Blue Jackets’ Olivier Talks Issue of Ramping Up Following Slow Start

The Columbus Blue Jackets opened the preseason on Monday night with a 1-0 shootout win over the Detroit Red Wings, in a game that featured more American Hockey League players than National Hockey League players.

This is all in attempt to get everyone playing at the top of their game coming out of the preseason, to open the regular season on fire. The Hockey Writers got a chance to hear from Mathieu Olivier about how he views the new look preseason, and how much it takes him to kick it up into gear.

“I’d like to play more, personally. Again, that is very subjective, though. Some guys like their games,” said Olivier. “The last two preseasons, I’ve played six (games), and I felt good to start the season. So, for me I like the reps, it takes a little longer to get the engine going for myself just personally.”

With the two games being the new limit for veterans to play in the preseason, how the Blue Jackets choose to utilize those rosters continues to be a massive point of interest. For the final game, Head Coach Rick Bowness said he wants his opening night roster to be on the ice when they finish the preseason in Detroit.

How Can They Replicate Game Play?

One of the biggest things on the coaching staff entering the first ever 84 game season, is how they are able to replicate game play and the pace and physicality of it, without actually being in it.

“Hockey is a sport where it is really tough to replicate what kind of conditioning you’re getting on the ice. So, I don’t think there’s a perfect way to replace those games, where we are just going to have to make due with what we got,” said Olivier. “To be fair, it is an even playing field. Every team is like that.”

So, therein lies the issue with the preseason as it is this year, they are going to struggle to give this team true in game competition as one unit, because of the limited time prior to the start of the regular season.

Bowness also talked about how difficult it is for players coming to try and take a job from someone else on the roster, or to prove they have what it takes to crack the roster as a professional tryout candidate like the Blue Jackets have in Carson Soucy.

For Soucy, it is unfortunate that he is fighting an uphill battle to try and earn a roster spot and a contract in limited time, but the team wants to give him every chance possible to make it work on the NHL roster. Again though, they are going to struggle to give them a fair shake against other NHL competition, because it is so limited to see in this new-look preseason.

So, how do you get these guys up to speed without being able to go full speed?

How Do You Break It?

One guy who will not need any help getting up to game speed will be Jet Greaves, and that is due partially to his teams lackluster play early on. He was one of the big standouts from the first preseason game where he got the start, because he got tested early and often in the first two periods.

He stopped all 16 shots he faced Monday night, and talked about the helpful part of seeing pucks early on in the game, and how it can help you settle in to a game.

“Sometimes when you are very busy at the start of the game, and then you’re a little slower later, or vice verse, but in the preseason it is maybe nice to see some pucks and kind of get into the game early,” said Greaves.

#CBJ begin the preseason with a 1-0 shootout win over Detroit.

Conor Garland with the lone goal in the shootout, while Jet Greaves (16 saves) and Pheonix Copley (two saves) combine for the shutout victory.

The club returns to action Tuesday at Buffalo.

— CBJ Public Relations (@BlueJacketsPR) September 22, 2026

However, the early part of the season is the time where they have to really rely on their veterans to set the tone and be the reason they get off to the hot start to begin with. As Greaves told us, they have to take a similar approach for what has worked in the past, and the continuity from last season with those guys helps.

“I am fortunate to have a little bit more experience now, which I feel is helping me in how I approach each day, but there is a lot of the same,” said Greaves. “As a group, we have a lot of the same guys back, so it is a different situation than other years, and there is a lot of continuity, and like I touched on, there is a lot of urgency for us.”

Urgency will be the buzz word for Columbus coming into the final two games of the preseason, as the Blue Jackets will come home, and play game three of the preseason at Nationwide Arena against the Pittsburgh Penguins, before finishing the preseason on Saturday at Detroit.

The game in Detroit is expected to feature almost the entire starting roster for the team according to the plan laid out from Bowness, as he wants his guys all firing together as the season begins.

The Blue Jackets open the season Oct. 1 at home against the Buffalo Sabres. It will be the first of seven games at home in their first nine contests. A hot start will be of the utmost importance.