FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: AUGUST 28, 2019

COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS TO PARTICIPATE IN ANNUAL NHL PROSPECTS TOURNAMENT SEPTEMBER 6-10 IN TRAVERSE CITY, MICHIGAN Players will undergo physicals and practice on Thursday, September 5 before departing for Traverse City

COLUMBUS, OHIO - The begin preparations for the 2019-20 season at the Annual NHL Prospect Tournament to be held from September 6-10 at the Centre Ice Arena in Traverse City, Michigan. The 23 participating players will undergo physicals prior to taking part in an on-ice practice session at the OhioHealth Ice Haus, the club’s official practice facility at Nationwide Arena, from 10:30-11:30 a.m. on Thursday, September 5.

The on-ice session is free and open to the public. Media availability with the players will be held immediately following practice before the team departs for Traverse City.

This year will mark Columbus’ 18th-straight appearance at the tournament. The Blue Jackets became the first team to capture five tournament titles after winning the Matthew Wuest Memorial Cup last year. The club has also won the tournament in 2005, 2006, 2014 and 2015. This year’s participating clubs will be divided into the following: GORDIE HOWE DIVISION – Chicago Blackhawks, Detroit Red Wings, St. Louis Blues and ; and TED LINDSAY DIVISION – Columbus, Dallas Stars, Minnesota Wild and New York Rangers.

Practice sessions and tournament games will be held on the facility’s two sheets of ice – David’s Rink and West Rink – located at 1600 Chartwell Drive, Traverse City, Michigan, 49686 (Phone – 231/933-7465). The Blue Jackets’ schedule includes:

Friday, Sept. 6 9:30 to 10:15 a.m. Practice (West Rink) 3:30 p.m. at NEW YORK RANGERS (West Rink)

Saturday, Sept. 7 10:30 a.m. to 11:15 a.m. Practice (West Rink) 6:30 p.m. vs. MINNESOTA WILD (David’s Rink)

Sunday, Sept. 8 12 to 1 p.m. Practice (West Rink)

Monday, Sept. 9 8:30 to 9 a.m. Practice (West Rink) 2 p.m. at DALLAS STARS (David’s Rink)

Tuesday, Sept. 10 Game – Opponent, Time and Rink TBD

The Blue Jackets will be coached in Traverse City by Mike Eaves, head coach of the , the club's affiliate. The rookie camp roster features 23 players, including nine that were selected by the club via the NHL Draft. Leading the group of prospects will be three of the club’s top picks from recent drafts – 2018 first round pick Liam Foudy (18th overall), 2017 second round selection Alexandre Texier (45th overall) and 2016 second round pick Andrew Peeke (34th overall). Other drafted players scheduled to participate in the tournament include: 2019 – Eric Hjorth, Tyler Angle; 2018 – Tim Berni, Veini Vehvilainen, Trey Fix-Wolansky; 2014 – Elvis Merzlikins.

The roster also features three players who signed entry level contracts with the club: 2019 – Jakob Lilja; 2018 – Michael Prapavessis; 2017 – Maxime Fortier. Forward Emil Bemstrom, who was scheduled to participate, will miss the tournament due to a facial injury. He is expected to be cleared for full participation when the Blue Jackets open training camp on September 12.

Blue Jackets veterans and rookies will open the club’s 19th training camp, presented by OhioHealth, with medicals and fitness testing on Thursday, September 12 with the first day of on-ice testing scheduled for the following day. The Blue Jackets open preseason play on Tuesday, September 17 when they host the Buffalo Sabres at 7 p.m. at Nationwide Arena. The club will open the regular season on Friday, October 4 vs. the Toronto Maple Leafs at Nationwide Arena.

FORWARDS – 12 HT WT DOB BIRTHPLACE SHOOTS 2018-19 LGE GP G A PTS +/- PIM ACQUIRED 39 Angle, Tyler 5-10 168 9-30-00 Thorold, ON L Windsor OHL 58 20 24 44 -11 34 ’19 Draft 81 Barach, Derek 5-8 165 2-27-95 Glenmont, NY R Mercyhurst AHA 38 15 22 37 1 28 FA Invite Cleveland AHL 15 7 4 11 6 6 64 Fix-Wolansky, Trey 5-6 176 5-26-99 Edmonton, AB R Edmonton WHL 65 37 65 102 36 52 ’18 Draft 36 Fortier, Maxime 5-10 183 12-15-97 Montreal, QC R Cleveland AHL 20 1 4 5 -2 2 ’17 ELC Jacksonville ECHL 24 12 13 25 3 4 19 Foudy, Liam 6-1 182 2-4-00 Scarborough, ON L London OHL 62 36 32 68 39 32 ’18 Draft 43 Guy, Brayden 6-0 194 3-3-01 Brampton, ON L Sarnia OHL 60 19 13 32 -8 34 FA Invite 63 Korostelev, Nikita 6-1 209 2-8-97 Moskva, RUS R Cleveland AHL 31 3 10 13 -6 4 FA Invite Jacksonville ECHL 16 3 4 7 -1 2 15 Lilja, Jakob 6-0 194 7-23-93 Limhamn, SWE L Djurgardens IF SHL 52 12 25 37 3 18 ’19 ELC 87 Maksimovich, Kyle 5-8 174 3-10-98 Hamilton, ON L Erie OHL 39 23 33 56 2 42 FA Invite Ottawa OHL 28 12 13 25 22 21 73 McGregor, Ryan 6-0 168 1-29-99 Burlington, ON L Sarnia OHL 61 25 52 77 11 22 FA Invite Toronto AHL 4 0 0 0 -1 0 83 Sokolov, Egor 6-4 223 6-7-00 Yekaterinburg, RUS R Cape Breton QMJHL 68 30 27 57 6 24 FA Invite 42 Texier, Alexandre 6-0 187 9-13-99 Grenoble, FRA L KalPa 55 14 27 41 -11 36 ’17 Draft Columbus NHL 2 1 0 1 3 0 Cleveland AHL 7 5 2 7 6 4

DEFENSE – 9 HT WT DOB BIRTHPLACE SHOOTS 2018-19 LGE GP G A PTS +/- PIM ACQUIRED 94 Bergeron, Justin 6-1 181 9-14-00 Magog, QC L Rouyn-Noranda QMJHL 65 16 41 57 56 43 FA Invite 75 Berni, Tim 5-11 174 2-11-00 Mannedorf, SUI L ZSC Lions NLA 41 1 7 8 -11 8 ’18 Draft GCK Lions NLB 3 1 0 1 -1 0 55 Brassard, Matt 6-2 196 8-8-98 Barrie, ON R Oshawa OHL 35 8 19 27 5 44 FA Invite Niagara OHL 30 3 26 29 -4 30 66 Henault, Louka 6-0 179 1-31-01 Montreal, QC L Windsor OHL 66 2 20 22 0 28 FA Invite 45 Hjorth, Eric 6-3 192 1-8-01 Landvetter, SWE R Linkoping J20 SuperElit 1 0 0 0 -2 2 ’19 Draft Linkoping J18 J18 Allsven. 3 3 3 6 5 0 84 Karlsson, Anton 6-2 194 5-20-93 Vetlanda, SWE L Linkoping HC SHL 47 4 9 13 5 51 FA Invite 51 Paquette, Jacob 6-3 201 5-26-99 Ottawa, ON L Kingston OHL 24 1 3 4 -11 17 FA Invite Niagara OHL 35 3 20 23 39 8 2 Peeke, Andrew 6-3 205 3-17-98 Parkland, FL R Notre Dame Big Ten 40 3 21 24 -2 24 ’16 Draft 85 Prapavessis, Michael 6-2 181 1-7-96 Oakville, ON L Cleveland AHL 26 1 5 6 -3 6 ’18 ELC

GOALTENDERS – 2 HT WT DOB BIRTHPLACE CATCHES 2018-19 LGE GP MINS W-L-OT GAA SV% ACQUIRED 31 Vehvilainen, Veini 6-1 183 2-13-97 Jyvaskyla, FIN L Karpat Liiga 38 2,290 25-8-5 1.58 .933 ’18 Draft 90 Merzlikins, Elvis 6-3 183 4-13-94 Riga, LAT L HC Lugano NLA 43 2,559 22-18-0 2.44 .921 ’14 Draft

NOTE: Roster subject to change

Full and partial season tickets for the Blue Jackets’ 2019-20 campaign are currently available for purchase. Information on all ticketing options can be obtained by calling (800) NHL‐COLS or by visiting BlueJackets.com.

‐ CBJ ‐

Contacts: Todd Sharrock, Vice President of Communications & Team Services – 614/246‐4157 or [email protected] Glenn Odebralski, Manager of Communications – 614/246‐0288 or [email protected]