Tortorella changes duties for assistants
Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella has decided to tinker with his bench, and it has nothing to do with his lineups.
On guard against the potential for things to get stale in his fourth season leading the club, Tortorella has changed the primary responsibilities for his two assistant coaches. In a reversal from the roles they have been accustomed to, Brad Larsen will coach the team’s defensemen and Brad Shaw will oversee the forwards. At least for now. “I want to see how it looks,” Tortorella said after Monday’s practice at the OhioHealth Ice Haus. “I think you can get stale with the same voice. We’re all talking about the (same) team concept we want to play. It’s not like someone is going to come up with a different idea in the game and give it to them, but sometimes a different voice is good and it keeps it fresh.”
Larsen will not be with the team for a game against Buffalo in Clinton, New York, on Tuesday, however, because he will stay in Columbus with the players who are not part of the game group.
Tortorella routinely uses the preseason to give his coaches, as well as those for the team’s American Hockey League affiliate in Cleveland, opportunities to work the bench and coach games while he watches and evaluates players.
Tortorella said Larsen will continue to oversee the team’s power play and Shaw the penalty kill. During games, Larsen will change defensive pairs on the ice while Tortorella handles the forward lines.
Another hope is that the changes will allow the Blue Jackets to address what Tortorella said has been a problem area: the neutral zone.
“I want (Shaw’s) voice more with the neutral zone,” he said. “This certainly is not anything on either of them, it’s just I wanted to change it and get a different voice for each end.”
The preseason roster stands at 34 players after the Jackets sent 24 players from camp. Nineteen went to the Cleveland of the AHL, four were put on waivers for the purpose of sending them to the Monsters and one was released from his tryout contract to join his junior team.
The players assigned to the Monsters are:
Forwards: Vitaly Abramov, Paul Bittner, Dan DeSalvo, Maxime Fortier, Brett Gallant, Nikita Korostelev, Miles Koules, Ryan MacInnis, Justin Scott, Kole Sherwood, Calvin Thurkauf, Trent Vogelhuber
Defensemen: Brady Austin, Garret Cockerill, Ryan Collins, Blake Siebenaler, Doyle Somerby, Justin Wade
Goaltender: Brad Thiessen
The four players placed on waivers are forwards Zac Dalpe and Nathan Gerbe, and defensemen Tommy Cross and Dillon Simpson. Goaltender Joseph Raaymakers was released from his tryout contract and will return to the Ontario Hockey League, where he will play for the London Knights.