Five Columbus Blue Jackets Ready to Shine in 2019
The Columbus Blue Jackets are the youngest team in the NHL and have several prospects and current players ready to bust out in 2019.
The world looks forward to a new year with a fresh start as 2018 fades away and we welcome 2019 into our lives. Although the hockey season is in the middle of the 82 game slog, the calendar flipping over gives us the chance to imagine what 2019 will hold for the Columbus Blue Jackets organization.
This team is the youngest in the NHL by average age. Although they don’t have the deepest prospect pool in the league, there are plenty of bright spots and future NHLers in the system as well.
We will look at five players, both on the NHL squad right now, or in the system, that are primed to have a huge 2019. These players are ready to take their game to the next level, or breakout and make a name for themselves.
The Jackets top line center is only 20-years-old. The top defensive pair has an average age of 22.5 years old. The Cleveland Monsters have a solid core group of young players that are learning under a great corps of NHL veterans. The overseas prospects are among some of the most impressive in their respective leagues. Here are the players I think will make 2019 their best year ever.
Oliver Bjorkstrand
Oliver Bjorkstrand’s sophomore season hasn’t exactly started the way he, or the Columbus Blue Jackets would have liked. He started the year slowly with only five points in his first 22 games of th year. On top of his lack of scoring, he was a defensive liability and that ugly combination led to a series of healthy scratches.
But Bjork has scored six point in his last 11 games and seems to have turned a page. He has clearly elevated his play and has had his best performance in the month of December.
Although he is still a ways off from matching his half point per game production from last year, you can see that Bjorkstrand is close. He is starting to become the consistent scoring winger that the Jackets thought they had after his rookie performance.
In 2019 we will see that Bjorkstrand. He will come out and finish the 2018-2019 season with at least 40 points for back-to-back 40 point seasons before he turns 24.
With the Jackets looking like they are losing a top line scoring winger this offseason, surging Bjorkstrand should come into the 2019-2020 season with an opportunity to become a top line winger for the Jackets.
Elvis Merzlikins
Plenty has been wrote about the Jackets top goaltending prospect in their system and for good reason. Elvis Merzlikins is the real deal and has proven all he needs to in Europe. Over the last few years he has dominated the top Swiss League and carried the tiny nation of Latvia to newfound heights on the international stage.
This year Merz is on a down HC Lugano team but he is doing everything he can to help carry this team back to the NLA finals. He has improved his save percentage and goals against average every season and this year is no exception. This year will be his last in Switzerland though and it is expected he will come to North America and play for the Monsters in Cleveland.
Although the Jackets are likely to lose an NHL netminder this offseason, don’t expect Merz to go straight to the Jackets. He will need a year in the AHL to acclimate to North American ice and the AHL is a great league for goalies to get ready for the big show.
In the AHL though I expect Elvis to shine. He has dominated at every level in his career and the AHL should be no different. Or at least we hope because the Jackets need to find another NHL goalie and it doesn’t appear that Matiss Kivlenieks is the answer and Daniil Tarasov and Veini Vehviläinen are still a few years away.
Related Story. Draft Profile: Daniil Tarasov. light
The Cleveland Monsters are always a fun watch but next year will be particularly enjoyable. Not only because of Elvis, but because of the next player on our list.
Alexandre Texier
This one has me très excité. The Columbus Blue Jackets traded Keegan Kolesar for the Vegas Golden Knight’s second round pick. With the 45th selection the Jackets took French forward Alexandre Texier who was playing in Grenoble for the famed Fire Wolves.
For the last two years the 19-year-old has played in the SM-Liiga in Finland against men and he has developed very well. His 18-year-old season was one to acclimate to the much bigger and faster finish league, all the while Texier managed to put up 13 goals in 53 games.
This year he is breaking out. He is playing top line minutes for KalPa and is fourth in the league in scoring for players under the age of 20. The players he trails are all top 40 picks or soon to be, in the case of the likely number two overall pick, Kaapo Kakka.
Texier is coming off of a dominate Spengler Cup performance where he helped KalPa take home the title. It was the first for an Finnish team in Spengler Cup history. Texier will head back for the second half of the year in Finland primed to explode offensively and get prepared for the transition to North America.
Texier’s contract with KalPa is up at the end of the year and he should be expected to compete for a roster spot next training camp with the Jackets. With a likely opening on the left wing, Texier could be a prime candidate to turn into the next top line winger the Jackets need in 2019.
Zach Werenski
Much has been said about the 21-year-old’s play this year, especially on the defensive end, but there is no doubt that Werenski’s offensive play is heating up. He has a five game point streak going and is seeing increased time on ice.
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Werenski has been criticized for his defensive performance but let’s not forget, Z hasn’t even played in 200 games in his NHL career. For years the learning curve for defenseman in the NHL was 400 games until they were established. It takes time for blueliners to learn the playing styles of the top forwards in the league and learn how to play at a high level against them.
There is no doubt that Werenski has the skill to put up eye popping offensive numbers. The elite defensive play will come with time. He has all the tools to become a Norris candidate year in and year out alongside of Seth Jones.
Werenski will flirt with 20 goals this season and he will break the 50 point mark for the first time in his career. All of this will come despite a horrendous power play that is not producing anything whatsoever.
The 2019-2020 season will be where the Michigander breaks out defensively and continues his offensive dominance. Next season will be a year where the Jackets could see two finalist for the Norris Trophy.
Vladislav Gavrikov
The Columbus Blue Jackets front office have been having several conversations with agent Dan Milstein over the last year as Mr. Milstein represents superstar winger Artemi Panarin. But Mr. Milstein also represents the Jackets 6th round pick from 2015, defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov.
Gavrikov is a big, nasty, stay at home defenseman. He plays for the KHL power SKA St. Petersburg and was the Russian’s best defenseman at the 2018 Olympics. The 23-year-old is in his last year of his KHL deal. With all of the meetings between Gavrikov’s agent and the Jackets management happening, there has to have been substantive conversations regarding Gavrikov’s future in Columbus.
If he does chose to come over to North America, he will instantly be a top four defenseman. Ryan Murray is on an expiring deal that I’m sure the Jackets would like to extend given his play, but if they can’t Gavrikov would be a perfect replacement.
Next. New Defensive Mindset Needed for Playoff Push. dark
These are just five of many players who are hoping to make 2019 their best year yet. Who do you think is ready to break out in the new year? Let us know in the comments below.