4 Columbus Blue Jackets to Watch in the 2018 Preseason Opener
The Columbus Blue Jackets are rolling out an interesting lineup against the Buffalo Sabres. Here are four players to keep an eye on.
Tonight the Columbus Blue Jackets open up their preseason slate of games against the Buffalo Sabres. The Jackets are in the midst of their most intriguing training camp to date.
There are questions regarding the franchises best two players and a crop of young players looking to score a spot with the big club. Not to mention veteran players looking for redemption after a less than stellar season in 2017.
That makes tonight’s roster selection interesting and can give us a slight insight to what the team is thinking early on in camp. As reported by Alison Lukan of The Athletic, tonight’s Jacket lineup will look like this.
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Sonny Milano – Pierre-Luc Dubois – Anthony Duclair
Markus Hannikainen – Sam Vigneault – Vitaly Abramov
Alex Broadhurst – Ryan MacInnis – Oliver Bjorkstrand
Calvin Thurkauf – Brandon Dubinsky – Jonathan Davidsson
Markus Nutivaara – Scott Harrington
Mattis Kivlenieks
The roster is fairly well balanced with returning veterans and young players looking to make their mark. The distribution of ice time will be interesting to watch but the composition of the roster gives us some look into what the coaching staff thinks of this squad already.
As you watch tonight keep your eyes on these four Columbus Blue Jackets.
Anthony Duclair
The Columbus Blue Jackets made two, sneaky good free agent signings. Getting a former 20 goal scorer who is only 23-years-old for just $650,000 is one of the best signings made by any team in the league.
Anthony Duclair has had some problems in his short time in the league and he’ll be the first one to admit it. He did so several times during his media availability last week. But he views his time in Columbus as a fresh start and a chance to get his still promising career back on track.
The winger has all of the talent in the world and has shown he can score at a high level. The Jackets are spotting him on the wing of their top line center, Pierre-Luc Dubois, tonight. He will get a good chunk of minutes alongside the best center in the organization.
The deployment shows the team wants to see what Duclair can do with his second chance. This is a great opportunity to show that he can still deliver some offensive firepower and is ready to compete for a spot on the roster.
The competition for a wing spot is fierce this training camp and Duclair won’t be able to just walk into a spot on the opening day roster. In fact, his toughest competition is playing on the team fielded tonight.
Those skaters don’t have the benefit of lining up next to the organization’s number one center though. That is an advantage Duclair can’t afford to waste tonight.
Vitaly Abramov
Jackets fans have been waiting for Vitaly to step out on the ice in union blue for more than two years. Ever since the Russian winger won the QMJHL scoring title and MVP, Jackets fans have been wondering when he was going to make the NHL.
Although he came close last season, this seems to be the time for Abramov to take the next step. He has been limited as he recovers from a wrist injury, but he will have his chances to shine against the Buffalo Sabres.
Abramov will line up with big center Sam Vigneault and a winger that he is likely competing with for one of the last wing spots, Markus Hannikainen. Markus has an experience edge over Abramov, but not a skill edge.
Related Story. Why Vitaly Abramov will start the year in the NHL. light
Abramov has shown elite scoring ability and incredible playmaking through his career and he isn’t shy about saying he expects to play in the NHL. The question is can he handle the physical play of the NHL and be as strong on and off of the puck as he needs to be to be an everyday player?
Keep an eye on Abramov when he doesn’t have the puck. We know he is special when the puck is on his stick but Coach John Tortorella and company will be looking to see how he plays when the action is away from him.
If Abramov plays well defensively and contributes more than just with his puck prowess, you might be looking at your next great Blue Jacket scoring winger.
Jonathan Davidsson
This will thankfully be the last game we don’t have a lovely photo of Mr. Davidsson! The Swede will make his preseason debut with the team after an impressive showing at the Traverse City Prospects Tournament.
Davidsson didn’t dominate the stat sheet but played very well and showcased his high level speed and skating ability. The organization, most notably Jarmo, hasn’t been shy when it comes to talking about how they view Davidsson. Jarmo said of Davidsson,
“He is a smart player and mature young man and we believe he has a very bright future with our organization. A player that we think has a good chance of making our team next year.”
The former 6th round draft pick has a chance to make the squad this year. He will get a chance to play with veteran Brandon Dubinsky tonight. Seeing how the young winger plays alongside a veteran who is looking to prove himself will be a great measuring stick for Davidsson.
He should certainly have a step on him skating wise but will he be able to think the game as fast as Dubinsky and keep up with a player who has over 760 NHL games under his belt? Tonight will be a good step in finding out if Davidsson will spend this season in North America, or back in Sweden.
Dean Kukan
The most interesting roster decision the Columbus Blue Jackets have to make in my opinion is who will be the team’s 6th defenseman this year. After loosing both Ian Cole and Jack Johnson in the offseason, the Jackets are presumably looking for a defenseman to play alongside of David Savard this season.
Dean Kukan will get the first crack at becoming the Jackets 6th man on the blue line this year as he is slated to be Savard’s partner tonight. Kukan, along with Gabriel Carlsson and Scott Harrington, are the favorites to nab the last spot.
The team just signed Kukan to a one-way deal last season which gives him a contractual advantage over Carlsson and he has a skill advantage over Harrington in his appearances last year. If he can play well alongside Savard tonight and start to show a chemistry brewing between the two, we may have just found the team’s newest 6th defenseman.
Next. CBJ vs Buffalo Preseason Preview. dark
Tonight’s game is going to be a must watch not only because it’s the return of the Jackets finally, but there are important position battles that will play out over the next two weeks. There are other interesting players to look for tonight but these four and their play will give us a good look at what the team could look like on October 4th.