Dubois hopes to build on strong rookie season
The whispers COLUMBUS — started almost as soon as a nasty puck to the face prematurely ended Zach Werenski’s rookie season. Would the defenseman be able to build on a stellar season that saw him named to the NHL’s all-rookie team, and live up to hopes that the Blue Jackets had found a young cornerstone to their franchise?
By the time he was finished playing through a significant shoulder injury and still being named to the AllStar team in his second season, the answer was clear.
Now the same questions are being asked of PierreLuc Dubois, who blossomed into a first-line center by the end of his rookie season last year. Werenski said he sees no reason to expect otherwise from the second-year player.
“He doesn’t take anything from anybody,” Werenski said of Dubois. “He goes to the net hard and he hits guys and he really stands up for himself. This year, it’s just doing the same things he did last year and then building on it.”
Two seasons ago, Dubois didn’t make the team out of preseason camp and instead spent his third season in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. Last year, the third overall pick in the 2016 draft came into coach John Tortorella’s camp better prepared to become a professional, made the roster and went on to set team records for goals (20) and points (48) for a rookie. Along the way, he played himself past recently signed veteran Alexander Wennberg and onto the top line.
Now he is tasked with not just replicating last year’s success, but surpassing it.
“I learned it’s a long season, a lot of ups and downs,” Dubois said. “I think the player I was at the start of the season and the one I am now are completely different. I’m more comfortable out there making plays, and I’m looking forward to improving on that this year.”
It took him roughly 15 games to feel settled into the NHL, Dubois said, a luxury he knows he won’t be afforded this year. He scored in the opener, then didn’t score again until the Jackets played at Nashville in game No. 16.
His ascension from there surprised Tortorella, who has said multiple times that the Blue Jackets would not have made the postseason for a second straight year if not for Dubois’ breakthrough.
“No one expected that from Luc,” Tortorella said. “I think that’s an important thing for young players in this league, to continue to try and get better and same thing with Luc. I think he understands that.”
That continued progression is why captain Nick Foligno said he isn’t worried about a sophomore slump from Dubois.
“Is a guy going to just plateau at some point or is he going to continue to climb?” Foligno said. “Luc just continues to climb, so it says he’s hungry for more. A lot of times you can put false expectations, but when you see it with him, it’s genuine, it’s real, so you can expect good things to happen. The way he has prepared himself, I have no doubt he is going to have a great year for us.”
With his weight at 220 pounds after being listed at 207 a year ago, Dubois said he knows what he is up against this year.
“Last year I had a taste for what the NHL is like,” he said. “This year... it’s going to be a new challenge. Your first year in the NHL you’re still learning, but I think I took big steps last year and I’ve got to keep going this year.”