Columbus Blue Jackets: Markus Nutivaara a Hidden Gem

For a position that had lacked depth for the Columbus Blue Jackets just four years ago, Markus Nutivaara is breaking out as a star for the Jackets blueliners.

Nutivaara has the potential to be the Columbus Blue Jackets long time 3rd defenseman. Obviously as Seth Jones and Zach Werenski currently headline the blueline, and will continue to do so for a long time, but Markus Nutivaara has shown himself as the class of the current Blue Jackets young defensive core.

Coming from Oulu, Finland standing 6’1” it’s hard to miss Nutivaara’s big frame. After playing 66 games and only putting up 7 points with the Jackets his rookie season in 2016-17, Nutivaara broke out in a big way his sophomore season with 23 points in the 2017-18 campaign.

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When Jack Johnson and James Wisniewski were headlining the Jackets back end, fans were skeptic to the defensive depth of this team heading towards the future. Fedor Tyutin and other depth defenseman were only getting older, and as the years were going by the wear and tear had shown.

In 2015, the Jackets drafted Zach Werenski 8th overall to help turn around the defensive game of the franchise. Joining the team in the 2016-17 franchise year, not even halfway through the season Werenski was playing top line minutes. Along with the trade for Seth Jones in January of 2016, the defensive game was already changing for the franchise.

In that same 2015 NHL Entry Draft, there was player drafted 7th round that almost nobody raised an eye over. Markus Nutivaara was selected 189th overall in 2015 and ever since he’s been a huge prospect for the Jackets.

So far in this season, Nutivaara has been a huge part in the Jackets shot production. He’s shown up a big way on the stat sheet that Jackets defenseman typically haven’t been on before. With Seth Jones out for the first part of the season, and Zach Werenski returning from injury, Markus Nutivaara has been the depth the Jackets have been looking for.

While the Jackets have had a rotating door of 6th defenseman this year, we can assure you Nutivaara will not go back to being a 6th defenseman anytime soon. Nutivaara has the potential to be the Jackets 3rd blueliner for years to come.