Fall training camps are rapidly approaching, and the Blue Jackets are filling out their training camp rosters accordingly. This week, the team announced three free agent invitees to camp. What can we expect to see, and what are the odds of any of these guys picking up contracts?
If you look over the NHL roster, it’s going to be really tough for anybody to wow the Jackets enough to make the big club this fall. There is a lot of competition at every skater position, perhaps more than we’ve ever seen; to the point where we’re asking ourselves which viable NHL player might be cut from the team at training camp.
With that said, there is room in the system for additional help, so it’s entirely possible that contracts could be handed out – they have room for an additional six players under pro deals. The team has signed three players to PTO (professional tryout agreements): center Nate Schnarr, defenseman Nicolas Meloche, and goaltender Aaron Dell; each will have the chance to prove their worth to the team at camp next month.
We’ll start off with Aaron Dell, who is probably the most likely player of the three to earn a deal. The Jackets are currently set to enter the season with just three goaltenders: Elvis Merzlikins, Daniil Tarasov, and Jet Greaves. Both of their projected NHL goaltenders (Merzlikins and Tarasov) have long histories of injury troubles. And while Jet Greaves has been solid; he’s still very young and inexperienced – so adding a veteran goalie seems to be an important piece of business still remaining for the Jackets before the season.
Who better than Dell? A veteran of 130 NHL games (split amongst three teams), Dell could be the perfect fit for the situation here. If signed, he could take a share of the starts and mentor Greaves at the AHL level; and be called up to the NHL on an as-needed basis. He’s played at nearly every level of professional hockey and has been a solid goaltender at every stop; including a career .905 save percentage and 2.92 goals against average in the NHL. This is impressive, if you look at the teams he’s been a part of.
I don’t see him pushing out either of Merzlikins or Tarasov, but the 34 year old could be a good under-the-radar add for the club. I would put his odds of getting a contract at 50% … we know they need someone for this role, and as of this moment, he’s the only guy they’ve brought in. Unless a better option comes along, I would not be surprised to see a one year, two-way contract given out to Dell sometime before the season starts.
Nate Schnarr was originally a third round pick (#75 overall) of the Arizona Coyotes, back in 2017. He has yet to play in an NHL game, but he’s a big center (6’3″, 185lbs) who has shown a penchant for being a solid 200-foot player. He can win faceoffs, kills penalties, and does a lot of the little things that might not be obvious, but are important in games. I think Nate is probably playing for an AHL contract at this point in his career.
Nicolas Meloche is in an eerily similar situation. Originally a second round pick for the Colorado Avalanche (#40 overall, 2015), the defenseman is two years older than Schnarr. He’s got good size too (6’3″, 212 pounds), and he’s shown that he can play a heavy physical game. He’s also a good skater, who has had some productive years in the AHL.
Meloche is also probably playing for an AHL contract – but as far as right-hand shot defensemen go, it’s really tough to see him cracking even the Cleveland roster, unless the team sees something they really like. The team already has 9 right-hand shooting defensemen on pro contracts, with roughly 8 jobs available between Columbus and Cleveland. This PTO really feels like the team just wanted to add some toughness to the preseason roster.
I would put the odds of Schnarr or Meloche getting a contract fairly low, though I won’t say there’s no chance. Anything can happen once training camp kicks off on September 20th. We’ll provide coverage and analysis every step of the way; be sure to follow the site and our social media pages!