Cole Sillinger stood out as a rookie for the Blue Jackets in 2021-22, scoring 16 goals and 31 points in 79 games. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to carry that success into his second year – the dreaded sophomore slump hit him hard, and by the end of the season, Cole found himself playing in the American Hockey League.
Cole was the only player from his draft class to play the entire 2021-22 season in the NHL. It’s an impressive accomplishment for any D+1 player to stick around, but it’s very rare and special when you’re the 11th player taken in the draft. He stood out right away, dominating the Traverse City Prospects tournament alongside Yegor Chinakhov; and following that performance up with a strong training camp.
It’s not that the Jackets didn’t have options for Cole, either. They could have sent him to the AHL or back to juniors – but he made that impossible with his confidence and strong all-around play. He quickly became an important center for this team as an 18 year old, and scored the 8th most points by a CBJ rookie in their history (tied for fourth most goals).
Silly is HYPED 😄 pic.twitter.com/sW9tx1bkTj
— Columbus Blue Jackets (@BlueJacketsNHL) March 18, 2023
He was so good last year that we thought he might make a push for a top-six role this season. Any significant steps forward would have made that easy, with Boone Jenner and Jack Roslovic holding down the top-two center positions. He started out really strong too, scoring a goal in the second period of game one in Raleigh – only to have it called back due to offsides.
That sent him on a downward spiral, of sorts. He wouldn’t score his first official goal until the 14th game of the season (November 12). He scored again two games later (November 17); then wouldn’t score again for 46 games, finally getting his third and final goal of the season on March 17. In that 46 game span, Cole scored just four assists – not enough to keep any forward in any lineup in the NHL; but the injury situation in Columbus forced their hand.
It wasn’t as bad as it seems. In fact, I thought Cole still looked pretty good on a lot of nights, battling on both sides of the puck and being a solid two-way player. The offense just wasn’t there this year. After the team signed free agent center Hunter McKown, Cole was sent down to the AHL just a few days later, where he continued to struggle offensively; scoring 2 goals and 6 points through Cleveland’s final 11 games.
Final season stats: 64 games played, 3 goals, 8 assists, 11 points, 37 PIMs, -22, 148 shots on goal. Overall grade: D
It was a disappointing season for Sillinger and the Blue Jackets, but they made the smart move by sending him down to the AHL. He needs to regain his swagger, then come back to the NHL a more polished, confident center. I still fully believe he’s a future second or third line center for this team, but I would expect him to start next season back in Cleveland, working with the developmental staff down there. He’ll only be 20 years old, so there’s still plenty of time to get his game back to a strong level.