Columbus Blue Jackets 2023-2024 Player Review: Kirill Marchenko

Drafted back in 2018, the Blue Jackets waited until the summer of 2022 for winger Kirill Marchenko to come to North America from Russia. His combination of skill, size, and hockey sense really attracted the team.

He began the 2022-2023 season in Cleveland but was called up about a quarter of the way through the season and never looked back. He burst on the NHL scene, scoring 21 goals in 59 games.

His offensive skill excited the fans and CBJ management. Marchenko had the potential to become one of the better goal scorers in the NHL.

For this past season (2023-2024), Marchenko both improved and regressed in certain ways. He improved his passing (4 assists up to 19 assists) and point total (25 points up to 42 points) from his rookie season to this past season.

However, his goal total was almost identical (21 goals in 2022-2023, 23 goals in 2023-2024). He played 19 more games this past season, meaning his goals per game decreased from 0.36 to 0.29.

That may not seem like a lot, but it did seem as though Marchenko had a harder time scoring goals this past year. For a player who is known for goal scoring, it was somewhat of a disappointment that he didn’t increase his goal totals by more.

While 23 goals on the season is still good, I think a lot of people were expecting more from Marchenko this past season.

While his goal totals stayed relatively the same, I still believe that Marchenko had a good year and did develop into a better overall player in 2023-2024.

Marchenko will be a restricted free agent this summer and will most definitely be signed by the Blue Jackets. He will be a part of the CBJ young core for years to come.

He has the potential to be an elite goal scorer in this league. While the new general manager still needs to decide what contract to offer Marchenko, I believe that the CBJ should sign him long-term now. He will be 24 this summer and signing him to a 6+ year deal ensures that Marchenko plays most of his prime years with the CBJ.

Marchenko increased his point total from his rookie year and played a more well rounded game this season. The reason he only gets a B is because his goal total was almost the same as his rookie season, yet he played 19 fewer games in his rookie season than this past season.