Columbus Blue Jackets Agitator of the Future: Pierre-Luc Dubois

Pierre-Luc Dubois is certainly one of the most skilled players on the Columbus Blue Jackets and at 19 years of age, he will only continue to develop into a superstar at the NHL level. However, his game is also fairly different than most of the leagues’ as he continually gets under his opponent’s skin.

The Columbus Blue Jackets have been pleasantly surprised by the offensive contribution of Pierre-Luc Dubois in his rookie season, however a big part of his game has been more and more noticeable late in the regular season. Last night against the Nashville Predators, Dubois attracted a lot of attention, specifically from veteran center Mike Fisher. He grabbed the vets attention after pushing defenseman Mattias Ekholm into goaltender Juuse Saros late in the game.

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Last night was certain not the first time Dubois has gotten into the head of a team with his antics, as the previous game against Pittsburgh he would run over Matt Murray behind the net then chase down Sidney Crosby who was about to fire a shot on net in about five seconds. While using the word “antics” may make it seem that Dubois’ play is being seen negatively, it is fairly similar to fellow Blue Jacket Brandon Dubinsky in the sense that. When it is done correctly, this style of play can certainly help the team by knocking the opponents off of their game.

Agitators around the NHL have evolved over the years from Sean Avery to the current generation of Brad Marchand of the Boston Bruins and Pittsburgh Penguins forward Patric Hornqvist. Pierre-Luc Dubois certainly seems to be one of the leading faces of the next generation of this role, alongside of Matthew Tkachuk of the Calgary Flames.

Agitators are getting more effective than ever for one simple reason, now they can score on top of their antics. Avery peaked at an 18 goal season in the 2006-2007 season; which was respectable but nowhere near superstar status.

The modern incarnate of an agitator can not only throw their opponent off their game mentally, but on the score-sheet as well. Representing the current generaton, Brad Marchand finished this season with 34 goals, while Hornqvist had 29 goals. The next generation looks just as bright as Dubois would finish with 20 goals and Matthew Tkachuk finished with 24.

While this may not seem like the best group of players to have his name around, Pierre-Luc Dubois will certainly be one player who will help put the Columbus Blue Jackets on the map as contender. All these players may have a bad reputation around the league, however they are usually one of the most loved players on their team by the hometown fans; and Dubois is set to do the same.

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