Blue Jackets’ Sean Monahan Set to Make His Preseason Debut

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Coming off of a late night 8-4 win over the Washington Capitals, the Columbus Blue Jackets return home to play in their fourth of eight preseason games. A notable debut will be taking place.

For the first time since signing a 5-year, $27.5 million contract with the Blue Jackets in the offseason, Sean Monahan will appear in a game. The team will be utilizing a mostly NHL roster against the Sabres.

Monahan will center a line with Boone Jenner on his left and Kirill Marchenko on his right. Here was how the lines looked at the morning skate.

  • Boone Jenner-Sean Monahan-Kirill Marchenko
  • James van Riemsdyk-Adam Fantilli-Dmitri Voronkov
  • Yegor Chinakhov-Cole Sillinger-Kent Johnson
  • Owen Sillinger-Sean Kuraly-Mathieu Olivier
  • Zach Werenski-Damon Severson
  • Ivan Provorov-David Jiricek
  • Jake Christiansen-Erik Gudbranson
  • Elvis Merzlikins in starter’s crease. Jet Greaves backing up.

Monahan Excited to Play With His Linemates

Monahan has done nothing but put in practice since Training Camp started. From the outset, he’s centered Jenner and Marchenko. He’s excited to finally get his chance in a game.

“I’m excited to get some reps in,” Monahan said. “I feel like it’s been a lot of practices. I’m excited to play.”

Sean Monahan Winnipeg Jets
Sean Monahan is looking forward to his Blue Jackets’ debut Saturday night. (Jess Starr/The Hockey Writers)

Monahan has spent the time in practice learning about his linemates and their style. They each bring a little something different to the table. With Jenner, there is some similarity in the way they play.

“He’s a smart player,” Monahan said of Jenner. “He’s harder on the net and strong in the faceoff circle. He thinks the game at a high level and competes really hard.”

On the other side is Marchenko, who brings energy and pace. Monahan believes he fits well on the line as someone who can create plays and finish.

“He brings energy. He can shoot the puck. He’s skilled,” Monahan said of Marchenko. “He wants the pucks and wants to make plays. So I think anytime you’re playing with a guy like that, it brings a sense of energy and excitement every time you jump over the boards.”

That excitement for Monahan carries over to the rest of the team. Now that he’s had an up close look at his teammates especially the depth on center, he believes they will be capable of scoring goals.

“I think it’s a lot of smart players. We’ve got enough offensive talent where I think we’re going to be able to score goals. I think we got to push each other down the middle to be consistent every night and play both ends of the puck. When you’re doing that, you have a good chance every night.”

Monahan Brings Leadership to Room

Head coach Dean Evason has spent his time with the Blue Jackets getting to know his players. He came in with a fresh mindset not wanting to know too much about them. He wanted to learn on his own.

So far with Monahan, it’s clear what Evason has seen in the veteran.

“Leadership,” Evason said of Monahan. “Pro. Conducts himself with great maturity. (I’m) really looking forward to his game tonight. He’s skated with Boone and (Marchenko) for all of camp. So looking forward to seeing that chemistry continue to grow.”

On top of being on the top line Saturday night, Monahan will play on the first power play unit. He was joined by Jenner, Chinakhov, Johnson and Werenski. The second unit consisted of Voronkov, Marchenko, Fantilli, van Riemsdyk and a combination of Severson/Provorov.

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Monahan has liked what has transpired in this training camp so far, echoing what many other players have already said about an Evason camp.

“It’s been a lot of fun,” Monahan said of Evason’s camp and practices. “(There’s) a lot of good energy and it’s a great pace out there. First and foremost, he’s a great person. He keep the rink a fun place to be at. It’s good structure. I like the way he thinks the game so it’s an exciting opportunity here for the group we have.”

Evason said that they try to get players three preseason games. With that, Monahan should get two of the remaining four preseason games after Saturday. If the early going is any indication, he seems to be settling in by the day to Columbus and with the Blue Jackets.

Monahan will get his first taste of the Cannon on Saturday night and fans will get their first look at him in a Blue Jackets’ sweater. As for the Cannon, “I haven’t had that yet. Yes, I’m looking forward to that.”

Side Dishes

  • How late of a night was it for the Blue Jackets coming home from Washington? Per the team, they landed at 1:45 A.M. Multiple players including Fantilli, Olivier, Cole Sillinger, Voronkov and Jiricek are playing Saturday after playing Friday. All were part of the morning skate.
  • Speaking of Jiricek, he had to leave the morning skate early. During a power play drill, he took a stick in the mouth. Evason said some stitches would be needed but will be good to go for Saturday night.
  • Here’s Evason on the mindset of determining who plays in the preseason. “We have to have eight veterans, right? So it was difficult to get eight hockey games with eight veterans without taxing too much. We’ve got a few back-to-backs like tonight. So we’ve tried to spread it out as much as we could…A lot goes into it, travel, different situations. But the bottom line is we try to get everybody to play in three hockey games for sure. And then I think the most anyone’s playing is six. So it’s a process to put it together, I’ll tell you that.”
  • After Saturday, the preseason will be half over. Expect some roster moves to take place with the Cleveland Monsters set to open their camp in the coming week.