Columbus Blue Jackets | CollegeHockeyPlayers

16Oct

Ryan Johansen(9) Springfield Falcons

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Columbus Blues Jackets‘ 1st round pick in the 2010 draft (#4 overall), center Ryan Johansen(9) is spending time playing in the AHL with their affiliate Springfield Falcons as the big club sits on the sidelines.

In a pair of home games over opening weekend he tallied his first ever goal in the league.

The 6’3″ 203 lbs. player scored a handy 9 goals and 12 assists in 67 NHL games in his rookie season with the Jackets.

At 20-years old playing games in the minors will only give him more playing and scoring confidence.

He already shows he has the skill set to achieve power forward status as he continues to grow into his game.

His entry level contract is a three-year deal through 2013/2014.

He tore up the scoring sheet in his only two seasons in juniors before deciding to turn pro.

Obviously being such a high draft pick, a lot will be expected of him but the future looks bright…

08Oct

Anton Blomqvist(29) Evansville IceMen

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Columbus Blue Jackets‘ 6th round pick in the 2009 draft (#167 overall) giant Swedish defenseman Anton Blomqvist(29) is a thinker of a project for the team.

He’s huge at 6’6″ but only weighs 206 lbs., which seems awfully light in pro hockey for a guy that big.

Problem is he just doesn’t seem as engaged and attached to the play as he should be and rightfully needs to add way more muscle to his style.

In his rookie season with Springfield Falcons he skated in only 24 games due to suffering an early season concussion but also found himself to be a healthy scratch probably more often than he would have liked.

His entry level contract is only in its’ second season of a 3-year deal.

As the 2012/2013 season approaches the 22-year old was a training camp trim and gets reassigned to their ECHL affiliate Evansville IceMen.

This is big move (literally) because this guy needs playing time and some in-game coaching to develop into the type of player he could easily become. He has to put some points up too, as he managed a goose egg on the scoresheet last season.

18Sep

Brent Regner(28) Peoria Rivermen

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Columbus Blue Jackets‘ 5th round pick in the 2008 draft (#137 overall), defenseman Brent Regner(28) found himself without a team heading into his fourth pro season, despite putting up career high games played, assists and points (75 – 29 – 31) with Springfield Falcons in 2011/2012.

Turns out the Jackets weren’t interested in qualifying him for another campaign and cut ties with the 23-year old, who also displayed better on-ice accountability with a +4 plus/minus.

No worries as Peoria Rivermen stepped in an offered the 6′ 190 lbs. blue liner a one-year AHL contract for 2012/2013.

In 181 AHL games he has 12 goals and 58 assists. With the NHL lockout looming, he may be in a dog fight for a spot on his new team’s roster.

He also was a part of the fabled 2007 Vancouver Giants‘ squad that captured the Memorial Cup.

15Sep

Theo Ruth(25) Springfield Falcons

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As the NHL prepares for another lockout, the big club’s are stocking the minor league ponds with all the two-way contracts they’ve got.

One such player is Columbus Blue Jackets‘ 3rd year defenseman, Theo Ruth(25). He’ll be in the final year of his entry level deal.

The 6’1″ 207 lbs. blue liner looks bigger than his stats might indicate. So far in his pro career he’s skated 106 AHL games with their affiliate Springfield Falcons and had identical scoring of 1 goal and 5 assists each year. One stat he’s probably not bragging about though is the cumulative -38 plus/minus he’s run up in just two campaigns.

He was originally a Washington Capitals‘ 2nd round pick in the 2007 draft (#46 overall) but “Ted” found himself dished in a trade for Sergei Federov before he ever skated a game with the team. That will always be something for him to brag about.

He’s still fairly young at 23-years old but he’ll need to step up his game big in what will be a difficult AHL season to gain some notice.

06Sep

Fight Card: Dane Byers (34) vs. Sena Acolatse (14)

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Opponents got much more than they bargained for mixing it up with Worcester Sharks‘ rookie defenseman Sena Acolatse(14) last season than they probably expected.

Standing in at only 5’11” 205 lbs. he may have not seem like a lot to handle, but once those gloves come off opponents quickly found him to be much stronger than his size might indicate and on the losing end of the battle.

Springfield Falcons 6’3″ 202 lbs. veteran left wing Dane Byers(34) got himself acquainted, only to get pummeled in his exchange with the smaller player.

Both guys will be around again with their respective teams for 2012/2013, so we’ll see if any rematch ensues.

Watch the fight here.

30Jul

Mike Clemente (35)

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Undrafted net minder Mike Clemente(35) signed an ato with Springfield Falcons for the remainder of the 2011/2012 season after initially signing on with Providence Bruins in the same capacity upon completing his college career.

He played in 6 games posting a 2-1 record with an impressive 1.99 GAA and .930 SV% with a shutout.

Barely missing a beat, he officially signed an AHL contract for his rookie season with the team, where he’ll compete with a veteran and a 2nd year net minder for a spot in the cage.

It’s very possible that he’ll be reassigned to their ECHL affiliate Evansville IceMen to maximize his playing time.

Regardless of where he plays, the 22-year old, 6’2″ 200 lbs. goalie strikes a pretty imposing presence.

28Jul

Wade MacLeod(19) Springfield Falcons

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Undrafted, soon-to-be 2nd year left wing Wade MacLeod(19) re-signed for another season with Springfield Falcons on an AHL contract.

He had what has to be viewed as an excellent rookie year collecting 10 goals and 19 assists in 66 games with a tied for team best +6 plus/minus on a club that was only 2 games over .500 and gave up slightly more goals than they put in.

The 5’11” 185 lbs. plays bigger than he appears on ice, always getting himself into the center of the play and unafraid to go digging in the corners.

The 25-year old was an invite to Columbus Blue Jackets‘ 2011 training camp and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him return for another shot at a tryout.

19Jul

Stefan Legein(16) Los Angeles Kings

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Originally a Columbus Blue Jackets‘ 2nd round pick in the 2007 draft (#37 overall) right wing Stefan Legein(16) for some reason seems like he’s been around a lot longer than just 4 pro seasons.

He’s bounced around in the AHL a bit since a very mediocre rookie season with Syracuse Crunch to career highs with Adirondack Phantoms in the Flyers‘ system in his 2nd year. But that only lasted a year.

The 5’10” 185 lbs. forward was dished for future considerations to Los Angeles Kings and had a sort of rebirth in 2011/2012 with their affiliate Manchester Monarchs.

At only 23 years old, he played like a team leader on the ice, doing a lot of penalty killing while occasionally connecting with the scoresheet (14 + 11 in 63 games; 5 of those shorties). He recently re-signed, accepting their qualifying one-year, two-way offer.

You have to wonder if he will find reason to break out of his AHL shell and lace ’em up tight for the forthcoming training camp with the current Stanley Cup Champions.

13Jul

Martin St. Pierre(39) Rockford IceHogs

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9th year veteran center Martin St. Pierre(39) heads back to Rockford IceHogs for the 2012/2013 season. He signed a one-year AHL contract to rejoin the team for another season.

The 5’9″ 187 lbs. forward led Springfield Falcons in scoring last year, as he has with any of the 4 other league teams he skated with, including the IceHogs in ’07/’08.

Undrafted, the almost 29-year old has always been an effective spark plug for whatever AHL club he’s played with, averaging over a point-per-game. In 440 regular season contests he’s rung up 125 goals and set up another 344 for a total of 469 points.

He’s also played in 38 NHL games with three different teams and struck for 3 goals and 5 assists.

Rockford may get the help they need from him to get back into the playoff picture.

02Jul

Nick Holden (5)

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Columbus Blue Jackets‘ undrafted defenseman Nick Holden(5) re-signed for another year, his 5th with the team since turning pro in 2008.

His deal is for one-year on a two-way contract.

He was scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent.

He missed two-thirds of the 2011/2012 season with an injury, limiting him to just 25 regular season AHL games (3 goals, 6 assists, -2 plus/minus) with Springfield Falcons.

He’s played 222 games minor league contests and put up 17 goals and 62 assists.

In 2010/2011 he made his first NHL appearances, when he was called up for a 5-game stint.

Although he didn’t register a point, he skated an average of 20+ shifts and 17 minutes per game.

At 6’4″ 205 lbs. he’s a towering presence on the ice.

With a little more weight and a bit more grit and he could find himself a permanent spot on a big league roster, if he wants it.