The new approach to unlocking Dmitri Voronkov is long overdue

The Blue Jackets have quickly changed course this season, after firing Dean Evason as head coach and replacing him with Rick Bowness. As a result, a lot of players have seen their roles change. Not the least of which is forward Dmitri Voronkov.

Now in his third full season in North America, the man we affectionately know as "Big Boss" is being shown what it takes to become a true top player in the NHL.

That's not to say that he hasn't been good for this team. In fact, he's been more than we expected since coming over. Through his first two seasons in the league, he scored 41 goals and 81 points in 148 games.

Those are pretty productive totals from a guy who was taken in the 4th round of the 2019 NHL Draft. But, with all of that said, I don't think it's a stretch to say that everyone here has yearned for even more from the big man.

At 6'5" and listed around 235 pounds, he has the nickname Big Boss for a reason. He's one of the largest players in the league, so, naturally, everyone expects him to play a mean game.

Only, that hasn't been the case through most of his first 2.5 years. Sure, he'll make his presence known in the odd scrum. And, he has been known to drop the mitts from time to time (often with devastating results).

Couple that with his scoring-and his surprisingly good hockey sense on both sides of the puck; and it's not hard to see why he has been a little bit of an "easy button" for this team since coming over.

He's reliable, and at the very least he's consistent in his game. He chips in secondary scoring and does a lot more to help this team defensively than anything else. You can play him on any line, which is all you can really ask out of a young player making the adjustment to a completely different league.

Still, for this team to take the next step, they need even more. Which is what Rick Bowness is trying to unlock.

Big Boss, limited minutes?

One of the first projects Bowness has taken on since taking over, has been to find a way to get more out of the big Russian.

In the first two games after the coaching change, Dmitri had his usual ice time (around 14 minutes). He then found himself demoted to the fourth line, even earning a season-low 6:43 against the Dallas Stars last Thursday night.

But, this hasn't been a case of a guy being thrown into the doghouse with no way out. Bowness has continued to reward Dmitri with power-play time, and has been open with how he's handled things behind the scenes. He's also rewarded that fourth line with more minutes as they have played well.

As a result, we saw a different Dmitri Voronkov on Saturday night. He was far more engaged, throwing a season-high 5 hits, and putting 3 shots on goal. He also scored a breakaway goal after an aggressive takeaway at the Tampa Bay blue line.

This is why Bowness was hired as this team's head coach. Evason did a magical job last season, getting this team to within 2 points of a playoff spot in extremely difficult circumstances.

But, it wasn't working this season. While the team's plight in the standings was disappointing, I would argue that the real reason for this move was the lack of development in guys like Voronkov, Adam Fantilli, Kent Johnson, and others.

So, it's no surprise that Bowness has immediately stepped in and started challenging these guys to do more. Getting a guy like Voronkov to play to his highest level, is the first step towards unlocking this team's true potential.