The Columbus Blue Jackets are running a smaller training camp this year, at least in comparison to recent years. With 52 players split between two groups, you can start to whittle things down pretty quickly just based off of the returning NHL players.
New head coach Dean Evason and new GM Don Waddell both spoke about going with a smaller camp this year, to give them more of an opportunity to get to know and work with the players who are going to actually be on the team. With that in mind, there are far fewer wild cards (invitees) in the mix, so you can pretty quickly start to separate NHL players from non-NHL players from these groups:
When the #CBJ players hit the ice tomorrow, here’s a look at how they’ll be broken up into two groups for the start of camp. pic.twitter.com/JO33ixswWO
— Jeff Svoboda (@JacketsInsider) September 18, 2024
The invitees who are here this year, are not of the same caliber that we saw last year. There is no James Neal or Ben Harpur being brought in to make things interesting. Just as an example, I think it's fair to say that we can expect both Adam Fantilli (19) and James van Riemsdyk (21) to make the cut ahead of invitee Curtis Hall (20), out of group 1.
With all of that in mind, let's get after our predictions and breakdowns. On the next page we'll start with the easiest position.