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Union and Blue Staff Discuss the Columbus Blue Jackets Preseason

By Lansing Murphy

COLUMBUS, OH - APRIL 19: Sonny Milano #22 of the Columbus Blue Jackets skates against the Washington Capitals in Game Four of the Eastern Conference First Round during the 2018 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs on April 19, 2018 at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo by Jamie Sabau/NHLI via Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Sonny Milano
COLUMBUS, OH - APRIL 19: Sonny Milano #22 of the Columbus Blue Jackets skates against the Washington Capitals in Game Four of the Eastern Conference First Round during the 2018 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs on April 19, 2018 at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo by Jamie Sabau/NHLI via Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Sonny Milano /
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Steven Kenworthy

Columbus Blue Jackets
COLUMBUS, OH – APRIL 19: Sonny Milano #22 of the Columbus Blue Jackets skates against the Washington Capitals in Game Four of the Eastern Conference First Round during the 2018 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs on April 19, 2018 at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo by Jamie Sabau/NHLI via Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Sonny Milano /

What Jacket has surprised you the most so far?

Maybe he’s chasing the lineup depth or he just had a phenomenal summer, but thus far I’ve been most impressed by Sonny Milano. I wouldn’t say I’m surprised though because he flashed enormous potential last year.

Columbus Blue Jackets
Columbus Blue Jackets /

Columbus Blue Jackets

In my opinion, he has stood out in every preseason game thus far. Each time he has stepped on the ice, he has played like a man on fire and I think that energy translates eventually to more minutes for the CBJ.

Conversely, who has been the most disappointing?

This won’t sit well with some Blue Jackets faithful, but thus far I’ve been most disappointed by Gabriel Carlsson. Having spent a first round pick on him three years ago, I was hoping to see more progress at this stage of his career.

Coming off a starting role early last year in Columbus, I expected Carlsson to make a few more strides by now. He’s just not developing like I hope he would. Defensemen take time to bloom, but his game isn’t coming along at the rate of say – fellow 2015 pick, Markus Nutivaara. In fact, it’s not even close.

What do you want to see from now until opening night from this team?

After watching the Jackets sleep their way back and forth across the ice versus the Blues, I want to see a team with the kind of fire a Stanley Cup contender should put out nightly. I don’t care if it’s the preseason. Chemistry, effort, potential – it all starts now.

The fact that the CBJ had 13 of their top 16 forwards on the ice and struggled to put up points on a St. Louis B-squad was beyond demoralizing. This team has what it takes to make a tremendous run but that momentum needs to start developing now.

What are your predicted opening night lines and pairings?

My predicted opening night lines are as follows. No wild guesses here – minus one or two changes, this should be pretty much what we should all probably expect to see on October 4th versus the Red Wings.

Panarin – Dubois – Atkinson

Foligno – Wennberg – Bjorkstrand

Jenner – Dubinsky – Anderson

Duclair – Nash – Milano

Jones – Werenski

Savard – Nutivaara

Kukan – Carlsson

Bobrovsky

Korpisalo

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