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Pierre-Luc Dubois

Pierre-Luc Dubois Will Be Traded In QMJHL (Updated)

December 11, 2016 at 2:40 pm CDT | by Brett Barrett Leave a Comment

(2:10pm): While no details on the return package have emerged, Jeff Marek of Sportsnet relays a tweet from Jerome Berube, the head scout in Quebec for HockeyProspect.com, citing the depth of young talent the Armada has along with owning Sherbrooke’s first-round pick, which as of now would be a top-five selection. The suggestion being the Armada has the assets necessary to pry Dubois away from Cape Breton.

Meanwhile, Aaron Portzline of The Columbus Dispatch tweeted that a trade of Dubois was expected, and that the trade to the Armada puts the Blue Jackets prospect in a better situation that should allow the talented pivot to play meaningful hockey deep into the QMJHL season.

(11:59am): Columbus Blue Jackets third overall pick and Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) star Pierre-Luc Dubois will be traded when the QMJHL trading period begins, according to TVA’s Renaud Lavoie.

Dubois will be moving from the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles to the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada.

More to come…

*Glen Miller contributed to this post.

Columbus Blue Jackets| QMJHL| Transactions Pierre-Luc Dubois

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NHL, Stakeholders Discuss Possible Change To Draft Age

November 16, 2016 at 10:29 am CDT | by Brett Barrett 2 Comments

Could the NHL change the draft age from 18 to 19?

TSN’s Bob McKenzie spoke about the possibility on Tuesday night’s edition of Insider Trading. Former third-overall-pick Pat LaFontaine is leading a group of stakeholders that includes the NHL, NHLPA, CHL, USHL, Hockey Canada, USA Hockey, and NCAA to discuss a “whole new development model.”

According to McKenzie, the model would go from age five to age 20, and would include changing the NHL Draft-eligible age to 19, with “some obvious exceptions for exceptional players.”

The system would likely feature an expanded version of the CHL’s Exceptional Player Status. Normally, players aren’t eligible to play in the WHL, OHL, or QMJHL (the CHL’s three leagues) until they’re 16. However, there is a process (outlined extensively by McKenzie here) where players deemed exceptional can begin to play Major Junior at age 15. Players and their families apply to the CHL and Hockey Canada, and the player is examined on and off the ice to determine if he truly is exceptional. So far, only six players have ever applied, with John Tavares, Aaron Ekblad, Connor McDavid, Sean Day, and 2018-eligible Joseph Veleno being successful candidates. The first thee on that list went first overall in their OHL and NHL draft years, while Day went fourth in the OHL draft was a third-round pick of the New York Rangers in 2016. While it’s still early in his career, McKenzie noted that “some were questioning whether he was as blatantly exceptional as Tavares, Ekblad or McDavid.”

Changing the NHL Draft age would drastically change the way the draft is conducted. Looking back over the past two drafts, top selections like McDavid, Jack Eichel, Auston Matthews, and Patrik Laine would likely have been able to still be drafted at age 18. All four of them have been successful in their rookie seasons, and were clearly NHL-ready at age 18/19. While McDavid was a CHL exceptional-status player, the other three played NCAA, Swiss National League, and Liiga in their draft years. The NHL and other stakeholders would need to find a way to coordinate with all leagues to determine which players are truly exceptional and deserve to be drafted at age 18.

While the above mentioned players would still have been drafted at 18, elite prospects like Dylan Strome, Mitch Marner, Noah Hanifin, Jesse Puljujärvi, and Pierre-Luc Dubois may have been forced to wait an extra year, depending on the rules set out. As it stands now, several teams have issues with how the NHL-CHL agreement is laid out, as it forces 19-year-old draft+1 players to either play in the NHL or CHL when the AHL may be the best for their development. Strome is a current example: he’s posted 129 and 111 points in his last two years in the OHL and has nothing to gain from returning to junior, where he will dominate and potentially learn bad habits because of how dominant he is at that level. Strome has just one assist in six NHL games this year, and would be well-served by 40 games in the AHL to learn the pro game. That’s currently prevented by the NHL-CHL agreement. On one hand, it’s easy to see that CHL teams don’t want to lose their brightest stars before they absolutely have to, but at the same time it may not be in the player’s best interests to go back to junior. Changing the draft age to 19 could alleviate this issue, with drafted players only playing one more year of junior, at most, before turning pro.

LaFontaine and the stakeholders will meet again on Wednesday. On Insider Trading, McKenzie said they’ll “need to get some traction soon if it’s going to happen.”

The NHLPA would also need to agree to the change in collective bargaining when the current CBA expires in 2022 (both sides can opt out two years early). Convincing the Players Association that players will have to wait an extra year before making an NHL salary could be a tough argument, but it will be interesting to see how the discussion goes over the next little while.

AHL| CBA| CHL| NCAA| NHL| OHL| QMJHL| Rookies| WHL Aaron Ekblad| Auston Matthews| Bob McKenzie| Connor McDavid| Jack Eichel| Jesse Puljujarvi| John Tavares| Joseph Veleno| Mitch Marner| Noah Hanifin| Patrik Laine| Pierre-Luc Dubois| Salary Cap

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Columbus Returns Dubois To Juniors

October 12, 2016 at 5:08 pm CDT | by Zach Leach Leave a Comment

On the eve of their home opener, the Columbus Blue Jackets have announced they they have sent 2016 3rd-overall pick Pierre-Luc Dubois back to his junior team, the QMJHL’s Cape Breton Screaming Eagles. A high pick in his first pro experience, Dubois did not stick out in the preseason; still, many expected him to stay with the Blue Jackets, at least through the ten-game “tryout” period. Instead, the 18-year-old center will head back to juniors without an NHL game under his belt.

The Blue Jackets selection of Dubois with the #3 pick was believed to be a reach by many. However, that only added fuel to the fire for those who believed that Columbus really saw something in the young scorer. Having traded Ryan Johansen last season, it is no secret that the Jackets are on the hunt for a franchise center. It was believed that they planned on having Dubois step right into that role. In four preseason games though, Dubois was held without a point and was a -4, with the consensus being that he looked over-matched with the pro game. Rather than get a longer look this season, Columbus has elected to send Dubois back to Cape Breton, where he scored 99 points last season, and hope that he comes to camp next year ready to earn an NHL spot.

In a corresponding mover, the Blue Jackets have recalled Alexander Wennberg from Cleveland of the AHL. The 22-year-old will now play Dubois’ role of young center looking to be a difference-maker on a team without much depth and ability down the middle.

Columbus Blue Jackets| Transactions Pierre-Luc Dubois

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Snapshots: Cowen, Werenski, Heatherington

September 28, 2016 at 4:25 pm CDT | by Gavin Lee 1 Comment

The long and contentious Jared Cowen saga seems to finally have an end date put in place, as the arbitration hearing has been set to determine whether the Toronto Maple Leafs were actually able to buy out the defenseman. Toronto successfully bought Cowen out earlier this summer, but the NHLPA has filed a grievance and contends that they were not allowed to do so, due to Cowen’s continuing injured status.

On October 19th, according to Bob McKenzie, an arbitrator will decide whether to uphold or reverse the buyout. If Cowen wins, he would be due his $4.5MM salary, where as if the buyout was upheld, he’d earn just $750K this season and next.

For the Maple Leafs, that $3.75MM in savings would help the rebuild even further, as they’ve used their financial power to gain assets (or, usually, rid themselves of burdens) over the past few seasons. Cowen underwent hip surgery this summer and won’t be ready for any kind of hockey until February at the earliest.

  • For the Blue Jackets, this season holds a lot of promise. One of the biggest stories will be the debut of Zach Werenski, the team’s top prospect (outside of perhaps Pierre-Luc Dubois). As Werenski gets ready to make his preseason debut on Thursday, he wrote a piece for NHL.com describing the journey he’s taken so far. “I’m trying to make the NHL. It’s a little nerve-wracking, I won’t lie, but I feel confident that I can make it happen,” he writes, being honest with himself and the reader instead of spouting bravado. Werenski certainly seems ready; he joined the Lake Erie Monsters late last season, and led them with 14 points in the playoffs en route to a Calder Cup victory.
  • Still with Columbus, Tom Reed of the Columbus Dispatch reports that Dillon Heatherington has suffered a fractured wrist and will be out 6-8 weeks. A second-round pick in 2013, he was set to continue his development at the AHL level this season.  Aaron Portzline, also of the Dispatch, adds that fellow prospect Keegan Kolesar has undergone hernia surgery and will be out at least six weeks. Kolesar scored 61 points in 64 games with the Seattle Thunderbirds of the WHL last season, and will head back for one more year.

AHL| Arbitration| Columbus Blue Jackets| NHL| Snapshots| Toronto Maple Leafs| WHL Bob McKenzie| Jared Cowen| Pierre-Luc Dubois| Zach Werenski

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Potential 2016-17 Impact Rookies: Puljujarvi, Kempe, Goldobin, Tkachuk

September 11, 2016 at 7:46 pm CDT | by Glen Miller Leave a Comment

It’s rare for players to debut in the NHL and make a significant impact for their teams in the same year they are drafted. In 2015-16, just three players selected in the prior June’s draft – Connor McDavid, Jack Eichel and Noah Hanifin – appeared in more than 18 NHL contests as rookies. However, we could see as many as five 2016 draftees all earn regular shifts with their clubs during the 2016-17 season, two of whom appear in this post.

Jesse Puljujarvi (Edmonton) – Expected to go in the top-three of the draft, Puljujarvi surprisingly dropped to #4 after Columbus elected to take C Pierre-Luc Dubois at #3 instead of the Finnish winger. Edmonton happily grabbed Puljujarvi with their choice and this stroke of good fortune may have played a role in the June 29th trade of Taylor Hall to New Jersey for Adam Larsson. Having Puljujarvi in the fold provided Oilers GM Peter Chiarelli the knowledge he had enough depth on the wings to cash in a player of Hall’s caliber to address their weakness on the blue line.

Puljujarvi combines NHL size at 6-foot-3 and 203 pounds with excellent skating ability. He starred for the Finns helping his home country win the gold medal in the World Junior Championships. He also captured the tourney’s MVP award and finished tops among all participants in both assists (12) and points (17).

The Oilers already have one of the top young superstars in the game in MacDavid and saw 2014 first-round pick Leon Draisaitl bust out with a 51-point campaign in 2016-17. Joining that dangerous duo up front is former top overall selection Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. Edmonton boasts plenty of talented high-end forwards which virtually assures Puljujarvi will have a chance to skate with some good players. Don’t be surprised if he ends up as a Calder Trophy finalist and the leading scorer among all 2016 draftees.

Adrian Kempe (Los Angeles) – After losing forwards Milan Lucic and Kris Versteeg to free agency and with Dustin Brown’s offense regressing to a level where he has no business in the top-nine, the Kings could turn to Kempe to provide additional scoring. Kempe, the team’s first-round choice in 2014, already has 55 games of pro experience in North America after suiting up this past season for the Kings AHL affiliate, the Ontario Reign. The Swedish winger tallied 11 goals and recorded 28 points during the regular season and another four goals and five points in 13 postseason contests.

Since Kempe doesn’t turn 20 until later this month and given he didn’t exactly dominate at the AHL level, it wouldn’t be a bad idea if the Kings sent him back to Ontario to start the 2016-17 campaign and get some more seasoning. But with Kyle Clifford (nine points in 56 games) and Brown (28 points in 82 games) currently expected to hold top-nine spots, according to Roster Resource, Los Angeles might decide they need to inject more offense into the lineup and Kempe could be the source of that offense.

Nikolay Goldobin (San Jose) – The Sharks addressed any need they may have had for a scoring line LW by signing Mikkel Boedker as a free agent this summer. With Tomas Hertl and Patrick Marleau also listed as LW’s on the team’s depth chart, it’s likely the highly skilled Goldobin begins the season with the San Jose Barracudas of the AHL to gain more experience. But in the event of injury, Goldobin could be among the team’s first choices for a promotion to the big club.

Goldobin is said to have an excellent shot and release and is a creative offensive player. He can use some work on his defensive game, as do many young players, which is another reason he might find himself in the AHL to start the 2016-17 campaign. But with Marleau entering the final year of his contract, Goldobin is in line to land a job with the Sharks soon enough; perhaps as early as this year.

Matthew Tkachuk (Calgary) – The Flames already possess several skilled young players, but as mentioned in an earlier installment of this series, if they do have an opening it would be for a scoring line LW with size. Hunter Shinkaruk might get the first crack to fill that role though he doesn’t possess the size the Flames would seem to need. If Shinkaruk isn’t ready for regular NHL action, Tkachuk could be an option for Calgary up front.

Tkachuk, the son of former NHL power forward Keith Tkachuk, was drafted by the Flames with the sixth overall selection of the 2016 draft following an impressive 107-point season with the London Knights of the OHL. While his dad was noted for playing a physical game (2,219 PIM in 1,201 NHL games), as well as being a terrific goal scorer, Matthew is more of a complete, two-way player who is also a good skater with high-end offensive instincts. He helped Team USA to a bronze medal at the 2016 WJC U20 tournament, tallying 11 points in seven contests.

Tkachuk might be better off returning to junior to gain more experience. He will certainly have to prove to the Flames that he is truly ready to play at the NHL level but he has the talent and the skill to provide some offense if he earns a role in Calgary.

 

 

AHL| Calgary Flames| Dallas Stars| Edmonton Oilers| Free Agency| Injury| London Knights| Los Angeles Kings| NHL| OHL| Players| San Jose Sharks| Team USA Adam Larsson| Connor McDavid| Dustin Brown| Dustin Brown| Jack Eichel| Jesse Puljujarvi| Kris Versteeg| Leon Draisaitl| Matthew Tkachuk| Mikkel Boedker| Milan Lucic| Patrick Marleau| Pierre-Luc Dubois

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Snapshots: Dubois, Crosby, Team NA

September 11, 2016 at 3:04 pm CDT | by Gavin Lee Leave a Comment

After being selected as the surprise third overall pick in the latest NHL Entry Draft, Pierre-Luc Dubois is trying to prove to everyone that he derserved to be picked above Jesse Puljujarvi and Matthew Tkachuk. In a piece by James O’Brien at NBCSports, Dubois is clear what his goal is this fall.

(The Blue Jackets) drafted me third in front of the guy everybody thought they were going to draft, but I think they made the right decision. I want to prove that to everybody.

For at least the first few years of his career, he’ll be compared to Puljujarvi constantly which is probably more unfair than anything. The Finnish winger has already been playing against men for parts of two seasons, while Dubois will head back for his final year of junior hockey (that is if he doesn’t surprise everyone to make the Blue Jackets out of camp). It may take him a while, but as GM Jarmo Kekalainen comments when talking about what will set Dubois apart, “I keep coming back to his character and hockey sense.”

  • Team Canada has often found trouble pairing players with Sidney Crosby at international competitions, with many high level talents moving on and off of his wing throughout past tournaments.  That said, head coach Mike Babcock may have found a group that he’ll stick with this time. As TSN’s Pierre LeBrun reports, Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron look like the set wingers for the Team Canada captain. It’s a plan Babcock had way back in May, when he was first envisioning what his lineup might look like. The interesting part, is that Marchand is one of Team Canada’s only natural wingers, and Bergeron is highly regarded for his all-around ability and hockey IQ.  Perhaps it’s centers that don’t find a home on Crosby’s wing, similar to the way Pittsburgh has never been able to consistently pair Crosby with Evgeni Malkin for any length of time.
  • The top two picks of the 2015 NHL draft will be linked once again, as Connor McDavid and Jack Eichel will skate on a line in their second pre-tournament game against Europe tonight. The third musketeer will be Johnny Gaudreau, still unsigned as he’s entered his negotiation freeze during the tournament.  With three of the strongest skaters in the NHL on the ice at once, team North America will surely be interesting to watch, the plan all along of the NHL and commissioner Gary Bettman when he introduced the slightly off-the-board format.

Columbus Blue Jackets| Mike Babcock| NHL| Players| Snapshots| Team Canada| Team North America Brad Marchand| Connor McDavid| Evgeni Malkin| Jack Eichel| Jesse Puljujarvi| Johnny Gaudreau| Matthew Tkachuk| NHL Entry Draft| Patrice Bergeron| Pierre-Luc Dubois

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Rookie Showcase Notes: Zacha, Demko, Werenski

August 30, 2016 at 10:08 am CDT | by Gavin Lee Leave a Comment

Yesterday was the annual Rookie Showcase in Toronto at the Mattamy Athletic Centre (the old Maple Leaf Gardens) and invited were a number of the leagues top prospects, including Pierre-Luc Dubois, this year’s third overall pick.  The showcase is mainly for press and memorabilia, but Mike G. Morreale of NHL.com wrote about various things that took place during the day in his latest column:

  • New Jersey Devils’ prospect Pavel Zacha is completely recovered from his hip-pointer which caused him to miss rookie camp earlier this summer. The sixth-overall pick from the 2015 draft made his NHL debut last season after finishing in Sarnia, playing one game for the Devils and recording two assists. Zacha will fight to break camp with the NHL team this fall, but has tough competition on the left side after the team acquired Taylor Hall this offseason, pushing Mike Cammalleri down the depth chart.
  • One of the best goaltenders in recent NCAA history (and owner of a fantastic name) Thatcher Demko feels ready to start his professional career after a sparkling final season at Boston College. The 20-year old went 27-8-4 with a 1.88 GAA and .935 save percentage last year, breaking the team record in shutouts with 10; the record was previously held by Cory Schneider, a former Canuck. “I feel like I’m ready to go. I feel ready for a pro season” said the second-round pick when asked about the upcoming year. He’ll head to the AHL to lead the Utica Comets this year.
  • Zach Werenski will have every chance to prove himself this fall and break camp with the Columbus Blue Jackets at the tender age of 19 after an amazing Calder Cup run last season. The University of Michigan product followed up his sophomore season (11 goals and 25 assists) by scoring 14 points in the Lake Erie Monsters’ 17 playoff games. Former teammate Kyle Connor, a Winnipeg forward prospect and Michigan alum who was also at the showcase is very impressed by Werenski: “He’s very competitive in everything he does; he loves to win. I think he’ll definitely be an impact in the NHL. You can see it in the way he plays the game. He’s so dynamic and plays at a high level.”

AHL| Columbus Blue Jackets| New Jersey Devils Mike Cammalleri| Pierre-Luc Dubois| Taylor Hall| Zach Werenski

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Five Questions: Columbus Blue Jackets

August 25, 2016 at 6:05 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose Leave a Comment

The Columbus Blue Jackets were picked as a sleeper threat by many last season but instead struggled from start to finish, ending the year in dead last in the Metropolitan Division.  They haven’t changed much with their roster over the summer but are hoping a healthier squad with a return to form from some key veterans will lead to better results in 2016-17.

Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch was kind enough to chat with us about the key questions and storylines surrounding the team as we head towards the start of the season.

PHR: The decision to draft Pierre-Luc Dubois third overall over Jesse Puljujarvi back in June was a shocker to many.  Why did GM Jarmo Kekalainen feel he was the better fit for the Blue Jackets?

AP: Many will point to the fact that Dubois played center for a half-season in major junior, and the need for a skilled center has been significant since the trade of Ryan Johansen to Nashville. But the answer is much simpler than that. They just like Dubois better as a prospect. They like his motor, his work ethic, his personality, the straightforward style of his play. This is going to be an easy one to track — Puljujarvi vs. Dubois — in the years that follow, but I give the Blue Jackets and Kekalainen credit for taking the guy they believed was the right pick, even though it subjected them to ridicule. If the Blue Jackets had done that in 2005 — they had Anze Kopitar No. 3 on their list before Doug MacLean chickened out — they would have drafted Kopitar, not Gilbert Brule.

PHR: Columbus is likely to have several players from their Calder Cup winning squad last year up with the big club in 2016-17.  Who are some of the youngsters that are likely to push for a roster spot?

AP: Unless Zach Werenski has a poor training camp, he’s on the club. Josh Anderson and Oliver Bjorkstrand need good camps to make the club, but both could do it. I think Sonny Milano needs more seasoning, but he could blow people away in camp. If I’m the Blue Jackets, I want to see Milano playing like an offensive star in the AHL — that’s his profile, right? — before he’s called up to the NHL. One of the two young goaltenders, Joonas Korpisalo and Anton Forsberg, will likely make the club as Sergei Bobrovsky’s backup, putting the other youngster and Curtis McElhinney back to AHL.

PHR: The core of this team didn’t change much this offseason.  Why should fans be confident that the Jackets can rebound after finishing in the Metropolitan Division basement last year?

AP: Frankly, they shouldn’t be. I’m not saying they won’t climb out of the basement; in fact, I suspect they will. But this club has made a habit out of crushing the fans’ hopes right out of the gate. Last five years combined, in the first 20 games of the season, the Blue Jackets are 30-60-10. Season over. There are plenty of cynical, pessimistic fans in Columbus. They’re the ones who will be pleasantly surprised if this club actually plays up to its ability and becomes a consistently competitive NHL franchise. It’s long overdue.

PHR: There have been rumors dating back to last season that the team has been shopping Scott Hartnell.  Do you expect him to continue to be on the trade block into 2016-17 and will they be able to move him at some point?

AP: I don’t think anything has changed that would take him off the trade market. It’s an awkward spot, to be sure, because now the whole world knows that his team has tried to trade him. Hartnell is an old-school guy. He’s a professional. He can block this stuff out and play. But I can’t imagine he’s as excited about being in Columbus as he expected to be two years ago when he waived his no-trade clause to facilitate the trade. Remember, he came here because he expected playoff runs, rivalries, big games. There’s been none of that. If the Blue Jackets are out of it at the trade deadline, and Hartnell has remained productive, I think they’ll be able to move him then.

PHR: What would you peg as the biggest strength and weakness for the Blue Jackets?

AP: Biggest strength? The entire organization should have a massive chip on their shoulder. They’ve had back to back unacceptable seasons, despite being a salary cap team in a small market. In 2014-15, they used injuries as an excuse, even though hockey players and coaches always say it’s never an excuse. Last season … no excuses. They should be motivated — if not by pride or competitive spirit — by embarrassment. The spirit of this group will be interesting to monitor. Weakness? The franchise goaltender has a chronic groin condition that has sidetracked three straight seasons now. Can Bobrovsky get past this? Huge question in Columbus. If the answer is ’yes’, the Blue Jackets are competitive. If the answer is ’no’, the Blue Jackets have big trouble.

Aaron Portzline has been with the Dispatch since 1988 and has covered the NHL since 1999.  He is currently the Chair of the Columbus Chapter of the Professional Hockey Writers Association and we thank him for taking the time to talk with us.  Give him a follow on Twitter at @Aportzline.

Columbus Blue Jackets Jesse Puljujarvi| Pierre-Luc Dubois| Scott Hartnell| Sergei Bobrovsky| Zach Werenski

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Portzline’s Latest: Columbus Coaches, Dubois, PTOs

August 23, 2016 at 1:30 pm CDT | by Gavin Lee 1 Comment

Among one of the best at hiding interesting nuggets of information in his columns, Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch has released his latest Truths & Tidbits piece. In it, he goes through a bunch of smaller stories on the Columbus Blue Jackets as the season creeps closer. It’s worth a closer read, but here are the highlights:

  • With the Colorado coaching vacancy still unfilled, the Avalanche seem to be targeting current and former Jackets coaches. Kevin Dineen, Bob Boughner, Jared Bednar have all been linked to the opening and have ties to the Columbus organization. Portzline posits that Av’s AGM Chris McFarland might have something to do with it, as he formerly held the same position with Columbus.
  • The bulk of the post is dedicated to looking back at former drafts, and seeing if the Blue Jackets’ decision to draft Pierre-Luc Dubois third overall instead of Jesse Puljujarvi, the expected pick, was justified. The most interesting tidbit out of this is that back in 2005 Columbus actually had Anze Kopitar ranked as their #3 prospect, ahead of their eventual selection Gilbert Brule (who they had ranked in the 6-8 range). The Jackets would go with Brule at #6 instead of Kopitar (who dropped to the Kings at #11) because of the view that the Slovenian was a less conventional pick. “I’m not drafting a kid who pushes rocks up a mountain and jumps over milk crates and calls it training” is a quote from Doug MacLean, then-GM of the Jackets on why he passed on Kopitar. Brule had just 95 points in his NHL career before heading to the KHL, while Kopitar has collected 684 across his 764 career games, while widely being thought of as one of the best defensive forwards in the NHL.
  • Portzline also mentions that the Blue Jackets are not expected to extend any PTOs to camp this fall. “We’re pretty full already” says GM Jarmo Kekalainen. Keep up with who has been given tryouts around the league here, with our PTO tracker.

Coaches| Colorado Avalanche| Columbus Blue Jackets| KHL| Los Angeles Kings Anze Kopitar| Jesse Puljujarvi| Pierre-Luc Dubois

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Blue Jackets Notes: Bobrovsky, Dubois, Werenski

August 8, 2016 at 8:13 pm CDT | by Brett Barrett Leave a Comment

It’s Columbus Blue Jackets day over at Pro Hockey Talk and much of their coverage centered around the potential for the Blue Jackets to improve over last season’s disappointing result. As Jason Brough reports, much of the weight falls on goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky; he’s the second highest-paid goalie in the NHL behind Henrik Lundqvist, but his 2.48 GAA and 0.908 SV% ranked 35th and 36th respectively in the NHL last season. Bobrovsky got off to a terrible start, losing his first six appearances as the Blue Jackets started 0-8. He also played just 37 games due to a recurring groin injury, which makes you wonder how much of his poor play was because of his injury.

To that end, the Blue Jackets hired former St. Louis Blues strength and conditioning coach Nelson Ayotte to help create a High Performance Department. GM Jarmo Kekalainen said Ayotte will “bridge the gap” between the strength and conditioning coach and the team’s medical staff.

In other Blue Jackets news:

  • Like nearly everyone in the hockey world, Brough wondered if the Blue Jackets made the right choice selecting Pierre-Luc Dubois over consensus top-three draft pick Jesse Puljujärvi. It could have something to do with the fact that Puljujärvi is a winger while Dubois played the second half of last season at center, a position of weakness in Columbus after the Ryan Johansen–Seth Jones trade. However, Kekalainen said Dubois had been their guy “all year long” because of his “character and leadership qualities”, not his position. While Dubois could be a long-term solution for the team’s number one center, he’s not ready to fill the hole yet.
  • In contrast with the question marks at forward and in the crease, the Blue Jackets have a solid blue-line. Seth Jones, Ryan Murray, Jack Johnson, and David Savard form a solid top two pairings. Those four will likely be joined by the eighth overall pick from the 2015 draft, Zach Werenski. The Michigan-native played for the University of Michigan, where he posted 61 points in 71 games in two seasons before joining the Lake Eerie Monsters on their successful Calder Cup run. Werenski posted 14 points in 19 games in the AHL playoffs. Kekalainen told the team website “there’s a very good chance he makes our team and makes our team better”. Besides the signing of Sam Gagner, it’s been a very quiet summer in Ohio, so the team will be looking within to improve on their terrible 2015-16 season. Werenski figures to be a part of that.

Columbus Blue Jackets Pierre-Luc Dubois| Sergei Bobrovsky| Zach Werenski

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