Blue Jackets’ Bemstrom in a battle

Swedish sharpshooter needs to stake his claim

It's not exactly “now or never," but Emil Bemstrom does need to start tapping into his scoring potential sooner than later for the Blue Jackets.

Bemstrom, 22, is heading into his third NHL season and hasn't played up to the expectations heaped upon his arrival in 2019. After torching the Swedish Hockey League with 23 goals, 12 assists and 35 points in 47 games for Djurgardens, Bemstrom headed to Columbus as the youngest player in SHL history to lead the league in goals.

It was a big deal at the time, raising expectations for him with the Blue Jackets. The hope was that Bemstrom could help mitigate the loss of Artemi Panarin in free agency, but the Jackets are still waiting for that kind of impact. Bemstrom is too.

“I want to be an impact player on this team,” he said at the outset of Blue Jackets training camp. “I've just got to be better in all three zones … help the team not only to score goals, but also be a trustable player.”