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Blue Jackets hockey is back! Sort of.

NHL preseason begins today and the Blue Jackets start things off with two split squad games: @ Carolina and hosting St. Louis.

The lineups are pretty watered down with their roster split in half and Ryan Johansen missing to begin with, but there will be plenty of opportunity for the kids to show their worth.

Lineup @ Carolina (1:30 ET) via Aaron Portzline:

Forwards: Cam Atkinson, Oliver Bjorkstrand, Mark Letestu, Corey Tropp, Michael Chaput, Nick Foligno, Brian Gibbons, Mike Hoeffel, T.J. Tynan, Dana Tyrell, Trent Vogelhuber, Ryan Craig.

Defensemen: Tim Erixon, James Wisniewski, Cody Goloubef, Thomas Larkin, Frederic St. Denis, Will Weber.

Starting goaltender: Anton Forsberg

Lineup vs. St. Louis (6:30) via Portzline:

Forwards: Josh Anderson, Artem Anisimov, Jared Boll, Matt Calvert, Jerry D'Amigo, Marko Dano, Simon Hjalmarsson, Boone Jenner, Nick Moutrey, Kerby Rychel, Marcus Soberg, Alex Wennberg.

Defensemen: Dillon Heatherington, Jack Johnson, Brett Ponich, Dalton Prout, David Savard, Jaime Sifers.

Goaltenders: Oscar Dansk, Curtis McElhinney.

Some notes:

- Word is Boone Jenner will play center against the Blues. Without Ryan Johansen in the lineup there's obviously a hole down the middle, and the hope is that Jenner will be able to help fill it. Even if the Blue Jackets don't use him at center in the long run, it'd be nice for them to know that option is available, and that he can pivot a line at the NHL level.

- Brian Gibbons has reportedly had an impressive camp to date, so a string of solid preseason games could help him push his way into the lineup. I've praised the signing since Day 1 and think he could be a big help to the team's bottom-6, so I'm pulling for him.

- Alex Wennberg has been making some noise in camp and is adamant about making the team full time this season. There aren't many spots available so he'll need a strong preseason to help his cause. That starts today, obviously.

- Anton Forsberg will get the whole game vs Carolina, while Dansk will get at least a period against the Blues. That figures to be the tandem in Springfield this season so it'll be interesting to see how they fare.

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