Blue Jackets Sign Boston Buckberger
The Columbus Blue Jackets have signed two-time NCAA national champion defenseman Boston Buckberger to a two-year, entry-level contract. The deal will start next season. He attended development camp with the Blue Jackets in 2025.
In the official team announcement, president of hockey operations and GM Don Waddell said of Buckberger:
Boston Buckberger is a smart, skilled defenseman who can play in all situations and has a championship pedigree. He was among the top scoring defensemen in college hockey this year and a big part of Denver’s championship team. We are very excited that he is now part of the Blue Jackets organization.
As Waddell mentioned, Buckberger made a name for himself on a national stage at Denver. He was an instant-impact defenseman for head coach David Carle, scoring 27 points in 44 games. He was able to build on that strong freshman campaign the following year, potting nine goals and 30 points in 41 contests. This season, he scored 10 goals and 28 points in 42 games.
While Buckberger has never been the Pioneers’ top offensive option from the blueline (Zeev Buium held that honor the first two seasons, and Eric Pohlkamp this year) he has nonetheless been able to consistently deliver value in whatever role he played. We named him as a player to watch in this year’s NCAA free agency class earlier this month, noting that “there might not be big upside” in Buckberger “returning for his senior season.”
That’s something Buckberger appears to have agreed with, as he elected to sign his entry-level deal and forgo returning to the Pioneers.
Columbus does have a track record to point to when it comes to developing top NCAA blueliners. They signed then-University of Michigan captain Nick Blankenburg in 2022, and he quickly became an NHLer for the Blue Jackets. He also impressed with the Nashville Predators and was a trade deadline addition of the Colorado Avalanche.
While Buckberger isn’t an exact one-to-one stylistic comparable for Blankenburg (he’s a bit bigger, for example), he’ll nonetheless likely hope to have an early career that resembles how Blankenburg’s has gone.
Blue Jackets Sign Joshua Eernisse To One-Year, Entry-Level Contract
The Columbus Blue Jackets have signed college free agent Joshua Eernisse to a one-year, entry-level contract set to begin in the 2026-27 season. The University of Michigan winger will finish the 2025-26 season on a professional try-out contract with the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters.
Eernisse’s senior season in college hockey came to a close with Michigan’s double-overtime loss to the University of Denver in the Frozen Four. He scored one of Michigan’s three goals in the semifinal matchup and totaled 25:48 in ice time, the third-most on Michigan’s offense. Eernisse filled a reliable role for the Wolverines all season long. His high-energy motor and ability to play through contact was invaluable to a Michigan team built around young, skilled forwards.
Eernisse’s quick passing and drive towards the net helped him rack up 19 points in 38 games, the most he’s scored in three years with the Wolverines. He did reach 21 points in 36 games of his freshman season at the University of St. Thomas. That production was an exciting spark after two quiet seasons in the USHL and earned Eernisse a transfer to the Big Ten. There, his 6-foot-3 and 210-pound frame helped cement a checking role in the Wolverines’ middle-six. Eernisse will lean on his ability to stand up to puck battles and win space in the slot as he transitions to the pro flight.
The Cleveland Monsters have clinched a spot in the AHL’s Calder Cup Playoffs. Much of their success has come from a fortified top-six, where Mikael Pyyhtia, Luca Pinelli, and Owen Sillinger have clawed out spots as three of Cleveland’s top-five scorers. Their standing could push Eernisse into a third-line role as he sets up for his pro debut. He will likely step in for hard-nosed winger Tate Singleton, who graduated from Michigan’s rival Ohio State University in 2023. Singleton has 11 points and 54 penalty minutes in 39 AHL games, and 10 points in 10 ECHL games, this season. Eernisse could top Singleton’s scoring and physicality – a potential X-factor addition as the Monsters eye their first championship since 2016.
Marchment Should Play Tonight
- It appears that the Blue Jackets will get a key winger back tonight. Aaron Portzline of The Athletic notes (Twitter link) that Mason Marchment was a full participant in the morning skate on the top line, suggesting that he’ll return after missing Thursday’s game due to an undisclosed injury. The 30-year-old has been a key contributor since being acquired early in the year from Seattle, notching 14 goals and 13 assists in just 33 games since then. Officially, he’s listed as a game-time decision.
Blue Jackets’ Damon Severson Undergoes Shoulder Surgery, Out For Season
April 3: After additional evaluation, Severson won’t be an option this season again at all. He underwent shoulder surgery yesterday and will not be an option to play again in 2025-26, per a team release Friday. It’s unclear if his return timeline could drag into training camp in the fall.
March 27: Blue Jackets defenseman Damon Severson is out week-to-week with the upper-body injury he sustained in last night’s loss to the Canadiens, head coach Rick Bowness said Friday.
Severson scored Columbus’ only goal in the 2-1 regulation loss before taking a hard hit from Zachary Bolduc, who scored the eventual game-winner, with 8:04 remaining in the third period. He skated off and immediately went to the room, favoring his left shoulder.
The Blue Jackets obviously lost a bit of ground in the Eastern Conference playoff race with the loss, but their strong underlying numbers still leave them with a 77.9% chance of making the playoffs, per MoneyPuck, despite having the league’s third-most difficult remaining strength of schedule. At 87 points, they’re tied with the Islanders for third place in the Metropolitan Division but have a game in hand, winning the tiebreaker and pushing the Isles to the second wild-card slot.
That playoff likelihood drops a bit without Severson, who is having a resurgent campaign in Columbus. The 31-year-old righty had a pair of underwhelming seasons after signing an eight-year, $50MM deal in 2023 as part of a sign-and-trade with the Devils, even sitting as a healthy scratch for a few games last season, but has re-emerged as a does-it-all top-four piece with the best possession numbers of his career.
Through 71 games, Severson has an 8-24–32 scoring line while averaging 21:04 of ice time per game. Coupled with a career-best +18 rating, it’s his best offensive showing as a Blue Jacket and the third-best of his 12-year career on a per-game basis.
It’s what Severson has done to drive play at even strength, though, that has made him especially valuable. The Blue Jackets are controlling 54.4% of shot attempts at even strength with him on the ice – a number that even eclipses Zach Werenski – and can step in as a second-unit power play quarterback when needed.
Columbus doesn’t have an extra righty sitting around on the active roster. Youngster Denton Mateychuk, who’s gotten comfortable playing his offside on a pairing next to Ivan Provorov at points over the last couple of years, will shift back there for the time being. Egor Zamula, a healthy scratch in nine of the Jackets’ last 10 games, will presumably step back into the lineup in a bottom-pairing role.
Blue Jackets Recall Zach Aston-Reese
The Blue Jackets have recalled forward Zach Aston-Reese from the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters under emergency conditions, the team announced Wednesday.
Aston-Reese, 31, spent the first several months of the season on the active roster before clearing waivers in January. He’s been with Cleveland ever since, but could get a look in spot duty here after center Isac Lundeström left last night’s loss to the Hurricanes with an undisclosed injury.
The Blue Jackets had made up significant ground in the Eastern Conference playoff race with their seemingly perpetual hot streak under new head coach Rick Bowness, but a rash of injuries has put a stop to that for now. Damon Severson, Dmitri Voronkov, Mathieu Olivier, and now Lundeström have landed designations in recent days, leaving them winless in their last four while falling back into the second wild-card slot in the Eastern Conference.
Columbus recalled center Luca Del Bel Belluz from Cleveland on Monday. He was the lone extra forward for last night’s game, so it remains to be seen whether he or Aston-Reese will enter the lineup for tomorrow’s rematch against Carolina. Regardless, the Jackets will have an extra forward to spare even if Lundeström needs to sit out a game.
Aston-Reese, once a fourth-line mainstay for the Penguins, Ducks, and Maple Leafs, has swung between an NHL option and an AHL regular over the last few seasons. He logged just three NHL appearances while on a two-way deal with the Red Wings in 2023-24. He signed with the Golden Knights the following offseason but was claimed by Columbus during training camp. He stuck with the Blue Jackets full-time, rebounding to play in a career-high 79 games while tying his career high of 17 points.
The defensive-minded winger slipped down the depth chart to start this year, though. Amid their midseason pickups of Danton Heinen and Mason Marchment, Aston-Reese hit waivers again after only managing 1-4–5 scoring line in 26 outings while averaging just 9:37 per game.
He can still be a solid plug-and-play physical presence. Only Olivier has more hits per game among Columbus skaters this season than Aston-Reese at 2.73, and he’s been a top-nine factor in Cleveland with seven goals and 14 points there in 25 games. He is a natural center but has played mostly on the wing throughout his NHL career, in no small part due to his 35.5% lifetime faceoff win percentage.
Blue Jackets Recall Luca Del Bel Belluz
The Columbus Blue Jackets announced that they’ve recalled forward Luca Del Bel Belluz from the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters. Del Bel Belluz last played in the NHL with the Blue Jackets shortly before Christmas earlier this season.
Del Bel Belluz, 22, has been an intriguing prospect in Columbus’s system for a few years now. He’s been an exceptional scorer at the AHL level with the Monsters, but has yet to put it together in hockey’s top league.
Since debuting in the professional ranks in the 2023-24 season, Del Bel Belluz has scored 58 goals and 141 points in 172 games for AHL Cleveland. That production hasn’t been enough to warrant any awards or recognitions in the AHL, but he has essentially been a point-per-game player for the past two years.
Given that production, it’s fairly confusing why he hasn’t gotten a longer opportunity at the NHL level, especially this year. Last season, Del Bel Belluz scored two goals and eight points in 15 games for the Blue Jackets, averaging 13:45 of ice time in a middle-six role.
Still, it’s not like Del Bel Belluz hasn’t gotten any opportunities this year. Throughout the 2025-26 campaign, Del Bel Belluz has only tallied one assist in 12 games, averaging 8:46 of ice time on the team’s fourth line. Del Bel Belluz has yet to play for the Blue Jackets under the tutelage of Rick Bowness.
There’s reason to believe that Del Bel Belluz will increase his point totals if he gets any significant ice time throughout his current call-up. Before the hiring of Bowness, Columbus averaged three goals per game. Since his hire, the team has averaged just over 3.5.
Mathieu Olivier Leaves Game With Upper-Body Injury
It’s a similar move to what the Columbus Blue Jackets did with Rick Bowness, albeit with much more time remaining in the season. However, even if the Tortorella experiment isn’t fruitful, the Golden Knights could explore a reunion with Peter DeBoer, hire Jay Woodcroft away from the Anaheim Ducks, or take a run at David Carle at the University of Denver. That’s all before any other teams make changes leading into the summer.
- The Boston Bruins were without one of their top-four defensemen in their comeback win over the Blue Jackets earlier today. Before the game, Boston’s play-by-play broadcaster, Ryan Johnson, shared that Mason Lohrei is dealing with a minor lower-body injury and is considered day-to-day. Despite the Bruins’ success, Lohrei has had a difficult month, scoring one goal and two points in 14 games with a +2 rating.
- On the other side of the game, the Blue Jackets lost middle-six forward Mathieu Olivier to an upper-body injury during the game, as announced by the club. Olivier skated in 3:06 of action across six shifts, registering one shot on goal and two hits. His injury is likely connected to fighting Bruins forward Mark Kastelic late in the first period.
Latest On Dmitri Voronkov
Pittsburgh Penguins legends Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin both were full participants in practice today, while Bryan Rust and Noel Acciari were absent for maintenance days, reported by Michelle Crechiolo, Penguins Team Reporter.
Head coach Dan Muse went on to say that all besides Malkin will travel with the team for tomorrow’s game at the Islanders, while his status requires further evaluation.
Crosby left mid-game at Ottawa last week, and missed yesterday’s 6-3 loss to Dallas. Meanwhile, Malkin has been out for the Pens’ last three games. As a result, they’ve secured just two points in that time while short handed up front. Pittsburgh has just one regulation win in their last seven tries, but the team is still expected to return to the postseason this year and cap off an impressive rejuvenating campaign.
Even if they’re not back to full strength tomorrow in a big inter-divisional tilt on Long Island, Muse should have his stars back in time for Tuesday against the desperate Red Wings.
Elsewhere across the league:
- The Blue Jackets will be missing Dmitri Voronkov tonight against Boston, per Aaron Portzline of The Athletic. The forward left their last game after blocking a shot in the hand area. He’s thought to be week-to-week. Voronkov has 32 points in 63 games, a slight dip from last year’s breakout 47 point effort. The numbers are hardly an issue as he’s mainly deployed in a complementary role, and the team supplemented their forward corps by adding Mason Marchment and Conor Garland. Currently holding onto the second Wild Card spot, the club hopes they’ll be playing into late April, enough time for Voronkov to return.
- Stars forward Nathan Bastian won’t play tonight in Philadelphia, noted by Mike Heika, Senior Staff Writer for Stars.com. The forward was injured last night against the Penguins after a hand injury from a shot, similar to Voronkov’s above, and left mid-game. As a result Adam Erne will fill in. Both Bastian and Erne are virtually identical in their roles for the Stars. The former second-round picks were both signed for $775k to provide fourth line depth for the high flying club. Bastian has played 36 games so far to Erne’s 37. They have essentially the same stat lines, with six and five goals respectively, one assist each.
Dmitri Voronkov Exits Game With Injury
- The Columbus Blue Jackets didn’t exit the ice tonight with just a regulation loss. Before the conclusion of the game, the Blue Jackets announced that winger Dmitri Voronkov had left the game with an upper-body injury. Before leaving the game with an injury, Voronkov registered 4:03 of ice time in seven shifts, adding one blocked shot and two hits.
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Latest On Charlie Elick
Columbus Blue Jackets prospect Charlie Elick will join the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters this week and embark on his professional career, according to Aaron Portzline of The Athletic.
Standing at 6’3” and a right-handed shot, Elick came in at 10th in the Blue Jackets system last summer according to Steven Ellis of The Daily Faceoff. The Calgary native has solid mobility for a physical shutdown defender, and his ranking is more indicative of a well stocked Columbus system, as he’d come in higher in many other team’s pools. It won’t be immediate considering their wide age gap, but he naturally lines up as a long term replacement for veteran Erik Gudbranson‘s on-ice role, whose contract expires this summer.