Richards displays traits of a coach’s son

“He’s definitely someone we can keep an eye on next year and throughout his college career. The way he played this year, our scouts saw a lot in him.”

Justin Richards, son of former Blue Jackets coach Todd Richards, takes a shot during development camp.

Justin Richards is a coach’s son, which means he knows how professional hockey works.

That’s why he eagerly accepted an invitation to Blue Jackets development camp this week even though they’re the team that fired his father. Todd Richards was coach until the Blue Jackets fired him after an 0-7 start to the 2015-16 season.

Justin was a senior at Upper Arlington High School at the time.

“It was definitely very tough,” he said.

But he was old enough to understand that coaches getting fired is a fact of life in the NHL.

It certainly didn’t sour him on the Blue Jackets. He was — and remains — a fan of the team. He played on the Ohio Blue Jackets U16 and U18 teams.

When he received invitations to development camps held by the Blue Jackets and New Blue Jackets development coach Chris Clark, on Justin Richards

Jersey Devils, he didn’t hesitate to pick this one. This week he was back on his former home ice at the Ice Haus, along with former teammates Carson Meyer and Kole Sherwood.

“Obviously, I’ve got a lot of memories on that rink and this whole facility,” Richards said.

He has gone on to create even more special memories. As a freshman, he was a third-line center on MinnesotaDuluth’s NCAA championship team.

Richards, 20, was not selected in last week’s NHL draft. He will return in the fall to Duluth.

Richards often hears that he plays like a coach’s son and prides himself as a responsible, defensive-minded center. But he knows he needs to show more offensive punch. He didn’t score a goal in 44 games for Duluth.

Richards is no longer draft-eligible for the NHL, but he is confident that his work ethic and determination eventually will provide him a path to succeed in the pros.

“Just coming to this camp and seeing the NHL with my dad and seeing how they behave and how they work, it’s helped me a lot,” he said, “and it’s an advantage I have over a lot of other guys in the same position.”

Chris Clark, the Blue Jackets’ development coach, said that the elder Richards’ influence is obvious in his son. Todd Richards is now an assistant with the Tampa Bay Lightning.

“He carries himself like a pro as a first-year college player,” Clark said. “No one can get to that point without being around it a lot. He’s such a great kid, obviously coming from a great family.”

Clark said that Richards’ lack of goal-scoring doesn’t necessarily mean he lacks offensive potential.

“As freshmen, sometimes you don’t get that opportunity,” he said. “A lot of oldschool coaches want to make you earn it. A lot of freshmen don’t get power-play time. Next year is a different year. He’ll be a sophomore and we’ll see.”

Already, he has shown enough to get an invitation to development camp.

“He’s definitely someone we can keep an eye on next year and throughout his college career,” Clark said. “The way he played this year, our scouts saw a lot in him. They wanted to bring him here, not just because he’s a Columbus kid but because they saw a lot of good things.”