For the past few seasons, the Cannon has completed a Top 25 fan rating of Jackets prospects. It’s easy to rate those prospects playing in Cleveland, but most commenters don’t have a lot of information on prospects who are playing elsewhere. Roll Call is our monthly look at some of the Columbus Blue Jackets non-Monsters prospects. Europe, Russia, and the college ranks.
Stats are as of 11/1/2019. Players are listed in order of total games played.
Kirill Marchenko – #16 T25U25
14 GP – SKA-Neva St. Petersburg (VHL); 4 GP – SKA St. Petersburg (KHL)
Marchenko had a good run of games while playing for Neva St. Pete in the VHL with a scoring output of 9-4-13 with only 4 PIM. However, when he gets called up to the big club in the KHL, he receives a Tortsian TOI treatment. He’s been in the lineup in 4 games and played 11 shifts total. He has not seen ice time in 5 other games. Obviously that’s not much of an opportunity to make a mark. Marchenko has an all zeroes stat line in the KHL, which isn’t known as a great league for young player development, but hopefully Marchenko receives more opportunities.
Tim Berni – #23 T25U25
18 GP – ZSC Lions (Swiss League)
Tim Berni has been a key member of the Lions’ defensive corps. Berni has played in all 18 games and currently boasts a 3-4-7 line with 0 PIM. He’s also a +7! You could read that and think that when he’s on the ice, goals only happen if he is involved. I cannot speak to the strength of the National League overall, but Berni is playing well for the #1 team in the standings at this time.
Eric Hjorth – Unranked – 2019 draftee
14 GP – Sarnia Sting (OHL)
Hjorth is pretty new to a Jackets’ fan’s memory banks since he was just drafted this past off-season. However, he stuck around for a little while in training camp – perhaps just as a body, perhaps for the FO to get a longer look at him. With Sarnia, Hjorth has contributed 4-8-12 as a defenseman, which seems rather promising. On the other hand, 12 pts in 14 games isn’t as shiny when you also sport a -4. Case in point – Hjorth notched a goal and 2 assists against Flint, but the team lost 8-5. Still, hone that offensive touch, Eric. The Jackets need goal scorers.
Dmitri Voronkov – Unranked – 2019 draftee
14 GP – Ak Bars Kazan (KHL)
Like Hjorth, Voronkov is a new draftee for the Jackets. Like Marchenko, Voronkov is plying his trade in the KHL. Unlike Marchenko, he might be getting more of an opportunity on the ice. Voronkov is sporting a 1-2-3 scoring line with 16 PIM. He’s also had duty on the Russian U-20 team. Bars Kazan is currently leading the Eastern Conference through 24 games. It’s good that Voronkov is getting playing time on a good team in the KHL. Unfortunately, he was apparently injured on Oct. 22. I was unable to get details.
Tyler Angle – Unranked – 2019 draftee
13 GP – Windsor Spitfires (OHL)
If there’s a trend here is that non-AHL prospects seem to have played quite a few more games than those in the AHL. Angle was the CBJ’s 7th rounder this past off season but he’s off to a pretty good start for the Spitfires. He’s sporting a 10-9-19 stat line with 14 PIM in those 13 games played. He’s the team’s leading scorer so far, though to be transparent – the league leader in points has 33.
Markus Karlberg – Unranked – 2018 draftee
8 GP – Leksands IF J20 (SuperElit); 5 GP – AIK (Allsvenskan)
Karlberg is one of those prospects left off our T25U25 list primarily due to a lack of awareness. He split time last season between the U20 league (SuperElit) and the top league in Sweden, Allsvenskan. He’s had a similar experience to start this season. He has put up 5-3-8 in his 8 games in the U20 league, but only 1 point, a goal, in the top league. However, AIK is at the bottom of the standings. Karlberg also does duty for the Swedish U20 team. Really hoping that this kid turns into another of those hidden gems.
Carson Meyer – #22 T25U25
7 GP – Ohio State Buckeyes (NCAA)
Meyer benefited from the name recognition that Karlberg lacks as he entered the T25 list this offseason. Meyer plays for the Ohio State Buckeyes and has put up a 2-3-5 line in 7 games for OSU. He’s a senior this season and could well be a candidate for the Monsters if he signs in the spring.
Daniil Tarasov – #12 T25U25
10 GP – Assat (Liiga)
Tarasov is the 4th member of the Jackets’ youthful goalie prospect pool and the only one not currently playing in North America. Tarasov has appeared in 10 games (of 19) for Assat and sports a 2-7-0 record with a 2.84 GAA and a .882 Sv%. He’s a rookie in Liiga and is expected to require a period of adjustment as it is a step up in competition for Tarasov. As is common for rookies, Tarasov has had an inconsistent season – he will follow up a clunker with a gem and vice versa. Case in point, he started the month of October with a 30 for 31 (.967 sv%) outing and ended October with a 18 for 22 (.818 sv%) outing.
That’s it for this month’s look at the non-Monsters prospects. This list was not exhaustive and focused on players who had played a significant number of games to date. If you want to chime in on another prospect in the comments, please feel free to do so! If you have more details on someone I’ve mentioned, toss those in as well. Or, if you follow a prospect and want to pass along information for the next monthly update, you can reach out to me directly.