Columbus Blue Jackets Season in Review: Kirill Marchenko

The Blue Jackets played the patient game with Kirill Marchenko, allowing him to develop in Russia for four years after being drafted. After finally coming to North America this season, the early returns on the talented winger are very positive.

Originally the team’s second round pick (#49 overall) at the 2018 NHL Draft, Marchenko was viewed as a bit of a project at the time the selection was made. There were two major concerns here; one, he’s Russian, and playing in Russia, which means that teams were afraid he might not come over; and two, his foot speed raised concerns.

But the Jackets saw potential with a big bodied, talented player, and it sure looks like their scouts found a gem here. Marchenko was trending up in a big way through the 2020-21 season, where he scored 15 goals and 28 points in 41 KHL games. But as things go in that league, his ice time was slashed drastically for the 2021-22 season; likely due to his unwillingness to sign an extension to stay in Russia.

Instead, Marchenko signed a two-year contract with the Blue Jackets last May, and finally made the jump to North America over the summer. He stood out early in the team’s rookie camp and at the Traverse City Prospects Tournament, but was sent to the AHL after main camp to further his development and help him adjust to the North American style game.

All he did was go to work and dominate in the AHL, scoring 8 goals and 19 points in 16 games with the Cleveland Monsters. He earned a recalled by the Jackets and made his NHL debut on December 6th against the Pittsburgh Penguins. It took him a little while to get his offensive game going, but right away, his compete level and willingness to go to the hard areas stood out.

It wasn’t perfect for him, but he established himself fairly quickly and the team was never able to send him back down. Once the goals started coming, he really took off, eventually setting the franchise record by a rookie with 21 goals – despite only 59 games played. Now, it’s worth noting that he shot at a ridiculous 16% pace – but, if you watched his game, his compete level and drive to get to the scoring areas; combined with his desire to do nothing but shoot the puck, showed that he’s got big time goal scoring potential.

Final season stats: 59 games played, 21 goals, 4 assists, 25 points, 16 PIMs, -23, 131 shots on goal. Overall grade: B+

In a down year for the Jackets, Marchenko was a standout player, finishing the season on the top line with Johnny Gaudreau. This wasn’t just due to the injuries, either. He earned his way there, and once there, looked more comfortable on that line than any other player had all season. There’s still a lot to work on and plenty of room to grow, but the Jackets would be wise to lock Marchenko up long-term as soon as they can. He looks every bit the part of a core piece of this team’s future.