Big center Dunne quietly impressive in NHL debut
The first play of Josh Dunne’s NHL career was a faceoff at center ice against Dallas Stars captain Jamie Benn, a 12-year NHL veteran.
Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella sent Dunne out to start Thursday’s game in Dallas, matching the Jackets’ fourth line of Dunne, Kole Sherwood and Stefan Matteau against the Stars’ top line. Starting in his first NHL game was a nice moment for Dunne, who signed with Columbus as a free agent last month after playing the previous three seasons at Clarkson University.
Then the puck dropped, and Benn won the draw with minimal effort — undoubtedly a “Welcome to the NHL” moment for Dunne. On Wednesday, Dunne said he expected faceoffs to be a challenge for him as he settles into the professional game. He won 49.6% of his draws throughout his college career.
“The guys are bigger, they’re stronger, they’re better” in the NHL, Dunne said. “The guys who have better handeye (coordination) are better at being quick and the strong guys are a little bit stronger. It’s just something that I’ve gotta keep working on.”
Dunne won only one of his nine draws in the Jackets’ 4-1 loss to the Stars, but the performance in the faceoff circle was perhaps the only negative mark for Dunne in his NHL debut.
In a little more than 12 minutes of ice time, Dunne drew a penalty and laid
two hits. The big-bodied center — listed at 6 feet 4, 210 pounds — prides himself on his two-way game, and advanced stats from Thursday’s game indicate that Dunne controlled play when he was on the ice.
Though he didn’t record a shot on goal, the Jackets controlled 89.17% percent of the expected goals with Dunne on the ice, per Natural Stat Trick. Columbus also outshot Dallas, 7-3, and had seven high-danger scoring chances to the Stars’ none while Dunne was on the ice.
“I just want to use my body everywhere,” Dunne said Wednesday. “Be physical, be on the (defensive) side of the puck, make it as hard as I can and make it difficult. Just be a thorn in their side the whole game.”
Dunne did just that in his debut — and impressed Tortorella along the way.
“I thought he did some good things,” Tortorella said. “You can see that he’s an intelligent player, because he asks the right questions. … That’s encouraging for a big man, a young guy.”
Dunne played just seven games with the Cleveland Monsters in the AHL before being called up. He said Wednesday he didn’t know what to expect as far as when he’d get into the NHL lineup, but given the Jackets’ lack of depth at center after Boone Jenner’s injury and the trades of Nick Foligno and Riley Nash, Dunne’s chance came quickly.
Now, with only 11 games left in the season, it seems likely that he’ll continue to get chances to show what he can do.
“I know it’s kind of cliché, but I just wanted to play my game and work on my confidence down there — understand the pro game and play the way I can play,” Dunne said. “But obviously, it’s unbelievable that I’m here now.” bjohnson@dispatch.com @baileyajohnson_