Columbus Blue Jackets: Goals Will Come for Markus Nutivaara
By William Espy
The Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman is without a goal through seven games.
Markus Nutivaara isn’t a household name for the Columbus Blue Jackets, but he could be soon at this rate. The defenseman may not have scored a goal yet this season, but his five assists mean that he’s still tied for third in points on the team regardless.
Some notable names behind him include Zach Werenski, Pierre-Luc Dubois and Boone Jenner. At the start of the season, if anyone told you Nutivaara would be this high in scoring then odds are you would’ve laughed.
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He’s arguably the best seventh round pick in the last several drafts, as the 24-year-old has already played 134 games since being drafted in 2015.
The most noticeable thing about Nutivaara’s game is that he shoots the puck, a lot. He may only be eighth on the team in shots, but he’s arguably the easiest to keep track of in terms of shots.
Every time he touches the puck it seems like he fires it on net, which could be useful if it were to rub off on some other players on the team. The important thing to remember is, his shooting percentage won’t stay at 0.00 forever.
Sooner rather than later Nutivaara will put a puck in the back of the net, it’s simply a matter of when the puck decides to give him some luck. On top of that, expect Nutivaara to keep increasing in ice time.
He likely won’t pass Zach Werenski for the top pairing spot, but having a third defenseman that John Tortorella could rely on for an abundance of minutes late in games could be a difference maker.
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While you may need to worry about a couple of players who have yet to score a goal, Markus Nutivaara certainly is not one of them to keep an eye on.