Weekly Five: Impactful Rookies

By William Espy

In this new series, we will look at various Blue Jackets topics which will be a prediction of the upcoming season. Today we look at the top 5 rookies who will likely be able to provide the biggest impact if called upon.

In the 2014-2015 season, the Blue Jackets faithful got their first tastes of a couple rookies who provided a substantial impact and seemingly earned a long term role on the team. Their names were Alexander Wennberg and current Chicago Blackhawk Marko Dano. While Dano was traded in the off-season, his success last season greatly increased his value in trade negotiations and Alexander Wennberg looks primed for a good season. Let’s find out who I predict to possibly have the same success this coming year:

5. TJ Tynan

 

TJ Tynan will be a stretch of a call-up, however he is a very underrated prospect in the Blue Jackets deep farm system. After making the jump from the NCAA as a member of the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame, Tynan has not missed a beat. As a former point per game player in college, in his first full season of pro hockey; Tynan finished with .64 PPG. Last season in Springfield; the Orland Park, Illinois native center posted a team leading forty-eight points which consisted of thirteen goals and thirty-five assists. While the likely hood of Tynan getting the call this season seems slim, it would not surprise me if he ends up playing some bottom six time with the Jackets at some point this season.

4. Austin Madaisky

Madaisky played a majority of the season with the Springfield Falcons last year was recently resigned by the Blue Jackets to a one year two-way contract. With the amount of blue liners currently on the Jackets roster, it would take a large amount of injuries or a trade to make room for Madaisky’s NHL debut however it is possible. The 2014-2015 AHL all-star had a massive breakout year posting twelve goals, and twenty-three assists for a total of thirty-five points in fifty-three games while also racking up only twenty-eight penalty minutes. The Falcons would miss out on the post-season by only a lone point however without Madaisky, it is very likely that the gap would be considerably larger. With Frédéric St-Denis off the books, it has become a question who the first call up for the Jackets will be if there is a need for a defenseman at the NHL level leaving a fairly sized opportunity for Madaisky to get the call.

3. Michael Paliotta

 

Michael Paliotta is still a mystery to many Jackets fans, the former University of Vermont captain, and alternate captain before that, was pegged by many as one of the Blackhawks’ top prospects before he was sent to Columbus in the blockbuster Brandon Saad trade. Jarmo Kekalainen has said in the past that he had attempted to acquire Paliotta from Chicago numerous times however Stan Bowman was hesitant to trade him, for good reason. The former third round pick has continued to grow at an exponential pace and will likely be the first name called if a defensive call up is necessary. Following his last season at Vermont, Paliotta played a single game with the Blackhawks in which he posted one assist. Paliotta is categorized as a physical, but fast player with good size and ability and is considered to now be a top prospect for the Blue Jackets.

2. Oliver Bjorkstrand

Oliver Bjorkstrand has quickly become the Blue Jackets undisputed #1 prospect after becoming a superstar in the WHL with the Portland Winterhawks. Bjorkstrand is a speedy skater with a strong shot and tremendous vision when it comes to finding holes to the net. Some Winterhawks fans say that his speed currently mimics that of Brendan Gallagher, but he has to potential to get it to Kessel level. Many of them say he has a shot that is potentially reminiscent of Ovechkin’s however that is obviously a very lofty comparison and if he did fulfill that potential, it would likely be years from now and many believe that his shot currently mirrors that of Kessel. Simply, he is a raw goal scorer. He will be making his professional debut this season with the Lake Erie Monsters in Cleveland and may very well be the first name that comes up for a late season call up.  Bjorkstrand may possibly be the next Blue Jackets superstar within a few years.

1.    Kerby Rychel

Rychel made his NHL debut last season with the Blue Jackets and played a few games with the team. As of the Traverse City tournament, he has been a large discussion top between Blue Jackets officials who are wondering if it is time for him to be called up. While players like Bjorkstrand could possibly make a large impact at the NHL level their rookie year, the odds of them getting called up are much lower than Rychel’s. The only concern the Blue Jackets have about Rychel is his history of concussions which unfortunately have the potential to become a large part of his career at some point. Rychel can use his size to his advantage which caused his skating to be a bit of a liability in his junior years, however he has since improved and become a more well-rounded player. He also brings an agitator or “pest” style to his game which is sometimes a large part of the Blue Jackets game with Boone Jenner and Brandon Dubinsky almost defining that role when they want to. It is possible, however not probable that Kerby Rychel may be on the opening night roster in Columbus.