Columbus Blue Jacket Prospect Watch: Jordan Dumais Dominating

After starting the season on the IR list with an injury suffered during training camp, Blue Jacket prospect Jordan Dumais returned to the Halifax Mooseheads of the QMJHL. Just two weeks into his season, he is absolutely dominating that league.

All we expected from Jordan Dumais was dominance. Fortunately for us, he’s been able to live up to that expectation so far. Just 5 games into his season with the Mooseheads, Dumais has 6 goals and 8 assists for a whopping 14 points. In that span, the Mooseheads are 4-1-0, and as a team they’re averaging more than five goals per game (26 goals total).

Prior to Jordan’s return, the Mooseheads were off to a 6-3-1 start, scoring 31 goals in those 10 games (roughly 3 per game). You can see the difference he’s making just based on those comparisons: Halifax is a much different team with him in the lineup. He’s already tied for third on the team in scoring, in spite of the fact that he’s played in 8-10 fewer games than every other notable contributor.

Dumais is terrific with the puck on his stick. He has that rare ability to control the pace of the game, buying time for plays to develop before making his decision. His understanding of the offensive game is outstanding; he sees plays before they actually develop, and has the ability to dish off great passes, or lay in the weeds and score goals with his quick, deceptive release.

It was unlikely that he was going to even come close to making the Blue Jackets this season. Part of that was due to the sheer numbers in Columbus – too many players vying for too few jobs. But, the other part of that is that he still needs to dial in the secondary areas of his game. Getting physically stronger and learning the nuances of the defensive zone are key for him. Once he improves off the puck, he’ll be ready to contribute at the next level.

With that said, I do think that Jordan would have been ready to play in the AHL this season, had he been eligible. It’s somewhat unfair to him (and the rest of the QMJHL) that he had to go back. He’s going to dominate that league all season long; with his skill and hockey IQ, he’s more than capable of maintaining his current average of almost 3 points per game.

I expect Jordan to make team Canada for the World Junior Championships (taking place after Christmas), and be a key offensive contributor. Hopefully that can be his “coming out party”, and everyone outside of the Halifax and CBJ communities will see just how good he is.