Columbus Blue Jackets 18-19 Season Expectations: Gabriel Carlsson
It’s almost impossible to pin down expectations for this Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman.
A week ago it wasn’t looking like Gabriel Carlsson would start the year with the Columbus Blue Jackets. He was being outplayed by both Dean Kukan and Adam Clendening. He looked sloppy with the puck and wasn’t moving as well as we expect him to be moving.
With big injuries to Ryan Murray and Seth Jones, the team is short on defenseman. The Jackets need bodies on the blue line until those two return so it looks as if Gabriel Carlsson has a few more weeks to prove himself to the coaching staff.
The 21-year-old defenseman only logged 11 games in the NHL last year before heading to Cleveland. It wasn’t an ideal year for the youngster as he dealt with injuries and an all round bad Cleveland squad.
More from Union and Blue
- Blaming Columbus Blue Jacket Players for Babcock Fallout is Unfair
- The Mike Babcock Experiment in Columbus Has Failed
- Blue Jacket Prospects Win Traverse City Tournament: Who Stood Out?
- Mike Babcock Resigns as CBJ Head Coach: Reaction
- New Claims Bring Higher Level of Concern to Babcock Situation
This year coming into camp Carlsson was expected to compete for the final defensive roster spot. He didn’t look like he was on track to take that spot has his passing was spotty and he at no point dominated any phase of the game in his preseason appearances.
Both Dean Kukan and Adam Clendening looked better than Carlsson. Carlsson is also waiver exempted so it appeared that he would be heading to Cleveland at one point in the year. Now, he will have another chance to prove himself and will likely get a few starts before Seth Jones returns from his injury.
The team used a 1st round pick in 2015 to take Carlsson. They still have hopes for the defenseman panning out and want him to succeed. He is still young and could have a good year in the NHL or AHL this year as long as he stays healthy.
An ideal year for Carlsson is spent mostly in Cleveland. He needs another year of professional hockey before he pushes for a spot with the Columbus Blue Jackets.
He isn’t at the level Kukan or Clendening are yet. He has shown that on most nights he is better than Scott Harrington, but he needs to develop consistency and he can do that in Cleveland without going on waivers.
Related Story. Clendening Impresses. light
In Cleveland he will have the chance to play with an experienced defensive partner in Tommy Cross or Dillon Simpson as well. A season in Cleveland as a top pair defenseman is what we should expect from Carlsson in the 2018-2019 season.