It’s amazing how much excitement can be generated from an off-ice acquisition but when that acquisition is a former player who may arguably be the biggest CBJ fan favorite since the team’s birth, it’s not surprising.
While not as gifted with the skates and stick as such CBJ scorers like Rick Nash, Artem Anisimov or Jaroslav Balastik, Shelley overwhelmingly won over Blue Jackets fans’ hearts with his tough style of play, his never back down attitude and his willingness to drop the gloves. This morning he announced his retirement from playing and joined the Columbus Blue Jackets as a broadcast associate and team ambassador. What does this mean for Joe Beertower fan? They can expect to see Jody Shelley at CBJ fan events and find him offering his insight on home game radio broadcasts, home game telecasts on FSO, working with Dave Maetzold between the benches from time to time and even co-hosting a weekly radio show on 97.1 The Fan.
Shelley’s return to the CBJ organization is actually not a surprise and seems like a good fit. While he did finish his playing days with the Philadelphia Flyers, he never truly uprooted his presence in Columbus. He’s has been a co-owner alongside Buckeye football players Bobby Carpenter, Mike Vrabel and AJ Hawk of Columbus sports training facility D1 Sports Columbus since mid 2009, a period where he was no longer a member of the Blue Jackets.
Personally, I’m excited that the new leadership team of Jarmo and JD who have no loyalty or allegiances to Shelley for the time he put in while dressed for the Union Blue see him as a good addition to the organization. I expect this to be the beginning of the next stage of a long and successful career with Jody Shelley.
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