Union and Blue
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After just two preseason games, a team identity for the Blue Jackets is becoming clearer

As surprising as this may be, the Columbus Blue Jackets still have two weeks of preseason work to complete and 47 players still at camp. Despite it still being early, the club has already shown clear signs of the type of game that head coach Dean Evason will have them play in 2024-2025.
ByMike Stump|
Feb 23, 2024; Columbus, Ohio, USA; Columbus Blue Jackets left wing Kent Johnson (91) avoids the check of Buffalo Sabres center Peyton Krebs (19) during the third period at Nationwide Arena. Mandatory Credit: Russell LaBounty-Imagn Images
Feb 23, 2024; Columbus, Ohio, USA; Columbus Blue Jackets left wing Kent Johnson (91) avoids the check of Buffalo Sabres center Peyton Krebs (19) during the third period at Nationwide Arena. Mandatory Credit: Russell LaBounty-Imagn Images | Russell LaBounty-Imagn Images
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Denton Mateychuk is legit.

Denton Mateychuk
Pittsburgh Penguins v Columbus Blue Jackets | Jason Mowry/GettyImages

We here at Union and Blue are big Denton Mateychuk fans, and Denton only reinforced that position during the game against St. Louis.

The former twelfth-overall pick showed out on Wednesday for the first time this season in front of a Nationwide Arena crowd as he scored a goal just seconds after ripping one off the post, both of which came off brilliant feeds from the aforementioned Kent Johnson.

Mateychuk has spent the last two seasons in the WHL honing his two-way game to the point where I doubt his slightly undersized frame will impact him at all at the NHL level, and he showed that against the Blues. Going up against NHL regulars like Robert Thomas and Jordan Kyrou, Mateychuk was poised, calm, and effective in all three zones. He distributed the puck well, kept the puck to the end boards in the defensive zone, and was effective with his plays in the neutral zone.

He is a Defenseman who impacts all areas of the game. As members of the club have said over the last few training camps, he seems mature and experienced beyond what his age of twenty would suggest. He is a prospect those unaware of him before now should keep an eye on, and I feel that he has the highest upside of any prospect in the organization not named Adamo.

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