One Other Thing the Blue Jackets Can do to Help Dmitri Voronkov Adjust

Over the weekend, it was reported by various outlets that Blue Jacket rookie Dmitri Voronkov was feeling homesick and pondering a return to Russia. Is there one key thing that they’ve overlooked, which might help him adjust quicker?

This would be another gut punch for a Blue Jacket team that has already had its share of troubles keeping talented players over the years. But in this case, it wouldn’t be a talented superstar leaving for a warmer climate. Or a two car garage. Or, the country music scene (you get the idea). No, none of that – this example would be a skilled young rookie who simply hasn’t been able to settle in to North America through the first few months of his career.

For that reason, maybe this opportunity is more salvageable. The team has surrounded him with fellow Russian countrymen, including some great personalities like Kirill Marchenko and Yegor Chinakhov. They’re also linking him up with former Jacket defenseman and current Central Ohio resident Fedor Tyutin, with hopes that they can help him start loving life in the United States.

But, there’s one fact about sports that I know to be true, regardless the language barriers, or other obstacles in the way: winning cures everything. And, winning is something the Blue Jackets just haven’t quite figured out yet. They’ve only won 6 of their 22 games so far this season, and while they have been close in a lot of those losses, it’s frustrating to play for a team that loses consistently.

If the weariness is, at least in part, because of losing, it will be hard to keep the talented big man around for much longer. I can’t even say he needs to do more to be part of the solution – he’s been solid for the team, scoring 3 goals and 9 points in 16 games played – while averaging just 12:48 on-ice minutes per game.

Hopefully this is just speculation on my part, because I don’t see many indications that this team will get itself righted quickly enough to make a big difference this season. Voronkov has been really good – honestly, far better than I expected early on. They have to keep him around because he could turn into a big piece of this team’s future puzzle.