Jackets’ Nutivarra grows into confident defenseman

There’s a look that young players get sometimes that just screams uncertainty.

Veteran NHL coaches have an eagle eye for it, and the Blue Jackets’ John Tortorella noticed it with Markus Nutivaara two years ago, when the 24-yearold Finnish defenseman was a rookie.

“I think early on in his career with us, you (wondered) if he thought he belonged here and was he chasing the game,” Tortorella said Tuesday, after Nutivaara’s second goal of the season was the winner in a 4-1 victory over against the Dallas Stars. “Now, I think he knows he’s a good player and he plays with that type of arrogance.”

Last season played a big role in that budding confidence.

After offseason hip surgery following his rookie season, Nutivaara came to training camp last year expecting to cement his spot on the NHL roster. Instead, he started out with minor-league Cleveland and waited for another opportunity with the Jackets.

It didn’t take long. Gabriel Carlsson suffered a shoulder injury four games into the season and Nutivaara was recalled before a game in Winnipeg. He earned a regular lineup spot, pushing Carlsson to Cleveland, and earned a four-year contract extension with seven goals, 16 assists and 23 points.

His maturation process hasn’t stopped, either. Nutivaara is another offensive threat from the back end, supplementing what they already get from Seth Jones and Zach Werenski, and he is improving defensively, too.

“It’s already in my head now that if I believe I can be the stronger guy on the ice, like … it’s going to happen,” he said. “It’s all about the confidence.”

Josh Anderson is off to another strong start after leading the Blue Jackets in goals for much of last season. The 24-year-old power forward, who is 6 feet 3 and 221 pounds, again leads the way with seven goals and has two assists for nine points.

Unlike last season, he isn’t playing opposite Artemi Panarin at right wing on the top line. Instead, he is on the right side of a more physical line that includes captain Nick Foligno and center Boone Jenner.

“(Anderson) could be a very important part of this team if he just keeps on concentrating each and every game,” Tortorella said. “It’s something we look for. He sometimes forgets and gets a little inconsistent. We’re going to keep on reminding him, because he’s playing on the power play now, he’s killing penalties and it’s rightfully deserved. He’s just got to keep his concentration as we keep on going game-to-game here.”

Tortorella mixed up the defense pairings in the second period on Tuesday against Dallas and said he liked the results.

Werenski and Jones were split up: Ryan Murray played with Jones, Dean Kukan was paired with Werenski and Nutivaara skated with David Savard.