Columbus Blue Jackets: Breakdown of the Cleveland Monsters Roster

The Cleveland Monsters have lost a lot of players over the last couple of years as the Columbus Blue Jackets continue to call up developing players to full-time NHL duty. While there will be a lot of unfamiliar players this season, quite a few will also be returning from last season.

The recent news of Sonny Milano making the Columbus Blue Jackets roster is bittersweet for Cleveland Monsters fans. He’s moving up to the big leagues, which means he’s fulfilling a lifelong dream. But on the other hand, he spent a majority of the last two seasons with Cleveland, and the fans are losing one of the most familiar faces they’ve had since the Monsters partnered with Columbus.

A newcomer who will be attempting to replace that familiar face will be Tyler Motte, who was recently sent down by the Blue Jackets as one of the final roster cuts. Calvin Thurkauf will also be a name to watch out for, as it will be his first professional season in the U.S. and he has impressed at every level prior to this.

Sam Vigneault and Kole Sherwood are somewhat familiar to Monsters fans, however they’ve only had a short stretch of games to attempt to make an impression. Both are injured to start the season and they both also had an impressive training camp with Columbus prior to their injuries.

Justin Scott, Nick Moutrey and Jordan Maletta will all be returning the Cleveland for another season with the Monsters. Although none of the three will ever be known for high point production, they are all important role players who can help top-end prospects develop for the Columbus Blue Jackets.

The biggest question mark for this season will be Paul Bittner, who is attempting a return to hockey after leaving in the middle of last season. He struggled last season, only putting up 3 assists in 31 games for the Monsters, but he impressed at the Traverse City prospect tournament and made a name for himself once again.

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On defense, Dean Kukan will be returning for a third season with the Monsters; Blake Siebenaler will be coming back for a second season as well. Jacob Graves played a partial season with the Monsters, splitting time between the AHL and ECHL. This season he will be attempting to find a full-time role in the AHL, but he’ll have to overcome some tough competition. Doyle Somerby and Ryan Collins will be hoping to play their first full AHL seasons with the Monsters this year, however it is likely that an ECHL stint will happen for at least one of the two.

Former NHL regular Andre Benoit will be attempting to make a return to North American hockey after spending a year in the SHL in Sweden. Prior to this, he had played in the NHL with the Ottawa Senators, Colorado Avalanche, Buffalo Sabres and the St. Louis Blues.

Goaltending is going to certainly be the most unfamiliar position for Monsters fans, as Columbus Blue Jackets prospects Matiss Kivlenieks and Ivan Kulbakov will likely split time in net unless Brad Thiessen can make a strong case for himself to take over the backup role; it’s unlikely Columbus would be happy with a decent potential goaltender prospect sitting on the bench. Former Monsters goaltenders Joonas Korpisalo and Anton Forsberg have both found NHL backup roles with Columbus and Chicago respectively.

Head Coach John Madden will have his hands full this season, and it is difficult to predict how successful this team will be on paper. Although the roster is not final as training camp continues in Cleveland, these players will likely be some of the biggest names to watch this coming season.

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