Werenski gives Jackets All-star presence
The most common criticism about Zach Werenski’s style doubles as his greatest attribute.
The Blue Jackets’ top defenseman skates so smoothly, with long strides, that it’s often mistaken for him not trying hard. The truth is that sometimes he’s so good, naturally, that he doesn’t need to max out — allowing him to stay on the ice longer.
It’s a slight-of-skate deception, and Werenski could teach a master’s course on it. His ability to slow down a frenetic sport using patience and poise is a big reason he’s become one of the NHL’S best defensemen, invited last week to the NHL’S All-star weekend Feb. 4-5 in Last Vegas.
“Some guys look like they’re working hard and they’re skating fast, and he’s a guy that skates on top of the ice,” said Jake Bean, one of Werenski’s new defense partners this season. “He doesn’t need to expend much effort, and that’s one of the reasons he’s so good.”
It’s also a reason Werenski was given an alternate captain ‘A’ before the season. He’s leading the team in ice time at 26:27 per game, ranked third in the NHL, and his calm demeanor is something that a lot of his peers could stand to harness against pressure from opposing forecheckers.
“Whenever you’re rushing plays, you’re not sharp with passes and it’s not as crisp,” said Werenski, who will make his second All-star appearance. “A lot of times, it leads to turnovers and it plays to (the opponents’) favor. They can get on their forecheck and their quick-ups (at the net), so if we can slow a game down and start making better plays — get our eyes up ice, put pucks on our forwards’ tape — it just helps our team get on the attack, get on the forecheck and establish our game.”
Look no further than Thursday for an example.
The Blue Jackets made up for a humbling loss on New Year’s Day with a 6-0 rout of the Carolina Hurricanes, and they did it much like Werenski plays.
The Jackets were methodical, motivated and relentless against one of the NHL’S top forechecking teams, an efffort coach Brad Larsen wanted to “bottle” going into another daunting road game Saturday against the Florida Panthers. Having an all-star defenseman helps. “I think we’re just kind of scratching the surface with him,” Larsen said of Werenski. “He’s such a quality person. He’s always been a respectful kid and puts the work in. I’m thrilled for him. He’s deserving, for sure, for the amount of ice time he (plays) for us and what we’re asking. It’s a great opportunity for him to show his skill set at the All-star game.”
Werenski doesn’t know yet which event he’ll take part in at the NHL’S skills competition. It was the “fastest skater” event in 2018, which led to a few barbs about his long-striding style of skating.
“That’s been my whole career, having those long strides,” said Werenski, who is 6 feet 2, 213 pounds. “The last time I was at the All-star game, I did ‘fastest skater’ and the guys on the bench were joking that I wasn’t trying. But that’s just how I skate. It’s just how it is and how I play hockey.”
It’s also how he earned All-star invitations. Seth Jones was selected for the Blue Jackets four years ago, but Werenski was clearly next in line.
This time, it’s different.
Jones was traded to the Chicago Blackhawks in July, clearing a path for Werenski to claim the Jackets’ invitation, and his former defense partner needs to win the online “Last Man In” fan vote for the Central Division team. bhedger@dispatch.com @Brianhedger