Columbus Blue Jackets 17-18 End of Year Prospect Round Up

With all but two hockey seasons left to wrap up, all Columbus Blue Jackets’ prospects have completed their seasons.

With only the Stanley and Calder Cups still up for grabs, all player’s associated with the Columbus Blue Jackets have hung up the skates and hit the links. GM Jarmo Kekalainen and his scouting staff have put together a solid squad of prospects over the last few seasons and many had solid postseason runs.

None were more notable than the performance of goalie Elvis Merzlinkins. The 24-year-old goalie had a spectacular postseason for HC Lugano in the Swiss League. After an average regular season, Elvis led his team to a game seven in the finals. Along the way he had a .935 save percentage in 18 games. Although Lugano lost, it was an awe inspiring 18-game postseason for Merz.

He rolled that stellar streak of games into the World Championships for Latvia where he was the best goalie in the tournament. Elvis started six games and led Latvia on an impressive run to the quarterfinals. He had an incredible .940 save percentage and a stellar 1.50 GAA.

In Latvia’s quarterfinal matchup against Sweden, he only allowed three goals to the eventual tournament champions. The Sweds went on to score six agains the United States. It was Latvia’s second best finish in the tournament ever.

After his impressive two month run the rumors started flying about Elvis coming to North America. With Bob’s contract expiring next year and a subpar season for Matiss Kivlenkieks in Cleveland, the scene looked set for Elvis to leave Europe.

Those ideas were squashed though when he tweeted that he would be spending another season in Switzerland with HC Lugano.

The disappointing news certainly isn’t the end of the world for Columbus Blue Jackets fans. Another season in a top European league with plenty of starts will be good for Elvis. How the Sergei Bobrovsky situation plays out will dictate how the Jackets handle Elvis next season.

Tapeworm and Transfer

One of the craziest hockey stories of the year involved Columbus’ 6th round pick in last year’s draft. Carson Meyer, a central Ohio native, had a down year at Miami of Ohio. The forward went from scorng 26 points in his freshman campaign to 10 this season. Something was clearly wrong with Meyer’s game and the staff in Oxford couldn’t figure it out.

Columbus Blue Jackets

That was until late February when a bowel movement revealed everything. According to a story from Aaron Portzline of The Athletic, Meyer had been hosting a 25 inch tapeworm for quite a while. The horrifying story certainly explains the forward’s drop in production.

For more than just the tapeworm, Meyer has been a big topic of discussion since news broke that he intends to transfer to his hometown team, The Ohio State University. Meyer is petitioning the NCAA to allow him to play this season with the Buckeyes. Naturally, Meyer was looking for a reset button after a long year at Miami, but says he holds no ill-will and is just looking for a fresh start…tapeworm free!

USHL Champion

A midseason change saw Robbie Stucker, the Columbus Blue Jackets’ 2017 7th round pick, head from Chicago to Fargo. The defenseman went on a great run with the Fargo Force and ended up winning the USHL Championship.

It was Fargo’s first USHL championship. The 19-year-old had 10 points in 14 playoff games for the Force. He will be playing at the University of Minnesota next season.

Next: 17-18 Season Recap: Brandon Dubinsky

As May turns to June, less and less hockey games inundate our lives and more Columbus Blue Jackets prospects start to enjoy their summers. These three, and many others, will look forward to development camp in July to show their growth and work towards an NHL roster in late June.

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