Foudy key speed option in series
There are two big reasons the Blue Jackets invited Liam Foudy to training camp for the restart of the NHL season, and they’re located on his feet.
The 20-year-old Foudy’s skates are a blur when deployed fully, the kind of speed the Jackets could use in the qualifying round of the 24-team playoffs. Their opponent in the best-of-five series, the Toronto Maple Leafs, is highly skilled and extremely fast.
“I want to give him every opportunity to get in the starting lineup because of his speed,” Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella said of Foudy, who was the team’s No. 1 pick, taken No. 18 overall, in the 2018 draft. “We’re playing a very fast hockey club. We need to get as much speed in our lineup as we possibly can.”
The Maple Leafs have a wealth of high-end skaters, headlined by John Tavares, Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner, and they are backed by a lot of high-speed skill. The way to combat such a style will be sticking to the Jackets’ mantra of “staying above the puck” and skating with Toronto to prevent oddman rushes.
Foudy could certainly help, along with fourthline forward Eric Robinson — a speed demon at left wing — and swift power forward Josh Anderson, who is four-plus months into his recovery from shoulder surgery and was added to the Jackets’ training camp roster on Sunday.
Anderson’s availability is unknown for the start of the series Aug. 2 at Toronto’s Scotiabank Arena, but having him in the lineup could be a lift.
Meanwhile, Tortorella and his assistants are imploring Foudy to keep the pedal floored in practices and scrimmages.
“I want his feet moving all the time,” Tortorella said. “He’s a very bright kid. He understands the game away from the puck, which we teach in certain ways to play defense. But the biggest thing for him, to give him the best opportunity to crack the lineup, is to show us that speed all the time.”
Another scrimmage
After a day off Saturday and a pair of 45-minute practices for two groups Sunday, the Blue Jackets held their third scrimmage of camp Monday — after a quick 25-minute practice to start the day at the OhioHealth Ice Haus.
Scrimmaging is a key part of this camp, which is shorter than a regular fall camp and solely intended to get the Jackets ready to compete at a playoff level after four-plus idle months.
“Most importantly for the players, they get to bang around a little bit,” Tortorella said after the first two scrimmages last week. “They get to play in some small areas with some traffic. The first three days were puck-touches, with really no defending at all … so it gives us a chance to look at things (while) playing in a game.
“These guys haven’t played a lot of games the past few months, so in real time, real game speed, work on our team concept and it gives the coaches a chance to see who can play with whom.”
The next step would be playing a simulated game, which could happen today.
Mum’s the word
Tortorella is waiting until the Blue Jackets arrive in Toronto this weekend to offer his thoughts about Maple Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe, whom he coached while with Tampa Bay from 2001-03.
“I know (the Toronto media) is going to ask me about this, me coaching him, and I’m going to wait for them,” Tortorella said Sunday. “I’m going to answer that one time, because I’m not going to talk about the other coach a whole bunch, but I’m not going to disrespect ‘Keefer.’ I will talk about it once in Toronto.”
Keefe coached the Toronto Marlies, the Maple Leafs’ affiliate in the American Hockey League, before he was promoted Nov. 29 to run the Leafs after Mike Babcock was fired. He had 12 goals and 12 assists in 125 games with the Lightning, which was the extent of his NHL career because of a severe knee injury he suffered in the AHL during the 2004-05 NHL lockout.
Keefe has spoken with reporters in Toronto about Tortorella, but has said he will refrain from the topic going forward.
“I’m going to focus on getting myself and our team ready to compete,” Keefe told TSN’S Kristen Shilton. “That’s the greatest way to show someone respect.” bhedger@dispatch.com @Brianhedger