Quarter Season Report Card for Columbus Blue Jackets Forwards: Part 1

COLUMBUS, OH - NOVEMBER 15: Columbus Blue Jackets left wing Markus Hannikainen (37) reacts after scoring a goal in a game between the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Florida Panthers on November 15, 2018 at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, OH.(Photo by Adam Lacy/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
COLUMBUS, OH - NOVEMBER 15: Columbus Blue Jackets left wing Markus Hannikainen (37) reacts after scoring a goal in a game between the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Florida Panthers on November 15, 2018 at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, OH.(Photo by Adam Lacy/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
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TORONTO, ON – NOVEMBER 19: Cam Atkinson #13 of the Columbus Blue Jackets celebrates his goal during the first period against the Toronto Maple Leafs at the Scotiabank Arena on November 19, 2018 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Kevin Sousa/NHLI via Getty Images)
TORONTO, ON – NOVEMBER 19: Cam Atkinson #13 of the Columbus Blue Jackets celebrates his goal during the first period against the Toronto Maple Leafs at the Scotiabank Arena on November 19, 2018 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Kevin Sousa/NHLI via Getty Images) /

The Columbus Blue Jackets are through 21 games of the season. Let’s hand out some letter grades for every forward’s performance thus far.

The Columbus Blue Jackets forward group has been a slight step behind their blue line brothers through 21 games. Not by much but there are far more questions and striking concerns up front compared to the defenseman.

There are have been two solid lines that have emerged, a huge surprise in an offseason signing, and a few puzzling performances. The team is led by Cam Atkinson in goals who has 13 through 21 games including a hat trick against the Carolina Hurricanes on November 17th.

Coach Tortorella has emphasized checking, or the lack thereof, from his forward group and it has led to some surprise healthy scratches and some puzzling line combinations. There is still plenty of time to shake out the bottom two lines but there are some real issues that need to be addressed sooner rather than later.

Now, lets hand out our report cards for the first quarter of the season to the forwards in reverse alphabetical order.

Alexander Wennberg

NEW YORK, NY – FEBRUARY 03: Alexander Wennberg #10 of the Columbus Blue Jackets looks on during the second period against the New York Islanders at Barclays Center on February 3, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Christopher Pasatieri/NHLI via Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY – FEBRUARY 03: Alexander Wennberg #10 of the Columbus Blue Jackets looks on during the second period against the New York Islanders at Barclays Center on February 3, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Christopher Pasatieri/NHLI via Getty Images) /

This is one of the toughest grades to give out for any player on the team. Preseason expectations two years ago were that Alexander Wennberg was going to be this franchise’s number one center. That didn’t work out and Pierre-Luc Dubois took that role through the year.

Coming into this season, Wennberg was supposed to be the second line center. History has repeated itself and it looks like, once again, he has fallen down a line and has become the squad’s third line center. Although he has 11 points in 21 games, Wennberg’s play has been disappointing.

Despite his 43 point pace, Wennberg hasn’t been an offensive force and hasn’t taken over a game once this year. His best performance came way back on October 9th against the Colorado Avalanche when he had two primary assist.

Defensively he has been below average and it has cost him plenty of ice time. He has only been on the ice for 18+ minutes twice this season and is averaging just 15 minutes a game.

His line-mates have been shuffled quite a bit but no combination has worked out quite yet. It hasn’t been a bad start to the year, just not to the level we expect out of Alexander Wennberg.

B-. . 1/4 Season Report Card. . Alexander Wennberg

Lukas Sedlak

SUNRISE, FL – OCTOBER 11: Denis Malgin #62 of the Florida Panthers skates for possession against Lukas Sedlak #45 Columbus Blue Jackets at the BB&T Center on October 11, 2018 in Sunrise, Florida. (Photo by Eliot J. Schechter/NHLI via Getty Images)
SUNRISE, FL – OCTOBER 11: Denis Malgin #62 of the Florida Panthers skates for possession against Lukas Sedlak #45 Columbus Blue Jackets at the BB&T Center on October 11, 2018 in Sunrise, Florida. (Photo by Eliot J. Schechter/NHLI via Getty Images) /

Lukas Sedlak has become a regular on the fourth line for the Columbus Blue Jackets, logging 15 games so far this year. Although he is averaging a team low eight minutes of ice time per game, he has had some high and low moments so far.

Sedlak at times has looked like a defensively responsible forward that checks very hard and is a pest to the opponent. Exactly what you want from your fourth line.

4th Line Issues. light. Related Story

But then there are times, like in the most recent game against Toronto, where his inexperience shines and his mental errors cost the Jackets dearly. The yo-yo type performance may soon cost Sedlak his role on the fourth line for an AHL call up or Oliver Bjorkstrand, if Torts feels like playing him.

We don’t expect a ton from Sedlak but he hasn’t done what he needs to do to stay a regular on the fourth line. Or to get a solid grade for his performance thus far.

C. . 1/4 Season Report Card. . Lukas Sedlak

Artemi Panarin

COLUMBUS, OH – SEPTEMBER 28: Columbus Blue Jackets left wing Artemi Panarin (9) is in disbelief after scoring a goal in the first period of a game between the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Pittsburgh Penguins on September 28, 2018 at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, OH. (Photo by Adam Lacy/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
COLUMBUS, OH – SEPTEMBER 28: Columbus Blue Jackets left wing Artemi Panarin (9) is in disbelief after scoring a goal in the first period of a game between the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Pittsburgh Penguins on September 28, 2018 at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, OH. (Photo by Adam Lacy/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

The Breadman has been his usual self this season despite riding the longest goalless streak of his career. Despite not scoring a goal in the last ten games, Artemi Panarin still leads the team in points with 22 and has five goals.

Teams are certainly keying on the Jackets best player but Panarin’s playmaking ability has led to more Cam Atkinson and Pierre-Luc Dubois goals this year. This top line is one of the better top line’s in the league and Panarin’s unselfish play is a huge reason why.

Panarin is on pace for another record setting year in union blue, averaging over a point per game. Although he did miss one game due to illness, Panarin is on pace to score 89 points this year.

light. Related Story. Re-signing Panarin Scenarios

That will certainly fetch him whatever price he wants on the open market. Even with all the discussion swirling around his contract situation with the Blue Jackets, Panarin is still performing at an elite level proving he is focused on nothing but winning.

Not much more can be said about the great start to the year from Panarin. I’m sure he’ll be proud of his report card for the first quarter of the year.

1/4 Season Report Card. . Artemi Panarin. A.

Riley Nash

COLUMBUS, OH – NOVEMBER 6: Riley Nash #20 of the Columbus Blue Jackets and Esa Lindell #23 of the Dallas Stars battle for position in front of goaltender Ben Bishop #30 of the Dallas Stars on November 6, 2018 at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo by Jamie Sabau/NHLI via Getty Images)
COLUMBUS, OH – NOVEMBER 6: Riley Nash #20 of the Columbus Blue Jackets and Esa Lindell #23 of the Dallas Stars battle for position in front of goaltender Ben Bishop #30 of the Dallas Stars on November 6, 2018 at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo by Jamie Sabau/NHLI via Getty Images) /

We are handing out report card grades and not superlatives, but if we were, Riley Nash would win for most disappointing player of the year so far. Nash, 29, was signed in the offseason and was expected to be the Jackets third line center after having a few solid seasons in Boston. But that hasn’t been the case and Nash now finds himself close to being a healthy scratch.

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He wasn’t expected to come into Columbus and blow the doors off offensively, but the team certainly hoped he could put up more than two assist in 20 games. That just isn’t going to cut it no matter who you are. But it’s especially troubling if you are making $2.75 million a season.

Beyond the offensive disappointment there are plenty of defensive struggles to point out as well. Nash has been a solid 200 foot center in past seasons, but this year, he hasn’t been able to be counted on in his own end. Nash is a -3 so far this season and is boasting a lowly 45% corsi for rate.

Nash has slid from third line center, to fourth line center, and now is a fourth line winger. He hasn’t shown any sign of improvement and his demotion I fear will continue to him sitting in the press box for games soon.

Not the start to the season Nash, or the organization, wanted to see.

D. . 1/4 Season Report Card. . Riley Nash

Sonny Milano

COLUMBUS, OH – OCTOBER 20: Sonny Milano #22 of the Columbus Blue Jackets warms up prior to the start of the game against the Chicago Blackhawks on October 20, 2018 at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo by Kirk Irwin/Getty Images)
COLUMBUS, OH – OCTOBER 20: Sonny Milano #22 of the Columbus Blue Jackets warms up prior to the start of the game against the Chicago Blackhawks on October 20, 2018 at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo by Kirk Irwin/Getty Images) /

It’s tough to give out a report card to a player who has only played eight games and has been poorly utilized but here we go anyway. Sonny Milano, who now finds himself in Cleveland, has had a less than stellar start to the year as well.

Milano hasn’t earned a consistent spot in the lineup this year due to his defensive play. I would argue that he has played no worse defensively than many of the possible bottom six forwards on the roster but apparently Coach Tortorella disagrees with me.

Sonny was sparingly used in his time in Columbus only averaging eight minutes a game which made it tough for him to get into an offensive rhythm which the scorer needed. This led to Sonny only producing one goal which came all the way back on October 18th against the Philadelphia Flyers.

Milano, 22, last played with the Jackets on October 23rd and has since been with the Monsters. In his time in the AHL he has played well, averaging a point per game in his six appearances.

The play of the other fourth line Jackets though may give Milano another chance in Columbus this season. I hope he does get another chance because we know how gifted Sonny is with the puck on his stick.

C. . 1/4 Season Report Card. . Sonny Milano

Boone Jenner

MONTREAL, QC – NOVEMBER 14: Columbus Blue Jackets left Wing Boone Jenner (38) waits at faceoff during the Columbus Blue Jackets versus the Montreal Canadiens game on November 14, 2017, at Bell Centre in Montreal, QC (Photo by David Kirouac/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
MONTREAL, QC – NOVEMBER 14: Columbus Blue Jackets left Wing Boone Jenner (38) waits at faceoff during the Columbus Blue Jackets versus the Montreal Canadiens game on November 14, 2017, at Bell Centre in Montreal, QC (Photo by David Kirouac/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

Another forward that has earned a good grade! Boone Jenner has been asked to moved to center this year and he has played very well in the middle of the Jackets second line.

Jenner, with Josh Anderson and Nick Foligno on his wing, have become this team’s go-to defensive line while still providing an offensive punch. Boone has nine points through 21 games and is well on his way to his second 40 point season in his career.

But the reason for Boone’s high mark is due to everything else he does on the ice. He is trusted defensively more than any other center and has the third highest defensive zone start rate on the team at 67.1%. Boone also has the most blocked shots by any CBJ forward with 27.

He also has done very well at the face-off dot for a player who hasn’t taken many draws in his NHL career. He is at 49.8% from the dot, good for second on the team among players with at least 100 draws.

Boone has been a rock solid contributor for this team all year and is due for an offensive explosion here soon that will boost his numbers. Even without a gaudy number of points though, Jenner has been fantastic through the first quarter of the season.

A. . 1/4 Season Report Card. . Boone Jenner

Markus Hannikainen

COLUMBUS, OH – NOVEMBER 15: Columbus Blue Jackets left wing Markus Hannikainen (37) reacts after scoring a goal in a game between the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Florida Panthers on November 15, 2018 at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, OH.(Photo by Adam Lacy/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
COLUMBUS, OH – NOVEMBER 15: Columbus Blue Jackets left wing Markus Hannikainen (37) reacts after scoring a goal in a game between the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Florida Panthers on November 15, 2018 at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, OH.(Photo by Adam Lacy/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

If we were grading players on their last few performances, this wouldn’t be a good looking report card for Markus Hannikainen. Against Toronto and Carolina, the 25-year-old Finn clearly stood out for his poor play. But those two games stand out because in his other 11 starts, Hannikainen has been a pleasant surprise for the Jackets.

Hanni is a ferocious checker and plays very hard defensively. Although he starts in the defensive zone 62.7% of the time, he has a 45.3% corsi rate. Not bad for a winger who has only played in 60 career NHL games and is in his own end for two thirds of the game.

His solid defensive play have earned him more and more starts through the year. In that time, he added his fifth NHL goal and added two more assist to bring his season point total to three.

Although he has played well in most games, the glaring mistakes in the Toronto game still stick out in my mind. Although it shouldn’t cost him a starting roll for Friday, it will be on the minds of the coaching staff and a short leash got shorter for Markus.

Overall not bad from a player who has bounced between the AHL and NHL over his career.

Markus Hannikainen. B-. . 1/4 Season Report Card.

Next. 1/4 Report Cards for CBJ Defenseman. dark

Let us know what you think about these grades in the comment second below. We will be grading the other CBJ forwards in a part two post coming soon! Until then be sure to comment and check out the grades for the defenseman. 

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