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Cannon Blasts: The Blue Jackets have a new sponsor; let’s talk pizza

Posted on by Pale Dragon

Something that got a little bit lost in the shuffle of the trades and signings of two weeks ago was another big signing made by the Columbus Blue Jackets organization:

Jet’s replaces Papa Johns’, which had been the official pizza sponsor since 2011. Some had been calling for an end to the Papa John’s deal since controversy surrounding founder John Schnatter in 2018.

While I still would have preferred a local chain — and certainly not one from (blech) Michigan — I think Jet’s is one of the better chains. I generally prefer a thinner slice, but the ingredients are good and I find the sauce especially tasty. I’m curious to know how they’ll serve it inside the arena; will it be a smaller version of the 4 corner pizza?

So, rather than argue about how the roster should look, let’s kill time this week by talking about pizza. What are your preferred toppings? Which element is most important in a good pizza: the crust, the sauce, the cheese, or the toppings?

Where are your favorite places to get a pizza? Among chains, I’m still partial to Donato’s. With their thin crust style, the focus is on the toppings rather than the dough. On a pepperoni pizza (my favorite style no matter where I’m ordering), you get far more bang for your buck in this version than anywhere else.

Among local non-chain restaurants, Red Brick Tap & Grill in Merion Village has an excellent crust. It’s seasoned really well, and is used to good effect on their calzones as well. Of their specialty toppings, I love the Porky’s Revenge: “Chipotle range case,  house-smoked pulled pork, pork belly, bacon, fried onions, fried jalapenos, mozzarella, and smoked gouda.”

I’m curious to know if there’s any hidden gem pizzas in Central Ohio that I should seek out. If you’re not based in Columbus, I’d still like to hear about the best pizza in your town, and what about it makes it your favorite.

Meanwhile, in Europe

Cam Atkinson offers an endorsement for Emil Bemstrom’s play over in Liiga:

Bemstrom has scored five goals and four assists in eight games for HIFK this season.

Other prospects of note whose seasons are underway:

Kirill Marchenko recently had a rehab assignment to the junior league, the MHL. He scored seven points (3G/4A) in two games, as you’d hope he’d do against that competition. In the KHL, he has five points (3G/2A) in ten games. That scoring pace is similar to last year, when he had 16 points in 31 games (7G/9A).

First round draft pick Yegor Chinakhov has continued his hot start, with six goals and three assists through the first 16 games.

The third Russian forward, 2019 fourth rounder Dmitri Voronkov, has three goals and two assists in his first dozen games this season, also in the KHL.

The other forward from this year’s draft class, center Mikael Pyythia, has 13 points in his first 10 games (6G/7A) in the Finnish U20 league.

The week that was

I wrote about why the off-season moves so far made more sense from a financial perspective than as moves to improve the roster on the ice.

The Cannon Cast got a bit heated at times as the gang discussed those same moves.

We continued our player review series with these forwards:

Alexandre Texier
Oliver BJORKSTRAND
Riley Nash
Liam Foudy
Pierre-Luc Dubois

Play me out

Sturgill Simpson released a new album last week of bluegrass covers of some of his previous songs. I always enjoy hearing artists reinterpret their songs with new arrangements. The expert musicianship and vocal harmonies make this perfect background music for doing work, cooking, or just trying to relax and forget about stuff for awhile.

Talking Points