Journal who shared this recent article with me:
“Unless your name is Jack Eichel, it’s not easy to put up numbers in the NCAA as an 18-year-old freshman.
“So if you were expecting more from Tyler Bird than two goals and four points in 27 games as a freshman at Brown University, well, maybe you weren’t taking his age into consideration.
“The Columbus Bluejackets knew that Bird was a project when they drafted him in the fifth round out of New Hampshire’s Kimball Union Academy in 2014.
“He didn’t play junior hockey before enrolling at Brown and he played the entire 2014-15 college season as an 18-year-old. He was one of the youngest players in a college sport in which 20-year-old freshmen are common.
“Tyler came in directly from prep school. That’s just a monster jump in itself and he was also young when he did that, which is an additional factor that weighs in,’’ said Brown coach Brendan Whittet.
“You’re going to have your ups and downs, which he did. He had his good shifts and he had shifts and games that weren’t so good. It kind of coincided with our team and our season as well. We were just so young last year that we were very inconsistent.’’
“The good news is that Bird was a much better player at the end of last season than he was at the start. That bodes well for continued improvement by the big right winger, who is a straight-line, no-frills player with a heavy shot.
“I thought that he made huge strides in the second half. That might not have showed up on the point sheet, but I thought he grew as a player by leaps and bounds last year,’’ said Whittet.
“He came in for this year in great shape and looks really ready to go. With a year to get adjusted under his belt, that’s only going to benefit him this year.’’
Bird – who was listed at 6-foot-2 and 201 pounds last season — was told by the Brown coaching staff that he needed to work on his strength in the offseason.
“He got overwhelmed a bit last year. He’s got to be bigger to play a power game, to win his corner battles and net-front battles. Not that he wasn’t willing to do it last year. He was. But he was playing against much stronger kids,’’ said Whittet.
“With improved strength, it will help him in a lot of different areas, not just winning those battles in the gritty areas, but in making sure he’s getting up and down the sheet. He’s a good skater. The strength will help his first step and first few strides. I told him to focus on it. Our staff told him to focus on it. He took it to heart and came back to school in tremendous shape.’’
In addition to a strong work ethic, Bird “is very, very coachable,’’ according to Whittet.
“He’s a wonderful kid. He’s one of the nicest guys I’ve ever had the opportunity to coach. He wants to learn. He’ll be in the office asking questions, watching video with us on an individual basis. He’s one of those guys that just wants to get better and will do anything in his power.’’
Bird finished last season on a line with fellow freshmen Max Willman and Sam Lafferty, both of whom are a year older than Bird. Like Bird, they were selected in the 2014 draft, Willman by Buffalo and Lafferty by Pittsburgh.
The trio will open this season as Brown’s second line, said Whittet. One of the positives for Bird at Brown is that he’ll get every opportunity to play a prominent role.
“He’s going to be an up-and-down winger that will barrel to the net and will bring bodies and the puck with him. Those are things that he’ll be able to excel in moving forward,’’ said Whittet.
“He’ll be a top six forward for us. He’s a big body. He’s definitely a guy I project as someone who will take a step this year. He’s going to have to if we’re going to get where we want to be as a program,’’ said Whittet.
Zach Werenski-University of Michigan (Big 10-SO)
Yes, OSU fans, we drafted a player from Michigan and just remember, I don’t care about the rivalry with That School From The State Above Us (did I do that right?). Like Tyler, Zach was one of the youngest players in the NCAA and should be a lock for the US National Team at the World Juniors this season. For his thoughts on Zach, I’ll turn things over to MiHockey Editor Michael Caples:
“Zach Werenski was a first-team All-Big Ten performer last season.
“He was also a year younger than everybody else.
“The Blue Jackets’ first-round pick in the 2015 NHL Draft graduated from high school a year early so he could join the University of Michigan hockey program and play as a 17-year-old freshman.
“In 35 games against much older competition, he recorded nine goals and 16 assists for 25 points from the blue line.
“At 6-foot-2 and 218 pounds, he has the potential to be one of those ‘complete package’ defensemen NHL teams crave. A second season in Ann Arbor allows him to learn from legendary coach Red Berenson and former NHL standout Mike Komisarek, who will both be helping Werenski become a more dominant force in his own end.
“I think Zach’s going to pick up in his defensive zone,” Berenson said. “His offensive game is solid, and I’m sure that will grow, but defensively, I think he’ll get more confident defensively and stronger and more physical, so he uses his strength and size defensively, as well. You’re never good enough as a defenseman, but part of it will be positioning, part of it will be gapping up, and we want our defense to be more active on our forecheck, as well. I think all of those areas are areas Zach’s going to be better at.”
There’s always room to grow, but Werenski is closer to the pros than most. In fact, there was a sigh of relief out of Ann Arbor heard throughout the hockey world when he announced he would return for a sophomore season.
“I think whenever you’re talking about the NHL and an organization like Columbus, you definitely have to put thought into it,” Werenski said. “They’re a great organization, they gave me time and space this summer, which was huge, but ultimately I thought that just turning 18 over the summer and being pretty young that coming back for my sophomore season was the right decision.”
A big frame, a smooth skater and a guy who knows how to find the back of the net? No wonder the Blue Jackets gobbled him up at No. 8 overall. If Werenski keeps progressing the way he is expected to, he won’t be in Ann Arbor much longer.”
Quickly, along with the post above, Michael wrote this article on Zach for MiHockeynow.com
Ryan Collins-University of Minnesota (Big 10-SO)
Collins is the big fella of the Jackets’ NCAA prospects, and one of the team’s biggest overall at 6’5″ 212. Ryan continues a tradition of the Jackets prospects coming from Minnesota; Columbus has had at least one in the organization every season since 2008. Ryan is another prospect who has a chance to play for the US at the World Juniors. For Ryan’s preview we turn things over to Nate Wells from SB Nation College Hockey:
“Ryan Collins is going to be counted upon for a bigger role as a sophomore this year following the departures of Brady Skjei and Mike Reilly. Collins, who spent much of his freshman season on a pairing with one of the two (along with some PK time), was the most-relied upon of the three first-year Minnesota D this past season. Collins played a total of 32 games, staking his claim to be in the lineup both nights by Halloween.
There you have it folks – a preview of the Jackets three NCAA prospects. You’ll be able to see two of these prospects in person as they travel to Columbus: Michigan on January 15 and March 6th. The latter game will be played in Nationwide Arena (still trying to figure out if this was scheduled before or after the Jackets drafted Werenski) and Minnesota travels to the Schott February 12th and 13th.
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