After spending the past week or so in Traverse watching the Blue Jackets battle to win the championship, I wanted to take a few moments and offer my summary thoughts on each of the players. So here we go:
41 Alexander Wennberg 4GP 1-2-3 +4 2PIM
Despite battling a head cold, Alexander sill impressed despite not putting up big numbers. The smooth skating Swede played in all situations and was very impressive handling the puck. He was given a leadership role as an alternate captain throughout the tournament.
45 Lukas Sedlak 3GP 0-0-0 +1 2PIM 45
Lukas was the only Jacket draft pick to get scratched but was his usual strong two way presence when he did play. Lukas’ game is one of those when you don’t notice him its a good thing.
49 TJ Tynan 4GP 1-5-6 +2 2PIM
This was really the first time I got to see TJ play competitive hockey and the little guy really impressed me. Despite being only 5’8 he’s fearless and even got a little chippy at points. But it’s his skill that amazes you. TJ seemed to get even better once he had the duo of Josh Anderson and Kerby Rychel next to him.
52 Kerby Rychel 4GP 3-4-7 +4 0PIM
Kerby was a force up in Traverse City. He led the team in scoring and he threw quite a few big hits. Kerby showed he’s not afraid to get dirty – all off his goals were cleaning up the trash in front of the crease.
53 Josh Anderson 4GP 4-0-4 +3 2PIM
Off all the players that would be battling for a spot on the main club, Josh helped his case the most. He absolutely dominated – tying for the team lead in goals and leading the tournament in game winners with three. Josh was a physical presence without having to drop the gloves, unlike last year.
54 Austin Madaisky 4GP 0-5-5 +3 0PIM
Austin was the Jackets top defenseman in Traverse City. He tied for the tournament lead for points by defenseman and assists overall. Hopefully Austin can use this tournament and a good camp to find a home in Springfield this season. Austin played in all situations and served as an alternate captain.
56 Marko Dano 4GP 3-3-6 +3 6PIM
Marko showed what he could do with actual first line ice time. He showed the skill and grit that made him a first round pick. Marko appeared to really take off once he started lining up with Oliver Bjorkstrand and Alexander Wennberg.
62 Thomas Larkin 4GP 0-1-1 +2 5PIM
Thomas was another of the Jackets top Dmen. He was physical and very solid defensively again showing he’s not afraid to drop the mitts. Thomas, like Austin, will be trying to stick in Springfield after spending most of last year in Evansville. Thomas served as the captain for the Jackets in Traverse City.
64 Dillon Heatherington 3GP 1-0-1 +2 2PIM
Dillon continued to show he may be more than a defensive defenseman including his ability to skate with the puck multiple times. Dillon scored the Jackets only goal by a defenseman. Dillon missed one game due to an injury.
65 Oliver Bjorkstrand 4GP 4-1-5 E 2PIM
After starting last year on the fourth line and moving up to the first, Oliver was put on the first and stuck there all tournament. The Great Dane was probably the Jackets most dangerous forward in Traverse – in addition to his earned points he had multiple breakaways that he just missed on.
67 Nick Moutrey 4GP 1-0-1 +1 0
I think Nick was one of the Jackets most underrated forwards. Nick looked bigger and was a physical force along with scoring one of the prettier goals in the tournament when he worked a two on one with Julien Pelletier.
68 Markus Soberg 4GP 1-2-3 +1 2PIM
Markus was one non-first round pick I wanted to keep an eye on and he didn’t disappoint. Markus was the skilled player I expected, along with being a little more physical than I thought he would be. Markus showed a lot of skill especially in practice where he rarely missed.
75 Peter Quennenville 4GP 2-0-2 -1 4PIM
Like TJ, this was the first time I’ve seen Peter play and he was very impressive. Like Markus, I don’t think I saw Peter miss the target once, he always hit either the net or the goalie. It was announced though that Peter has been returned to Brandon which really surprises me especially with him actually able to go to Springfield even without a contract.
78 Blake Siebenaler 4GP 0-0-0 +1 6PIM
I’ll admit the no points next to Blake’s name kinda surprises me but he was still darn impressive when he’d decide to skate up with the puck. You can tell Blake is a bit of a work in progress (only been playing D three years) but you can tell the skill is there. He was a bit more physical than I thought including his ability to haul down a Stars player driving the net.
79 Julien Pelletier 0-2-2 E 0PIM
Julien really didn’t make much of an impact other than a pretty assist to Nick Moutrey while playing on the fourth line as a skill player. Julien, like LeBlanc and Quenneville, have been sent back to juniors.
82 Olivier LeBlanc 4GP 0-1-1 -1 0PIM
I’m not going to lie, after the first game I thought Olivier would be scratched, but shows why I’m not a scout. LeBlanc moved up next to Thomas Larkin and stuck with the big fella the rest of the tournament. Olivier played in all situations and led the rush multiple times. Olivier, like Peter, has been already sent back to juniors but this is a good thing. Olivier will play way more in Saint John than he would in any preseason game.
GOALIES
I’m grouping the goalies together because they were similar and great after allowing an early goal except for the championship game. The battle between these two in Springfield will be fun to watch. As I’ve said before, the starter at the end of this season will probably backup Bob next year.
Now you’ll notice I didn’t talk about Sonny Milano or any of the invites. Sonny was injured and only played half a game and as for the invites they were pretty meh outside of bruiser Mike DiPaolo, who earned a shot at main camp (even though I think it’s because he got hurt and the Blue Jackets may have him covered for longer).
The Jackets on-ice training camp begins Friday – watch for how these players (those who haven’t returned to Juniors) perform against the big boys of the NHL.
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