Blue Jackets’ Dean Evason Offering Players a Fresh Start

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The Columbus Blue Jackets opened the home portion of their preseason schedule with a good performance from start to finish. Elvis Merzlikins stopped all 19 shots he faced in two periods. Denton Mateychuk, Kirill Marchenko and Kent Johnson all scored on their way to a 3-0 win over the St. Louis Blues.

The Blue Jackets controlled most of the game from a shots and possession perspective. They were able to rise to the occasion when the moment called for it.

The Blues had an extended two-man advantage in the third period with Zach Sawchenko in net trying to protect a 2-0 lead. The penalty kill came up huge and killed a 4-on-3, 5-on-3 and 5-on-4 advantage on the same kill to maintain the shutout.

The one overarching theme to this game was some new looks the Blue Jackets were showing. This is where we are starting to see the impact of head coach Dean Evason and what he’s bringing to the team.

Fresh Start With Purpose

Evason has made one thing clear during the early portion of training camp. It’s a fresh start for everyone. He even took it one step further. He made a specific request of his coaching staff and those that have been on the team before.

“You go through preseason and I don’t know a lot of these guys as far as what they’ve played in the past,” Evason said. “I’ve asked the coaches to not tell me a lot about what guys have done and what their personalities (are). I want to try to figure it out myself and see what role they want to play. We talked to them right from the start. If you don’t like your role, then change it.”

Dean Evason Columbus Blue Jackets
Dean Evason wants to learn about the players without anyone telling him about the past. (Photo by Colin Mayr/NHLI via Getty Images)

Kent Johnson was a standout on Wednesday night. He looked faster and stronger. He also played in all situations, including top power play and penalty kill.

It’s the penalty kill part that stands out. In Johnson’s Blue Jackets’ career, he’s never played a major role in that part of the game. This puts perspective on the fresh start Evason said he’s bringing.

“I heard prior to coming here what a rink rat he was and that he’s just a hockey player. He just wants to be on the ice all the time,” Evason said of Johnson. “I’ve seen that. What we’ve really liked about him this camp is the pace that he’s playing the game at. He’s got tremendous stick skills. Looks like he can stick out in a phone booth, but he’s playing the game at a fast pace. That’s not only offensively like we see him off the rush…but it’s also a benefit when you are playing through the neutral zone and in the D-zone. That’s the type of game that we want to play as a group, energy, aggressive fast pace. And he’s going it in all three zones.”

“Some guys want to play on the penalty kill. We’re trying a lot of guys in a lot of those areas. Do you want to play on the penalty kill? Show us you want to play on the penalty kill. Show us you can do it at the end of the day and we’ll pick hopefully the right guys to do it.”

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It’s not just Johnson that’s benefiting from the approach Evason is bringing to the Blue Jackets. It’s everyone. He’s combining teaching his systems with offering the flexibility for players to indicate what role they want to play within that system. What is that system?

“Our system, the Columbus Blue Jackets’ system is aggressive,” Evason said. “It’s in your face. It’s putting pressure on you in all areas of the ice…Fortunate thing is there’s a lot of hockey games that we can continue to teach each and every night and continue to get them to go forward with that aggressiveness.”

Sean Kuraly played the role of top-line center on a line with Yegor Chinakhov and Kirill Marchenko and was noticeable throughout. Denton Mateychuk looked calm and poised again while scoring the opening goal of the game. Throughout this preseason, there will be different looks. It’s all on purpose. Whether Evason wants to see something for himself or if a player asks to be in a certain role. This back-and-forth is a result of the fresh start everyone last.

What happened last year on the ice no longer matters. In the early going under Evason, all that matters is the here and now. It is truly a clean slate as he continues to get to know his team.

Side Dishes

  • Here’s Merzlikins on Mateychuk: “He’s doing great. There’s nothing to add. He did great tonight. It’s not easy to get in like this. It was a great job.”
  • And now Merzlikins on playing the first home game: “It’s been amazing. We have great fans. They’ve been there always for us. No matter good or bad, they never give up on us. That’s why this city is special. Everyone is here (and) stick together good or bad. They’re always here together. They’re never going to put the knife in your back.”
  • Mateychuk on Kent Johnson: “He’s impressive. He looks strong on the puck. It’s hard to get it off him. He used that to his advantage tonight. He looked great.
  • Kuraly on Johnson: “You guys probably see it for the first time with all the lights tonight. We’ve been seeing that for a couple weeks here. He’s been a dog on pucks and you can see his mentality. It’s no secret. It’s second effort on pucks and even if he loses the first one. He’s hunting these pucks. It’s just a start. He’s off to a good start.”
  • The Blue Jackets are off Thursday. They’ll hold a morning skate and practice on Friday before the game group travels to Washington for their game against the Capitals. They host the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday night at Nationwide Arena. By the end of the weekend, half the preseason will be gone.