Union and Blue Staff Discuss the Columbus Blue Jackets Preseason

The staff at Union and Blue give your their thoughts on the 2018 Columbus Blue Jackets preseason.

More roster cuts came today following the Columbus Blue Jackets fifth preseason game ahead of the 2018 season. The Jackets now find themselves with only 17 forwards, nine defenseman, and three goalies although the net-minder position is all but locked up barring the team trading Sergei Bobrovsky.

Only a week left of the Jackets camp but there are still many questions. Who will make up the fourth line? How will Brad Shaw and Brad Lawson handle their coaching duties now that they are flipped.

The four contributors of UnionAndBlue.com sat down and talked about what they thought were some surprises of training camp and who they were disappointed in. We also explored how we see the roster coming together in the end and what we’d like to see for the rest of camp.

Lets take a look at what our contributors think about camp with just a little over a week left until opening day.

Jason-Scott Greenberg

Although they look like brothers, that is Josh Anderson and not Jason.

What Jacket has surprised you the most so far?

They player that has surprised me the most during the preseason has been Markus Nutivaara. He has put up points and gotten shots down low that has been very important from an offensive defenseman spending time on the back lines. I’m excited to see how Nutivaara does in his second season on the full-time roster.

Oliver Bjorkstrand also has seemed to have taken his game to another level. It’s something I’m hoping to see continue with Bjorkstrand projected to be on the second line this season.

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Conversely, who has been the most disappointing?

The player that has disappointed me the most has been Jonathan Davidsson. This is a guy management has been hyping up over the offseason. He is very skilled and fast, and while he’s been there and has had shot creation (which is important) he has struggled to bury anything meaningful so far in preseason. He’ll most likely be sent back to the SHL.

Another player who hasn’t looked up to snuff is Gabriel Carlsson. He has looked incredibly slow on the back end, which isn’t something you want to see.

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

I’m hoping to see more from the offensive side. So far the most production the Jackets have seen is Oliver Bjorkstrand’s hat-trick. Aside from that, one goal a game is not going to cut it towards the regular season. Atkinson, Panarin and Bjorkstrand cannot carry the offense by themselves.

Same with the goaltenders letting up three plus goals per game. That needs to be cleaned up by opening night. We’ve seen it happen often in Bobrovsky’s tenure where the Jackets have given up almost three a night over a stretch of time throughout the season. Last night was a step in the right direction for both scoring and goaltending, but small ice and Hockeyville atmosphere distort the results a bit.

What are your predicted opening night lines and pairings?

Panarin-Dubois-Atkinson

Jenner-Wennberg-Bjorkstrand

Foligno-Dubinsky-Anderson

Duclair-Nash-Milano

Jones-Werenski

Savard-Nutivaara

Murray-Kukan

Bobrovsky

Korpisalo

Will Espy

What Jacket has surprised you the most so far?

So far this preseason I’ve been very impressed with Liam Foudy and Kevin Stenlund. Both have proven that they’re close to being NHL ready, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see Stenlund get an NHL stint this season.

Foudy could’ve easily made quite a few NHL teams this season which shows the impressive forward depth that the Columbus Blue Jackets have developed for the first time in franchise history.

Stenlund has shown that he will certainly be a Columbus Blue Jacket regular potentially as early as this season, but more likely next season.

Joonas Korpisalo also had a great game in Clinton, New York showing promise for the Blue Jackets top two goaltenders for the first time this preseason.

Has this preseason been a “success”?

This preseason may not have been the most successful to this point, but it’s definitely shown that the Columbus Blue Jackets fans have reason to look forward to the future beyond this season.
With players like Stenlund, Foudy, Gabriel Carlsson, Eric Robinson and many others the future looks like it’ll compliment the current roster very well. It’s just a matter of time before the prospects tell Jarmo Kekalainen, John Davidson and John Tortorella that the future is now.

It wouldn’t surprise me to see Stenlund make the Columbus Blue Jackets roster, and the same could’ve been said about Foudy before he was sent back to the London Knights on Wednesday

Steven Kenworthy

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

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