The Puck Drops Here 1/3/17 #BlueJackets #CBJ

By Chris Lulovics, @CLulovics

Well here we are at the start of 2017 and the Columbus Blue Jackets are one of the hottest teams in the NHL.  Who would of thought that at the beginning of the season?  Head coach John Tortorella  (head coach of the USA team in the World Cup of Hockey) ran what players and analysts call a boot camp in order to get his players in top physical condition so come the 3rd period they aren't out of gas and can put away teams.  Well his plan is definitely working because the Blue Jackets play their best period in the 3rd.

On Saturday the Blue Jackets extended their franchise best winning streak to 15 games by winning 4-2 against the Minnesota Wild. The Wild were winners of 12 games in a row before Saturday. The Blue Jackets have outscored their opponents 62-26 during the streak. In fact they went a perfect 12-0 during the whole month of December. Leading the way has been goalie Sergei Bobrovski who seems to be back to his old self from a couple of years ago when the Jackets made the playoffs. Cam Atkinson is leading the way accounting for 16 points in the last 12 games. Nick Foligno has also returned to his old format after a disappointing season a year ago. Boone Jenner and Brandon Dubinsky while not producing on the score sheet like they would like too, have been playing a huge role with tremendous play away from the puck which helps other guys on the line to produce. And last but not least rookie defenseman 19 year old Zach Werenski. Last year at this time he was playing for the university of Michigan and then turning pro and helping the Lake Erie Monsters win the Calder Cup. Not only does Werenski hold the club record for most points by a rookie defenseman  (before the first half even ends) he is also the quarterback of the leagues best power-play. For a 19 year old to have that much responsibility shows the confidence that head coach John Tortorella has in him.

The Jackets are 2 games away from tying the NHL record.  They play Tuesday against the Edmonton Oilers and Thursday against the Washington Capitals. They can set a new record at home Saturday night against the New York Rangers. I can only imagine the crowd that will be at that game. So far this season has been amazing after experts predicted the Jackets wouldn't amount to anything. There is a lot of hockey left and anything can happen but with their mentality of one game at a time let's just live in the moment right now and enjoy the ride. If you're not on the bandwagon you can always jump on now.

The Puck Drops Here 6.13.16: Lake Erie Monsters, Calder Cup Champions!

By Chris Lulovics, @CLulovics

That's right you all read that title of this article right. The Lake Erie Monsters the farm club of the Columbus Blue Jackets are your NEW Calder Cup Champions for the first time since 1964. In front of a sellout crowd of over 19,000 fans at Quicken Loans Arena, the Monsters completed the sweep of the Hersey Bears in front of the biggest hockey crowd to ever witness a game in Ohio (19,665) and claimed their 10th Calder Cup in the process.

Led by 18 year old phenom Zach Werenski who is so calm with the puck leading the power play. Goalie Anton Forsberg who spent time with Columbus earlier in the season, was undefeated after becoming the starter in round 2. I can list a bunch of players but none was bigger than Oliver Bjorkstrand. Where should I start with that kid? 10 goals 6 assists for 16 points in 17 games good enough? How about adding 6 game winning goals (which tied an AHL record) or how about his 3 overtime goals in a single postseason? Those efforts were good enough to have Bjorkstrand named the MVP of the Calder Cup Finals.

And how about this Lake Erie team? First year as the affiliate of the Columbus Blue Jackets and they did not disappoint all year. Once they got to the playoffs they swept their first round matchup against the Rockford Icehogs. Then won 4-2 against the Grand Rapids Griffins. Finally in the Western Conference Championship they swept the defending AHL Champions Ontario Reign 4-0. Facing the Hersey Bears in the Finals many thought it would go 6 or 7 games given Hersey's experience but that wasn't the case as the Monsters won 4-0 including a thrilling 1-0 OT win to clinch it at home.

The Q was rocking Saturday night. Next season should bring tons of excitement to Cleveland and Columbus as the future is really bright for the Blue Jackets. But right now celebrate Cleveland. It might not be a "major franchise" sport, but this puts Cleveland on the map for something positive.

As always #BattleTogether #CarryTheFlag #CBJ #AllOfUs #Monsters and most importantly #CalderCupChamions

The Puck Drops Here: #BlueJackets #NHLDraft #CBJ

By @CLulovics

The top 2 picks in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft went as expected as Connor McDavid went to the Edmonton Oilers and Jack Eichel went to the Buffalo Sabres. As for the Columbus Blue Jackets draft went they had the number 8 pick and they selected 17 year old defenseman Zach Werenski from the University of Michigan. Zach is a tall strong D man which the Jackets were looking for but early reports have him returning to Michigan. They also traded up to the 29th spot and selected D man Gabriel Carlsson from Sweden.

In the second round the Jackets drafted LW Paul Bittner from the Portland Winterhawks of the WHL. Still in the second round and with the 58th pick C Kevin Stenlund was selected also out of Sweden. In the third round the CBJ selected Keegan Kolesar who plays RW for the Seattle Thunderbirds of the WHL. The 5th round was all about defense as the Jackets took 2 D men in Sam Ruopp of the Prince George Cougars of the WHL and Veeti Vainio out of Sweden. Round 6 also saw the team take a D man in Vladislav Gavrikov who currently plays for Lokomotiv Yaroslavl out of Russia. And with the teams last pick in the draft they selected another D man in Markus Nutivaara out of Finland.

With the draft over the prospects headed down to Columbus in Nationwide Arena for the annual prospect camp which started on Monday June 29th. Fans can get an early glimpse of the teams draft picks along with other future prospects who hope to one day make it to the NHL.

Always looking towards the future Blue Jackets GM Jarmo Kekalainen made a blockbuster trade on Tuesday June 30 with the Chicago Blackhawks which saw Brandon Saad, defenseman Michael Paliotta, and forward Alex Broadhurst traded to the Blue Jackets from Chicago for forwards Artem Anisimov, Jeremy Morin, Corey Tropp, Marko Dano, and a fourth found pick in the 2016 NHL Draft. Saad who was part of the past two Stanley Cup Champions for Chicago in only 4 seasons with the team saw career bests in the 2014-2015 season with 23 goals and 52 points. In the playoffs which saw the Blackhawks win the Cup Saad had 8 goals and 11 points.

To say it nicely the Blue Jackets got the better end of this trade as Artem Anisimov whose contract was up at the end of this coming season more than likely would of been traded during the season but Jarmo saw an opportunity to add a player from a team that won the Stanley Cup twice in the past 4 years so Saad knows what it takes to win.

As always Carry The Flag, We Are The 5th Line, Battle On and AllofUs