1 Columbus Blue Jackets News Clips July 18-20, 2020 Columbus Blue
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Columbus Blue Jackets News Clips July 18-20, 2020 Columbus Blue Jackets PAGE 02: Columbus Dispatch: Blue Jackets camp notes: Bjorkstrand scores again, scrimmage lineups and more PAGE 04: Columbus Dispatchbl: Blue Jackets begin holding scrimmages PAGE 06: Columbus Dispatch: Blue Jackets players Oliver Bjorkstrand, Seth Jones get competitive while rehabbing ankles PAGE 08: The Athletic: What the *&#% did he say? In quiet rinks, NHL games might have added color PAGE 11: Columbus Dispatch: Blue Jackets slowly turning attention toward Maple Leafs PAGE 13: Columbus Dispatch: Blue Jackets must maintain defensive edge PAGE 15: Columbus Dispatch: Josh Anderson added to Blue Jackets’ camp roster PAGE 16: Columbus Dispatch: Healthy Oliver Bjorkstrand shows scoring touch in first week of Columbus Blue Jackets’ camp PAGE 18: Columbus Dispatch: Columbus Blue Jackets’ Zach Werenski elevates his game Cleveland Monsters/Prospects NHL/Websites PAGE 20: Sportsnet.ca: Quick Shifts: How Tortorella is preparing for Keefe's Leafs PAGE 25: Sportsnet.ca: Where the East's American play-in teams stand ahead of NHL restart 1 Columbus Dispatch / Blue Jackets camp notes: Bjorkstrand scores again, scrimmage lineups and more By Brian Hedger – July 18, 2020 The fifth day of training camp for the Blue Jackets included practice, more work on special teams and a second straight scrimmage day. Here’s a rundown of what took place, including scrimmages lineups, goal-scorers and early power-play setups: Scrimmage After a 1-1 tie in the first scrimmage of camp Thursday, the Jackets got back to it Friday afternoon at the OhioHealth Ice Haus. Following a morning practice that lasted roughly 45 minutes, the ice was resurfaced and another scrimmage began. The white team defeated the blue team 2-1 on goals by Oliver Bjorkstrand and Boone Jenner, while Elvis Merzlikins tended their net – allowing just one goal by veteran forward Nathan Gerbe. Bjorkstrand, who’s fully recovered from ankle surgery in March, appears to be in top form after scoring in both scrimmages. Gerbe, who’s trying to earn a spot in the main practice group, beat Merzlikins from close range with a nice wrist shot past the glove side, pulling the blue team to within 2-1. Jenner’s goal, scored with a backhand between the pads in front of the net, was the winner. Lineups White team Forwards Nick Foligno – Boone Jenner – Liam Foudy Alexandre Texier – Pierre-Luc Dubois – Oliver Bjorkstrand Kole Sherwood – Ryan MacInnis – Stephane Matteau Defensemen Zach Werenski – Seth Jones Ryan Murray – Markus Nutivaara Dean Kukan – Adam Clendening Goalie Elvis Merzlikins Blue team Forwards Gustav Nyquist – Alexander Wennberg – Cam Atkinson Eric Robinson – Riley Nash – Emil Bemstrom Devin Shore – Kevin Stenlund – Nathan Gerbe Defensemen Vladislav Gavrikov – David Savard Scott Harrington, Andrew Peeke and Gabriel Carlsson all working together and rotating shifts to also work with Gavrikov or Savard. 2 Goalie Joonas Korpisalo Special teams Following the scrimmage, the Blue Jackets worked on their power play for the second straight day. The top unit currently includes Werenski running the point with Jones on the left-wing wall, Nyquist manning the middle of the 1-3-1 and Bjorkstrand on the right-wing wall. Dubois is a big body camped in front of the net. The second unit has Murray running the point with Bemstrom on the left side, Wennberg in the middle, Atkinson on the right and Foligno in front of the net. Tortorella said the experiment with Werenski and Jones in the same group, as opposed to being split up for each to quarterback a unit, is tied to the fact they’re preparing for a five-game series against the Toronto Maple Leafs in the qualifying round. "They read off one another so well, we wanted to try them on a power-play unit," he said. "And they’re going to be on the ice. This is a best-of-5 series. It’s going to be … I’m putting people on the ice and fill them with ice time if I think they can help us to win that particular game – because if you don’t win that particular game, you’re in trouble in a five-game series." The Blue Jackets have an off day Saturday and will return to the ice Sunday for another day of practice and scrimmaging – starting with practice at 11 a.m. Practices and scrimmages are not open to the public. 3 Columbus Dispatch / Blue Jackets begin holding scrimmages By Brian Hedger – July 18, 2020 After a couple days of hard skates, the Blue Jackets’ training camp to prepare for the NHL’s 24-team return has shifted into its second phase. After a snappy half-hour practice Wednesday, without a conditioning skate, Thursday brought the first scrimmage of camp. That’s exactly the way it was planned by coach John Tortorella, director of player performance Nelson Ayotte and strength and conditioning coach Kevin Collins. "The first three days, I just wanted them to touch the puck and see where they were conditioning-wise," Tortorella said. "I don’t want to rush it. We still have plenty of days to do this, but after the first three days, you’re going to see more of the special teams (and scrimmages)." The transition began Wednesday, when Tortorella consulted with players and his performance staff. "I talked to the players, and it was the first time they skated two days in a row," Tortorella said, referring to the NHL pausing the season March 12 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. "They’re always looking for more. That’s just the way our athletes are built. But I had a much better conversation with Nelson and Kevin, who are in charge of all the physiology of it and numbers of it, as far as recovery. ... We felt it was time just to back off from the conditioning skate." It was also time to shift into scrimmages Thursday, which included a goalie competition between Elvis Merzlikins and Joonas Korpisalo picking up steam. "We got a ton of puck touches, and that’s what I wanted the first three days," Tortorella said. "We accomplished that, so now we’ll get into the grind and a little bit of the body work and start working on special teams." Desperation mode The Blue Jackets have a five-game series against the high-powered Toronto Maple Leafs ahead in the qualifying round, so tough decisions will be made with expediency. "It’s a very tricky series because you can’t allow it to get away from you," Tortorella said. "There’s going to be some quick decisions made and there’s going to be some ice time laid onto people who we may have more of a trust (in) than some other guys in certain situations. We’re going to lay it out there, because it changes really quickly. You lose the first one, you are behind the eight-ball right away in a best-of-five." Elvis got hitched Those who follow Merzlikins on Instagram know that he recently posted engagement photos of him proposing to girlfriend Aleksandra Tyszliewicz during the NHL’s pause. Turns out, they also got married. After he popped the question during a visit with Blue Jackets goalie coach Manny Legace in suburban Detroit, Merzlikins and Tyszliewicz took the plunge when they returned to Columbus. "We got married, but I don’t think it was the right time to announce it, because it was the (pandemic) and then there was the protests, so I was kind of waiting (to) announce that a little bit later," said 4 Merzlikins, who revealed the info Wednesday. "I almost got a second puppy (too), so there was a lot of new things." New look A few Blue Jackets defensemen took advantage of their time off to experiment with facial hair and, in one case, a new hairstyle. Ryan Murray has grown a mustache, David Savard’s beard is even bushier than normal, and then there’s Zach Werenski, who added a mullet-like hairstyle to a mustache he’d dabbled with during the regular season. Tortorella couldn’t help but take a couple of verbal jabs when asked this week about Werenski, who led all NHL defensemen with 20 goals. "About his mustache?" Tortorella said, laughing. "His mullet?" Classic ‘Torts’ Tortorella was also asked about playing games in arenas with no fans, where the acoustics might easily pick up some off-color language on TV. "I really don’t give a (expletive), quite honestly," Tortorella said. "I’ll put it to you that way. I’m not even thinking about it." 5 Columbus Dispatch / Blue Jackets players Oliver Bjorkstrand, Seth Jones get competitive while rehabbing ankles By Adam Jardy – July 18, 2020 By nature, athletes are quick to compare. Be it a goal, a time or some other measure of competition, there’s always something to discuss or debate during the course of a career. The size of one’s ankle, though? That was a new one for Oliver Bjorkstrand and Seth Jones. With teammates scattered throughout the world as the NHL looked for a way to resume its paused 2019-20 season, the two Blue Jackets remained in Columbus, rehabilitating their respective high-ankle sprains after undergoing the same surgery roughly three weeks apart. Jones, who was the first to undergo what is known as "tightrope" surgery, said the two would compare their recoveries by examining each other’s ankles. Bjorkstrand said it verged on competition at a time when the sports world was shut down. "I guess it was seeing how swollen it was, when it started to go down and look like your regular ankle," Bjorkstrand said.