TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. — The NHLIt can be difficult for prospects tournaments to be evaluated. The teams have 18-year olds next to 24-year olds. It is rare for the teams to practice together before the games begin counting. European players who are making their first trip to North America will face difficult adjustment.
“This is a hard tournament,” Blue Jackets general manager Jarmo Kekalainen said. “I always say to my staff that I remember (Red WingsLegend Henrik (Zetterberg) came to this tournament as a great player at the time he arrived in North America.
“He was a star in Europe already, and he came to this tournament and looked like he was lost for a while. It was obvious that his career was quite successful. The pace is high, there’s a lot of traffic, it’s a little bit scrambly and it’s kind of chaos sometimes because everybody is trying so hard.”
The Blue Jackets went 2-1 in this year’s event, including a 3-2 overtime win over TorontoOn Sunday, at Centre Ice Arena. Jordan Dumais scored the tying goal with 1:13 remaining in regulation — the Jackets had their goaltender pulled for an extra attacker — and Kirill Marchenko scored 3:23 into the extra period to end it.
You may have noticed that the NHL organizations follow cycles. Some years, the Blue Jackets will need to invite six to 8 free agents to this event in order to have a full lineup. This year, however, was different. 13 of the Jackets’ draft picks were theirs, including three first-round and two second-round selections.
The AthleticSpend the weekend in Traverse city Take a look at the top prospectsForwards Kent JohnsonMarchenko and defenseman David Jiricek.
After Sunday’s game, we caught up with Kekalainen and others for insights on several of the prominent players during the tournament. Here’s what they said:
Kent Johnson
Johnson played center, the first time he’s done that in at least two seasons. He finished the tournament with four assists, two goals and a plus-4 rating. Simply put, he was one of the best players in the tournament.
He played between Marchenko and Mikael Pyyhtia, so you’d expect production, but he was dazzling … almost too dazzling at times for coaches. The more you see him, the more impressed and impressed you will be.
“(Johnson) wants the puck. He demands the puck. He wants to make plays,” Kekalainen said. “He’s a driver on the line, even if he’s on the wing. However, the NHL level is a test on both ends.
“We wanted to see how he looks at center, and considering that he hasn’t played there for a while, I think he did well.”
Johnson strives to make something happen every single time he gets the puck. There’s not a recklessness/cluelessness to his game, like with Sonny Milano’s a few years ago, but he does create something on every shift.
“You don’t want to take any of the creativity away,” Kekalainen said. “But at the same time, you have to play in efficient ways rather than try the creative plays that he sees like not too many other guys can. Once the competition gets better, the turnovers will be costly.”
That’s our captain!#CBJ pic.twitter.com/EgN85ORV6M
— Columbus Blue Jackets (@BlueJacketsNHL) September 15, 2022
Trent Vogelhuber, AHL Cleveland coach, took note of the situation several times during the weekend.
“Simplifying … it’s tough when you have that kind of skill,” Vogelhuber said. “I can’t relate to what he’s thinking out there, but there’s an element of not wanting to do too much. You don’t have to win a game with one play or one shift.”
Vogelhuber didn’t have any issues with Johnson’s playing style.
“He was, for me, the only player through the first 40 minutes (on Sunday) who was not losing battles,” Vogelbuber said. “I thought his competitive level was good throughout the game. A lot of other guys got there, but he was there the whole night.”
Kirill Marchenko
The Russian winger, who played on both the right- and left sides of Johnson throughout the weekend, scored one goal in each game. He ended the tournament with three goals and two assists as well as a plus-4 rating. He tied Columbus for fourth place with 10 goals.
These are impressive numbers considering that he was undergoing major adjustments all the time. He’s used to playing on NHL-sized ice, but he is not used to the NHL style of play. It was a question about Marchenko that prompted Kekalainen’s comment on Zetterberg.
“I thought Marchenko competed really well,” Kekalainen said. “He’s strong on his stick. You can see that he’s played on the men’s pro level before (in Russia).”
GAME. WINNER. pic.twitter.com/iO6fBlMCS7
— Columbus Blue Jackets (@BlueJacketsNHL) September 18, 2022
In Thursday’s opener, St. LouisThey came out with a very physical style of play. They completed checks all across the ice, but seemed to be focused on Johnson and Marchenko. Marchenko seemed overwhelmed at first.
“We talked about it,” Vogelhuber said. “He’s been the first to admit it, that the first couple of periods he was just processing. It’s a different level of processing for him. Guys are everywhere. It’s hard to get used to that.
“He got better in each game, but it’s not over. He’s going to continue to work on that because the games are only going to get faster.”
David Jiricek
Jiricek was the No. 6 draft pick this summer. 6 draft pick this summer, you’d expected Jiricek to step right into this tournament and be a standout. He was at times. He scored a goal early in Sunday’s win over Toronto, his only point of the tournament. He had 10 goals.
He was still making adjustments to his game throughout the weekend.
Jiricek has played almost exclusively on Olympic-sized ice, and he’s come up through Czechia’s men league, which isn’t nearly as physical as North American-style hockey.
“He kept getting more and more comfortable,” Kekalainen said of his weekend. “This is more physical than most of the European guys are used to. There’s just no room because of the smaller ice surface and the scrambly style we play here.”
Jiricek played all three games in a pair with No. 12 (a fellow first-round draft selection). 12) Denton MateychukHe rely on him heavily, especially at the beginning of the tournament. Jiricek didn’t look out of place, certainly, but he didn’t play the authoritative game he’s known for, either.
“It got better and better,” Jiricek said. “This game (vs. Toronto), I think, was my best.
“Everything’s new for me. I’m just going to play like I can play, my 100 percent, day after day.”
The Blue Jackets will spend the month deciding where Jiricek should be playing this season. This man has more options in hockey than anyone else.
He could possibly return to Czechia for a second season. Talking with Blue Jackets management gives the impression that this is still an option, even if Jiricek only has a so-so preseason and training camp.
He could also go to Spokane in the Western Hockey League. Spokane is home to his Canadian Hockey League rights. This is considered highly unlikely.
Jiricek could also play for AHL Cleveland. This would allow him to play North American hockey on NHL-sized rinks against grown men. The Blue Jackets are only 2 1/2 hours away.
When training camp starts this week in Nationwide Arena, however, he’ll be gunning to make the NHL club. That’s a long shot for an 18-year-old, but it can be done. Ask Cole Sillinger.
Denton Mateychuk
From the start of the tournament, Mateychuk was the Blue Jackets’ best defenseman and clearly one of the better defensemen in the field. He’s a fabulous (flawless?) skater and a smart player, so he’s a joy to watch under pressure in his own zone. There’s no panic.
“For 18 years old, this tournament is tough,” Kekalainen said. “But he let his confidence just take off. He’s a pretty dynamic skater. He’s not real tall, but he’s very strong, especially the lower body. You can see it when he fights.
“The poise that he had here and the confidence he came in with… I thought he had a great tournament.”
Mateychuk scored only one goal, an assist in all three games. With four goals, he was plus-2. At even strength, Jiricek played on Jiricek’s left side of top pair. On the power play, he was the Blue Jackets’ point man on the top unit.
That’s a big bite of pie for an 18-year-old.
“There’s a couple situations I’ll go look back on and see what I can do better, but overall I had a pretty good week,” Mateychuk said.
Watching Mateychuk and Jiricek work together — each player’s style seems to complement the other — you couldn’t help but look ahead to the 2024-25 season, when they could easily be a pair for the Blue Jackets.
“It was awesome,” Mateychuk said. “(Jiricek) is a really easy guy to play with. It was easy to connect. We were roommates for the entire weekend. Let’s go from there, get to know each other and get to know each other’s game.
Stanislav Svozil and Samuel Knazko
Kekalainen was asked whether he thought Kekalainen should mention a skater who was not part of the top forward or top defensive line. He didn’t pause, mentioning two defensemen: Samuel Knazko and Stanislav Svozil, both third-round picks from recent drafts.
“I thought (Knazko) was our best player today,” Kekalainen said. “The way he can skate the puck up the ice is really impressive. He was a participant in the Olympics and the men’s World Championships (for Slovakia), so it’s not like he hasn’t played at a high level.
“His skating has improved. He was dominating when he came up to the ice with his puck. After losing the first forechecker, he took off. He was dynamic.”
Knazko was last season with SeattleThe WHL. That’s where he’ll play again this year, and he should be in for a big year. He was drafted by the Blue Jackets in the third round (No. In 2020, he will be 78 overall. He had a goal, and was plus-2 at this tournament.
Svozil was teammates with Knazko over the weekend, but they’ll be WHL foes this season. After a taste of NHL training camp, he’s likely headed back to Regina, where he could be one of the league’s top blue-liners.
The Blue Jackets selected him in the 3rd round (No. Knazko was drafted in the third round (No. In this tournament, he had an assist and four penalty minutes. He also scored no goals.
Afterward, Kekalainen channeled his inner John Tortorella in describing his play: “I’ve liked him since Day 1 last year when he came to camp. He’s got balls and he’s got poise and he’s got hockey sense. Good player.”
Jet Greaves
Greaves moved to Traverse City in the AHL contract one year ago. He was most likely No. 5 or 6 on the Blue Jackets’ organizational depth chart, with Elvis MerzlikinsAnd Joonas KorpisaloSet in the NHL Daniil TarasovJean-Francois Berube was the AHL’s setter.
But Greaves made a massive climb in the organization’s eyes last season. Midseason, Greaves was awarded a two way NHL contract by the Blue Jackets. With Berube having moved on, and Greaves is now one of the club’s AHL goaltenders this season.
More importantly, he’s a bona fide prospect now.
“He’s a character kid who works every day to become a better goalie,” Kekalainen said. “That’s why we turned him into an NHL contract during the middle of last year. He’s earned it. He keeps earning respect every time he steps on the ice, and it’s because of the way he works.
“Our goalie coaches love his character, his work ethic and his skill set. So there’s a really good future for him.”
Jet 🤜 🤛 David pic.twitter.com/5xP4n7li7S
— Columbus Blue Jackets (@BlueJacketsNHL) September 18, 2022
Greaves maintained a save percentage of.929 in four and a half periods. He started Thursday’s opener vs. St. Louis and stopped 22 of 23 shots in a 7-1 win. On Sunday, he started vs. Toronto. He stopped 17 of 19, but left midway through the second. Pavel Cajan was able to get minutes.
At their 2019 development camp, the Blue Jackets established a first relationship with Greaves (who was undrafted). Manny Legace, his goaltending coach, and other coaches were so impressed that Greaves remained in touch with them when he returned to OHL Barrie for the next season.
Greaves stated that he signed with Columbus because of the Blue Jackets relationship he had with them when he began receiving AHL / ECHL contract opportunities. But his game really started to generate attention when he played so well in last year’s Traverse City tournament.
“That was kind of my first experience in pro hockey,” Greaves said, with a smile. “I was able to play well and the team played well and it just kind of grew from there.
“So much of that stuff, the organizational status, is out of your control. For me, the most important thing was to be able control my process and to be thorough in my work.
“You can feel yourself getting closer (to the NHL dream) as a man and as a goalie. It is possible to see it. But it’s about staying disciplined and continuing to work in that direction.”
(Photo by Kent Johnson: Stan Szeto/USA Today)
