Hidden Gems of Columbus

By
William Espy

Throughout the injury plagued 2014/2015 Blue Jackets season, many players who were often seen as just role players in the past became a vital part of the team. A massively notable example of this would be new captain Nick Foligno. The 27 year old was able to gain league-wide recognition for the first time in his career while setting career highs in goals, assists and of course points. The sudden success for the former first round pick would allow him to be the captain of the home team in the all-star game in Columbus and would eventually lead to him being named the sixth captain in CBJ history and first since Rick Nash in 2012.

A less noticeable breakout player would be Matt Calvert. Calvert's heart and speed has been well known to Jackets fans for years, but he finally started gaining a small amount of national recognition in the injury plagued season. Even though he only collected 23 points in 56 games, the pending RFA gained a lot of attention at the trade deadline from contending teams.

Another player who, like Calvert, has been loved by CBJ fans for years but had never gotten recognition outside of Columbus is Cam Atkinson. Atkinson was another massive target at the deadline, specifically from the Boston Bruins due to his pending RFA status at the time. While Atkinson is not 100% guaranteed to stay in Columbus after this off season, his 3 year $10.5M extension makes him appear to be a center piece for the foundation of the Jackets in the long run.

A lot of the fan craze in Columbus revolves around goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky, because of this another player seems to be forgotten at times. This player is backup goalie Curtis McElhinney. McElhinney started the season on a bit of a downward slope, however when Bobrovsky went down with injury just prior to and after the All-Star break McElhinney proved himself to be a top backup in the league. Throughout the season he posted a .914 save percentage and a goals against average of 2.88. While these numbers may not appear spectacular, every Columbus fan will remember when the "Big Mac" would make phenomenal saves that seemed unstoppable for a backup and kept the Jackets in the game.

When a non-Jackets fan thinks of the Jackets defense, the most common names that will come up will be Jack Johnson, Ryan Murray and even Fedor Tyutin. Hard hitting defenseman Cody Goloubef is not even considered a Jackets regular yet, however he has shown that he wants to get into that role and GM Jarmo Kekalainen believes he has the potential to be a great core player. Just a few days ago, the 25 year old from Mississauga, Ontario signed a 2 year, one way deal with the Jackets. He fills one of the Jackets biggest needs by being a right handed Dman, however he has spent a majority of the last few years bouncing between the NHL and AHL. Last season, he had a very impressive training camp and seemed to be living up to his potential however injury limited him to 36 games. Surprisingly, he still put up 9 points over those games even though he went goal-less in all of them. His only career goal came in the 2012-2013 season, but he has potential to be a solid player for the Jackets if he remains healthy next season.

Another player who is overshadowed league-wide was second in points for a CBJ defenseman last season. He was also one goal away from tying the franchise record for goals by a defenseman, finishing the season with eleven. That man is David Savard. Formerly known as captain caveman, Savard is seen by many people around the league as a low tier defenseman and are often surprised when they hear his stats. The 24 year old Quebec native finished last season with 11 goals and 25 assists for a total of 26 points in 82 games. That's right, 82 games. David Savard was one of two players (the other being All-Star MVP Ryan Johansen) who was able to play in every game of the season. It would not be surprising to see the right hander play on the top pairing with Jack Johnson next year. Savard appears to be the top hidden gem in Columbus, and Blue Jackets fans likely wouldn't mind if it stayed that way.

While other well-known players like Marko Dano, Alexander Wennberg, and especially Ryan Johansen make CBJ's faithful wonder about what the future holds, Columbus's unsung heroes can hold just as big of an influence as these exciting top organizational players. Nick Foligno has made a transition from an unsung hero to a top player for the Jackets. Atkinson and Calvert are on their way to league-wide recognition but have yet to receive it. There is no doubt Columbus has an elite goaltender with former Vezina winner Sergei Bobrovsky, but Curtis McElhinney has proved the Jackets have one of the top goaltending duos in the league when they are both at top form. Columbus's blue line needs some work, but with Cody Goloubef and David Savard working their way up the depth chart the need for a top RD is quickly diminishing. The future, both in the short term and long term, looks very bright for Columbus and is undoubtedly led by the hidden gems.