Blue Jackets Recall Luca Del Bel Belluz
Now that the Carolina Hurricanes have officially clinched the second spot in the Metropolitan Division, the organization has opted to sit a multitude of players for the team’s game tonight against the Columbus Blue Jackets. With several spots in the lineup open, the team has called up defenseman Dylan Coghlan and forward Max Comtois from the Springfield Thunderbirds and Chicago Wolves, respectively.
- Preparing to make his NHL debut this evening, the Blue Jackets have recalled forward Luca Del Bel Belluz from their AHL affiliate, the Cleveland Monsters. With forward Dmitri Voronkov out of tonight’s game due to illness, Del Bel Belluz could end up centering the third line with newcomer Gavin Brindley. In his first season playing for the Blue Jackets organization, the former 44th overall selection has scored nine goals and 30 points over 55 games in the AHL this year.
Blue Jackets Notes: Fix-Wolansky, Subban, Jenner
The Columbus Blue Jackets announced that they’ve assigned forward Trey Fix-Wolansky to the Cleveland Monsters of the American Hockey League. The 24-year-old played in a career-high 11 NHL games this season with the Blue Jackets, posting two goals and an assist. The former seventh-round pick averaged a shade under 11 minutes of ice time per game and appeared to gain more confidence as the season went on. In his final appearance two nights ago he potted two goals against the Predators in 10:49 of ice time.
An undersized forward at 5’7” tall, Fix-Wolansky has been a prolific AHL scorer for the past two seasons but has been unable to carry it over to the NHL level. In 26 career NHL games, the Edmonton, Alberta native has four goals and two assists, numbers that are in stark contrast to his AHL numbers where he has 84 goals and 113 assists in 221 games.
In other Blue Jackets notes:
- The Columbus Blue Jackets have also assigned goaltender Malcolm Subban to the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters. The 30-year-old netminder is a veteran of 87 NHL games split over eight seasons but has appeared in just five NHL games over the last three years including one this season. The Toronto, Ontario native is with his fifth NHL franchise and has appeared in 206 AHL games posting a record of 89-78-29 with a 2.65 goals-against average and a .911 save percentage.
- Aaron Portzline of The Athletic is reporting that Blue Jackets forward Boone Jenner was back at team practice today as he looks to return from personal leave. It was Jenner’s first time on the ice since he and his wife Maggie announced that their son Dawson was tragically stillborn. Jenner has missed the Blue Jackets last six games but could be available for the team’s final regular season game tomorrow night against the Carolina Hurricanes. The 30-year-old has spent his entire 11-year NHL career with the Blue Jackets and is the franchise’s all-time leader in games played with 715.
Blue Jackets Sign Gavin Brindley To Entry-Level Deal
The Blue Jackets have signed forward prospect Gavin Brindley to his entry-level contract, per a team release. While the team did not disclose financial details, the three-year contract begins immediately. He’s in line to make his NHL debut tomorrow against the Hurricanes, Columbus’ final game of the regular season.
Brindley is one of the Jackets’ best forward prospects, going to them in the early second round (34th overall) of last year’s draft. He was billed as a mid-to-late first-round talent by many and was coming off a strong freshman season at the University of Michigan, but his 5’9″, 168-lb frame scared enough teams off to let him fall to the second.
Now turning pro after his sophomore campaign came to an end in the semifinals of the NCAA national tournament last week, the 19-year-old wraps up his time with the Wolverines after racking up 37 goals, 54 assists and 91 points with 50 PIMs and a +38 rating in 81 games. He led the Big 10 tournament champions in overall scoring this season, posting 53 points (25 goals, 28 assists) in 40 games with a +17 rating to eclipse teammates such as Blackhawks prospect Frank Nazar and Lightning prospect Dylan Duke, both of whom signed their ELCs in the past few days.
That performance earned him three Big Ten year-end honors, including Player of the Year, and was named to the First All-American Team for the NCAA’s West Region. He also won gold with Team USA at this year’s World Juniors and was named one of their top three players after posting six goals and 10 points in seven games while serving as an alternate captain.
Brindley would be considered a top-two organizational prospect on several teams but slotted in as the fifth-best in a stacked Columbus system in Scott Wheeler’s 2024 rankings for The Athletic. He can play both center and wing, although his smaller frame means he’s likely slated for more action on the latter over his NHL career. Described by Wheeler as a “debatably elite skater,” his speed and acceleration give him the tools to be a legitimate two-way threat – something that should carry over to the pros thanks to his rather intelligent style of play. His frame may prevent him from winning the majority of board battles, but he’s got an Energizer bunny-like quality that should make him an effective checker.
That’s not to slight his skills with the puck. His finishing isn’t the hallmark of his game, and projecting him as a 30-goal scorer might be ambitious. His high-end view of the game lends itself to making smart plays, though, something he can execute consistently with strong puckhandling and stickhandling abilities that make him a great set-up man.
Signing his ELC now makes him ineligible to join AHL Cleveland for their playoff run, so his season will end after tomorrow’s game. Inked through 2026, he’s a strong candidate to make the Jackets’ opening night roster next fall as part of their next wave of young forwards.
Gavin Brindley May Finish Year In AHL
Earlier today, as expected, forward prospect Frank Nazar opted to leave the University of Michigan as he signed his entry-level contract with the Chicago Blackhawks. Following in his footsteps, his now-former teammate Gavin Brindley is expected to do the same and sign his entry-level contract with the Columbus Blue Jackets.
However, Aaron Portzline of The Athletic is reporting that Brindley may sign an entry-level contract starting in the 2024-25 NHL season, while he would join the Cleveland Monsters for the remainder of the regular season and playoffs on a PTO. Although Brindley firmly believes he is ready to turn pro, he would not be put in a position to play meaningful games for the Blue Jackets this season.
Adam Fantilli Could Play For Team Canada Next Month
Despite their recent collapse, it doesn’t appear as though the Philadelphia Flyers are planning to make a coaching change to replace John Tortorella anytime soon. This news comes from TSN’s Darren Dreger who reports that Flyers sources have told him that “Torts is not leaving the bench.” The speculation around Tortorella’s job security makes sense given that the team is mired in a 1-6-3 streak in their last ten and are currently chasing a playoff spot after sitting comfortably in third place in the Metropolitan Division just a few short weeks ago.
The Flyers are winless in eight straight games and have looked lost the last month, particularly in their last three games where they have been outscored 19-7 by the Buffalo Sabres, Columbus Blue Jackets and Montreal Canadiens. Last night’s 9-3 loss to Montreal was particularly difficult to watch as the Canadiens dominated the Flyers from start to finish which further added to speculation about Tortorella’s future.
In other evening notes:
- Aaron Portzline of The Athletic is reporting that Columbus Blue Jackets forward Adam Fantilli won’t play again this season after suffering a lacerated calf against the Seattle Kraken back on January 28th. While that news isn’t overly surprising given that there are just a handful of games left on the NHL schedule, what is surprising to hear is that the 19-year-old rookie might play for Team Canada at the IIHF World Championships if he is healthy a month from now. Fantilli played for Team Canada last year at the tournament and could return on May 10th if he is at 100 percent. Last year’s third-overall pick will finish his first NHL regular season with 12 goals and 15 assists in 49 games.
- Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times is reporting that Chicago Blackhawks defensemen Seth Jones and Alex Vlasic will suit up for Team U.S.A. at the IIHF World Championships. The 22-year-old Vlasic hasn’t represented the United States internationally for over five years, last suiting up for the Americans at the U18 World Championship in 2018-19. Jones last suited up internationally two years ago at the World Championships when he captained the Americans to a fourth-place finish.
Columbus Blue Jackets Recall Trey Fix-Wolansky
Less than a week removed from being placed on the waiver wire, forward Carson Meyer of the Columbus Blue Jackets left the team’s game last night against the Tampa Bay Lightning, as he was limited to only two shifts. Once again in a position to round out their depth at the bottom of the lineup, the Blue Jackets have recalled Trey Fix-Wolansky on an emergency basis.
Having already played in 10 games for Columbus this season, Fix-Wolansky will now get another opportunity to show his value at the NHL level. In those 10 games, Fix-Wolansky has only averaged 11:00 of ice time and has tallied only one assist.
As a late-round pick in the 2018 NHL Draft, and a bit undersized as well, that has not stopped Fix-Wolansky from becoming one of the premier scorers on the Cleveland Monsters of the American Hockey League. Since making his debut for the Blue Jackets AHL affiliate in the 2019-20 season, Fix-Wolansky has played in 221 games, scoring 84 goals and 197 points overall.
Leading the Monsters in scoring for back-to-back seasons, there is a legitimate argument to be made that Columbus should give Fix-Wolansky an extended look at the game’s top level. As the new front office heads into its first offseason, the top brass in Columbus may look to thin out the forward core over the summer, giving Fix-Wolansky an opportunity for a full-time position with the Blue Jackets.
Sean Kuraly Returns From Lower-Body Injury Sunday
- The Blue Jackets have center Sean Kuraly back in the lineup today against the Hurricanes, per the team’s Jeff Svoboda. The news ends a few days of will-he-won’t-he from head coach Pascal Vincent and marks his first appearance since sustaining a lower-body injury against the Canadiens on March 12. Now in his third season in his native Ohio, Kuraly has nine goals and 17 points in 57 games this year while averaging 13:33 per game, down from the 15-plus minutes he’d averaged since arriving in Columbus in 2021.
Blue Jackets Place Carson Meyer On Waivers
April 7: Meyer has cleared waivers and can be assigned to the minors at will, per CapFriendly.
April 6: It’s not very often that we see waiver activity in April but there was a placement on the wire today. CapFriendly reports (Twitter link) that the Blue Jackets have placed winger Carson Meyer on waivers.
It’s the second time on waivers for the 26-year-old who also cleared at the beginning of the season. At that time, Meyer was assigned to AHL Cleveland where he was relatively productive, notching 22 goals and 15 assists in 55 games, setting new career-highs in goals and points.
That helped earn Meyer a recall on an emergency basis back on March 11th. He had been a regular most nights in the lineup since then as he got into a dozen games with the Blue Jackets, picking up a goal along with 33 hits while averaging a little under ten minutes a night. Because Meyer played in more than ten games on this recall, he has to clear waivers to return to the Monsters. Since the recall came after the trade deadline, he retained his AHL eligibility for the stretch run.
It’s quite likely that Meyer will once again clear on Sunday. If a team were to claim him, he’d be ineligible to play for the remainder of the season at both the NHL and AHL levels. Meyer will be eligible for Group Six unrestricted free agency in July, his first opportunity to hit the open market.
Blue Jackets Recall Two, Assign Trey Fix-Wolansky To AHL
On the heels of providing several injury updates earlier in the day, the Blue Jackets have made several roster moves. The team announced that they’ve brought up defenseman Nick Blankenburg and goaltender Malcolm Subban on an emergency basis while winger Trey Fix-Wolansky was re-assigned to AHL Cleveland.
Blankenburg is in his third season with Columbus after signing as an undrafted free agent and has seen NHL action in all three years including six appearances this season where he has been held off the scoresheet. The 25-year-old has battled back issues in the minors which has limited him to just 21 games with the Monsters despite spending most of the season at that level. He has fared well offensively in the AHL, picking up 13 points. The pending restricted free agent won’t be waiver-exempt next year and is expected to push for a full-time spot next season.
As for Subban, he was acquired from St. Louis at the trade deadline to give them some extra organizational depth between the pipes down the stretch. The 30-year-old has a 3.12 GAA and .901 SV% in 35 AHL contests so far this season. Subban, a pending unrestricted free agent, also has 86 career NHL appearances under his belt but with Elvis Merzlikins and Vadim Tarasov unavailable, Jet Greaves will likely serve as the starter in the short term.
Fix-Wolansky, meanwhile, was recalled on an emergency basis yesterday but with Johnny Gaudreau expected to return Saturday, emergency conditions no longer exist so he had to be sent down. The 24-year-old is averaging more than a point per game in the minors for the second straight year, collecting 24 goals and 34 assists in 53 games so far. Fix-Wolansky has an assist in ten games with the Blue Jackets as well. He’s signed on a two-way deal through the 2024-25 season.
Zach Werenski To Play For USA At 2024 World Championship
- Blue Jackets star defenseman Zach Werenski will join the United States national team after the end of the regular season in preparation for the 2024 World Championship in Czechia, he told Brian Hedger of the Columbus Dispatch. In doing so, the 26-year-old is strengthening his candidacy for the 2025 4 Nations Face-Off and the 2026 Winter Olympics, as Team USA GM Bill Guerin has made it clear national team hopefuls for those big-ticket tournaments should attend this year’s World Championship if possible. Today, Werenski was named the Blue Jackets’ nominee for the 2024 Masterton Trophy, churning out All-Star-caliber minutes this year after missing most of 2022-23 due to shoulder surgery.