Columbus Blue Jackets: Predicting the 13 Opening Night Forwards

After the Columbus Blue Jackets shut out the Pittsburgh Penguins in their final game of the preseason, head coach John Tortorella said that we can anticipate 13 forwards, eight defensemen and two goaltenders on the roster for the Oct. 5 season debut against the New York Islanders.

Most of those 23 players can be easily predicted. Unless injuries pop up, we can expect to see defending Vezina Trophy winner Sergei Bobrovsky, captain Nick Foligno and many of the other Columbus Blue Jackets that we have become used to over the years.

One person that almost certainly will not be dressing for the first game of the year is Boone Jenner. Suffering from a back injury, Boone missed the entirety of training camp with the injury. Nobody in the media seemingly knows what caused the injury, but he missed camp nonetheless. And on Sept. 30, Aaron Portzline of The Athletic reported that Boone has not skated with the team yet and looks to be out for the Oct. 6 date.

Other than that and the Josh Anderson fiasco, the Blue Jackets look to be pretty predictable, especially in their forwards.

Rant: Josh Anderson – Ramblings of a Mad Man

Top Six

Saturday’s game against the Penguins gave us a pretty good indication of the lines that we’ll see to kick off the season. On the first line, Panarin teamed up with Alexander Wennberg and Cam Atkinson, forming what we can only hope is one of the most lethal lines in the league. Those three are locks to start.

On the second line, the ol’ captain was at center (somewhere Torts has confirmed he will stay for the time being) while Oliver Bjorkstrand and our preseason surprise, Sonny Milano roll with him on the wings. Before camp and the eight preseason games, Milano was a question mark and in very real jeopardy of not having a roster spot to begin the season, but after the September he had, there’s no way he’s not in union blue on Oct. 6. Foligno and Bjork were locks beforehand, so nothing changes there.

Opinion: Centerman alternatives other than Matt Duchene

Bottom Six

On the third line, it was the returning Brandon Dubinsky at center with Pierre-Luc Dubois and Matt Calvert on his sides. Dubinsky is a proven veteran and leader of the CBJ, so as long he was healthy, he was going to get a spot. Both PLD and Stitches were not so comfortably locked in though. Dubois was a hopeful to make it, but no guarantee since he’s only 19 years old and has never played in the NHL. Calvert is a veteran, but he’s simply not as good as a lot of players. Both of them had good preseasons though and are worthy of opening night spots.

And on the fourth line, Markus Hannikainen, Lukas Sedlak and Zac Dalpe were chosen. I would say it’s pretty much a lock that Beerman and Sedlak get a spot. And Dalpe has had a pretty good preseason, so I would expect him to make the opening night roster as well.

Prospects: Alexander Texier's hot start in Liiga

The Last Spot

With only one spot remaining, it comes down to Tyler Motte and Jordan Schroeder. Neither played for the Blue Jackets last year, and neither have had standout performances this preseason. But the real factor in choosing between them is Schroeder’s status. He’s listed day-to-day with an upper-body injury, something that should give Motte the nod for the final spot.

Mark Scheig did make the good point that if Schroeder is sent to the Cleveland Monsters, that he will need to pass waivers. That would not be the case with Motte. So if Jarmo Kekalainen is fearful that he may lose Schroeder in waivers, he may make it to the roster as the final man.

Either way, the Columbus Blue Jackets’ forwards are a pretty solid group. With players like Atkinson and Panarin leading the way, this should be a strength for the team this season.