Calgary is at Columbus tonight, after their rather disasterous season opener in Minnesota. Here is a roster listing and brief analysis of what the Flames may expect from the Blue-Jackets -
Center -
Todd Marchant, Jan Hrdina, David Vyborny, Gilbert Brule
Strengths include the fast-skating defensive specialist Marchant and the agile playmaking of David Vyborny. Vyborny has scored 20+ goals the two previous seasons. In addition, Columbus signed face-off man and PK specialist Jan Hrdina as an unrestricted free agent. Also, keep an eye on 18 year old Gilbert Brule, who was chosen 6th overall in the 05 entry draft and has apparently made the team out of training camp. He was a huge offensive force for the Vancouver Giants of the WHL last year (39 goals, 87 points) despite being one of the younger players in the league. Had an assist in his first NHL game.
Wings -
Rick Nash, Manny Malholtra, Geoff Sanderson, Jody Shelley, Jaroslav Balastik, Trevor Letowski, Tyler Wright, Dan Fritsche, Nikolai Zherdev
Everyone should be aware of Rick Nash by now. Big, strong, relatively fast, he was only 19 when he tied Iginla and Kovalchuk with 41 goals to win the Rocket Richard trophy last season. In addition, Columbus has slick up-and-comers Zherdev and Fritsche - Zherdev is fast and tricky. He scored 34 points in only 57 games last season as a rookie. Dan Fritsche, drafted 46th overall by Columbus in 2003, had 37 points in 30 games in his final season in the OHL. He was on the 04-05 Memorial cup all-star team and has already made an impact by scoring 2 goals in the season opener against Washington.
Columbus also has some veteran presence in Geoff Sanderson and Trevor Letowski. Sanderson can be scary fast and a decent offensive threat...he has scored 30+ goals twice, but has had several 16-10 goal seasons as well. May take advantage of the "new" NHL to get closer to the 30 goal mark once again. Letowski is also quick, but more of a defensive forward. Maholtra and Wright are journeymen/depth type players, while Balastik is an unproven commodity at this time.
Defense -
Adam Foote, Bryan Berard, Andy Delmore, Luke Richardson, Radoslav Suchy, Francois Beauchemin, Duvie Westcott, Rostislav Klesla
Lead by the solid Adam Foote and Luke Richardson. Bryan Berard was added to provide some offensive punch from the blue-line. Same with the newly claimed-from-waivers-powerplay-specialist Andy Delmore. Beauchemin is a 25 year-old defensive defensemen that was let go by the Canadians. Radoslav Suchy, previously with the Coyotes, is mobile and makes few errors. In addition he scored 7 goals and 21 points with Pheonix last season, even while being behind the likes of Morris and Mara on the depth chart. Westcott is a depth player...somewhat smallish for a defensman, he has played almost 100 NHL games, but has generated no goals and only 14 assists. Klesla, a mainstay on the blue-line when he's not injured, is out 4 - 6 weeks with a stress fracture in his leg.
Goal -
Marc Denis, Pascal Leclaire, Martin Prusek
Very decent depth and a strong #1 in Marc Denis. The latter played 66 games for the Columbus last season and managed a 2.56 GAA and .918, even though they finished outside of the play-off picture. Leclaire was chosen 8th overall by the Blue-Jackets in 01, and is expected to be a decent NHL caliber goaltender. For extra insurance, Columbus signed 29 year-old UFA Martin Prusek, who has had excellent seasons in the AHL and has 58 NHL games under his belt.
Overall, Columbus should be improved over their previous season, although it may take time for the team to come together with so many new faces. In addition, much of their forward depth is young and may be error prone. The game against Calgary tonight will NOT feature Rick Nash, who has a high ankle sprain. However, this is a fast skating and hungry young team. They will probably be a hand-full for many of their opponents this year, and may well develop into a powerhouse in the years to come...
