Delonte West Reportedly Absent From Camp
September 29, 2009Cleveland Selected to Host 2014 Gay Games
September 29, 2009Every Tuesday, WFNY’s The 5-Hole brings you up to date with the goings-on of the CBJ…
The Week That Was
This Week: 3-1-0
Final Pre-Season Record: 4-3-1
What a difference a week makes. The Jackets were light-years better this past week in wrapping up their exhibition schedule, winning three straight (two against Boston and one against Pittsburgh, two of the East’s best) before dropping the finale to Nashville. The highlight was most definitely Thursday’s tilt against the Penguins at Nationwide, when the Jackets dressed only nine regulars and still dropped the hammer on a fairly full complement of Penguins stars.
Due to injuries and illness, the Jackets never really got to trot out a full “starting” roster during the pre-season, but coach Ken Hitchcock still found value in that: “The downside is, you really don’t know what your (opening night) team is. The upside is, you’re giving the depth players an unbelievable opportunity here, and you’re getting a really good evaluation of their capabilities and whether they can handle the pace.”
Rick Nash and Derick Brassard continued to show off their continually growing chemistry, as each of them had a goal and an assist against Pittsburgh. Brassard’s playmaking ability with the puck is really freeing things up for Nash to wreak havoc. And in this particular game, they did it without linemate Kristian Huselius, one of a few Jackets still battling a nasty flu bug.
Last Tuesday at home against the Bruins, the Jackets were able to outlast Boston by winning 6-5 in a shootout. Nikita Filatov led the way with two assists and the game-winner in the shoot-out. “At the end of the day, when you have players like Nik, it’s a balance,” coach Hitchcock said. “All we need is to see that he’s competitive on the puck, and he’s getting better and better at that, which is a real good sign. He’s like any young player — you know they’re going to make mistakes. But do they give you enough to help you win hockey games?” The answer appears to be yes, as Filatov has made the roster and has gotten better in each of his pre-season games this year.
Over the weekend, the team finished out the schedule by again handling a Boston club starting 18 regulars, though this time with a much younger Jackets lineup. “You know what they say: ‘Work will win out over skill nine times out of 10,’” forward Raffi Torres said. “This is an example of (coach Ken Hitchcock’s) system: If you play hard, it’s usually going to work out well.” The Jackets out-shot the Bruins 27-16 over the final two periods, and scored three times in the third to overcome a 2-1 deficit and take home the win.
The exhibition season wrapped up against Nashville on Sunday with a bit of a thud, as the Jackets themselves tried to play as many of their regulars as possible, but despite out-shooting the Preds 38-23 they weren’t as sharp as they needed to be on the Penalty Kill and lost 4-2. “We’re making plays, we’re just not putting the puck in the net,” Rick Nash said. “Maybe there was one too many passes sometimes. But it’s exciting, exciting for the fans and exciting for us. I think in the end, we’re going to play Hitch’s game. But it’s nice to know it’s there, especially on the power play, or whenever we need it.”
Training Camp Wrap-Up
By 3 PM tomorrow, the roster must stand at 23 players; they currently have four more cuts to make. The team has made some moves and cuts, including sending #1 draft pick John Moore back to his junior club. This is not necessarily a bad thing; Moore was never projected to make the final roster, and the fact that he lasted in camp as long as he did (albeit in part due to the rash of injuries at defense) is a testament to his skill and potential. Moore was arguably the best defenseman overall in camp, and was second on the team in points by a defenseman in the pre-season, with four assists and a +1 rating. “I remember coming into camp and looking at the roster Rick Nash, Derick Brassard, Antoine Vermette, all those names,” Moore said. “I just kept thinking, ‘Man, I hope I can keep up with these guys.’ I feel like I put my best foot forward. I have no regrets. And now I have a great opportunity to go develop in Kitchener.”
Hitchcock was equally impressed: “With young players, you play them in training camp until they start to go downhill, when the pace and length of training camp starts to get to them. And then you just try to get them out of camp on a positive note. With John, he went the other way. He kept getting better, kept getting more competitive, which is why he was here right to the end. When John shoots the puck, when he’s standing on the point with the puck, he’s looking at the net, he’s not looking at the puck. When you have a player who can look up, who doesn’t have to keep looking at the puck, that’s a skill set. He can feel it on his stick.”
Don’t expect Moore to get cut in next year’s training camp.
The Jackets also made a move on their backline, bringing in defenseman Anton Stralman from Calgary in exchange for a third round draft pick in the 2010 entry draft. Stralman is a right-handed shot that should be able to help out on the Power Play. Stralman is only 23 years old, comes cheap in terms of his salary ($731,000 this season), and can move the puck from the back and create some offense at the point with his strong right-handed shot (the righty shot being a HUGE need of the Jackets, especially on the Power Play). “Anton fits a critical need on our roster,” GM Scott Howson said. “He’s got puckmoving ability and power-play potential. He’s a right-(hand) shot, too, which is a nice bonus. He’s still a young player in the league, so he has a lot of upside, too.” Apparently Howson had tried previously to trade for Stralman at last season’s trading deadline as well as earlier this summer before he was traded from Toronto to Calgary. It’s always a bit of a red flag when a player gets traded twice in one offseason, but Stralman was part of a multi-player and multi-pick trade originally and the Jackets aren’t giving up much to get him.
Not too many other surprises in the roster cuts thus far. Expect the Jackets’ starting lineup for the opener—barring injury—to look something like this:
Forward 1: Huselius—Brassard—Nash
Forward 2: Filatov—Vermette—Voracek
Forward 3: Umberger—Pahlsson—Dorsett
Forward 4: Chimera—Murray—Boll
Defense 1: Commodore—Hejda
Defense 2: Tyutin—Klesla
Defense 3: Methot—Russell—Stralman (some combination thereof)
Goalie/Backup: Steve Mason / Mathieu Garon
What’s Next
The regular season kicks off this Saturday at home against Minnesota, and then the Jackets head West for three games, including in Vancouver on Monday. I say good, get one of those long west-coast trips out of the way early.
Injury Update
The Jackets have been plagued with various injuries and illness throughout camp. There was apparently a flu bug burning its way through the dressing room for quite some time, and there were a lot of groin and hip injuries of the minor variety being suffered. The Jackets were forced to hold their first eight days of practice crammed into the Dispatch Ice Haus because the main arena was booked for other events. Forcing so many players onto such limited ice space damaged the ice quality, forward R.J. Umberger said, and also led to more standing around between drills. Defensemen Mike Commodore (groin), Rostislav Klesla (hip flexor), Marc Methot (hip flexor) and Fedor Tyutin (hip flexor) and Umberger (hip flexor) all nursed these nagging injuries throughout camp. The upside is that, with so many defensemen out, the club got a much more extended look at top pick John Moore, who opened quite a few eyes.
Jason Chimera is back from his concussion, and should be ready for the opener. Fredrik Modin is still out indefinitely with a knee injury. Kristian Huslieus has been battling the flu, but is back on the ice in practice if not going full tilt.
Quote of the Week
Remember how, as last season went along, you began remarking to yourself: ‘Look at that – the Jackets can actually break out of their own zone, with consistency.’ Well, tonight the remark was: ‘Look at that – they’re trying to make plays’ and, ‘Look at that . . . skill.’
–Dispatch writer Michael Arace, reflecting on Monday night’s exhibition finale.
It’s all about progress, baby! T-minus 4 days until the opener!
8 Comments
The Jackets are easily the 2nd most exciting team to be found somewhere on I-71 between Columbus and Cleveland.
I, for one, look forward to attending a few Jackets games this year!
Congratulations JD! You are the only one who posts on Blue Jackets threads~!!!
Anything to distract me from the Browns/Indians, I say!
@2 – Didn’t you technically just post on a Blue Jackets thread?
fire hitchcock
@4: D’OH!
Ummmm
Unless I missed something drastic your line combinations are a bit off as you forgot about Raffi Torres.
He will most likely be a 3rd line guy but I would not be surprised to see him end playing wing on the second line. People think he is all about hitting but they forget or never knew that he can score as well.
PC: I was looking at something this morning that showed Torres not practicing. When I wrote that section (I do this column in pieces over the day) I wasn’t thinking about him. You’re absolutely right.
He will most likely bump Boll or Dorsett to start out, though he did play with Vermette and Umberger at points during the pre-season. I just don’t think they can move Voracek off a scoring line, as he’s been a frickin’ beast all pre-season from what I’ve read/heard.
At the Q&A I went to last week with Hitch and Howson, Howson said Voracek has put on 12 more pounds of muscle, and Hitch said Jake was “disappointed” with his rookie year last year (whereas I thought he had a great first year).
This team actually has–gasp–too many NHL wingers. It’s a problem I never thought I’d get to witness.
🙂