The Columbus Blue Jackets enter the new week by playing four games in their next five days. The only off day is on Wednesday when it’s a mandated day off from camp.
The Blue Jackets host the Washington Capitals on Monday night before travelling to St. Louis to play the Blues on Tuesday night. After the off day, they finish the preseason with a home and home series against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Thursday’s game is in Columbus while Friday’s game is in Pittsburgh.
We dive into a lot of stuff on this week’s News & Rumors. We begin with how the Blue Jackets’ new head coach is implementing his style in a fun and direct way.
Evason’s Teaching Style
The Blue Jackets collectively are a young team. While they have their share of veterans in the lineup, their young talent is what stands out most.
Head coach Dean Evason is implementing his way of doing things in this Training Camp. Part of this involves teaching his concepts while teaching on different aspects of the game.
So far, the Blue Jackets have embraced the way Evason has handled these moments. During a recent availability, he was asked about Adam Fantilli’s goal scoring.
While Evason acknowledged the obvious about the importance of goal scoring, he said something interesting about the other side of the game. That is the teaching he does in the correctable moments and how he approaches it.
Consider Fantilli a fan of this approach. He opened up about what he likes about Evason’s both direct and fun approach to the game.
“What I really like is that he talks to me,” Fantilli said of Evason. “In Washington, I had a couple turnovers at their blue line or just inside their blue line. He’ll come up to you and just give you a tap and be like ‘You’re feeling it tonight but still don’t be trying that stuff. We’re still in a tight game. There’s no reason for that.’ And he’s absolutely right. I tried to clean it up against Buffalo. I thought I did better with that. I really love the way he’s been approaching that.”
Fantilli and the other Blue Jackets don’t know what to expect from the head coach sometimes. Let him explain what Evason does to keep things light while poking fun at himself.
“He walks in the room for video and you never know what he is going to say,” Fantilli said of Evason. “He likes to keep it light. He trips the guys. He trips the other coaches. He trips himself. It’s good. It’s fun.”
New Blue Jacket James van Riemsdyk has seen a lot in his time in the NHL. In the early going, count him a fan too of Evason’s approach.
“He’s got that great balance of he wants to hold you accountable but he gives you the leash and opportunity to go out there and figure things out too,” van Riemsdyk said. “That’s the way things are ingrained better is you learn sometimes through the trail by fire. He’s still going to hold you accountable but he’s got this way about how he interacts with people in a positive way. He gets his message across in a funny way a lot of times. He’s good that way.”
“He’s got a great temperament to him. I’ve enjoyed working with him so far. I think that’s very important especially for having a younger team and striking that fine balance of accountability. Half the battle over the course of a season is making sure guys are staying confident and feeling good about their games and there’s that fine balance of how you would go about getting your message across.”
In camp, the players have been glowing in their early reviews of Evason. The reason? He’s direct in his approach with open communication while having fun doing so.
Fantilli/JVR
So far in camp, Fantilli has centered the second line with van Riemsdyk to his left. The pair is working in practice to develop the chemistry that all players look for.
One of the players Fantilli has looked up to is van Riemsdyk. Now they’re playing together. Fantilli spoke on the influence someone like JVR can have on him.
“Quite a bit. He’s a really good communicator,” Fantilli said of van Riemsdyk. “He talks a lot. He’s seen a lot in the game. I’m all ears whenever he’s talking. He’s a guy I grew up watching when he was in Toronto. He’s got a lot of wisdom so I just try to listen whenever he speaks.”
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van Riemsdyk already sees how bright a future is in store for Fantilli in the NHL. Here’s what JVR said about the way Fantilli will be able to impact the game.
“He’s got a lot of raw talent and ability,” van Riemsdyk said. “A lot of great tools to work with. He was drafted very high for a reason. He played in the league as an 18-year old for a reason. He is still a really young kid and you can see all the tools are there and the potential is there. The more you play in the league, the more experience you gain, the more those little details and habits become second nature. That’s when you really start to see those guys take off.”
Besides the obvious of helping fill a need at forward, van Riemsdyk’s presence will have an impact on everyone on the Blue Jackets. It might not always appear on the scoresheet. But it’s just as important as it’ll help the players solidify their details and habits.
Preseason Too Long?
Ah yes. The age-old question is back in the spotlight thanks to the events of Saturday night. With Montreal losing David Reinbacher and Patrik Laine early in the game, the question of is the preseason too long has come back up.
The Blue Jackets have eight preseason games on their schedule. Considering the guidelines surrounding rosters, that’s a lot of games in a short amount of time.
We asked both Evason and van Riemsdyk their thoughts on if the preseason is too long and should be shortened. Here’s what each had to say.
“I’m kind of in-between right now because do I like to have eight games? No,” Evason said. “Do I like to have eight games this year to see our group? Yes. So I’m in-between there. If you’ve got enough veterans to get eight of them in every hockey game, then it’s okay. The least a player is playing is three (preseason games) scheduled and I think the most might be five.”
“That’s something we’ve talked about in the summer a lot with some competition committee and some stuff with the Player’s Association,” van Riemsdyk said. “Especially nowadays, I feel like when you do have guys, there’s not really much of an offseason in the sense of guys are training, guys are coming to camp ready. I think we’re ready to hit the ground running a lot of times when we’re here. I think there’s probably a better balance of the amount of preseason games and how we go about our training camp period.”
“You hate to see guys get hurt. Who’s to say it couldn’t happen in a regular season game? I think in the preseason the games tend to be a little more scrambly so it can be more unpredictable in some ways. That’s something I think we’ll continue to discuss and see if there’s a better way to go about things.”
We’ll see in time when this comes up and then how long it takes for any changes to take place. As Evason said, individual team situation could dictate what is appropriate for a team at any given time.
Side Dishes
- The Board of Governors meeting is on Tuesday. One of the things expected to be discussed is the Blue Jackets’ salary cap floor situation. Don’t be surprised if the team gets an official word from the NHL sometime this week.
- Fantilli said he texted Patrik Laine on Saturday night after he learned of the injury. “You definitely hate to see that, especially in preseason. It’s tough. You hate to see that, a friend of mine.”
- Evason does have the remaining players in camp broken into NHL and AHL groups. Monday night’s game against the Capitals could be big for those in the AHL group looking to make one final impression before more cuts come.
- Fantilli played in Washington, against Buffalo and practiced Sunday. How is he feeling? “I’m feeling good. If I get called to play tomorrow, I’ll be ready to go.”
- Elvis Merzlikins didn’t practice on Sunday but was just a maintenance day per Evason. The coach made it a point to say Merzlikins wanted to be on the ice. Daniil Tarasov is expected to start Monday against the Capitals.