After a couple of decades of competing (and dominating) in Traverse City, this weekend the Columbus Blue Jackets are headed to Buffalo instead for a different prospects tournament. They will face the host Sabres, the Boston Bruins, and the Ottawa Senators. The Pittsburgh Penguins and New Jersey Devils are also participating, but we won’t face our division mates.
Schedule
Friday, September 13 at 7:00 p.m. vs. Buffalo
Saturday, September 14 at 3:30 p.m. vs. Boston
Monday, September 16 at 1:30 p.m. vs. Ottawa
All games are held at the LECOM Harborcenter, the practice facility for the Sabres. Alll games will be broadcast on Bluejackets.com.
Roster
Note: this year’s first round pick, Cayden Lindstrom, will not be competing. His 2023-24 season was cut short by a back injury and the Blue Jackets are being cautious with his recovery. The back is healing, but Lindstrom may not be in game condition yet. No point in risking anything in an exhibition tournament.
Players to Watch
Denton Mateychuk
A first round pick in 2022, Mateychuk had a busy season in 2022-23: He scored 7 assists in 2 games in Traverse City last September, he played for Team Canada in the World Junior Championships, he led the Moose Jaw Warriors to the WHL title, competed in the Memorial Cup, and then finished with 4 games with the Cleveland Monsters in the Calder Cup Playoffs. That’s a lot of high stakes hockey! He impressed in Blue Jackets training camp last season and has a good chance to make the NHL roster this season.
Gavin Brindley
Another player with a busy 2023-24: Brindley also played in the WJC, where he was alternate captain and led Team USA to the gold medal. He also got to play in 5 games in the World Championship in May. In between, he scored 25 goals in 40 games for the University of Michigan as they reached the Frozen Four. He played one game with the Blue Jackets after turning pro. His size should be less of an issue in an event like this, and I think he’ll score in bunches like his friend and college teammate Adam Fantilli did last year (3 goals and 4 assists in 2 games)
Evan Gardner
Let’s wrap it up by having one player per position. The Blue Jackets traded back into the second round to select Gardner, a goalie from the Saskatoon Blades of the WHL. He had 21 wins in 30 starts and a sub-2 GAA last season. He likely won’t turn pro for a few years, so enjoy this glimpse of him for now.