Six Blue Jackets hopefuls to watch
Things in the NHL aren't completely back to “normal” yet, but the league is making big strides in that direction.
The return of the annual Traverse City Prospects Tournament in Traverse City, Michigan, later this week is the latest proof. The tournament was canceled last year because of the pandemic.
This year, the Blue Jackets are heading back to Northern Michigan with a roster full of prospects to compete against hopefuls from four other NHL teams from Thursday to Monday.
Here are six Blue Jackets prospects to watch:
Yegor Chinakhov
Position: RW
2020-21 stats: 17 points (10 goals, 7 assists) in 32 games with Avangard Omsk (KHL); 7 points (5 goals, 2 assists) in 21 playoff games
The skinny: No Blue Jackets prospect will have more eyes on him than Chinakhov, who helped his KHL team win the Gagarin Cup last season as a rookie. Chinakhov, a shocking selection 21st overall in 2020, also pulled a surprise by signing with the Blue Jackets rather than extending his KHL stay. Most Russian youngsters log multiple KHL seasons before transitioning to the NHL, but Chinakhov wanted to get here sooner. He has a lot to learn, including English, but there's no uncertainty about his shooting skill.
Cole Sillinger
Age: 18
Position: C
2020-21 stats: 46 points (24 goals, 22 assists) and 39 penalty minutes in 31 games with Sioux Falls (USHL)
The skinny: Sillinger was the 12th overall pick in this year's draft. Sillinger is the only one of the Jackets' three firstround selections to sign an NHL entrylevel contract, so while Kent Johnson (No. 5) and Corson Ceulemans (No. 25) skate for their Big Ten universities this Sillinger will get an immediate opportunity to impress..
Josh Dunne
Age: 22
Position: C
2020-21 stats: 5 points (2 goals, 3 assists) in 14 games with Clarkson (NCAA); 10 points (8 goals, 2 assists) in 15 games with Cleveland (AHL); Didn't record a point in six games with the Blue Jackets
The skinny: Dunne signed with Columbus last spring as an undrafted collegiate free agent. He's a power forward who can play center. Listed at 6-foot-4, 209 pounds, he has some snarl. His NHL future most likely involves centering a hard-checking fourth line, but the lefthanded shooting pivot showed some impressive offensive capabilities in his first AHL action with the Monsters. Former Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella expressed concerns about Dunne's skating ability at the NHL level, but the Blue Jackets are looking for capable centers and will give him every opportunity to prove himself.
Carson Meyer
Age: 24
Position: RW
2020-21 stats: 20 points (9 goals, 11 assists) in 26 games with Cleveland (AHL)
The skinny: A product of the local Ohio AAA Blue Jackets program, Meyer put himself in a good spot with the “big club” in Columbus by impressing in his first professional season. Playing with an AHL contract in 2020-21, the Blue Jackets' 2017 sixth-round pick pried open a door to the NHL that appeared to be closing. Columbus didn't extend an NHL offer following his final collegiate season with Ohio State in 2020, but Meyer earned his first NHL deal last season while playing with the Monsters.
Tyler Angle
Age: 20
Position: C
2020-21 stats: 24 points (11 goals, 13 assists) in 23 games with Cleveland (AHL)
The skinny: Angle actually benefited from strict COVID-19 protocols that preseason, vented the Ontario Hockey League from playing a single game last season. Angle was granted permission to play his first professional season for the Monsters instead, and he earned his first NHL contract in the process, averaging a point a game and proving himself as a center. Angle also averaged more than a point a game in 2019-20, his final OHL season with the Windsor Spitfires. He's starting to look like an unearthed gem for the Jackets, who selected him in the seventh round (No. 212) of the 2019 draft.
Jake Christiansen
Age: 21
Position: D
2020-21 stats: 15 points (3 goals, 12 assists) in 28 games with Cleveland (AHL)
The skinny: Christiansen is another find for the Blue Jackets among the undrafted ranks, signed out of the WHL shortly before the COVID-19 pandemic began in March 2020. After finishing his final WHL season for the Everett Silvertips in 2019-20 with an impressive 2228-50 scoring line (38 games), the offensive-minded defenseman produced at the professional level last season in Cleveland. Competition among young blue-liners in the Jackets' system will be fierce the next couple of years, but don't be surprised to see Christiansen rise to the NHL at some point this season or next. bhedger@dispatch.com @Brianhedger