With the NHL taking a 19-day break during the Winter Olympics for their players to compete on behalf of their countries (including the Blue Jackets' very own Zach Werenski and Elvis Merzlikins), it's time to look back on the season up to this point and what we can expect going forward.
Today I'd like to look a little farther up the road from the Blue Jackets, taking Interstate 71 to Rocket Arena and the Cleveland Monsters, featuring many former Columbus draft picks and even a few players under contract with the big league club.
A quick look at the Monsters as a team
So far, the Monsters are 23-15-7 through 45 games, which places them in a tie for third in the North Division, and firmly in the 23-team playoff picture, although there's plenty of time for movement in the standings with 27 games still left to go.
However, the Monsters will have a small break of their own. On February 10th and 11th, All-Star festivities are taking place in the AHL, so although it's a far cry from the dry stretch we have to endure in the NHL right now, it's a nice break for all but one of the players, but we'll touch on that later.
They are coached by Trent Vogelhuber, who has been in charge for four years and behind the bench for eight. He's someone Blue Jackets fans might want to keep an eye on, as he may be a sneaky coaching candidate in Columbus going forward, although a coaching change is the last thing the organization should have in mind right now.
I don't want to take up too much of your time today, so in this article we're going to take a close look at the Monsters forwards group, and we'll be doing the same thing later on with the team's defenders and goalies. To start with the group up front, let's go over the plethora of experience in the Monsters lineup.