It's time for the youth movement to take the leap of faith.
All throughout this most recent rebuild, we have made mention that this team would not be ready to contend until the young players they suffered to draft so high started taking the lead. That has not happened to this point, at least not consistently.
Right at the top of the list is a player who remains unsigned to this point. Adam Fantilli is already this team's top line center, even though he scored just 59 points last season. That is how starved this team is for offenses.
After missing the last half of his rookie season due to a freak injury, he got a partial pass for starting the 2024-25 slowly. I can't speak for what happened this last season, but he didn't really get going until the midway point of the year. Maybe it was the lack of a game plan, or just a general dearth of talent. Maybe it was Kent Johnson's own slow start. That all has to change this year.
If Adam comes out of the gates playing the way he did in the final 30 or so games last year, he's well on his way to being the 80-point center this team hoped they were getting with their third overall pick.
But, he's not the only one. Johnson regressed in a big way, dropping from 57 points in 68 games; all the way down to 22 points in 76 games last season. He has to have a big rebound year this season, there is no other way to shake it.
If the Jackets can get another 20 or so points from Fantilli, and 40-50 points from Johnson: they are going to be just fine. Even if the rest of the roster just keeps doing what they are fully capable of doing, this is a 100-point team with those two guys breaking out.
Not to be overlooked: Denton Mateychuk could be a big wild card for this team on the blue line. I'm hopeful (though, not really optimistic) that this coaching staff gives him the deployment he has earned but not gotten so far. Put #5 on the second power-play unit, you cowards!
Finally, how good does this team become if Cole Sillinger takes the next step offensively? There is plenty of support around him, and I would love to see him regain that offensive swagger he showed as an 18 year old rookie in this league.
This is a veteran-laden roster with no excuses.
In conclusion, it's a lot of "ifs", as we have come to expect. However this year, there is plenty of reasons to be optimistic that they can get over the hump. I think they have a good enough roster. The pieces are mostly in place. They just need everyone to pull in the same direction.
If that doesn't happen, well, I'm afraid we're heading back into another long rebuild. Fingers crossed that they can figure it out.
Add us as a preferred source on Google