The Blue Jackets’ roster is set for their season-opener Thursday against the Philadelphia Flyers and they didn’t have to put any projected NHL players on waivers.
Placing forward Mathieu Olivier (leg), forward Yegor Chinakhov (back) and goalie Daniil Tarasov (knee) on injured reserve non-roster/injury status helped the Jackets avoid using the waiver wire, but settling on a 23-man NHL roster wasn’t easy.
“Mixed feelings because we had to make some hard decisions,” Blue Jackets coach Pascal Vincent said Monday. “These are the moments you don’t like. Some guys are not going to be here and they’re so close … some good camps. On the flip side, I’m very excited to drop it to one group working with our (coaching staff) and getting ready for Thursday.”
Here are five roster decisions that made it tough on the Blue Jackets in training camp:
This had to be the Jackets’ toughest decision among those who didn’t make the opening roster. Blankenburg, 25, is an NHL defenseman who will start out with the Cleveland Monsters in the American Hockey League because of his contract and a numbers game.
Blankenburg hasn’t spent a single day in the AHL since signing with the Blue Jackets in April 2022 out of the University of Michigan, but has only logged 43 NHL games due to a broken foot last season. He hasn’t played enough games to shed a “waivers exempt” status and can be assigned to the AHL without being claimed by another team. That plus the Blue Jackets carrying seven defensemen instead of eight are the biggest reasons Blankenburg will play in Cleveland, where he’ll make his NHL salary of $850,000.
“At the end of the day, I can’t control an injury or whether they’re putting me in the lineup or not,” Blankenburg said during camp. “I’m just trying to focus on the things that I can control … I’m not trying to put all my worth into hockey. Whether I’m in Cleveland or Columbus, I know what kind of person I am and what kind of player I am, so I feel like that’s the biggest thing for me.”
Sending Mateychuk to Moosejaw of the junior level Western Hockey League had to be right up there with not keeping Blankenburg in terms of tough calls.
Mateychuk, 19, proved why the Blue Jackets selected him 12th overall in 2022. He arrived in great shape, showed off his high-end skating, passing and defending skills with the Blue Jackets’ prospect team in Traverse City, Michigan and continued to impress in Columbus.
Mateychuk looked like an NHL defenseman during his four exhibition games, logging three assists and finishing with a +2 plus/minus rating. He’s poised for a huge season in the WHL and will aim to become a top defenseman for Canada at the 2024 world junior championship.
Mateychuk likely would’ve made the opening NHL roster for teams with less depth on the blue line, but the Blue Jackets are loaded with NHL-caliber defensemen capable of playing where he’d likely sit into the lineup. Mateychuk also is restricted by the NHL’s agreement with the Canadian Hockey League junior system that prevents players who are under 20 from playing in the American Hockey League if they don’t make an NHL roster.
“I feel like I’ve done a good job of not taking a step back when playing against those professional guys,” Mateychuk said in camp. “(The NHL) is the best league in the world, so you want to be able to play with those guys. Last year, I played well in Traverse City, but I shied away in (training) camp. This season, I came in with a different mind-set.”
Forward Jordan Dumais
Dumais, 19, is in the same boat as Mateychuk when it comes to the NHL/CHL agreement on players under 20 years of age. That’s why he’s probably ticketed for a return trip to the Halifax Mooseheads of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League once he recovers from an upper-body injury.
It’s unknown when Dumais’ injury occurred, but he did enough in Traverse City, camp scrimmages and two preseason games to open a lot of eyes. Dumais’ continued summer work on improving his skating also paid off with more a more explosive stride, which should help him dominate at the junior level again. Dumais, like Mateychuk, is currently blocked in Columbus by a glut of NHL-caliber forwards, so the Blue Jackets want him to play a huge role again for Halifax.
“Everything here, I try to take as a positive,” Dumais said before his injury. “I’m learning every day. You always want to play at the best level you can, but I’m ready to do whatever. If I get sent back or whatever happens, I’m ready.
A lot of Blue Jackets fans assumed Jiricek would make the NHL roster after excelling last season in Cleveland.
It didn’t happen for the same reasons that Mateychuk and Blankenburg didn’t make it. He’s exempt from waivers and the Blue Jackets already have an overload of NHL-level defensemen with more experience. Jiricek could also use more development time in the AHL to iron out inconsistencies from the preseason.
Jiricek, 19, made his NHL debut with four games last season and did flash some elite-level skill during this year’s camp. He’ll now continue to develop into an impact defenseman in the AHL a little while longer.
“I’m just going to play and see what happens,” Jiricek said before camp. “I hope I will be good in training camp. If not, I have to get better and have some good games in Cleveland.”
Voronkov, 23, isn’t like a lot of his new teammates on the Cleveland Monsters. He’s already filled out physically and has played professionally in Russia the past three years.
In that regard, he’s similar to Kirill Marchenko at this time last season. Marchenko needed time at the AHL level to adapt to a faster pace of play in North America and he wound up dominating for the Monsters before the Blue Jackets recalled him in early December.
Voronkov doesn’t speak or understand nearly as much English as Marchenko, which is another challenge. The concern is Voronkov becoming frustrated with the process and heading back to the KHL without developing into an NHL force. Assuming he sticks it out, Voronkov’s skill, snarly disposition and 6-foot-5, 235-pound frame could make him a problem in the NHL for years to come.
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus Blue Jackets: 5 tough decisions in final roster cutdown
