Breaking Down the Opening Night Roster of the Blue Jackets

Defensively, the Blue Jackets have plenty of talent … but will they actually be able to defend?

Defense Pairing #1: Zach Werenski, Adam Boqvist

A little bit of a surprise seeing Boqvist here, but this pairing worked in the team’s final preseason games. This tandem is all offense, both guys love joining the rush and creating offense. They’re at their best when the puck is at the other end of the ice, and that’s okay. The best way to defend sometimes, is playing at the other end. But should they be forced to play in the defensive zone for stretches of time, things could get dicey. We know these guys can score; we know they can break out of their own end. But finding at least median defensive zone play here is the key, and this is one of the biggest question marks the team will have this season.

Defense Pairing #2: Vladislav Gavrikov, Andrew Peeke

This is your shutdown pair this season. Gavrikov has quietly developed into a good two-way defender, chipping in offense last season at a pretty good clip. But defensively, he’s probably the best the team has to offer, with good body positioning and strong gap control. Peeke looks much improved this fall (in comparison to last fall). He led the team in blocked shots last season and showed a physicality that the rest of the defense corps mostly lacked. This pairing should be matched up consistently against the best opposition forwards. If they can do their jobs well, it will make things a lot easier on the team as a whole.

Defense Pairing #3: Jake Bean, Erik Gudbranson

Bean has struggled throughout his early NHL career, and this may be his last real opportunity to make a case for himself as part of the future for the Blue Jackets. He’s a talented guy who was a high draft pick, and should be able to produce some offense from the back end. But he’s often out-matched physically and is easily pushed off the puck. Enter Gudbranson, who will be this team’s enforcer from the back end. He won’t provide much offense (any, really), but if he can help stabilize Bean and give this team some honesty in front of the net, the defense as a whole should improve.

Extra: Nick Blankenburg

I don’t have much to say here, except that Blankenburg was one of the best players on the ice all preseason. He just keeps proving people wrong, and I think once he gets his chance in the lineup, someone could be at risk of losing their job. Size be damned, this guy is an NHL player.

Goalies: Elvis Merzlikins, Daniil Tarasov, Joonas Korpisalo, Jet Greaves

Elvis is the starter for this team, at least for the immediate future. He had good underlying numbers last year and is at least an above average starter on most nights. So why include four of them here? At time of press, Elvis has come down with an illness, leaving Daniil Tarasov as the team’s opening night starter – and prompting a recall of Jet Greaves. Tarasov is arguably one of the top goalie prospects in hockey. Arguably only because of his health history. He’s super talented but has struggled to remain healthy, stunting his development. Korpisalo starts the season on IR, but once healthy, will look to reclaim his career as an NHL goaltender.

In all, this is a very talented lineup that should be fun to watch. Whether or not it works, is yet to be seen. But it really doesn’t have to be perfect yet, as I don’t think this team is ready to contend quite yet. If they can grow as a group, build chemistry, and see through the development of some key young players; this will be a successful season regardless where they finish in the standings. Either way, it’s refreshing to see the team showcasing so much talent, when only two seasons ago things looked so bleak.