2022 Season Preview: Jack Roslovic
By Curtis Deem
Jack Roslovic, 6-1, 193 pounds
January 29, 1997 (25 years old)
Acquired from Winnipeg, January 23, 2021
Cap hit: $4M through 2023-24
Role: Second line center
Central Ohio’s own Jack Roslovic bet on himself and signed a two-year “show me” deal with the Blue Jackets over the summer, after two seasons of up and down play. Acquired from Winnipeg for a third round pick as part of the Pierre-Luc Dubois trade, Roslovic hit the ground running with his hometown club, scoring 12 goals and 34 points in 48 games. But this past season, things did not start out so well and he found himself often relegated to a makeshift fourth line, where he struggled to find his footing.
Jack is at an interesting crossroads in his career. He’s entering his prime, so the time to prove he can be a top-six player in the NHL is now. The good news is, he took strides last season and finished the season on a scoring tear: in his last 10 games, Roslovic scored 10 goals and 3 assists. This stretch came when he showed a penchant for playing better two-way hockey. He seemed more engaged and was competing to get into the difficult areas for scoring chances. Truly, he played like a different player.
The question becomes, which version of Jack will we see? Aside from his white-hot pace to finish the season, he had just 12 goals and 32 points in 71 games. When you watch him play, you can see the skill. He has very good hands and a quick release, and uses his strong skating to win body position and create chances. But there were far too many stretches where Jack was just … invisible. Or even worse, was visible for all the wrong reasons. While it’s unfair to expect him to score at a goal per game pace, if he could settle in somewhere in the middle and give the team consistent two-way play, he would be a good second line player.
Three Keys to Success
- Consistency. I personally don’t see Roslovic as the solution to the team’s top line center question. For that reason, in my opinion, he doesn’t need to score at a high rate to be successful. He just needs to play consistent, two-way hockey – which he is capable of doing. If he does that, he will be a matchup nightmare for opposing teams, even when he is in a cold spell.
- Relax. He was snake bitten quite a few times last year, struggling to finish off plays. When the season was essentially over and the pressure was off, we saw a different player. It can’t be easy playing in front of friends and family every night, but he has to find a way to just play.
- Shoot the puck. One of Jack’s best assets is his shot, and he had just 131 shots on goal in 81 games last year. He should be firing the puck more frequently, I think a lot of people would be surprised at the outcome.
2022-23 Expectation: Center the second line.
That’s it. Is it too much to ask? Jack is a talented guy who is undoubtedly a center in this league. He has the talent to be a second line player, but is at serious risk of being passed up by younger, less expensive players like Cole Sillinger or Alexandre Texier. If he can be a consistent two-way player and show up on a nightly basis, he’s easily the best option to center this team’s second line – at least for the near future. Read: 2022 Season Preview: Jakub Voracek