Yesterday the Blue Jackets called up three players from Lake Erie; RW Oliver Bjorkstrand, C Michael Chaput, and D John Ramage.
Bjorkstrand, Chaput & Ramage have been recalled from @monstershockey. #CBJ
— NHL Blue Jackets (@BlueJacketsNHL) March 16, 2016
MORE → https://t.co/UnWEvIZBvk pic.twitter.com/qPO1ScZJgt
With Dalton Prout suspended the teamed needed a defencemen, but I'm surprised to see Ramage get the call. He has six goals and 12 assists in 55 games with the Monsters this season. His 18 points are second among defencemen, behind Michael Paliotta who has 21. He hasn’t had a bad season, but he's already 25 years old. He's no longer a prospect and shouldn’t factor into the teams long term plans. Personally I would have liked to seen Paliotta or Dillion Heatherington get the call as both are younger and could challenge for spots as early as next season.
The Chaput recall seems like a reward for his strong season in the AHL. Chaput leads the Monsters in points with 37. In three games with the Jackets this season he has one goal. He will be rotating in and out of the fourth line.
The big name and the one most people are excited for is Bjorkstrand. Oliver is one of the team’s top prospects and arguably the systems best sniper. At just 20 years old his is sixth on the team in scoring with 25 points and tied for second on the team in goals, with 15. He was the Jackets third round pick in 2013, and shot up the prospect rankings with back to back 100 point seasons in the WHL. In those two post draft seasons, Bjorkstrand scored a whopping 113 goals including 63 in 2014-15.
The concern with Bjorkstand, as is the case with many young players, is his defensive game. Bjorkstrand is only 6’0, 177lbs so there are some questions if he can handle the rigors of the NHL. I think he will be fine, we have seen smaller players like Cam Atkinson have success. The Jackets are doing what they can to put Bjorkstand in a position to succeed. He’s playing tonight alongside the defensively reliable Brandon Dubinsky as well as the team’s top playmaker in Alexander Wennberg. Bjork will also be playing on the top power play.
Bjorkstrand will play with Dubinsky and Wennberg tonight. Will also see time on the No. 1 power play unit. #CBJ
— Rob Mixer (@RobMixer) March 17, 2016
Today, the Jackets made another recall, calling up Justin Falk on an emergency basis. Fedor Tyutin is sick and questionable for the game. If Falk draws into the lineup he would slot in alongside Ramage on the third pair.
With all the call-ups the Jackets are going to have some new and interesting line combos.
How tonight's #CBJ lineup might look with the addition of Falk → https://t.co/6c0fuZttyt pic.twitter.com/loAoPloNWQ
— NHL Blue Jackets (@BlueJacketsNHL) March 17, 2016
The second line with Bjorkstrand is the obvious one to watch closely. I’m curious to see if he can find space and get himself open. Because if so watch out. Wennberg is going to find him and with Bjorkstrand’s shot they could score a lot of goals.
The other storyline to follow is Boone Jenner at centre. He's a natural centre who has spent the majority of his NHL time on the wing. With the Ryan Johansen trade people kept wondering if Boone would move back to centre. Long-term I think he's a centre but right now he's behind both Dubi and Wennberg. With the season lost there is no harm in trying him out for a stretch and see if he can handle it. If he can, great it gives the team a ton of flexibility going forward, if not, no harm done.
For a team that has been out of the race all season this could be one exciting finish.
You can follow me on Twitter @PaulBerthelot