Blue Jackets color analyst Jody Shelley gets well-deserved national TV position

Amazon will have exclusive TV rights to NHL games this season, debuting their weekly Prime Monday Night Hockey game. Starting on October 14, they'll hold a nationally televised game that you can stream via Prime Video.

Today, they announced their broadcast crew. Led by some of the more well-known names around hockey broadcasting, including Mark Messier and with John Forslund working the play-by-play; it is a talented and diverse group.

It's a solid crew put together by Prime. In my opinion, Forslund is the best play-by-play guy in the game right now (with a nod to our very own Steve Mears!), and it will be exciting to hear his voice more often. Joining Forslund on the call at least part of the time: Blue Jackets color analyst Jody Shelley.

Jody has been honing his skills with the Blue Jackets since retiring from the NHL in 2013, and quietly has developed into one of the best color guys in the sport. With a light-hearted approach and high intelligence for the game, we're really fortunate to get to hear his voice throughout each CBJ season.

The best part: Shelley is a lifetime Blue Jacket, and he'll represent our organization very well with a voice at the national level. He originally made his NHL debut with the Jackets in their inaugural season (2000-01). He spent parts of seven seasons in Columbus, and still sits second in franchise history with 1,025 penalty minutes. A nice, round number, divisible by 5. Wouldn't have it any other way.

After leaving Columbus, he had stints with the San Jose Sharks, New York Rangers, and Philadelphia Flyers; before finally retiring after the 2012-13 season. Even with those other stops, he opted to spend his retirement in Central Ohio, as an ambassador for the Blue Jacket organization. I'm glad he did.

This recognition is well-earned for Jody, having forged his path to the NHL in the most difficult way imaginable: with his fists. He protected his teammates and did the job that not many others wanted to do, and he did it capably.

Jody spent a lot of years analyzing the game up close and personally as an enforcer, playing in nearly every professional level of hockey there is in North America. Needless to say, all of that time in the penalty box and on the bench set him up for a nice career after his playing days were over.

I say that last part in jest - mainly because I think Jody himself would find that funny. As a player, I didn't always necessarily understand or appreciate his role to its fullest. But as a commentator, I find him delightful to listen to, and I do have a better understanding for his type and role in the NHL.

Now, he'll get the chance to relate to fans on a national level. I couldn't be happier for him.