Some of the best players on the Blue Jackets roster this season have been their rookies. The Jackets have gotten a lot of performance from their rookies this season, and two stand out in particular: Boone Jenner and Ryan Murray. Here is a look at how the Jackets rookies stack up on the team and around the league:
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Boone Jenner:
Jenner has an impressive +/- rating of +7, good enough for fourth on the Jackets roster in the +/- area. He has 17 points in 46 games played, which puts him at 24th of all rookies in the NHL in points, and 11th out of all rookie centers around the league. He is 6th on the Jackets roster and 15th in NHL rookies in goals with 9, and has the 7th most penalty minutes on the team with 35. Jenner and Murray are both tied for 10th among NHL rookies for power play goals with 2. Impressively, Jenner is tied for 3rd among NHL rookies for the most game winning goals at 3, and trails Nathan MacKinnon (COL) and Tyler Toffoli (LAK) by only two. This puts him at the top of the list for most valuable rookies this season, and the Jackets have certainly benefited from Jenner’s presence in the lineup this year.
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Ryan Murray:
Murray has a +/- rating of +3, tying him with Derek MacKenzie and Matt Calvert for 7th on the Jackets roster in that area. He is also tied for 7th among NHL rookies for most assists with 16 on the year. Murray sits just ahead of Jenner in points, with 19 points in 56 games played this season, tying him for 17th among NHL rookies for points. His 19 points are good enough to earn him the #7 spot among all NHL rookie defensemen. As mentioned, he is tied with Boone Jenner for 10th most power play goals out of all NHL rookies with 3, and tied for 9th among NHL rookies in power play points with 6. He sits in 5th place in NHL rookies for average ice time per game, averaging 20:07 TOI/G. Also, Murray is one of very few players on the Jackets roster that have played in every game this season. It seems the first round pick for the Jackets is paying off big time in Ryan Murray.
Overall, Boone Jenner and Ryan Murray are on par with the league’s top rookies, and the Jackets have certainly gained a lot by adding these two players to their team. It will be interesting to see how these two develop in later years, because they are certainly fun to watch now!